It’s funny how I don’t really mind living in a shack, I don’t mind “showering” in an ice-cold trickle of water (or only when it rains — shout out to Peru), I don’t mind having a huge cockroach a baby lizard and an army of ants as my roommates…but as soon as you unplug my Internet, I get upset.

Currently at a friend’s church facility borrowing their wifi. Let’s see how much I can do in an hour

Actually, I’m in Consolacion just north of Cebu City.
But I landed in the Philippines with minor issues (like almost not being allowed to leave Hong Kong to come here…or having a 1.5 hour plane delay). Situated now at Rick and Jiji’s home. Already, an interesting experience! Tomorrow, I’ll be meeting with some people from Good Shepherd Welcome House and being thrown into a jeepney to go wander around. Will be interesting and educational, I think.

To Rick’s surprise, the Internet is working here. Assuming that it stays working tomorrow, perhaps I can finally update this blog!

Also, several Filipinos have asked me if this is my first time in the Philippines and when I say yes, they’ve responded with something along the lines of, “Ah, getting in touch with your roots is always nice” or “Welcome home!” I then need to explain I’m not Filipina.

I arrived in Beijing yesterday afternoon and sadly discovered that the home I’m staying at is completely Internetless (as if having blocked Internet in China wasn’t rough enough for my hyperconnected, uber-wired, social media addicted self). As a result, I’m sitting in a McDonald’s across the street attempting to make the most of my free 30 minutes of wifi (New Yorkers, don’t take for granted the fact that we have free wifi everywhere in our city!).

Thankfully, I’m email-less for just a few days. When I return to Nanning, I’ll have some real updates — including the days in Nanning prior to coming to Beijing…and hopefully an update with some MakeSense team members!

Okay, 30 minutes almost up. See you in Nanning!

Public blogs seem vain at times, namely when you’re not an expert or an incredibly insightful dialoguer on a topic. And that is me — I am a non-expert, unlearned and unfamiliar with everything but my own life failures. Many of my friends keep great blogs filled with amazing or clever or insightful content, and I envy them of course. I lack experience, educated opinion, talents, and skills.

But I start this blog not to claim that I know anything or that I have an opinion worth listening to (or reading about), but to document my learning experiences. Everything is an opportunity.

Despite my years (over a decade now?) of floating in and around the blogosphere, this is the first time I’m attempting a fully open blog. I have no idea what this is going to be like, honestly. But it seems like a good way to document my learning and allow for others to follow or keep up with those experiences.

So please bear with me as I figure this blog (and life) out.