Only in the Philippines

I did my first "Only in the Philippines" post just days after we arrived here in July 2010. I wanted my friends and family to see what I was experiencing here as an outsider in a strange new land. I never thought I would continually find new things that make me shake my head and say, "Only in the Philippines." I'm now convinced that I'll never  run out of interesting things to share.
Here are a few recent sites that made me exclaim...."Only in the Philippines."

Only in the Philippines do they go all out for birthdays--especially first birthdays. And Only in the Philippines do they serve hot dogs on sticks topped with marshmallows. I guess the kids love them and we see them at almost every child's birthday party.

Only in the Philippines do you see three to five lanes of traffic squeeze into the 2-lane National Highway. Then add animals (cows, carabaos, pigs, chickens, dogs, etc.) and people walking everywhere--what do you get? What President Carlos calls "Organized Chaos." It's really quite an experience! (Actually this photo is quite lame compared to some times!)

Only in the Philippines do you see bananas in all sizes. This was a district pot luck and they had a platter of bananas as the centerpiece on every table. The district Relief Society President told me that she bought these bananas at a bargain only 10 pesos per kilo. That's around 25 cents for over 2 pounds. At home dark bananas aren't very desirable but these were perfect inside, no bruising and delicious.

Luckily we have a number of really good, clean and safe restaurants. One of the nicest ones here in Cauayan serves the following on their menu. I think that Only in the Philippines would you find Grilled Pork Ears, Chicken Ass or Tuna Jaw on the menu of a nice restaurant! Needless to say I stuck with their fried chicken.

Only in the Philippines do you see laundry every day of the week hanging out to dry. I walked past this home one day while working with some sisters in Alicia and couldn't resist taking a picture of the colorful laundry hanging from the wires.

Only in the Philippines do you see rice trucks loaded down with bags of rice. What made me do a double take was the guy sitting on top that was holding a tree branch over his head to shield him from the sun! It was so funny. They have guys riding on top of the load to protect robbers from getting on top and throwing down bags without the driver knowing it.

The closer you get to Tuguegarao, the largest city in our mission, the more corn you see being grown. Generally they lay the kernals on the sides of the roads to dry. You see rice and corn drying on virtually any hard-topped surface such as basketball courts, driveways, National Highway, etc. Whenever you see it drying you see men out there with wooden paddles turning the rice or corn, making sure that it totally dries. This past week we saw a huge field where they were experimenting with drying the corn on the stalk.

Only in the Philippines do you meet people with complete little, portable stores on top of their heads. This lady came up to me and wanted to sell me some of her vast array of rice cakes. She plopped down the basket from her head and showed me all kinds of beautiful rice cakes (glutenous jelly, type desserts). Elder Miole saved me by purchasing several from  her.

Only in the Philippines do you see the most extraordinary cloud formations. At the base of this photo there were the most glorious billowy cumulus clouds, and directly above them in the sky were these long wispy clouds. I love to watch the clouds as we drive through our mission.