The flight from JFK to Hong Kong was about 16 hours long, but due to the fact that I was sick, I slept through most of the flight…thankfully! But I don't know if I can say the same for Carissa, Alex or Mitch. We had a short layover in the Hong Kong airport and had our first taste of real Chinese food! The flight from Hong Kong to Manila was only about an hour and a half long and we landed in Manila around 6:30 PM on Saturday evening. Getting through customs was a breeze- no lines at all. The humidity was the first thing that hit us as we walked out the doors of the airport. It was 7:00pm and had to have been 90 degrees and 98% humidity. We bought SIM cards for cell phones and hired a taxi to take us to our hotel for the night, the Milate Pensionne. The drive to the hotel was an interesting one, as the four of us were introduced to the disorganized and crazy Manila traffic. We passed through narrow streets and dozens of colorful markets and neon lights on the way to our hotel, which was located behind a Starbucks, ironically. After checking into our rooms we dropped off our luggage and walked around the street of our hotel to find a place to get ice cream so we could take our malaria pills.
The second we walked out of our hotel, however, we were instantly reminded of why we were in the Philippines in the first place, as children came up to us asking us for coins and trying to sell us flowers. It was heartbreaking to see these children, about 5 years old, wearing no shoes and walking around begging for money at 9:00 at night.
Exhausted from our long trip, we went to bed early and woke up the next morning to meet Byron, the man Lars sent to drive us from Manila to Batangas, the port from where we would take a boat to Puerto Galera. The drive was 2 hours long, and when we arrived in Batangas, we waited to board the boat called “the Osprey.” We were a little apprehensive about the boat ride because just the day before a boat capsized and 12 people drowned because they overloaded the boat! We were safe, though. The boat ride was about 45 minutes long and looked like a scene out of Pirates of the Caribbean . The water was crystal clear and there were gorgeous rock structures near the islands.
Once we arrived at White Beach, we met up with Jaou, a man who works at Stairway, who was sent to pick us up from the port. A short drive later, we were at the Stairway Foundation.
The closest thing to which I can compare the campus of Stairway, is a huge treehouse. The campus is not very big, but there are many levels built into the mountain and connected by, appropriately, stone stairs. Our rooms are in the Yellow House, which is on the lowest level directly when you walk into Stairway. Each of our rooms has two twin beds and a bathroom. Also on the first level is a stage and two ping pong tables.
The middle layer of stairway has a 3 level concrete building with a large patio dining area covered by a bamboo leaf roof. On the first level of the building is the kitchen. The second floor of the building houses the large Stairway office and the third level is a large, open deck with tables and is used for workshops. The second level of Stairway also has an “art gallery” where kids paint on canvases and do other crafts.
The third level of stairway is where the childrens’ dormitory is located, as well as their school house. The fourth level is where other staff houses and the Main House, Lars and Monica’s house, is located.
There is much more to say, but we are all sharing a computer and I need to let the others have a turn!
I will post pictures soon, as well as more about the great people here and more about what we have been doing!
