From the Philippines

Went snorkeling with whale sharks, dune-buggying on an old lava river, and bbq-ing on the beaches. Was an awesome 3-day weekend. The whale sharks were too big to get a good picture, and while my camera is water proof, it's tough taking pictures underwater. After the first two whale sharks, I stopped trying. But, we saw a bunch of them, they are humongous and wonderful animals. I swam along side them and felt their peace and simplicity.

With things like the garbage patch in the Pacific, the oil gusher in the gulf of Mexico, acidifying of the oceans, mercury pollution, they'll probably all be dead in 30 years, so I'm glad I got the opportunity while it's still safe to swim in the ocean to see the world's largest known fish.

Trip to the Philippines

Below was the blog I was going to put on here, with pics from the Philippines - but there is no longer an 'attach picture' icon - so I need to look into how/why they've changed it. I might have to go with a different blog service.

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Sorry for the lack of an update...I was in the Philippines last weekend, snorkeling with whale sharks. It was incredible - I didn't get too many pictures of them, I was too concerned trying to enjoy them rather than trying to capture them on film. We saw probably 10 of them - basically, we have a spotter on the boat, they see one and the boat speeds up to get in front of them. Then we jump in and try to keep up with them. They swim along the surface while they are feeding.

We also took an ATV up an old lava river to the foot of a volcano.

Hope all goes well back home.
Much love,
Jake

1 month down

Helloooooooooooo....
Finally - I have some co-workers showing up. I was the first in the office here - and was working solo for quite some time - which has its positives and negatives. Starting Monday though, I'll have 4 more coworkers. The pictures are from my office - and the others are the beach here. It's man-made - and a bit eerie with all the tankers creating the skyline.

Not quite settled in yet

I've been here now for 3 weeks...can't say I'm comfortable. I'm getting there though. Good news - I haven't gotten cained...yet!

No cool personal pictures…I forgot my camera charger back home…and have yet to pick one up. The pictures in this one are downloaded from the internet. The tallest building in two skyline pictures is where I'm working, on the 35th floor of the UOB Plaza.


The first three weeks here were ridiculously busy with work, and I'm a bit inefficient at the moment as I'm trying to figure things out. We had a big client meeting and then the CEO was visiting last week…so it was a bit hectic.

This past weekend I went to a two-night concert with Buddy Guy (one of the godfather's of the blues…which means a godfather of most modern-day music), Buena Vista Social Club, Gipsy Kings, Jools Holland & Orchestra, and The Fray. Buddy Guy stole the show. I appreciated Buena Vista and Gipsy Kings and seeing something Latin, which I miss. They spoke Spanish to the crowd and it was rather cool being one of the few who could understand what they said.

Singapore is the cleanest city I've ever seen. As a co-worker said, 'the streets are so clean, I feel like I'm in a movie set.'

Lots of Asians. Feels like I traded in Latinos for Asians. From an attraction aspect, I'm not sure that was the best deal (though there are lots of beautiful women here…just not sure if I'm into Asians yet). From an efficiency and business standpoint, it was a very good idea.

Singapore was also rated as the #1 city for expats by HSBC Bank. I can pretty much get all the food items I would want from the States – though it's expensive. In fact, it's cheaper to eat out at the Singaporean food centers (called hawker centers, like a food court) than it is to buy food and cook. Therefore, cooking turns out to be a luxury done only when I really want to.


That's all for now. Hope everyone is doing well. Thanks for reading.
Much love,
Jake

Singapore!

Just to get an official post on here - I have arrived to Singapore. It appears, at the outset, that I am going to really enjoy this place. But I say that without much knowledge and maybe a little happy to be sitting by the pool and out of the snowiest winter in DC for the last 100 years.

I spent 4 days in Delhi - mainly working, so I don't really have much to report on from there. Although, I will say the driving was the most lawless I have seen yet in my life, knocking Naples off the #1 spot. Cows really were all over the place, just chilling out, and the food was more delicious than I thought it could be.

I'm currently in a really nice hotel in downtown Singapore. Completely different than the Peace Corps. Working in corporate life once again is making me re-train my brain and my use of time - and it's a little bit of a struggle.

Best coincidences: My last night in Delhi, Friday, I met up with the John and Tom Dundon, who were ending their 2 week trip. We were fraternity brothers and John and I lived in New Zealand together - not to mention that I slept on John's couch a lot over the last few months in DC.

Then, to top it off, on Saturday after arriving in Singapore, a different friend from college happened to be in Singapore (she's flying out today though), so my first night in my new home was spent with an old friend. We went out to dinner on the water and then went to a club on the top floor (the 71st) of a building. Great couple of nights.

Much love,
Jake