There’s nothing like a trip home to my favourite islands to give me a stronger perspective of life. The Philippines has a way of allowing me time to breathe, evaluate my life when at crossroads and decide on a direction.

So, quite a few upcoming posts will be dedicated to my trip to this beautiful country, but first a summary of my exploits and thoughts (all jumbled up together due to jetlag):

• Nothing like home sweet home
• I actually enjoy being a software developer / waitress / lifeguard / secretary so long it means I get to be in the sea at least three hours each day :D
• Kape Barako can be bought in large quantities from the palenke
• There is hope for my Tagalog :)
• Good friends can pick up where we left off, even if you haven’t seen them in over 12 years!
• Bawal ang alak – a sad state to be in. :(
• More should be done for schools and medical clinics in Quezon
• I will attempt to do more for the people in Quezon.
• Chicharon bulaklak is ridiculously tasty. Especially when drunk on margarita / tequila.
• Seafood in the province is better than seafood in Manila.
• Gorging on food in the Philippines for three weeks equals to a loss of 2 lbs in Europe. WTF?! YAY!
• Windsurfing is fun, but hard work! Before you can fly you need to learn to fall :)
• Who needs TV when you’ve got lightning storms over the sea
• Geese are not as scary as turkeys and not as stupid as guineafowls
• Snakes come in extra large sizes. Their only fear is men with beer. :D
• There will always be jellyfish in the sea. They won’t disappear just because you want them to.
• I want to go home more often. How about in 6 months time?