Update

We've been here for a few days now; haven't posted many photos, but we've taken some and hope to post them soon.

Our flight to Manila went very well; we spent a couple of nights in Calamba, Laguna with our family there. Then, we flew to Iloilo, where we'll spend most of the rest of our time.

When we've been to Iloilo in the past, we've stayed with our family outside the city. We'll do that for most of our time here on this visit too, but we've been able to spend a couple of nights in the city itself this time around. Met up with some friends we've met in past years; they took us on a quick tour of this side of the city, and we'll post some pictures from that tour soon.

I like Iloilo. The little tour took us through the ports district and the districts of Jaro and La Paz; we stopped for pictures of some of the churches and ships and old Spanish structures. One thing that struck me was that I was again surprised at how many educational institutions are in this city; Ilonggos are always learning. Every few minutes we passed a school. We passed high schools, universities, and all sorts of trade schools - engineering schools, maritime universities, you name it. There is no shortage of educational opportunity here, and there seems no shortage of people glad to take advantage of it.

I don't really have a point in that, except to note that I don't see the same ambition to be educated among Americans that I see here. It's encouraging to see.

More later...