Geeky Yet Waterproof

Today, after driving by Manila Bay, we went on tour of Intramuros. Intramuros is a medieval fortress built by the Spaniards in the 16 century when they were occupying the Philippines. It used to be almost a whole city, but after it was bombed in WWII all that’s left are the stone walls and one of previously seven cathedrals.
The tour lasted about three hours, but it was really good. The guide kept putting on costumes pertaining to what he was talking about — for example, when he started talking about the US in WWII, he donned an “Uncle Sam” top-hat with the American flag printed all over it! At a later time, he put on another “American” hat, aviator glasses, and a pipe.
The tour wasn’t just about Intramuros, but all of Filipino history. I learned a lot I didn’t know, such as the fact that the reason Filipinos are short is because most of them are allergic to milk, or that the Philippines is a mix of cultures similar Halo-Halo ice cream, or that the occupying Spaniards couldn’t use mattresses on their beds because they of the fact that they bathed once every three months.
It was really cool just to walk around a medieval Spanish fortress, in the Philippines. I kept thinking I was in Europe, and then seeing palm trees! Tropical plants! Filipinos!!

On the way back, Christopher and I were still highly amused by the driving situation, even after the 2nd day: as you may know, Filipinos have a habit of decorating everything to death, and the streets are no exception. They paint weird white and yellow lines down the middle of the road, but I guess it doesn’t matter because people don’t seem to notice them.
In the States, if a car takes up part of your lane, you’ll honk your horn, angry that you can’t get by unless the whole lane is free. Here, a car will drive straight down the middle of the divider line, but you’ll squeeze right by them using the local “make room” teaching.

As we were waiting at a stoplight, we heard “pulis” sirens, and saw a motorcade escorting a black mercedes, which turned out to be the president. I’ve heard she’s the most corrupt president the Philippines has ever had, but it’s still cool to say, “Oh, by the way, I saw the president today…”