Philippines Recap

Our time in the Philippines has come to an end. I think we will all collectively exhale as our plane takes off for Vietnam tomorrow evening. I’m extremely glad we got the opportunity to experience this country, even though our time here was hard. It opened our eyes to new experiences and challenged us more than any other location so far. The Filipino people are extremely friendly, and the kids enjoyed engaging the locals kids here. Even though we got stared at a lot, we encountered plenty of smiles and kindness as well.

Here’s a slideshow of our memories in the Philippines, as well as some fun stats about our time here.

Philippine Life in Numbers

Number of square feet of our condo: 329

Number of steps it takes to walk the length of our condo: 10

Number of steps it takes to walk the width: 4

Number of times someone declared “I quit gap year”: 13

Number of hours spent completing laundry: ~ 96 (3 loads a week – 8 hour wash/dry cycles)

Number of times we ate chicken intestines: 1

Number of times we ate at the local food bizarre: 3

Number of times we regretted eating at the local food bizarre: 3

Number of times we needed to use our DiaresQ: 3

Number of times we rode in a disco taxi: 1

Percentage of friendly locals we encountered: ~ 99%

Number of public bathrooms that supplied toilet paper in the stalls: 0

Number of mosquito bites Alexis had on her legs at one time: 22

Number of times we saw a giant rat outside: 2

Number of times we truly considered leaving: 1

Number of days we’ve kept our daily journals: 181

Number of times girls asked to play with Alexis’ hair: 3

Number of times we got stared at by the locals: too many to count!

We Are Out of Here

I am not sad to leave the Philippines. I know when I look back on our time here I will think of us all squished into that tiny condo with fondness. In hindsight, the things that seemed hard at the time will feel less challenging. Right now though, all I can think is “thank goodness we are done”. I can’t wait to arrive in Vietnam. I am very excited to explore this country and the rich history there. Goodbye Philippines, it’s been quite the ride!