returning home. ..

on the 21st, josh and i flew out of thailand, spent a night in malaysia and landed in the philippines -- the first time my feet have been on the soil of my birthland since i was 12 years old. we spent a relaxing night in malate and randomly looked up an old friend of the family, tita patis (famous for her fashion designs: patistesoro.com), who whisked us away to southern luzon for the long weekend. we stayed in her lovely home near the town of san pablo, sleeping in the open air bamboo house and being treated to traditional filipino cuisine (conveniently, her downstairs has been converted into a restaurant!).

on day one, we took a long drive to see an 100-year old house she purchased, passing through small towns and a national park. it was refreshing to be out of the city and in the provinces, away from fast food and buildings and modern american-icities.



the next day we visited an old botanical gardens. we got to explore the place which must have been beautiful when it was upkept and bustling. even now, it was amazing to see -- wonderfully organized, beautifully arranged and housing exquisite plants. there was even a playground -- now old and kind of creepy -- that had giraffe and elephant slides!








finally, we took a trip to this new land that patis and a bunch of other people are cooperatively developing. they are working on planning a road and are currently in the middle of constructing a bridge. we hiked up the mountain on the top of the land and the view was breathtaking. we saw a few of the villages, a lake and the sacred mount banahaw.




we are now back in manila and are headed up to northern luzon (hopefully) tomorrow. i am excited to see the rice terraces!

miss you all!