Job Hunting, a party, and going to Manila

On Friday, after frantically sending off 3 resumes to potential employers, I felt satisfied I could take a vacation in the Philippines without feeling like I should be spending my entire spring vacation in job hunting. I found some other opportunities in my search that looked interesting as well. So while I still can't sleep at night because of the stress, I think I should be all right.

I got back from the post office just in time to hold a party at my house for some of my favorite teachers. Mr. Sanpei and the gang from Katahira JHS all came over to my house and I invited a bunch of other people as well. He brought about four pounds of basashi (raw horse meat) for us to chow down on. Not as many people came as I hoped, but I do think people had a good time. Paula and her new husband Yuya made an appearance though. Other pals, such as Dan, Dave Popoff and Benjamin turned up as well. While it was pretty low key, a good time was had by all.

Then yesterday morning, I woke up, threw a bunch of stuff in a bag and moseyed on down to Narita International Airport with Paula and her husband Yuya. While I was heading off to the Philippines, they were both headed to Bali for their honeymoon. They are both really cool people.

The flight was somewhat uneventful and I had to connect through Hong Kong. The travel agent never sent me the confirmation number for my e-ticket, so I had to call Cathay Pacific Airlines before I left. The flight was rather uneventful. Like most Asian airlines, they have decent service and new planes, so I watched Rocky Balboa. I am somewhat ashamed to admit that I liked it, even though I winced at times.

From Hong Kong to Manila, they upgraded me to business class for no apparent reason! Cathay Pacific went up a couple of notches in my book after doing this. Unfortunately, the flight wasn't that long, and I had a splitting headache for most of the flight. Met a nice Philippino lady who worked in Hong Kong and lived in Phoenix for a year. She had done some kind of master's program at the Thunderbird School for International Management.

I was able to learn some things from her. Apparently tons of Philippinos live and work outside the Philippines and send money home. Immigration at the airport even had special lines for Philippino foreign workers.

I'm in Manila now, and I'll post more soon. Stay tuned!