Snowy Day Snapshots

Snow started to fall on Thursday morning.  I realize that the rest of the country has been dealing with this for weeks now and it's no news flash--but snow just doesn't happen here.

For that reason, Portland completely shuts down at the first sign of the stuff.  This blizzard was no different.

It took me almost FOUR HOURS to make the commute home that afternoon (the usual is forty-five minutes).  Thank goodnesss for red wine. 

The rest of the (4-day thank you snow!) weekend has been spent on a snowy walk with Ryan, lunching with my best friend, reading my new book club book, netflixing in my PJs, delving into that Valentine's chocolate that was "for my co-workers" (oops!) and overdosing on tea and zinc to cure my cold.  

 

Being snowed in is not so bad (:

Update from the Philippines: Sabang & El Nido

Hello from El Nido, tropical paradise at  the top of Palawan, Philippines!

It was a bumpy ride, but we made it, and this makes it all worthwhile.

In contrast to our other travels in Asia, everyone here in the Philippines speaks English.  There are a variety of native languages spoken on each island, and the country's common language is English.  It makes traveling remarkably easier.  The other thing that has struck us about this country is the nature of its people.  Everyone we've met has been friendly, helpful, and kind, even those outside of the tourist industry.  Small children yell greetings and women and men smile as we pass them on the road.  It's so welcoming.  

Now here's the short version of our adventure so far.

* * * * * *

Sabang was our first stop, and we took a two hour jeepney in a monsoon to make it there.   These common vehicles are made from the front of old Jeeps (hence the name) left here by the American military, with a longer cab and room on top and along the back bumper for brave travelers .

 That was an interesting ride...  

Once we got to Sabang we realized the storm was more of a typhoon, but kept our fingers crossed for clearer weather in the morning.  We settled into our cute little bungalow.

The next day delivered and we set out in a boat for the town's main attraction, an underground river.  Inside the massive cave were numerous bat colonies and interesting rock formations.  We spent the rest of the day at the beach, soaking up the sun we thought we'd never see.  

 

 

Later that night I got sick.  Really sick.  Like heaving off the side of our bamboo bungalow in the middle of the night sick.  Did you expect me to walk the two minutes in the dark to our shared bathroom?  It wasn't pretty.  Nor was it pretty the next morning at 7:30 am when we boarded a van to our next stop.  Five and a half hours in a cramped van on an unfinished road was not what the doctor ordered.  Luckily a friendly woman we met on the van brought us to the door of an adorable guesthouse in the center of town once we arrived in El Nido.  

"My best friend's parents run it," she said.  

It was clean and we were there.

SOLD.

The guesthouse has turned out to be a gem, complete with delicious food (not that I ate a full meal for the next four days) and creatively designed seating in wooden nests overlooking the ocean.  Ryan has tried every Filipino breakfast option on the menu, always pork--dried, spiced or marinated, served alongside a fried egg and garlic rice.

When I was periodically feeling up to it, Ryan and I walked around the tiny town these last few days and took in the friendly local faces, tiny storefronts selling strips of instant coffee and small bananas, and the foot traffic and tricycles (motorcycles with a side car for passengers) whizzing by us.  

 

 

Once I was finally back to myself again we planned an island hopping tour, the town's main draw.  Giant cliff faces jut straight out from the ocean and the lagoons, caves and sandy beaches these islands hold are on the menu at every tourist shop in forms of Tour A, B, C, and D.  

After numerous sunny sick days we awoke to rain and wind that forced us to stay on the mainland rather than take our tour.  Cribbage and more walks around town have helped us pass the time. I'm almost done with book number two; Ryan widdled some ducks from wood found on the road.  Electricity is only available from 2pm to 6am, inspiring early mornings and full days for beach walks and long talks.  Island life agrees with us. (:

We're hoping for sunshine tomorrow as we finally head out to explore the islands! 

A cure for the common cold?

I have a cold.  Ugh.  Probably the same cold Ryan had/has that is still lingering from last week.  I haven't gone to the doctor yet, and in the meantime I'm trying to fight the bug with a combination of Tylenol, Echinacea capsules and Throat Coat Tea brought from the US.  I've also recently introduced these items.

From left: Vitamin C drink, Vitamin C tablets, Melon flavored popsicle (for my sore throat) and Honey-ginger tea

Let's hope I get rid of this thing before the weekend!

Going to the Doctor: from Ryan's point of view

For the last few weeks I (Ryan) had been fighting a cough and cold.  I thought that like most colds it would pass in a week.  But after almost a month it was still persisting.  I tried to blame various sources for the lingering cold such as children and poor air quality.  Whatever the cause, the cold was still there.  I had been avoiding a trip to the doctor because I had no idea where one was or how I'd go about it.  But, after a month the time had come.  I decided to try to find a doctor and get some help.  Luckily we have some great Korean co-workers that speak very good English.  They are a big help with translating for us when needed.  Based on one of their recommendations, I headed out in search of a doctor’s office.  

Between our apartment and school I came across three pharmacies and could see numerous crosses that looked like hospitals.  When Koreans get sick they always talk about going to the "hospital."  I was a bit skeptical of going to a hospital about a cold, but maybe this would help explain that.  I had a recommendation for a doctor’s office near the school so I started looking there.  I didn't have luck finding that particular office so I stepped into a pharmacy and asked where a doctor was.  They got the gist of it and pointed next door.

Sure enough, there were some green crosses and even a sign stating “internal medicine clinic” on the building next to the pharmacy.   

Inside, the receptionist/ nurse spoke no English.  Cue the Korean help.  After a quick phone call to a co-worker I was in.  Luckily the doctor spoke pretty good English (very big help).  After a few quick questions we landed on bronchitis.  Not great, but not a huge deal as I have had this before.  I wasn't too worried.  A prescription for some anti-biotics and maybe another pill or two to take and I’d be on my way.  That’s where I was wrong.  The doctor recommended an anti-biotic, another medicine and no drinking, just as I thought he would.  But, not quite as I thought, the anti-biotic came as a shot in the rear.  Of course, the doctor did not go about giving me this shot, his twenty something female receptionist/ nurse asked me in hand signals to “drop my drawers.”  After that I proceeded to get my prescription paper from the same girl.  The doctor asked that I come back to his "hospital" in two days as he was only giving me an Rx to last through then.  So that explained the hospital bit.  They don’t have “doctor’s offices” in Korea they have “hospitals” on every corner.  So, after  ten interesting minutes at the “hospital” I paid my 4,500 won (~$4) and I headed to the pharmacy next door to fill the given prescriptions.

At the pharmacy I handed over the paper and the pharmacist went to work.  I heard multiple bottles opening and closing and a few cabinets being visited.  After a few minutes she returned with a handful of meds.

Keep in mind this is for two days and after that I had to go back to get more.  I was a bit skeptical of all of the different pills but as they say… “when in Korea.”  The pharmacist made me take the first dose right then and there with a hot bottle of Echinacea tea.   I paid my 4,000 won (~$3.50) and was out of there. 

After three trips back for the same treatment I was feeling a bit better.  The doctor said that if I felt better after the next two days I could stop coming in.  So you guessed it.  I did not make any more trips for shots and meds.  I am feeling much better now.  It must have worked!