- Friends and family
- Traffic rules being followed
- Cooler and less humid weather
- Drinkable running water
- The speed and convenience of life
- Friends' weddings and engagements
- Understanding language and culture (for the most part)
- Not being the new kid (I don't feel this way anymore, but it became a bit exhausting to be on such a steep learning curve for the first few months)
- My mom's cooking
- Cheese and nuts! (They are very expensive here)
- Fresh milk
- The clean air in CO (let's just say there is quite a bit of smog in Manila)
- Walmart
- Redbox
- Pandora
What I Love About the Philippines:
- Faith Academy and its staff and students
- The warm culture and kind hospitality
- The beauty ~ beaches, rice fields, people, mountains, volcanos, islands, fish, tree houses
- The perspective many people have on life
- People walking everywhere and catching public transportation
- The low price tag on many things (well, mainly labor)
- The opportunities and ministries
- The hearts of my students and their parents who work with the needy
- Being able to help the needy all around (although I know there are many in need in the States, it is more visible here)
- Filipinos being so willing to help ~ whether it is jump starting a car or jacking up a vehicle to pull it out of a drainage system.
- People's door steps being literally on the road.
- The basketball games that take place on the road that have to pause every time a car drives up. These games are complete with uniforms and a referee.
- Mangos and other tropical fruit
- The diversity - the nice metropolitan areas to the informal settlements
- (The geckos, cockroaches, mouse, spiders, and ANTS that happily share our home with us - I'm not sure how much I love these creatures)
