Melissa and I shared a cab to the airport Thursday morning. There were no problems checking in, and I’m proud to say that I fit EVERYTHING I need for two weeks into my carry-on luggage, which made check-in slightly easier. Then Melissa and I hung out in the Northwest “VIP room” for about an hour until boarding. The initial leg was from DC to Detroit, again, a piece of cake; but the next leg of the trip was pretty excruciating. First of all, I don’t fly a lot so I can’t compare too many airlines, but I was not impressed with Northwest in Detroit or Japan. Melissa and I were waiting at the gate for our trip from Detroit to Japan, along with a couple hundred Filipinos and Japanese people and, can I tell you, when it came time to board, they just called us all at once. Imagine, rows 1 through 70, seats A through J, all attempting to “line up” and board the plane at the same time. Fun. Throw in the mix 150 feisty Filipinos…yeah.
This was the longest part of our trip. What was expected to happen was we would arrive in Nagoya, Japan, wait for new people to board, and then go directly to Manila. I’m amazingly skilled and can sleep almost anywhere in any position, except to my dismay sitting up. So I did manage to pass out for two hour intervals by pulling down my tray and placing the pillow on top, but would wake up intermittently whenever the little Filipino man in front of me would wiggle in his chair, get up to use the restroom, or switch places with his wife. Waking up was not pleasant and usually involved getting my head smashed between the tray and the chair.
Needless to say, Melissa and I were happy when we arrived in Nagoya because the majority of our flight was over and there would be only a slight wait before we could take off for Manila. Close to landing the flight attendant announced we would be exiting the plane to go through a security check before we took off again. This obviously did not make sense as we had all already come from the US (our airports having much more stringent security guidelines) and all the people who wanted to go to the Philippines were already on the f-ing plane! So we de-board and practically every one that gets off the plane is in line to go through the security check point which is pretty much bullshit considering they didn’t ask me to take out my laptop, show them my baggy of liquids, pat me down, nothing. We walked through the security check, up the stairs, around to the international departures gates and ended up in yet another line to board the plane. Again, Northwest does not call people on the plane by group, so it was mayhem. Then, to top it all off, we got on the same damn plane! I understand the need to refuel and clean the plane, but that was absolutely ridiculous.
As a side note, I would also like to mention the difference between the reactions of people we told we were going to Davao in the airport versus pre-trip (family, friends, etc). Anyone that knew anything about Mindinao or Davao told me it was dangerous, “be careful, say you’re Canadian, run from suspicious boats,” etc., and every Filipino person we talked to in line or on the flight smiled and said how nice a city Davao is. I guess the mentality is, regardless of the truth, you don’t want someone freaking out on the flight with you and ignorance is bliss; especially, when you have to share a small space with the person. I smiled and nodded as they chatted with Melissa and I, but I know those people were thinking “crazy American girls…why would they go to Davao of all places?!”
Arriving in Manila was exciting. There’s something about the smell of a tropical place that you can’t describe. Like no matter what you do, the humidity affects everything…and the vegetation…you’re just so excited to not be in freezing cold weather anymore! Anyway, we landed at 11 pm Friday night and since our flight for Davao wasn’t until 5:40 am Saturday morning, Melissa decided we would stay at the Manila Airport Hotel for a couple hours to shower and get some real sleep. The hotel was attached to a KFC and there was a Karaoke bar in the bottom floor…I managed to sleep and that’s all I have to say about my stay there. The Manila airport is simple. There are 4 domestic gates total and they’re in the same place as the food, security check, etc. I think Melissa and I were 2 of 4 people that weren’t Filipino, so we got a lot of stares, but that was only the beginning of plenty more to come.
We were picked up by our project partners in Davao, who drove us to the hotel and gave us a mini-tour/information session about Davao City. In our short trip he told us that Davao is the food basket of the Philippines with most of the business related to agriculture. Especially Cardava (banana), which is the main product of the business we will be looking at this week. Their main language is Cebuano, not Tagalog, although I cannot tell much of a difference and notice that there is still some Spanish mixed up in it.
The hotel is amazing and in that way is a little out of place in Davao. It would be like putting a very nice Marriott hotel in the middle of a developing country…with nothing really “developing” around it…just a random beautiful hotel. I have my own room that looks out on the city. Everyone says ma’am repeatedly, “yes, ma’am…thank you ma’am…of course ma’am…your room is ready ma’am.” I know people say it in the states, but not to the extent they do in the Philippines. They’re very cordial about everything and I guess it’s customer service to the extreme, but as an American it’s slightly overdone for my taste.
On our first day we slept for a few hours and then went to the pool. Visiting the pool was a very interesting experience. The pool is really nice, but on one side of it there is construction being done. When Melissa and I arrived there wasn’t anyone there, it was just an eye sore—but we didn’t care because we were at the pool! We settle in, have our mango drinks, and within an hour there are 50 Filipino men working on the building to the left of us. I didn’t want assume they were gawking, but being one of 2 white people at the pool makes you stand out a bit (especially when you’re reflecting sunlight b/c you’re so white!).
I’m trying to relax amongst the gawking men, noise of the table saws and Tracy Chapmen’s Fast Car (that CD was on repeat for the duration of our visit) when I realize that the staff at the pool is moving all the tables from the dining room to our side of the patio. They’ve moved all the chairs, but Melissa’s and mine, and they’re essentially setting up the dinning room around us. We were obviously in the way, but the sun wasn’t on the other side of the deck so Melissa and I stayed with the tables. It turned out that was a christening taking place in the dining room, so everything was being moved outside.
After 2 hours Melissa and I decided to eat at the pool. Another awkward experience is the dining experience at this hotel. They unfold your napkin for you, poor your bottled water into a glass, and stand right by the table while you’re looking at the menu. No pressure. So as Melissa and I are giving them our order the waitress randomly says “you ladies are so sexy.” Thank GOD I wasn’t drinking or eating anything at the time b/c I would have spit it out. Melissa didn’t catch it at first, but I couldn’t bear to repeat it. The waitress continues with, “you are so sexy, all the workers are staring and even my colleagues and staff.” I did not know what to say. I was so embarrassed and knew damn well I looked like crap b/c I hadn’t slept well in over 24 hours and was sweaty and gross from sitting by the pool. Melissa and I laughed it off and finished our lunch. But the fun wasn’t over. After the pool we went straight down to the front desk to buy our internet time and began conversing with the front desk lady. She asked us where we were from and how old we were…then she said “May I just say, you ladies are so sexy!” At that point it was over. I am convinced that this is something all the staff learn to say in training, but perhaps they should say “pretty” or “beautiful” instead because that’s more convincing than sexy. I can look sexy when I try hard enough…but at that time, I definitely was not pulling it off. Plus, the poor man who was processing the internet access request for me got pulled in as the front desk lady tried to hook him and me up. She asked if I had a boyfriend and said that he was also 25 “single and ready to mingle.” I thought it was wonderful that the Marco Polo hotel was promoting week long flings for their staff.
Anyway, I don’t remember much else. I did a little work and then by 7 pm here was passed out. Housekeeping did try to come in at some point, but I had not concept of time and didn’t want to answer the door because Nehall told me not to! At about 12 am I received a phone call from Marie! That was nice. Then I slept through the rest of the night until breakfast. Which means I got about 12 hours of sleep.
This will probably be my longest blog—but not my most exciting one. Hopefully, I’ll have funnier and “sexier” stories as the week continues.
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