I got up at about 8 AM, although I had already been woken up by the natural alarm of the chickens crowing, cock-a-doodle-doo. I was actually a bit annoyed because I wanted to fall back asleep. However, after getting up, I thought it would actually make a nice alarm if you wanted to wake up at 4 AM. I’m sure Nanay sets “the alarm.”
Nanay was eating breakfast when I went downstairs. I told her, “Good morning.” She replied with unusual energy, “Good morning!” I still don’t understand her personality. It is difficult to read her emotions.
I took a quick shower, and as I passed by her afterward, she offered me some of the coffee she had made in a pot and drinks every morning. I happily said, “Yes!” I quickly went upstairs to change my clothes and make my bed since I was going to stay one more night. When I came back downstairs, the coffee was ready, with a lid on the cup, along with sugar and powdered creamer. The sugar was made from sugarcane that she grows in her garden. It was stickier and more paste-like than regular sugar.
I also asked her if it would be possible to have the breakfast she had made: rice, green onions, and a few slices of processed meat. She kindly said yes, so I enjoyed the breakfast and sipped the coffee afterward.
That day, I didn’t have anything planned, but I needed to save as much cash as possible, which meant I couldn’t afford to eat or drink outside. That’s why Nanay’s breakfast was especially appreciated.
The situation actually worked out well because I had so many videos on my camera that needed to be organized. I thought it would be the perfect day to do nothing except edit videos. The more you move around while traveling, the more footage you end up shooting.
After finishing the update for this blog, I started editing my videos. Thankfully, I did not have to pay for lunch since I had some sticky rice from Nanay and had eaten a big breakfast. However, sitting inside the lodge for several hours started to drive me crazy, so I decided to go to Bana’s Coffee, where I paid 150 PHP for a black coffee.
I ended up staying there until about 6 PM and managed to finish editing two videos that day.
For dinner, I couldn’t go to a restaurant because of how little cash I had left. I only had 690 PHP ($11). If I went to a restaurant and ordered something, it would have cost at least 200 to 300 PHP. Instead, I decided to buy a can of luncheon meat and a pack of Shin (spicy) instant ramen, which came to 145 PHP ($2.40). That left me with 545 PHP ($8.80).
After returning to the lodge, I started “cooking” them, and Nanay helped me out. I ended up with quite a big meal. I’m sure that if I had ordered a meal of that size at a restaurant, it would have cost me more than 300 PHP. The luncheon meat was pretty salty, but at least my stomach was satisfied.
By the time I finished eating, Nanay had already gone to bed. It was just after 7 PM. I also went back to my room and relaxed. Since I hadn’t moved my body much all day, it was difficult to fall asleep. I kept going back and forth to the bathroom on the first floor, which always happens when I struggle to fall asleep.
I eventually fell asleep at about 11 PM.
