Only in the Philippines

It never ceases to amaze me--there is always something that makes me want to stop and take a picture. I always have to have my camera ready!

Recently we saw throngs of school children lining the streets in honor of the death of the mayor of Cauayan. No adults were visible anywhere but the streets were lined with school children in their uniforms. We later heard that his body was flown in from Manila and being transported to city hall.

 Some had banners with the late mayors photo on it.

The groups stretched on and on for miles!

Throughout the Philippines in EVERY town is a huge Catholic Church. This one we found on an early morning walk in Tuguegarao. It was around 6 am and there were several nuns in the chapel for an early morning mass.

A string of farmers with their carabao were lining up on the side of the National Highway. One time Sister Shaner was visiting a family and she mentioned that we didn't have carabao's in the US. One of the children shook his head and said, "Then how do you get your work done?" He simply couldn't believe that we could function with carabaos.

 A Buco Juice Cart--this man had a little wooden cart full of green coconuts. He continually drills a hole and drained out the juice. People say that buco or coconut juice is a great thirst quencher.

Only in the Philippines do American missionaries get super excited over corn dogs. Sister T, from California stopped by the mission home with Sister Saez and she got so excited when I offered her a corn dog. Sister Saez had never heard of corn dogs and when she tasted it she loved it! (Once in a great while we are able to get a few treats like this from home!)

There's hardly a day that goes by without seeing someone with a big tub of fruits and veggies on their head. These filipinos really know how to use their heads!

Children keep pet fighting spiders in little boxes.

When it's time for a fight they hold out a stick and put one spider on each end. They come together and quickly try to catch the other in a web. They tell me that only special spiders from the rice paddies do this kind of fighting. It was actually very intriguing to watch. They had coins on the ground and I asked them if they bet for money. They said no they never bet--it was just one kids spending money. I was glad to hear that!

This was the victor--the other spider was encased in a web and killed. It's a very violent sport.

It's not uncommon to run into a parade of some sort and this time of year we see lots of "floats" with royalty for various schools, and neighborhoods.

 Look at the size of that crown!

 They decorate their trycies, trucks, motorcycles and...

 Kuligligs (farm apparatus used for plowing and moving people)

The front of the kuliglig--named after a cricket. Have you ever seen such adorable children?

Only in the Philippines do I see the most exotic, beautiful flowers. These were hanging off the roof of a restaurant. I asked everyone there if they knew the name of the flowers and nobody had a clue. These were the most vibrant orange--they were truly amazing.