Mabuhay! It is Friday morning and we are leaving soon to travel to our new "home" for the next three months. We learned a little bit about our family yesterday, an older couple and a middle aged female relative. We have spent the past week at a lovely resort outside of Manila where we have covered a lot of information related to Safety and Security, Peace Corps policies and the general make up of PC Philippines. We have been on "lock down" at the hotel, because of the national elections. On Thursday we went to a resort on the beach and spent time in "water safety training." This training included blowing up our life jackets (they are the same kind you would use on an airplane, the bright yellow ones with the tabs you pull) and getting in and out of a banka (local boat) in the water. We were so excited to leave our compound and actually interact with Filipinos! We spent a long time in the water talking with people and playing with kids. People are so friendly and kind! We forgot our camera the day we went to the beach, but following are a couple of pictures from our stay at the hotel.

Our room at the hotel (three single beds)

At the resort (Manila in the background)