from laguna niguel to san diego, from san diego to los angeles, los angeles to new york, new york to the philippines, and now currently exploring the east coast in the suburbs of philadelphia, this is my mission. full of grace. [it's all perspective.]
Friday, September 3, 2010
no more subways
so today must have been the day of transportation for crystal. ok, let's begin with the day.
first off, i woke up with my heart pounding SUPER SUPER FAST. my room was still super dark, so i was angry that i was awake. i hear the roosters, but moreso, i realized my heart was beating super fast...to the beat of the club-like, trance-like music that was blasting from the jeepney outside that was waiting to pick up passengers!! oh HECK no. that was the first thought that greeted me at 5:10am. soooo thank goodness i was able to get back to sleep!
so then i woke up around 6ish, so that i can greet my taho man...i told him to come this morning at 6:30am (his usual time). well...he didn't come. ok, so i was ok with that. but then, as i was getting ready for my shower, i hear, tahooooooo...like, 4 times. literally. so then i was like, ok, he'll just go away when he sees that i don't come...and then...after telling him NOT to do this last week...he rung the doorbell! haha i got my money, greeted him downstairs, and then, he said his usual, "good morning, ma'm!!" with his super big smile. soooo i only gave him a small filipino talkin' to. it was really nice too because i forgot my mug, and so i was gonna go back into the house, and sure enough, estella met me with a mug in hand. :) such good community! haha...she's also the one who told me, the other night she had a dream that i was so happy with my taho. hahaha, she's having dreams about me and this delicious delicacy! haha!
ok, so then...in the am, i get on two jeepneys to get to work. the 2nd jeepney to work, i hopped into it so quickly, without noticing first there was no one in it. that's like, rule #1. do not get into jeepneys without anyone in it. oops. but i really liked it, and i actually was able to observe my surroundings along the route, a little better. it was like a private vehicle, for the price of a communal vehicle. awesome! i also almost missed my stop, cause i was distracted by the vendors and the people outside already, so early in the am!
work was nice today. i think the biggest challenge today was teaching fractions...in tagalog. YUP. haha, how do you even do that? it didn't matter - i think i got through to them...a little bit. :) that is all i can do! soon i will be teaching them english and how to write essays. awesome!
2nd transportation story...on my way home from mass, i waited about 25 minutes for a jeepney (of course, they were ALL full!) cause it was pouring outside. so then, i was already like, ahhh i'm late for dinner! so i walk to the other loading zone for jeepneys after a failed attempt to get a taxi (i was desperate!)...i was literally dodging the walking traffic, i was walking like i was in new york. and filipinos here walk SLOW, like, dawdle status...i saw heads turn, i heard people like, making noises as i zipped past em, haha, but i did not care. i was hungry, and i didn't want my community to worry about me (it was already dark!), and it was raining. bad combination!
so then, i get to the loading zone, and of course, no jeeps were going to where i needed to go. i squeezed onto one, then had to get off after he said he wasn't going where i needed to go. then i hopped onto another one, caught my breath, then was told i had to get off cause he wasn't going to my place. booooo. so then, i basically had to go to EACH jeepney lined up and ask them if they would stop where i needed to go. FINALLY, i got a yes, ok. immediately, i hopped into the front seat. i did NOT care. pretty bold move, crystal! i looked back, and saw ALL men, probably except for one female, cramped in the back. and then me, having a full two seats to myself in the front. hahahaha, i laughed inside, and after realizing the fact that i jumped in the front and claimed it as my own, i saw the driver do a little smirk to himself. hahaha, and then, some guy jumped in the front next to me. there i was, sandwiched between the driver, and some kid to the right of me. as if we were all family. haha!
hahahha, jesus was sitting on the front engine. i knew it. hahaha...i was actually thinking of a quick escape plan, in CASE of an emergency. there were so many cars, it was raining, and i was not in a good space. hahaha...eventually, i got home, changed really quick, had a delicious dinner, then a beautiful holy hour with the community. even though i got home, and i was like a soggy dog (cause it was POURING), the conclusion of the story, is that i got home. :)
today told me, crystal. nice work. yessssss. jeepneys, i got you.
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Haha, was smiling the entire time I read this post.
ReplyDeleteGood luck w/ Math and fractions. You gotta "less than three" all the subjects you teach, including Math. =]
Crys, I love these visuals! :) Thanks for being such a ROCKSTAR with your blog!!! :) Miss you!
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