Category: Random

I’ve lost count of the number of times I’ve heard this. Snatchers/pickpockets are a constant threat on the streets of Manila, so I get warned if I leave my backpack partially unzipped. The warning often comes from someone I’ve never met or talked to before.

Today I was blessed by another act of kindness. I had lunch with a buddy of mine after worship. From there we took a taxi over to the mall. Someone caught up with me in the mall and informed me I had left something in the taxi. I ran out and retrieved my sunglasses from the taxi driver, who was waiting with is window open. Two complete strangers went out of their way to keep me from losing my shades.

My point is this: for every one snatcher, there are thousands of honest people here. Let’s not forget this.

I always try to bring pasalubong for my teammates when I come back from the States (pasalubong=a “returning home” gift) . There’s a dozen or so of them, so getting something for everyone isn’t always easy. Usually I just bring back a 5 lb bag of starburst (a chewy, sweet candy), rip it open, and let them grab it all up. I should point out that they make sure to distribute it evenly. They even share the sugary spoils with their students.

This year I decided to do something a little different. I bought all of them a bottle of vitamins. I did this in part because vitamins are very expensive here. I’ve never really figured this out.

The vitamins I bought are the generic equivalent of Centrum–the exact same formula. 130 tablets cost about four dollars (about 3 cents/1.3 pesos per tablet). Buy a 300 tablet bottle and its even cheaper.

Locally bought vitamins are a lot more expensive. Centrum vitamins can cost over 10p (22 cents) per tablet if you buy them at a drug store (where they are normally sold in individually sealed packets). I don’t get it.