Day 2 - The White Giant

Alex kept telling me that I was going to get a lot of looks when we got to the Philippines, but I didn't fully understand what it would be like until I got here. Before I talk about that though I have to say that Filipinos are some of the most hospitable people I have ever met. Everyone is very friendly and as soon as we got to the house there was a feast waiting for us. The food was great so we ate and spent the rest of the day resting since we were tired from all of the traveling.

After a couple hours we decided that we were just going to stay in for the night, but we went to the mini mall down the street from the house to pick up some adult beverages. As with most Asian cultures, Filipinos love to sing karaoke. After a few cocktails the family talked me into singing some Karaoke. I definitely scored a 69 singing Big Poppa. My rapping skills are better then I thought. We also got massages. We paid 500 pesos including tip and the masseuses came to the house. That's what I call service. And in case you're wondering 500 pesos is equivalent to $500 U.S.

We ended drinking some more after the massages and singing karaoke until about midnight when we finally went to sleep. We also learned a valuable lesson. Don't buy cheap alcohol. Now you would think we would already know this, but cheap alcohol out here is way different then cheap alcohol in the U.S. Alex decided to buy a bottle of whiskey that cost as much as his bag of Tostitos. They were both 150 pesos. Alex quickly learned that if you're whiskey only cost $3 U.S. it is probably going to taste horrible. This is also when I fully understood how much I stand out. While we were at the market down the street from the house we're staying at, which is in a suburb of Manila, I could feel all of the eyes burning a hole in me. I have not seen a white person since we left the airport. Most white people that come here stay in the resorts so they're not used to seeing the whites walk around the local neighborhoods and markets. Especially not white giants like me. This is definitely going to take some getting used to haha.

That's about all that's happened so far. It is around 10:45 a.m. right now and we're watching the Lakers vs. Nuggets game live. I am so glad that Filipino's love basketball. I may even have to find somewhere to hoop it up. Alex has some uncles and cousins that like to play so I'm going to try and get in a pick up game while I'm here. I'll show these short guys how tall white boys can ball.