"Bag Ma'am?" "Pearls Ma'am?"... "Magkano?"

Magkano? How much? I have become very good with that word along with "salamat" Thanks. (By the way, it is pronounced like salami but with an "it" on the end . So we all will get a little lesson in Tagalog

Some of the team captains and the manager of the center I have been at took us to an area called Green Hills. It is a mall, and they have malls EVERYWHERE, where the knock offs are found and people barter for everything!! It looks like a huge indoor flea market. If you go, it is best to have someone who speaks Tagalog with you. Otherwise you won't get as good of a deal. They will still go a little below price, but no where NEAR what they will if a local is with you. Aimee, Ron & Jollie were our local support. Pam & I would get the "Magkano" out and when the person at the booth gave a number, often we would hear a response from Aimee or Jollie with a lower bid. If they didn't like the response given by the sales person they would make this low grumble. It was hilarious!!! They were cracking me up, so much that I had to walk away from one "bidding war" over a set of pearls for Pam for fear of ruining the deal. I had never seen anything like it. And Pam has learned that if you have big feet, you won't be able to find knock-off shoes of any kind! Her son wears a 13 and everyone looked at us funny when she asked for a 13. So the post card back to her son is "I'm sorry hon, but don't plan to move to Asia because your feet are too big and you will have to have shoes special ordered." Even in the regular malls, we found ONE store that had ONE pair of shoes in his size!

Here is the link to the Green Hills experience!
http://picasaweb.google.com.ph/dnole2/GreenHillsShoppingCenter

This is the ride back from GreenHills -
http://picasaweb.google.com.ph/dnole2/OnTheRoadFromGreenHills

Everything is going well, I am breaking up the blogs to tell of different stories I have experienced through the week. Sorry for the lag in writing. Working 12 + hour days doesn't leave for much time when you get back to the hotel at a goofy hour, have to eat something, then get to sleep and start the whole cycle all over again. I still keep asking what day it is, because I am all messed up. We work from 8pm - about 8/8:30am (so far) local time. Eating patterns are out of whack too. And I have had more McDonalds in the last week than in the last year, possibly more! But when you eat "lunch" at 2am, the options are pretty slim - McD's or Red Ribbon (a local fast food chain). I am thinking of going to the market and getting something to take in with me so I can avoid the fast food thing. Doesn't do nice things to me and I don't like eating that much junk food.
Hope everyone is doing well and that you had a wonderful Fourth of July!!!
I have another couple of blogs to post.....