Why I like Vegas.... for now...

Well, our original plan for being here in Vegas is out of the picture

(Jesse's master's degree).

So I've been wondering, aside from my husband's job,

what do I like for living here in Las Vegas?

I mean, as soon as you say the words "Las Vegas," it is common

for most people to think of words and/or phrases like

"sin city," "gambling," "casinos," "slot machines," 

"bright lights," "party all night long," "women with skimpy clothes," etc.

Besides, it's in the middle of nowhere,

Nevada was one of the states that was hardest hit by the recent recession,

and it gets so incredibly hot in the summer.

I'm definitely sure this is not where we want to settle down

for years and years to come.

So I was thinking lately, what are other things I like here?

ONE: It's cheap.

Pretty much almost everything is cheap.

Including houses.

A 3-bedroom, 3 bath house usually goes for $110K or less.

We even found a 4-bedroom one (3 baths) for 90K.

Too bad it was taken.

TWO: Filipino Stores

Ah! There are definitely a lot more Filipino stores and dining restaurants here than in Hawai'i.

I used to go crazy whenever I saw a "Jollibee" in California,

(McDonald's main rival in the Philippines)

but not anymore.

I love going to the Seafood City just because I feel like it brings me closer

to home even though the prices are in dollars.. haha!

Plus that's where I can usually find

the kind of food my Filipino taste buds  are looking for.

Seafood City is a plus because Chowking, Red Ribbon, and Jollibee are inside

the building as well... and some other little Filipino stores.
It's kind of far from our place, but it's definitely closer than the one

we had in Hawai'i (Waipahu).

THREE: Our Ward

I love our ward at Church.
It is a big ward with lots of primary kids, 

nursery kids (we have 4 or 5 nursery classes),

and plenty of babies!!!

Oh, and preggo sisters!

I just found out 3 weeks ago that there were 17 of us pregnant sisters in the ward

(probably more or less now since some gave birth

and some might have just found out they're pregnant too).

It's just much like our married ward in BYU-Hawai'i where there

were lots of children and babies and pregnant ladies.

Do you remember my old post when we were new (about friends)?

Well, in regards to that, I only have a few new friends in our ward... but

it's really fun when I get to do activities with them.

Ever since I had my calling, I liked the ward more, 

whether I have a lot of friends or not.

This brings me to another reason why I like it here in Vegas:

FOUR: The LOCATION

Most of our friends from BYU-Hawai'i either live in California or in Utah.

I like being in Las Vegas because we're in-between those states.

Some of them would most likely would have to pass by

Las Vegas first before either going to Utah/California/Hawai'i. 

In just our 8 months stay here,

we've met with some of my good friends from Hawai'i

and I love it!!!

(November 2010)

(December 2010)

(December 2010)

(March 2011)

(April 2011)

We're definitely closer to our relatives now

than when we were in Hawai'i.

They are all scattered in California and Utah.
My in-laws get to come over as often as they want now

than when we were in Hawai'i.

I love being just half-way from those two states.

FIVE: HIKES!

I love being close to the Red Rock Canyon.

We have a year pass and it's been really great.

We all love hiking (including C)

so being close to a hiking/camping park is really nice.

Even though we live in the "sin city,"

we're not in the strip itself anyway and our area is not that bad.
I actually like it.

No Right of Way

6 1/2 years after I left the Philippines,

I found myself with a camera bag on my back,

a duffle bag on one hand,

and my passport and "green card" on the other hand.

I was standing behind a Filipino family at the immigration line at around 6:30pm.

My husband and my son were in the "non-Filipino citizen" line

(I forgot what it's actually called).

A few moments later, we passed by the customs

then out the door.

It took us by surprise because NAIA was completely different 

from all the airports we "flew into" back in the US.

Outside the door of the "baggage claim" and customs

were lanes for taxi cabs.

None else.

I didn't have an updated number of my family members,

and the first security guard I asked about where to go had a very bad attitude.

One security guard was nice to us, though.

Jesse bought a sim card at the airport. 

We thought that our phones accepts sim cards.

But they don't!

Oh we were so prepared for this... right.

The nice guard lent us his cellphone and I tried all the numbers

of my family members that I had in my phone.

None worked.

It took a while before the security guard advised Jesse to cross the street,

walk down the other building,

and look for the letter "S" (for our surnames).

Jesse found my family there.

So that was one surprise I didn't expect - NAIA was different.

Meeting 2 of my 7 siblings after 6 1/2 years didn't feel anything new to me.

It felt like I saw them yesterday.

My other siblings were waiting in Pampanga.

What took me in complete culture shock was the traffic

and the kind of Filipino drivers I forgot we had.

This sunk in when we entered Edsa:

(Not my pictures)

Good thing it was dark.

I didn't completely see how really crazy it was.

But still... the traffic was long.

And the word "right of way" doesn't exist there.

Literally.

Whether you're a pedestrian or not.

(Anywhere in the Philippines, except when there are traffic lights,

pedestrians NEVER have the right of way).

Buses don't care if they crash into you.

If you're driving a car, you better make way for those buses.

Motorcycles slipped through no matter how thin

the passage was.

Vehicles changed lanes without any regards

for the other vehicles behind (or in front of) them.

They will change lanes even with the smallest inch of space they see.

And say it was 5 lanes - it became 6 lanes all just because

everybody was making their way through the traffic their own way,

thus making the traffic even heavier and longer.

Vehicles were literally bumper to bumper and shoulder to shoulder,

with just a few inches apart.

It was crazy.

I don't wanna have to drive through that kind of traffic.
Well at least it's not that crazy here in the US,
not that I know of.. yet..
and police officers catch you if you violate the traffic laws.
Thank goodness for those who really fulfill their obligations.

...

Why, hello blogging world!
I am back!

I cannot come up with a title for this post,

thus the dots.

Anyway, as most of you know, we just got back from the Philippines.

It was a nice experience.

We went home a little earlier than planned, but it's all good.

What was important was that we were able to spend

so much time with my family.

And at least we were able to do one big activity with them

at the Hundred Islands in Pangasinan.

Jesse was so sweet to these little kids during our stop-over at the Governor's island.

They are already trying to make a living at their young age.

The little girl, I think, was the oldest.

Jesse bought 3 key chains (one for him, one for C, and one for me) from them.

The little girl wrote our individual names on each shell.

I didn't say anything but I was touched by Jesse's interest in them.
He was talking to them as if he had known them for a long time.
I felt deeply grateful for the kind of man I married.

When we moved to the Quezon island, these little kids followed us there.

I guess they were fond of Jesse - my American husband who speaks Tagalog really well.

We had a good time in the Philippines.
We weren't able to visit Jesse's area during his mission,

but we will do it someday when we go back.

10 Things that Reminds Me of (and that I miss in) the 8.0.8.

Here's the list (not in order):

(I got all the images through Google. They're not my own pictures)

Poke

Waimea Bay - I lived in HI for 5 1/2 yrs. straight

and I never had the chance to jump off that rock!

The typical barbeque plate lunch from L&L

(excluding the musubi)

Matsumoto's Shave Ice

(A friend corrected me saying it's "SHAVE ICE"

not "SHAVED ICE"... well, whatever!)

Orchid leis (actually it reminds me more of PCC than anything else)

This logo, not the actual flower

This particular image and also the real thing (honu)

Jack Johnson and surfboards, of course!

Shark's Cove - I loved snorkeling there

better than Hanauma Bay.

Pipi Kaula - one of my favorite foods I eat at the PCC (other than poke)

after work when I was still working in the Luau.

Philippine December and Giant Lanterns

One major thing I am proud of in my hometown

(now Pampanga, instead of Manila where I was born),

is the beautiful lanterns on display at the streets during Christmas season.

(I grabbed this picture from the Web)

Even though it was sometimes at night, 

I really liked going home from school when I was in high school

because I could see these lanterns up and "dancing" at that time of the day.

I look forward to seeing these beautiful things

again soon.

We won't be able to see the "Ligligan Parul" 

(Giant Lantern Festival) when we go home.

I think I've only seen it once or twice my whole life in Pampanga.

But it's really cool.

(Grabbed from OurAwesomePlanet)

These lanterns are HUGE!
Measuring 18 feet in diameter and dancing to the beat of the background music,

it's one of the most fun activities we do in Pampanga 

every Christmas season
(aside from the Catholic midnight mass and puto bumbong afterwards).

(Puto Bumbong - from Burnout Case)

This lantern won the festival 3 yrs. ago...

Barangay Telabastagan - where we were living by the time I left my

beloved home country.

Aaah.. someday, someday... :)
For now, I'm very excited to celebrate the coming of 2011
with firecrackers in our backyard
and huge blasts of fireworks from our neighbors.
Oh, and the fact that you can barely see each other
due to clouds of smoke everywhere!

Oh man, isn't it pretty obvious that I'm so excited to go home?
It's not even Thanksgiving yet and I'm already
talking about Christmas and New Year...
Hehe!