Philippine Email

Hello Everyone!

So much has been going on in my life. Last month my sister took a 2 and 1/2 month trip around Asia. She went to Thailand, Cambodia, Vietnam, then met up with me in Indonesia and we both went to the Philippines. She went to Bali on her own with a friend, and then I took her around Jakarta! Well, I have to say, my friends took her around Jakarta! They planned a whole itinerary for her! They picked her up at the airport, they spent time with her and took her places while I was at work, they even brought her medicine when she was sick. How do I always find the best friends, everywhere I go!

My friends took us to Taman Mini... which, if you read my blog, is a theme park that represents every island in Indonesia. There are about 3000 islands in Indonesia, and I will never have time to see them all, so going to Taman Mini is a 'mini' version of what you'd see at each island. Every island is very different because they all have different cultures and traditions. They even have different languages. It was so interesting to see. Since going there I've decided on a few of the different islands I'd like to visit before I leave Indonesia.

Of course since my sister was in town I got to be a tourist with her! We went to Bogor, a city right outside of Jakarta, for dinner. It was a beautiful restaurant that had a great view of the city. And next we went to the Monas, the national monument.

My sister and I then traveled to the Philippines for my spring break holiday. We were there for ten days. We spent most of our time on an island called Puerta Galera. My sister was not too impressed with the Philippines. We flew in and out of Manila, which is not touristy at all. Its just a big city like Jakarta, that isn't necessarily the safest place for tourists. But we did get to connect with some of the people from my church in the Philippines. That was pretty exciting getting to meet them and share stories. Also I met up with Matt (friend in my church in Tacoma). It was so crazy to see a friend from Tacoma half-way around the world and super encouraging!

Puerta Galera is a diving island. I got my scuba cert there and did many dives. It was absolutely amazing to see the world under the sea! I love it! Its definitely my calling! I got to see Nemo, Dori, sea cupcumbers, colorful shrimp, eels, and a gigantic sea turtle! No sharks, sorry. (Everyone always asks). I have an underwater video of the dive. So some of you may be lucky to view it when I get home!

The diving is great in Puerta Galera, however there really isn't much else to do there. Yet, we did find one tour that we signed up for. It was very neat. It took us to some beautiful waterfalls to view. And then to a place called Paradise, where they made a Philipino barbeque and we met and hung out with the locals. We swam at paradise with the locals, which was lots of fun. And then we went to a village. It was extremely humbling to see the way the village people live. However it was very similar to Indonesian kampuns (villages).

Anyhow, we mangaged to have a splendid time in the Philippines. It was so great to be with my sister. I'm so glad that she took this trip. She will be someone that can relate to some of my experiences here in Jakarta.