I'm baaaccckkk!!! My plane touched down at Newark airport at 8:45 this morning. Pretty uneventful trip back home, ooo, but all of the security that we had to go through in Manilla was ridiculous. Had to go through a metal detector, get my bags x-rayed, get frisked, then through another metal detector and bag scan, had to empty out all of my carry-on's, take off my shoes, and then get frisked again. It was a tad ridiculous, and it made us late for our plane. Fortunately the plane was delayed, so we didn't miss it. I also slept for a full six hours on the plane from Manilla to LA, which is just unheard of for me, so I'm happy about that too.

Coming home is really bittersweet though. I missed my mom and dad a lot, but I wish I could have stayed longer than three weeks. Especially considering that I only get to go to the Philippines every few years or so. Getting to see all of my family was really great. Not to mention seeing my grandparents, who are all in Cebu. Oooo, and my three little cousins, who are the cutest. Ah, I miss them already. One of my cousins took a bunch of picutres with her digital camera, so I'll try and post them up somewhere once she sends them to me.

So what else did I do in the Philippines... My trip to Shangri-La was great. My cousins and I even got to go snorkling for free! We went and fed fish around the coral reefs... it was so cool. You would just hold the bread out infront of you and then all the fish would swarm all around you and just take food from your hand. It was a little scary at first, but the fish were just so beautiful. We also went to another resort called Maribago Blue Cove, which was just a day-trip, but still realyl nice. My younger cousins were also able to come to Maribago since it was the weekend, so it was super fun.

I really wish it was cheaper to fly to the Philippines... because if it was I would go back every single year, but alas, the tickets are ridiculously expensive. Being far away from family really stinks... you miss so much of eachother's lives. Seeing everyone every 3 to 4 years definitely does not cut it. It's still better than every 10 years though. I guess I'll just keep on working on trying to everyone to come visit us over here in the States. :)

"Happiness is not a destination. It is a method of life."
~Burton Hills