Life in the Philippines

Currently I am out of the country but the rest of the family is still there. Rains from the Typhoon have been tremendous but they are safe and the house is not in danger of flooding. The pictures of the city and those surrounding where we live are devastating. I am not sure when I will be home but will update more when I can. For now, please say a prayer for the folks in and around Manila who have lost their homes, for the ones still stranded and struggling with how they will make it. Be advised, the pictures in this link are not filtered like the American Media does. There are pictures of bodies within this link but the pictures speak loudly of the circumstances in the area today.

Pictures of Flooding in the Philippines

I never thought much about monsoons, or rainy season because I have never lived in a region where it impacted day to day life.  And I guess here it doesn’t for the most part.  The Filipinos take the rain in stride and move on.  They keep working, or wait for it to stop raining and get back to work afterward.It actually has not rained much in the last few days but a week or so ago rain was all there was. And it is hard rain. The first time I heard it I thought it had hail in it. Now that would be pretty odd since the temperature was in the 90s so the chances of chunks of ice falling from the sky are slim. The sad part about the amount of rain received is that many  houses flood even with small amounts. The drainage is inadequate and water stands in the worst of places. So as I lay in bed at night and the pouring rain is hitting the roof, all I can do is wonder how many people are worried about how high the water is rising. I am sure they have dealt with it so long that they probably lose less sleep over it than I do. Of course, from that thought my mind goes to how many children are living on the streets and dealing with the hard rains. It’s a tough thing to think about. I know it happens in so many places in the world but it just seems that somehow, there should be a way to end the cycle of so many living in such poverty. Rainy Days and Mondays….

You may be saying, “but it is only Feb!” And you would be right. Who would have thought that Feb would mean sunburn and AC days but it does.  The Philippine Atmospheric, Geophysical and Astronomical Services Administration (the weather people I guess!) are saying that summer has arrived.  They are saying the northeast monsoon has quit blowing cold air and that means summer is here. It normally provides the cool air through some time in March so this is an early summer. They are predicting temps up to 37 degrees Centigrade this summer, possibly for extended periods.  Last week the temp hit 35 degrees.  I still have my Fahrenheit brain in gear so I had to look it up. 35 equals 95…yikes, 95 degrees in mid February.  It’s gonna be a long hot summer I think.  The kids of course are thrilled to have the pool as an option.  I think I will stick with the AC!