Ooh...soap!

Well, I've survived 3 weeks in the Philippine jungle without getting any leech bites -- which is good considering that Jodi got infected leech bites, Ariel and Darwin each got a leech in the eye, and Laura got foot fungus so rampant I expect mushrooms between her toes. Am planning to type up excerpts from my diary and post them as a series of blog entries. The first thing we did after getting to CSSAC (Camarines Sur State Agricultural College and showering was to hop on a bus to Naga and go to Pizza Hut (Jodi's big goal for the day, aside from getting a beer. They have beer in Pizza Hut in the Philippines!).

Neways...I've concluded after 3 weeks that the Philippines is like a more lapuk version of Malaysia. It's kinda like how Singapore is similar to KL but much nicer. Urban Filipinos look like Malays, and rural Filipinos look either like Malays or like Orang Asli. I've had at least half a dozen people here (plus one Hawaiian kid back at college in the US) tell me I look like a Filipina, which is then scary because I'm expected to speak Tagalog.

One cool thing that's coming out of this: I'm going to have my first comic strip published! It's actually a pictorial guide on "What To Do With a Bat" for the Wildlife Conservation Society of the Philippines. Will post later when I scan it. Another cool thing: We caught a Myotis rufopictus (that's "red-painted" for those of you who haven't seen enough scientific names to decipher Latin) on the VERY LAST NIGHT. No kidding. The most beautiful bat in the world.

Oh, and I got the lab job in Madison! Now I have something to go back to America for...putting off the dithering about what to do with my lousy BA for the next year. I can imagine the hell it'll be trying to find a job in Malaysia with a Bachelor of ARTS in Biology. Jerng at least majored in Philosophy; with a useless degree like that, he's free to do whatever the heck he likes. *sigh*