Blog in the Works

Sometimes I have blogs that I mean to write but just never get done. This is entry is one such.

I actually enjoy the ride up to school each morning. I don't enjoy the time that we leave. Getting out the door at nearly the crack of dawn is not always the most enjoyable part of my day but I am somewhat enamored by the ride to school.

We leave the house and we immediately encounter speed "humps." They're not speed "bumps" in this country. If I get a photo of a speed hump sign, I will post it on this entry. Before even leaving our subdivision, we try to avoid near-death experiences with the motorized and unmotorized tricycles (trikes). Usually, they cut in front of us and do not abide by the "I-am-bigger-than-you" pecking order. Getting onto the main road is a lesson in patience, persistence, and sheer luck. We make a left turn into oncoming traffic, traffic that is ALL headed to the city for a hard day's work. If we're really fortunate, there will be traffic cops attempting to direct the masses, but more often than not, we're on our own.

Although I'm not a huge fan of all of the motorcycles (they definitely do not know how to wait their turn), it warms your heart to see all these dads, and the occasional mom, driving their kids to school. Usually the small child sits in front of dad on the motorcycle and then dad has the adorable pink backpack on his back. It is so cute! I haven't been able to capture it on film yet but it just makes me smile.

The last obstacle in getting to school are the animals. Hordes of animals. All different kinds. We usually avoid at least a cat and a dog within our subdivision but things get really interesting when we're almost to school. Goats, wild turkeys, horses, cattle. It just makes me laugh as we try to avoid all of these things.

Yesterday, I made Kim stop the car to take this photo. Mind you, we are right near one of the main thoroughfares of Manila. There are many people standing around, waiting for public transportation, going about their daily business. However, these goats did not care. I'm not sure what they were looking for but I hope the REALLY WIDE one found a place to give birth!