Relevant to corporate and church authority structures
“We trained hard, but it seemed that every time we were beginning to form up in teams we would be reorganized. I was to learn later in life that we tend to meet any new situation by reorganizing. And a wonderful method it can be for creating the illusion of progress whilst producing confusion, inefficiency and demoralization.”
-- Gaius Petronius, AD 66
relevant to apologetic discussions especially in light of the new Atheists
Hence Sacred Scripture,
since it has no science above itself, can dispute with one who denies
its principles only if the opponent admits some at least of the truths
obtained through divine revelation; thus we can argue with heretics
from texts in Holy Writ, and against those who deny one article of
faith, we can argue from another. If our opponent believes nothing of
divine revelation, there is no longer any means of proving the
articles of faith by reasoning, but only of answering his
objections--if he has any--against faith. Since faith rests upon
infallible truth, and since the contrary of a truth can never be
demonstrated, it is clear that the arguments brought against faith
cannot be demonstrations, but are difficulties that can be answered.
-- Thomas Aquinas (Summa Theologica Eighth Article [I, Q. 1, Art. 8])
relevant to discussion boards and knock-down drag-out arguments especially through passive media (email, posting, etc.)
If the feeble mind of man did not presume to resist the clear evidence of truth, but yielded its infirmity to wholesome doctrines, as to a health-giving medicine, until it obtained from God, by its faith and piety, the grace needed to heal it, they who have just ideas, and express them in suitable language, would need to use no long discourse to refute the errors of empty conjecture. But this mental infirmity is now more prevalent and hurtful than ever, to such an extent that even after the truth has been as fully demonstrated as man can prove it to man, they hold for the very truth their own unreasonable fancies, either on account of their great blindness, which prevents them from seeing what is plainly set before them, or on account of their opinionative obstinacy, which prevents them from acknowledging the force of what they do see. There therefore frequently arises a necessity of speaking more fully on those points which are already clear, that we may, as it were, present them not to the eye, but even to the touch, so that they may be felt even by those who close their eyes against them. And yet to what end shall we ever bring our discussions, or what bounds can be set to our discourse, if we proceed on the principle that we must always reply to those who reply to us? For those who are either unable to understand our arguments, or are so hardened by the habit of contradiction, that though they understand they cannot yield to them, reply to us, and, as it is written, "speak hard things," and are incorrigibly vain. Now, if we were to propose to confute their objections as often as they with brazen face chose to disregard our arguments, and so often as they could by any means contradict our statements , you see how endless, and fruitless, and painful a task we should be undertaking. And therefore I do not wish my writings to be judged even by you, my son Marcellinus, nor by any of those others at whose service this work of mine is freely and in all Christian charity put, if at least you intend always to require a reply to every exception which you hear taken to what you read in it; for so you would become like those silly women of whom the apostle says that they are "always learning, and never able to come to the knowledge of the truth." 2 Timothy 3:7
-- Augustine (City of God, book 2 chapter 1)
Wednesday, July 30, 2008
I Baked my first batch of cookies!
I successfully baked my first cookies!
I'm a foodie person but I'm limited to just appreciating good food but not cooking. Now that i'm married i started to learn to cook. Well my husband so far is eating mostly all the food i cooked.
Now I'm trying baking. Momma Lori gave me some recipes last Christmas. Josh likes Oatmeal Raisin cookies so I tried making the Recipe Momma Crank gave me. It was really easy. After baking the first batch it was a big hit to josh and my brother.
Here are the cookies that Josh instantly devoured...
Sunday, July 27, 2008
Philemon
A number of years ago a mentor, Bob Montgomery, mentioned something about that smallest of Paul's letters that stuck with me. What he said was that Philemon and the personal endings of the Paul are similar in type. They are the messy details of ministry, the stuff of personal relationships that is the actual work of ministry.
It is easy to skip past these bits of personal conversations long past, but as it turns out we keep on having these conversations... the exact names and details change but its pretty much the same conversations about the same issues. And the same issues of obedience that make up the majority of how we live.
The letter to Philemon is an appeal of a Christian leader imprisoned for his faith to a wealthy church leader to show mercy to a new Christian for the wrongs of his unbelieving life and free him up to ministry.
there are lots of big issues involved in this letter, slavery, the change in what it means to be human after salvation, leadership authority in the church. But instead of developing a deep and philosophical treatise on redeemed anthropology (like Romans 6-8) or referencing the convicting social messages of Micah, Paul steps into the details and the people's lives. Not as a theologian but as a pastor.
So Paul does what every pastor should and all are afraid to do. He asks people to do what is right and gives them the freedom to do what is right and loving, or not. Paul sends one person who is very helpful to him on a very unhelpful journey to seek reconciliation with someone who has all the power to make his life miserable, opportunity-less, and even short. And Paul has no power to make sure that things go right, he can only pray and exhort. He does this because the repairing of the church family is more important than the immediate opportunity for a visibly dynamic and exciting ministry.
Paul doesn't say to Philemon that slavery is wrong, he doesn't say that Onesimus can't be held responsible for his criminal behavior because he is a new Christian, what he says is that he hopes Philemon will continue to do what he does so well, refresh the hearts of the saints. Paul asks Philemon to refresh his heart by showing mercy and grace to this new brother despite this brother being undeserving. He prays that God would help Philemon to know (and by inference to act upon the knowledge) of everything that is in him for Christ's sake. To see this messiness as an opportunity to show love and grace not just a situation in which he was wronged.
It is this perspective that is the Christian perspective. The recognition that situations marred by simply bad choices can become a complex good. God's glory shown in its full power in our weakness like fiery torches in humble clay pots bursting with light and goodness when brokenness is embraced.
It is easy to skip past these bits of personal conversations long past, but as it turns out we keep on having these conversations... the exact names and details change but its pretty much the same conversations about the same issues. And the same issues of obedience that make up the majority of how we live.
The letter to Philemon is an appeal of a Christian leader imprisoned for his faith to a wealthy church leader to show mercy to a new Christian for the wrongs of his unbelieving life and free him up to ministry.
there are lots of big issues involved in this letter, slavery, the change in what it means to be human after salvation, leadership authority in the church. But instead of developing a deep and philosophical treatise on redeemed anthropology (like Romans 6-8) or referencing the convicting social messages of Micah, Paul steps into the details and the people's lives. Not as a theologian but as a pastor.
So Paul does what every pastor should and all are afraid to do. He asks people to do what is right and gives them the freedom to do what is right and loving, or not. Paul sends one person who is very helpful to him on a very unhelpful journey to seek reconciliation with someone who has all the power to make his life miserable, opportunity-less, and even short. And Paul has no power to make sure that things go right, he can only pray and exhort. He does this because the repairing of the church family is more important than the immediate opportunity for a visibly dynamic and exciting ministry.
Paul doesn't say to Philemon that slavery is wrong, he doesn't say that Onesimus can't be held responsible for his criminal behavior because he is a new Christian, what he says is that he hopes Philemon will continue to do what he does so well, refresh the hearts of the saints. Paul asks Philemon to refresh his heart by showing mercy and grace to this new brother despite this brother being undeserving. He prays that God would help Philemon to know (and by inference to act upon the knowledge) of everything that is in him for Christ's sake. To see this messiness as an opportunity to show love and grace not just a situation in which he was wronged.
It is this perspective that is the Christian perspective. The recognition that situations marred by simply bad choices can become a complex good. God's glory shown in its full power in our weakness like fiery torches in humble clay pots bursting with light and goodness when brokenness is embraced.
Sunday, July 20, 2008
shopping with joshua
Last saturday we went to a mall to buy some work out clothes for joshua and some more clothes for me. We easily find some for him but for me i always have a hard time since i think my body proportion is too weird that it takes really good hunting before i can get one that really fits. Anyway, so we are on our quest to find one. we searched the whole department store and can't find one, then we finally got in this bargain section in the mall. As you can see im a bit picky when buying stuff so it really takes me a while to shop... I got excited to see a blouse that i really like the design but unfortunately they don't have my size. Then i found the right size, same style but different color, an apple green one. And a funny conversation follows..
Josh : "there you go!" [sounding very thrilled that i finally found one after a long search],
me: "but i don't like the color.." "i like the style but i hate the color.."
Josh: "but darling the shirt your wearing now is the exactly the same color."
me: "nooooo! it's not!" (me in disbelief) [get the shirt placed it beside the shirt i'm wearing] "look it's not the same" [an it was indeed the same color and shade]
Josh: "no, it is exactly the same darling"
me: "no it's different..." [place back the blouse and move on to another stall]
We never bought anything for me...
When we are back home and just chatting we recall that incident and went laughing so hard because of my silliness. Well i really don't like to buy the shirt that josh quite liked but i gave a very lame excuse...
Josh : "there you go!" [sounding very thrilled that i finally found one after a long search],
me: "but i don't like the color.." "i like the style but i hate the color.."
Josh: "but darling the shirt your wearing now is the exactly the same color."
me: "nooooo! it's not!" (me in disbelief) [get the shirt placed it beside the shirt i'm wearing] "look it's not the same" [an it was indeed the same color and shade]
Josh: "no, it is exactly the same darling"
me: "no it's different..." [place back the blouse and move on to another stall]
We never bought anything for me...
When we are back home and just chatting we recall that incident and went laughing so hard because of my silliness. Well i really don't like to buy the shirt that josh quite liked but i gave a very lame excuse...
Saturday, July 19, 2008
Some Filipino moments
Here are a couple Filipino moments I (Joshua) have experienced:
Preaching after a typhoon:
A typhoon blew through Manila the night before I was scheduled to preach. Now a typhoon is essentially a hurricane that spins the opposite direction, this particular one was a signal three which roughly equals a category 1 hurricane (75 MPH winds). The morning after Joy and I talked to pastor Joey who was out of town preaching in Cavite and verified that church was indeed on. It takes more than a little hurricane to cancel church in the Philippines. So Joy and I got up and walked the long road out while it was quite heavily raining and stood with umbrellas getting slowly soaked as we waited for a taxi. This is a very inexact process as a free taxi willing to go to the next area over may show up in 5 minutes or 45 minutes. It took a while (I think 15-20 minutes) and when the taxi pulls over the next thing that happens is the discussion of where you are going and this is the point at which taxi drivers who think they have you at an advantage ask for more than the meter rate. Since we were standing out in the rain and the general public transportation traffic was pretty thin the taxi driver asked for a bit more than the typical fare which we complied with and finally got to church. At church the electricity was out and the congregation was mostly youth and people slowly arrived throughout the service, but the service went on as normal. I got up to preach, sans microphone, still damp. and when we were done, since most of the youth were there, we decided we would have youth service and sent one of the leaders (Jon Sabinano) out for Pancit (a Filipino pasta dish). We had a short Bible study and some longer discussion time (since I hadn't planned on having a youth time the Bible study was what I came up with and prepared in the 30 minutes between the end of service and the beginning of the youth meeting). All in all a good time was had and Joy and I headed home where the streets were somewhat flooded so that the taxi couldn't take us all the way back, we had to ride a jeepney the rest of the way (since they have higher clearance).
Shower fun:
I was sitting at the computer in our bedroom in Naga City and heard a squeal from the bathroom. I hesitate to call it a squeal but the sound was high and sharp with a certain amount of terror like a scream but not very drawn out and not yet in the ear-piercing range. So mildly concerned (I do hear these from time to time) I get up and poke my head in the bathroom where Joy is showering and I see her obviously avoiding an area of the shower. She points down and there is a big (3-4 inch) slimy leech hanging out partially under the shower curtain. So I grab a washcloth and toss the leech into the toilet and flush it away to leech heaven, or more likely to the sewer system where it will grow into a person sized monster and terrorize the bicol region for years to come... or something. After that little experience I am a bit more circumspect with the lights and looking around in the bathroom to see who else I am sharing it with at the moment.
Flip Flops:
I have never really worn flip-flops for long periods of time but in the Philippines about 75% of the people at any particular time are wearing flip-flops. I think at church it may be down to 50% but that is the only exception. So I figured I need to develop my flip flopping and started wearing flip flops around. We actually got the first pair because the sandals I brought with me got messed up in Puerto Galera and I needed some sort of footwear for the journey back to Manila. So Joy got me a cheap pair there. I wore those for a while and they built up interesting callouses and I learned that the typical scenario why flip flops are so loved (constant rain and wetness) also makes wearing them a little challenging since you feet need keep holding on to somewhat slippery footwear. So aside from the callouses I have been learning the additional skill of walking with slippery footwear. The final test of course is not just the callouses or the slipperyness but going out while raining and riding on the back of a motor cycle in a tricyle carrying 5 people with a bag in your hands, i.e. today. Actually it was not that challenging of a ride, and I passed with flying colors (no wobbling or footwear lost). My current most challenging tricycle ride has been the ride from the main town of Caramoan to the beach. The road back and forth is extremely bumpy and there is one ridiculous bump which is the transition from dirt to concrete (a little like jumping a curb) only the road at that point goes steeply up so the tricycle has to be moving relatively quickly. At one point I had to basically hold momma Nacion in the tricycle because it was bouncing her out of the backward facing seat. That was a bumpy ride.
So there are some of my Filipino moments.
Preaching after a typhoon:
A typhoon blew through Manila the night before I was scheduled to preach. Now a typhoon is essentially a hurricane that spins the opposite direction, this particular one was a signal three which roughly equals a category 1 hurricane (75 MPH winds). The morning after Joy and I talked to pastor Joey who was out of town preaching in Cavite and verified that church was indeed on. It takes more than a little hurricane to cancel church in the Philippines. So Joy and I got up and walked the long road out while it was quite heavily raining and stood with umbrellas getting slowly soaked as we waited for a taxi. This is a very inexact process as a free taxi willing to go to the next area over may show up in 5 minutes or 45 minutes. It took a while (I think 15-20 minutes) and when the taxi pulls over the next thing that happens is the discussion of where you are going and this is the point at which taxi drivers who think they have you at an advantage ask for more than the meter rate. Since we were standing out in the rain and the general public transportation traffic was pretty thin the taxi driver asked for a bit more than the typical fare which we complied with and finally got to church. At church the electricity was out and the congregation was mostly youth and people slowly arrived throughout the service, but the service went on as normal. I got up to preach, sans microphone, still damp. and when we were done, since most of the youth were there, we decided we would have youth service and sent one of the leaders (Jon Sabinano) out for Pancit (a Filipino pasta dish). We had a short Bible study and some longer discussion time (since I hadn't planned on having a youth time the Bible study was what I came up with and prepared in the 30 minutes between the end of service and the beginning of the youth meeting). All in all a good time was had and Joy and I headed home where the streets were somewhat flooded so that the taxi couldn't take us all the way back, we had to ride a jeepney the rest of the way (since they have higher clearance).
Shower fun:
I was sitting at the computer in our bedroom in Naga City and heard a squeal from the bathroom. I hesitate to call it a squeal but the sound was high and sharp with a certain amount of terror like a scream but not very drawn out and not yet in the ear-piercing range. So mildly concerned (I do hear these from time to time) I get up and poke my head in the bathroom where Joy is showering and I see her obviously avoiding an area of the shower. She points down and there is a big (3-4 inch) slimy leech hanging out partially under the shower curtain. So I grab a washcloth and toss the leech into the toilet and flush it away to leech heaven, or more likely to the sewer system where it will grow into a person sized monster and terrorize the bicol region for years to come... or something. After that little experience I am a bit more circumspect with the lights and looking around in the bathroom to see who else I am sharing it with at the moment.
Flip Flops:
I have never really worn flip-flops for long periods of time but in the Philippines about 75% of the people at any particular time are wearing flip-flops. I think at church it may be down to 50% but that is the only exception. So I figured I need to develop my flip flopping and started wearing flip flops around. We actually got the first pair because the sandals I brought with me got messed up in Puerto Galera and I needed some sort of footwear for the journey back to Manila. So Joy got me a cheap pair there. I wore those for a while and they built up interesting callouses and I learned that the typical scenario why flip flops are so loved (constant rain and wetness) also makes wearing them a little challenging since you feet need keep holding on to somewhat slippery footwear. So aside from the callouses I have been learning the additional skill of walking with slippery footwear. The final test of course is not just the callouses or the slipperyness but going out while raining and riding on the back of a motor cycle in a tricyle carrying 5 people with a bag in your hands, i.e. today. Actually it was not that challenging of a ride, and I passed with flying colors (no wobbling or footwear lost). My current most challenging tricycle ride has been the ride from the main town of Caramoan to the beach. The road back and forth is extremely bumpy and there is one ridiculous bump which is the transition from dirt to concrete (a little like jumping a curb) only the road at that point goes steeply up so the tricycle has to be moving relatively quickly. At one point I had to basically hold momma Nacion in the tricycle because it was bouncing her out of the backward facing seat. That was a bumpy ride.
So there are some of my Filipino moments.
Bohol and Cebu Vacation
I know this entry is long overdue so before I narrate the rest of the stories about our recent vacation, i want to let all of you know that we are now in Naga. We have a very relaxing time here and i may say that we are still in vacation mode... though Josh is working at daytime while watching "buffy the vampire slayer" on his i-pod. ... if buffy is a real girl i would really get jealous of her... Josh spend more hours watching her than me... anyway, i on the other hand am hooked with playing on the computer. My parents' computer has bunch of games like scrabble, chess and other word games. I compete with my mom and big brother as to who will use the computer, they are both scrabble junkies. Then we are also started going back to the gym working out and even joining some aerobic classes. We are not used to aerobics so we both move lousily thus looking really funny, i even almost kick the person in front of me. Then this coming august Josh and I will be teaching the young people of church. So that's the over view of our stay here in naga.
Ok, back to my topic, our cebu and bohol vacation....
We left Boracay july 4, our flight to cebu was canceled and the next flight was flying from Kalibo airport (the nearby town about 2 hours drive). We are not really in a hurry so we agreed to fly from there. For consolation for all the trouble the airline gave us travel voucher equivalent to one plane ticket for both of us, YAY free airfare!! Kalibo by that time was just recently devastated by a typhoon so there are lots broken road, knocked down trees and street covered with mud. The trip was an interesting one but we were late but the plane waited for us.
We arrived in Cebu safely but our baggage was lost and we spend a bit of time talking to people. Then we went to the condotel we are staying. We decided to stay in serviced aparment so that it would be cheaper and we could save from eating out. Our unit was nice, it has a small kitchen, nice furnitures and good internet connection. Also the location of the condo is very accessible from all the cool places in Cebu.
This is the front of the building we are staying
This is our room. Josh is working here.
The small kitchen.
Mr. Mantis
our constant visitor...
(i broke this vase and we pay P300 when all along the price tag on the bottom of the vase only says P79)
Here'a a brief background of the city of Cebu... cebu is the oldest city in the Philippines, in cebu there's Mactan Island, it is the isalnd that Ferdinand Magellan discovered while he is circumnavigating the world, but in a unfaithful event this is also where he was killed by a chieftain name Lapu-Lapu, our first national hero. Now a days cebu is one of the largest and most developed cities in the philippines, second to manila. I liked cebu because traffic is not that bad, taxi drivers are honest and the cost of living there is very cheap. Though most people there will only talk to you in their own dialect, so for us to understand we need to speak English or little in tagalog.
Unfortunately we didn't really toured cebu. Josh was working daytime and I toured Cebu once already. There is nothing much to see in the city proper, just historical sites which is main attraction are statues. Our activities are mainly trying out nice restaurant, we liked especially Kura Thai. It is so thai that we feel like we are in Thailand when we dined there.
Then we were able to have a chance to meet one of my friend from Naga that is now based there. She was married to a pastor in Cebu and they are not doing ministry in one of the nearby town in cebu. It was nice hanging out with her again, she has a 1 1/2 old baby that is so restless.
There are many beaches as well in cebu. We went to a resort named Costabella. It is a nice resort with swimmingpool and beachfront. The swimming pool is decent, it has a slide that josh loved but i never tried. I'm never a fan of extreme activities, yes i consider pool slide extreme!... it's really scary for me. The beachfront is not that nice, it doesn't look natural because of all the breakwaters they put and it's quite filthy. But we still enjoyed our short trip there. My apology for not putting picture here. We totally forgot about our camera when going around.
Then we did a day trip to bohol. Bohol a province near cebu, its a 2-hours ferry ride from cebu.
Here's funny story before i go on. I was booking a ferry ticket by the phone:
Joy: Yes, i would like to book two tickets going to Bohol Please...
Operator: May I know whose calling?
Joy: This is Joy Crank
Operator: ah, ms joy frank.
Joy: No, Joy Crank (saying it slowly)
Operator: [after trying hard to decipher and still mumble a wrong surname] ma'am can you spell that for me.
Joy: it's J-O-Y C-R-A-N-K
Operator: Ah, Joy Crank. Ma'am who's the other passenger?
Joy: I'm travelling with my husband, Joshua.
Operator: your husband ma'am. What's his name?
Joy: Joshua.
Operator: Ma'am, may I know his surname.
Joy: Crank. [yeah. what else?]
Operator: can you spell it for me...
Joy: [trying to be patient for lack of common sense]
We got the ticket the next day. And when we looked at the ticket, Josh ticket says: Mr. Joshua Vrank. So the whole day I've been calling him Mr. Vrank.
Ok, back to our trip to Bohol. We were able to find a good tour guide. We are lucky because there are only the two of us that the tour guide has so we were able to have a good command of our time (we don't need to wait or be hurried by others).
We left Cebu very early so we can catch the earliest trip to bohol. We wanted to be there early so we can have more time there.
This is the kind of ferryboat we ride to but a little bigger. When i first ride a boat like this i was really scared. Well it was a school retreat that is going to be held in cebu, during that day a strong storm just pass by so it was a little wavy. When we are in the middle of our trip the wave suddenly became bigger and our boat is being splashed with waves in every direction and the there will be sudden rocking and swaying movement... it was really scary. I was sitting with my co-teacher and he has been used to travel by sea yet he was so scared already. To calm myself a bit i just sit still and humming one of my favorite Sunday school song "with Christ in my vessle"...
Our first stop is the chocolate hills. Bohol has aroun 1200 plus hills that are clustered in one area. Americans named it chocolate hill because it look like hershey's kisses, well when it summer time the grass dried and the hill turns brown.
We are on the top of one hill.
There are over 300 steps going up. I don't like going down, because the steps are so steep.
Then we passed by a man made forest. I think decades ago this forest was already denuded from all the irresponsible logging activities so the people there planted new trees.
Then bohol is well known for its native Tarsier. I think it's only in bohol that this little creature can be found. It is considered the smallest primate in the world. This two tarsier in the picture are full grown adult already.
Joshy feeding a tarsier with a cricket.
On our way to lunch we stopped by a hanging bridge. It's made up of a bamboo, well not all but the stuff we are stepping at are bamboo and it looked like very old already so i didn't cross it. I can't stand being in a high place and the bridge is swinging because of all the people on it.
Josh on the other hand liked it. Look no hands!
This is Loboc river, they said that normally the water is clean and clear. But when we visited it just been raining so hard so the water is diluted with mud.
We had a lunch in one of the many floating restaurant. An acoustic singer serenade us as we cruise the river. The food is not that good but a relaxing cruise was nice.
The raft of the restaurant was just being pushed by a small motored boat.
Then ate the end of the cruise a group of ukulele players gave us an energetic song and dance number.
The kids are dancing.
A little further from our last stop are series of small waterfalls.
After lunch we visited a small zoo, which its main attraction is the longest and largest phython in captivity here in the Philippines. A local caught it 7 years ago and take cared of it so it grew this big. I forgot the exact figure but it's really huge!!!
Then we also stopped by an old church. The Baclayon Church
There was wedding going to be held that afternoon so aisle is decatated with flowers. The wedding color was bright pink and yellow. So looking at the wedding party looks so bright at high noon, or i think even at night.
The old convent.
Then we had a short stop at the shrine of Miguel Lopez de Legaszpi (a spanish explorer) and Datu Sikatuna (a chieftain in bohol). They said that they have their blood compact here for a good friendship between Filipinos and Spanish. Well that blood compact didn't go that well because for 300 years Philippines was oppressed by some cruel spanish leaders. But one good thing that Spanish has brought to the Philippines was Christianity, well most Filipinos are Roman Catholics and some traditions are still here but at least it made the country very open to evangelization.
We finished our tour at around 2:00 pm and our boat leaves at 6:00 PM so we decided to just go to a mall and watched a movie. So our tour guide dropped us to a new mall near the Pier. The tour was really fun and very cheap! When i made an arrangement with the tour agency what i understood was it will be P2200 per head. So when Im about to pay the tour guide he said that we need to pay P2200. I was surprised and even confirmed it by asking "2200 for the two of us? " It was really a good deal because in our hotel the same tour will cost 4000 per head. We were so happy that we gave the tour guide a big tip!
So that ends our Trip to Bohol.
Ok, back to my topic, our cebu and bohol vacation....
We left Boracay july 4, our flight to cebu was canceled and the next flight was flying from Kalibo airport (the nearby town about 2 hours drive). We are not really in a hurry so we agreed to fly from there. For consolation for all the trouble the airline gave us travel voucher equivalent to one plane ticket for both of us, YAY free airfare!! Kalibo by that time was just recently devastated by a typhoon so there are lots broken road, knocked down trees and street covered with mud. The trip was an interesting one but we were late but the plane waited for us.
We arrived in Cebu safely but our baggage was lost and we spend a bit of time talking to people. Then we went to the condotel we are staying. We decided to stay in serviced aparment so that it would be cheaper and we could save from eating out. Our unit was nice, it has a small kitchen, nice furnitures and good internet connection. Also the location of the condo is very accessible from all the cool places in Cebu.
This is the front of the building we are staying
This is our room. Josh is working here.
The small kitchen.
Mr. Mantis
our constant visitor...
(i broke this vase and we pay P300 when all along the price tag on the bottom of the vase only says P79)Here'a a brief background of the city of Cebu... cebu is the oldest city in the Philippines, in cebu there's Mactan Island, it is the isalnd that Ferdinand Magellan discovered while he is circumnavigating the world, but in a unfaithful event this is also where he was killed by a chieftain name Lapu-Lapu, our first national hero. Now a days cebu is one of the largest and most developed cities in the philippines, second to manila. I liked cebu because traffic is not that bad, taxi drivers are honest and the cost of living there is very cheap. Though most people there will only talk to you in their own dialect, so for us to understand we need to speak English or little in tagalog.
Unfortunately we didn't really toured cebu. Josh was working daytime and I toured Cebu once already. There is nothing much to see in the city proper, just historical sites which is main attraction are statues. Our activities are mainly trying out nice restaurant, we liked especially Kura Thai. It is so thai that we feel like we are in Thailand when we dined there.
Then we were able to have a chance to meet one of my friend from Naga that is now based there. She was married to a pastor in Cebu and they are not doing ministry in one of the nearby town in cebu. It was nice hanging out with her again, she has a 1 1/2 old baby that is so restless.
There are many beaches as well in cebu. We went to a resort named Costabella. It is a nice resort with swimmingpool and beachfront. The swimming pool is decent, it has a slide that josh loved but i never tried. I'm never a fan of extreme activities, yes i consider pool slide extreme!... it's really scary for me. The beachfront is not that nice, it doesn't look natural because of all the breakwaters they put and it's quite filthy. But we still enjoyed our short trip there. My apology for not putting picture here. We totally forgot about our camera when going around.
Then we did a day trip to bohol. Bohol a province near cebu, its a 2-hours ferry ride from cebu.
Here's funny story before i go on. I was booking a ferry ticket by the phone:
Joy: Yes, i would like to book two tickets going to Bohol Please...
Operator: May I know whose calling?
Joy: This is Joy Crank
Operator: ah, ms joy frank.
Joy: No, Joy Crank (saying it slowly)
Operator: [after trying hard to decipher and still mumble a wrong surname] ma'am can you spell that for me.
Joy: it's J-O-Y C-R-A-N-K
Operator: Ah, Joy Crank. Ma'am who's the other passenger?
Joy: I'm travelling with my husband, Joshua.
Operator: your husband ma'am. What's his name?
Joy: Joshua.
Operator: Ma'am, may I know his surname.
Joy: Crank. [yeah. what else?]
Operator: can you spell it for me...
Joy: [trying to be patient for lack of common sense]
We got the ticket the next day. And when we looked at the ticket, Josh ticket says: Mr. Joshua Vrank. So the whole day I've been calling him Mr. Vrank.
Ok, back to our trip to Bohol. We were able to find a good tour guide. We are lucky because there are only the two of us that the tour guide has so we were able to have a good command of our time (we don't need to wait or be hurried by others).
We left Cebu very early so we can catch the earliest trip to bohol. We wanted to be there early so we can have more time there.
This is the kind of ferryboat we ride to but a little bigger. When i first ride a boat like this i was really scared. Well it was a school retreat that is going to be held in cebu, during that day a strong storm just pass by so it was a little wavy. When we are in the middle of our trip the wave suddenly became bigger and our boat is being splashed with waves in every direction and the there will be sudden rocking and swaying movement... it was really scary. I was sitting with my co-teacher and he has been used to travel by sea yet he was so scared already. To calm myself a bit i just sit still and humming one of my favorite Sunday school song "with Christ in my vessle"...
Our first stop is the chocolate hills. Bohol has aroun 1200 plus hills that are clustered in one area. Americans named it chocolate hill because it look like hershey's kisses, well when it summer time the grass dried and the hill turns brown.
We are on the top of one hill.
There are over 300 steps going up. I don't like going down, because the steps are so steep.
Then we passed by a man made forest. I think decades ago this forest was already denuded from all the irresponsible logging activities so the people there planted new trees.
Then bohol is well known for its native Tarsier. I think it's only in bohol that this little creature can be found. It is considered the smallest primate in the world. This two tarsier in the picture are full grown adult already.
Joshy feeding a tarsier with a cricket.
On our way to lunch we stopped by a hanging bridge. It's made up of a bamboo, well not all but the stuff we are stepping at are bamboo and it looked like very old already so i didn't cross it. I can't stand being in a high place and the bridge is swinging because of all the people on it.
Josh on the other hand liked it. Look no hands!
This is Loboc river, they said that normally the water is clean and clear. But when we visited it just been raining so hard so the water is diluted with mud.
We had a lunch in one of the many floating restaurant. An acoustic singer serenade us as we cruise the river. The food is not that good but a relaxing cruise was nice.
The raft of the restaurant was just being pushed by a small motored boat.
Then ate the end of the cruise a group of ukulele players gave us an energetic song and dance number.
The kids are dancing.
A little further from our last stop are series of small waterfalls.
After lunch we visited a small zoo, which its main attraction is the longest and largest phython in captivity here in the Philippines. A local caught it 7 years ago and take cared of it so it grew this big. I forgot the exact figure but it's really huge!!!
Then we also stopped by an old church. The Baclayon Church
There was wedding going to be held that afternoon so aisle is decatated with flowers. The wedding color was bright pink and yellow. So looking at the wedding party looks so bright at high noon, or i think even at night.
The old convent.
Then we had a short stop at the shrine of Miguel Lopez de Legaszpi (a spanish explorer) and Datu Sikatuna (a chieftain in bohol). They said that they have their blood compact here for a good friendship between Filipinos and Spanish. Well that blood compact didn't go that well because for 300 years Philippines was oppressed by some cruel spanish leaders. But one good thing that Spanish has brought to the Philippines was Christianity, well most Filipinos are Roman Catholics and some traditions are still here but at least it made the country very open to evangelization. 
We finished our tour at around 2:00 pm and our boat leaves at 6:00 PM so we decided to just go to a mall and watched a movie. So our tour guide dropped us to a new mall near the Pier. The tour was really fun and very cheap! When i made an arrangement with the tour agency what i understood was it will be P2200 per head. So when Im about to pay the tour guide he said that we need to pay P2200. I was surprised and even confirmed it by asking "2200 for the two of us? " It was really a good deal because in our hotel the same tour will cost 4000 per head. We were so happy that we gave the tour guide a big tip!
So that ends our Trip to Bohol.
Monday, July 14, 2008
Friday, July 4, 2008
Boracay the Third
The day before our flight to boracay we are chanting "rain, rain go away come again another week, josh and joy want to getaway" because the previous week has been raining almost everyday.
And the week before our planned vacation in boracay, the Philippines was visited by a strong typhoon that hit the province of Aklan so badly. Boracay is part of that province so when some friends heard that we are planning to go there they were discouraging us because in the news it was really devastated. But still we went, and we are glad that we did. When we arrived it was a bit cloudy and the tide is high and there was lots of tossed leaves and other remnants of the storm on the shore. But when it was about noon the tide receded and people started clearing the garbage out. And by afternoon it was already cleared.
We stayed in a boutique hotel named Zuzuni, it only has 4 rooms and the first floor is a Greek restaurant. Their rooms are nice and they have lots of freebies. They also have a nice spot by the beach which has several coconut trees that gives a nice shade. And also the staff were very courteous and so helpful, you don't need to ask them they will serve you (like they will give us beach towels when we are on the beach, and give us cold water even if we didn't ask for it). We are treated nicely here... so far better than the first resort we were in last December.
We decided to make our trip simple by not doing much.
The first thing we did was to go to Jona's and have shakes, they have the best shake in the island and you can choose from varieties of flavor.
" I'm so loving my banana choco peanut shake..."
" hmmmm....how about banana choco peanut shake plus banana papaya shake..."
"yuck!!!!!!!"
"It doesn't sound that bad..."
"yeah, it tastes weird"
The next thing we did was to walk along the beautiful white beach. Then we stopped by Fridays Boracay ( the resort where we stayed during our honeymoon), it is located in the best part of boracay and it is so nice to just sit there and enjoy a cold drink.
Then another thing i love in boracay is the sunset. It is just so beautiful to watch...
The second day, Josh needs to spend time working... and i, as usual I acquired some rashes to nurse. I think i have developed some allergic reaction to the sea water or something in it because everytime i go into the water i will itch a lot and then i will have this inflammed rashes that will last for a week. Josh was firm that i can't go into the water this day and i just need to do things that won't require me in the water, so of course it won't stop me from having fun in the beach... We stayed by in the beach in a comfy beach chair and read a book, Josh does both working and reading alternately. There will be some vendors selling pearls and Josh let me enjoy haggling with vendors and shopping for some pearls.
Josh at work, not on a usual cubicle in the office though...
in the afternoon went kayaking. It was fun because the water is so calm and the water is shallow that we can stop over coral reefs and watch small fishes.
After kayaking we saw two dogs playing catch with their trainer.
Then we went strolling on the beach while we wait for the sunset.
Josh catch a small crab for me to...
...snack on. yummy!
after i decided that the little crab deserves to live a longer we decided to climb the rock that was in the other part of the beach, the tide was so low that the rock is accessible without swimming to go there.
We are trying to take picture together and not to fall at same time.
the sunset that day was really beautiful but unfortunately our camera run out of battery so this is the last picture we got that day... totally missed taking great photo of the sunset.
Our third day was really fun though Josh needs to work in the morning. While working i decided to have a my hair braided and also convinced josh to have his hair braided. Josh is very lenient in giving almost all my whims to play with his hairs.
We both feel and look weird though after we have our hair braided. We weren't able to pull it off well. But for the sake of remembrance we took pictures of how we loooked like...
We let the braid stay and just wear bandanas.
On our last night Josh need to work more so i left in the restaurant to work while tried to work on not spending too much shopping. I love bargains and i found several nice items for such a very low price. I bought Joshua a necklace, the pendant i choose can actually be separated into two so the lady selling the necklace said she can make the necklace into two for a price of one. That was really a good buy.. So we have a cool matching necklace...
And the week before our planned vacation in boracay, the Philippines was visited by a strong typhoon that hit the province of Aklan so badly. Boracay is part of that province so when some friends heard that we are planning to go there they were discouraging us because in the news it was really devastated. But still we went, and we are glad that we did. When we arrived it was a bit cloudy and the tide is high and there was lots of tossed leaves and other remnants of the storm on the shore. But when it was about noon the tide receded and people started clearing the garbage out. And by afternoon it was already cleared.
We stayed in a boutique hotel named Zuzuni, it only has 4 rooms and the first floor is a Greek restaurant. Their rooms are nice and they have lots of freebies. They also have a nice spot by the beach which has several coconut trees that gives a nice shade. And also the staff were very courteous and so helpful, you don't need to ask them they will serve you (like they will give us beach towels when we are on the beach, and give us cold water even if we didn't ask for it). We are treated nicely here... so far better than the first resort we were in last December.We decided to make our trip simple by not doing much.
The first thing we did was to go to Jona's and have shakes, they have the best shake in the island and you can choose from varieties of flavor.
" I'm so loving my banana choco peanut shake..."
" hmmmm....how about banana choco peanut shake plus banana papaya shake..."
"yuck!!!!!!!"
"It doesn't sound that bad..."
"yeah, it tastes weird"The next thing we did was to walk along the beautiful white beach. Then we stopped by Fridays Boracay ( the resort where we stayed during our honeymoon), it is located in the best part of boracay and it is so nice to just sit there and enjoy a cold drink.
Then another thing i love in boracay is the sunset. It is just so beautiful to watch...
The second day, Josh needs to spend time working... and i, as usual I acquired some rashes to nurse. I think i have developed some allergic reaction to the sea water or something in it because everytime i go into the water i will itch a lot and then i will have this inflammed rashes that will last for a week. Josh was firm that i can't go into the water this day and i just need to do things that won't require me in the water, so of course it won't stop me from having fun in the beach... We stayed by in the beach in a comfy beach chair and read a book, Josh does both working and reading alternately. There will be some vendors selling pearls and Josh let me enjoy haggling with vendors and shopping for some pearls.
Josh at work, not on a usual cubicle in the office though...
in the afternoon went kayaking. It was fun because the water is so calm and the water is shallow that we can stop over coral reefs and watch small fishes.
After kayaking we saw two dogs playing catch with their trainer.
Then we went strolling on the beach while we wait for the sunset.
Josh catch a small crab for me to...
...snack on. yummy!after i decided that the little crab deserves to live a longer we decided to climb the rock that was in the other part of the beach, the tide was so low that the rock is accessible without swimming to go there.
We are trying to take picture together and not to fall at same time.
the sunset that day was really beautiful but unfortunately our camera run out of battery so this is the last picture we got that day... totally missed taking great photo of the sunset.Our third day was really fun though Josh needs to work in the morning. While working i decided to have a my hair braided and also convinced josh to have his hair braided. Josh is very lenient in giving almost all my whims to play with his hairs.
We both feel and look weird though after we have our hair braided. We weren't able to pull it off well. But for the sake of remembrance we took pictures of how we loooked like...
We let the braid stay and just wear bandanas.
On our last night Josh need to work more so i left in the restaurant to work while tried to work on not spending too much shopping. I love bargains and i found several nice items for such a very low price. I bought Joshua a necklace, the pendant i choose can actually be separated into two so the lady selling the necklace said she can make the necklace into two for a price of one. That was really a good buy.. So we have a cool matching necklace...
Subscribe to:
Comments (Atom)
