Monday, March 8, 2010

celebrity status


Another one of those rolling blackouts (or 'brownouts' as they are known here) knocked our power out this Saturday around noon. With a heat index of 110, and no electricity to run fans, much less an air conditioner, we decided to leave our sauna of an apartment to go and cool off at a local pool.



There we were reminded that being a foreigner in another country sometimes gives one a little bit of celebrity status, whether you want it or not. The crowd of girls who mobbed Elise, Amy and Michael were very friendly, and wanted to get to know them. They ended up playing some games together.

The Filipina girls were pretty sure that Amy and Elise were wearing colored contacts. "Your eyes couldn't really be so BLUE!"



It was an opportunity for us to practice a little bit of Cebuano, and in turn they practiced their English with us. They told us that it made their 'noses bleed' to speak English - in other words, it's an uncomfortable struggle.
We had to agree that it makes our 'noses bleed' to speak Cebuano, too.

We were really happy to come home and find our power was back on, though the next day we were without water from early morning until 1p.m. These outages have a way of making us very grateful for our electricity and running water!

O God, You are my God;
Early will I seek You;
My soul thirsts for You;
My flesh longs for You
In a dry and thirsty land
Where there is no water.
Psalm 63:1

2 comments:

thechurchcook said...

Love the expressions on the girls' faces! I bet these power & water outages sure test your patience!

us5 said...

we're still trying to decide which one is easier to go without...water or electricity?