For this particular outing, we went to the children’s museum with some friends from our ward, Marie and her two kiddos Reed and Mia.
This children’s museum was very much like other children’s museums that we’ve been to before. But there were some cool exhibits that were focused on Philippines history and culture. So, we learned some cool things about the place we currently call home. For example, did you know that the largest flower in the world is found here? It’s called Rafflesia. As you can see, below, they are enormous. (Thanks Wikipedia for the pic 🙂 )
(https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Rafflesia_tuan-mudae.JPG)
There were several other Philippines themed exhibits that were a lot of fun. The kids really enjoyed playing in, on, and around the mini jeepney. Juju even managed to get completely inside the thing. I was a little concerned that he wouldn’t be able to get back out, but he managed. Clara is getting too big for that sort of shenanigan. I swear she’s growing like a weed.
The home exhibit was pretty cool too, we walked through a slightly scaled down traditional style Philippines house, and got to try on some traditional clothing. This appealed more to Clara and I than it did to Juju. Not quite his jam.
There was also a miniaturized version of the San Agustin Cathedral, an old church located in Manila. Logan was happy to be released from prison his stroller.
The kids spent quite a bit of time at the palengke (marketplace). They loved it. And I was an excellent customer, if I do say so myself.
The body exhibit was a real favorite too. The kids especially loved being swallowed. 🙂 There they are, coming out of the esophagus. 🙂
Now. This is one exhibit that I don’t think you’d ever see in America:
You push on the body part and it makes the noise produced by that body part. Stomach and nose, pretty innocuous. But also… there is a butt…. And yes, it makes noises. Marie and I laughed like little girls. #wearesomature.
I love how horrified Clara looks in that picture. BWAHAHAHAHA!!! Seriously I’m dying just thinking about it!!! Best children’s museum ever!!
You can’t go wrong with a fire truck dress up station either. Both kids loved it. It was quite comical watching Juju try and walk in those boots since they went above his knees. All in all, I think the kids really had a great time. There was a lot to do and see at this museum. But really, there was a butt!! We stopped outside at the toy helicopter, but we all started melting within about 30 seconds. So, we opted to head back to Marie’s place for lunch and more play time.
Marie and her family are living in the Philippines because her husband is an embassy worker (that is pretty common in our ward, there are a lot of embassy workers). And they live in the embassy compound (which sounds really unpleasant, but it’s actually really nice!)
It was very interesting. The security was intense. In order to get on the grounds, they have to have special ID badges. (As a visitor, I had to surrender my driver’s license and was only allowed to pick it back up on my way out of the compound.) Even as residents, they have to pop their hood and trunk for a visual inspection (checking for bombs). And they drive into this cage-looking thing that completely encloses the car, and they have special equipment that does a scan of the bottom of the car, again, looking for bombs. And they do this every single time they enter and leave the compound. It’s cray cray.
The government actually treats their embassy workers really well. They aren’t paid terribly well, but the perks are amazing. The embassy compounds are electrically wired exactly the way that they would be in the US, and their water is filtered, and they get Amazon, and they are flown back to the US twice a year. I came away half convinced to get on the embassy track.
After lunch and playing, Marie and I went to the little market near her house to pick up a few things and also because it would just be easier to get an Uber from there. Juju fell asleep the stroller while we were walking. As we were waiting for our driver, it started pouring rain. I’m pretty sure I scandalized a bunch of Filipinos. Because my children were getting very wet. But it’s not like I could do anything about it. And quite frankly, at least it’s warm. I would’ve been a little more concerned if it hadn’t also been 90 degrees outside.
My plan was to let Juju sleep until our driver was about 2 minutes away. And generally, that works fine. But the app was being a little jumpy this particular day. And so, the driver was 5 minutes away and then suddenly he was right on top of us. So I had to yank Juju out out of the stroller really quickly (all while Logan was attached to my chest). I set him on his feet, and started collapsing the stroller. And a bunch of guys that were sitting on the sidewalk started suddenly making quite the racket. And so, I looked over, and they pointed to Juju who was shakily walking down the sidewalk all by himself. I called his name, but he didn’t seem to hear me. I’m pretty sure he was sleepwalking down the sidewalk. Mostly, he just looked like a little drunkard. It was actually really funny. I went and scooped him up and we all got in the car.
I quickly learned that trying to get anywhere in Manila on a Friday night is positively foolish. All the people that live out in the provinces are trying to get out of Manila for the weekend. And so, it is utter madness. That is, no doubt the worst traffic I have ever personally experienced in my life. It took us 2 hours to get home. And it is only 14 kilometers away. That’s 9 miles folks. So, aside from all the traffic on the way home, it was a lovely day.
