I made it.

I’m in the Philippines. Specifically, I am in the capital city, Manila.

I’ll put this out there right now so you are aware – I’m so jetlagged, I can barely walk straight. But I have found my way to a computer and just wanted to write that I am well, happy, and slowly getting aligned with the time change.

The Philippines is 12 hours ahead of Eastern standard time. As I write this, it’s about 10pm on Saturday evening, so it should be about 10am Saturday morning in the US.

My travels began with a 24 hour traveling period, layovers included. Chicago was a breeze, naturally, but it was the flight to Japan that messed me up pretty bad. I has a window seat and was next to a very friendly young woman who repeatedly asked me to help her with her television screen (we all had our own). I was not much help, particularly when I was engrossed in watching The Other Boelyn Girl (very good movie, by the way).

The only problem is when she fell asleep for six hours and I, unusually, could not fall asleep. She had the aisle seat, so I had to get creative when I wanted to stretch my legs. I practically threw my right leg over the seat in front of me to get my blood flowing. My seat was in the back corner of the plane with no one behind me, so for about an hour, I perched on my knees and did quasi-yoga stretches in my seat. I felt fine until the last two hours of the flight. My feet looked like two basketballs, they swelled so much. I was worried until I saw other flip-flop wearing travelers and discovered other basketballed sized feet next to me.

Arriving in Manila was interesting. Customs was a breeze, but I was worrying about finding my Uncle and cousins. I didn’t worry too much when I was walking slowly down the ramp when I spotted someone looking eagerly at me. I tentatively smiled back and then he screamed, “LISAAAAAA!” I thought that was quite a Factora thing to do, so I trusted that was my cousin George. I was right, he led me to my Uncle, who was waiting with a very air conditioned car. (Nice.)

To say I was nervous would be the understatement of the year. Nearly everyone here in Manila speaks English, but going anywhere unfamiliar is always anxiety provoking and stressful. My family here, most of whom I have just met for the first time, has been more than welcoming and friendly. My Uncle, who runs a construction company, he built his home 30 years ago here in Manila and it is so beautiful. This morning, I sat with my Auntie Ina, and talked government, politics and updated her on the US presidential campaign while I ate fresh mango and listened to the rain. Not many mornings can be that beautiful.

I took two naps today. The first for an hour, the second for four. I never intended to fall asleep, let alone twice, but my body still feels like it’s in Boston, or Cleveland, or wherever time is set on the other side of the world. I’ve woken up in five or six different places in the past two weeks and my brain has been utterly confused in my warped life as of late. I woke up this morning and thought, “Now, where the heck am I? Is Nick already up?”

It’s going to be hard to blog about, aka update you on Nick, when we are apart for these next two months. What I can say is that our goodbye at the airport was awful. I cried like a big baby and could barely control my tear ducts. Such a pitiful sight, the ticketing agent had to pause the line to get me some tissues because I was crying so hard. Oh, I must have looked awesome.

Separation is never fun, but Nick was and is his usual supportive self; always looking on the bright side, encouraging me to remember the reasons why I applied for the program in the first place, and reminding me how temporary the situation is in the big picture of our life together. Our last few days together were spent moving into our new home, where I was able to make memories for about two and a half days before I left. My concept of home is wherever Nick is and I find myself thanking God, repeatedly, for such a supportive and loving partner.

So far, the only small things that have posed problems has been the very loud rooster that runs around the land and occasionally through the house. Not even my earplugs can drown that thing. Holy cow, it’s the loudest thing I’ve ever heard. Also, there is Lucky, one of the few dogs around the house. This thing has got eyes the size of UFOs. He stares at me intently and I try to ignore him, and his smell. I gently kicked him out of the way when my other Auntie was making her way onto the porch in her wheelchair. The kick felt justified because he was in her way. I think the Borchers anti-dog sentiments might have rubbed off on me.

My family here is inquisitive about Nick, my Borchers family, and what my life in the US is like. I’m showing them pictures and explain where everyone is. Sometimes they get so eager to hear my stories, they cut me off and finish my sentence before I’m through. Here’s an example. My cousin Paulo is a lawyer here and works for a firm doing litigation. I share, “My sister in law, Kelly, is a lawyer too – Nick’s sister. She works for the government.” Before I can explain she works in Columbus, Ohio, my other cousins exclaim and tell my Uncle, “Kelly is a lawyer for the District Attorney in Washington, D.C.!”

I try to interject, “Oh, no, she doesn’t work in -“

My Uncle, “Really! D.C?!” He speaks in Tagalog, which means he is impressed.

I give up after a few minutes of their talking about how Kelly works in D.C. Everyone in my family loves talking politics and we move on to the happenings in D.C., where, apparently, Kelly now works.

So, my first day has been quite eventful. Tomorrow, I check-in at the University of the Philippines where I will be staying for the next six weeks of my program. I’m excited to continue to adjust to my new surroundings and even more excited for my body to get with it and adjust to the time change.

Love from Manila!