Thursday and Friday
Morning came pretty quickly, but I felt pretty rested–I got to sleep in til around 6, which was later than I was waking up at home, so that was good. We were able to shower and eat breakfast and pack the car at a leisurely pace. Shawna had to make a last minute run for some hair clips for Grammy, as we’d forgotten ours.
Dennis kept me posted on his passport progress–he was able to get to Norwalk, CT right as the passport office opened, and was pushed to the head of the line. As we drove to JFK, he called us to let us know that he was on board and would have a passport by lunchtime. He had purchased his own ticket separately on Orbitz for around $1500.
Uncle Bobby, Shawna, Grammy and I left around 9:30 to head to JFK. As we were driving on the Belt Parkway, we decided to stop by my dad’s to see if he had made any progress on some signed/notarized affidavits that my Uncle Fred needed to authorize my mom’s cremation. When we got there, my dad was just leaving the house to get it down. I decided to ride with him while everyone else waited at the house. We had to stop at my dad’s office to pick up the papers, and then to the notary public. I waited in the car. My dad got back to the car and told me that they wouldn’t notarize the form, because it stated that the signature was enacted in the Philippines! We rushed back to the house to call my Uncle Fred to see what to do. We rushed to put together a Power of Attorney, just in case. My dad headed to his attorney’s office, as we all piled back into Uncle Bobby’s car to get to JFK.
We made it to JFK with plenty of time. We checked in without any problems, and had time to grab some lunch before our 1:55 flight. We bought some overpriced sandwiches and sushi for about $30, and sat with Uncle Bobby at the Brooklyn Brewery to eat. As we sat, we noticed that someone had dropped a large (Costco-sized) jar of Kirkland cashews right in the middle of the corridor. We watched as more and more people realized it was there–and giggled as security proceeded to talk on walkie talkies to lock down the cashews. Everyone walked a wide perimeter around it, just in case. Ahh, nothing like post-911 life. A jar of cashews.
Our first leg was the long one–13 or so hours from JFK to Incheon Airport in Korea. We were excited to see the in-flight entertainment included movies, videos, kid’s movies, games and music. Prophylactically, I gave Grammy some Benadryl–I figured it was just about naptime anyway. The excitement must’ve gotten her so worked up–she didn’t fall asleep for some time. We wore out every kid’s movie available, as well as marker books, sticker books, and toys on the flight. Shawna and I were able to grab snippets of sleep here and there. We were thankful to have the whole row to ourselves–Uncle Bobby was on the other side of the kitchen from us. I was excited to see that the meal options were Korean–bibim bap, and a more Western-style roast chicken. Little did I know that I would have seven meals of bibim bap in the next week.
The flight service was exceptional–the stewardesses were attractive and efficient, and we kept wondering how they looked so fresh after 13 hours in flight! We on the other hand were sweaty and disgusting. The funniest part was when Grammy started crying a little bit because she was exhausted and couldn’t settle down: it seemed like the entire flight crew descended upon us with toys and candy and fans and shushes to try to settle her down! It was clearly part of their training to tranquilize small screaming children, and they were following protocol to a T.
We had a layover in Incheon for about 2 hours–just enough to re-check in (Incheon must want to do their own security, rather than depend on others’), and grab another meal. We were pleased with the cleanliness of the airport, and the efficiency of the Welly Cafes. We ordered by number, and within 5 minutes, our orders came up at the respective service areas. I ordered a yook hwe bibim bap (the raw fish version), while Shawna ordered the Mongolian beef, and my uncle got the curry (looked like wafuu). It was all good–my fish was a little fishy, but I think the fishiness went away after the fish cubes thawed out. The Mongolian beef was sweet and served with vegetables and crispy noodles. I didn’t try the curry. The beef was a bit scarce–I got more fish than they got beef. All came with kimchi and pickled radish.
We got back on the plane shortly. The last leg was around 3-4 hours–I can never keep track with all the time changes. The flight was uneventful–I’m sure we ate more bibim bap too. We got into Manila at around midnight–I think our flight was delayed about 10 minutes. The heat and humidity immediately hit us. You could smell the dampness–a mildewy smell that seemed to permeate everything.
My cousin Dave was due to pick us up, but we didn’t see him. We waited around for a while, and tried to make some calls–but our cell phones didn’t work there, and we hadn’t changed any dollars for pesos. My uncle went to go get some change, and struggled to use the phones–and then Dave showed up. We were all tired and sticky, and Grammy was getting ornery. I was extremely concerned that she stay near us at all times, as I would be in any other city, but especially because there were so many people around. Dave was there with his family’s driver, Bong, and Bong’s son. They put all of our luggage into the van, and we were off.
Even at 1 AM, the city was bustling–traffic was not overly intense, but moving. People were out on the streets walking or sitting and talking, children were still awake. We learned that the lane striping on the roads were “guidelines,” people generally drive wherever and whenever they feel like. It was a short drive back to the house, around 30 minutes. When we arrived, my Uncle Fred (also known as Uncle Boy) greeted us. He quickly got us settled in, and asked us to be as quiet as possible, as my grandma was sleeping.
We crept up the stairs to bed. We went into our bathroom (each bedroom has its own full bathroom and walk-in closet), to find that, as I suspected since my last visit, we had to bathe from a bucket. The shower no longer worked, according to my uncle, because the pipes had closed up due to rust and sediment. The water pipes were galvanized, which means they eventually rust and corrode. We cranked up the AC, and bucket-bathed, and settled in to bed. We had to be ready for a jam-packed day.
It was 2 AM Saturday morning, Manila time. We had left for JFK 9:30 AM on Thursday, NYC time.
