P = pesos

Just returned to Q.C. from a 6-day trip to Cebu. Saw family and did some stuff on my own…getting around was much easier knowing that I could rely on my Cebuano. But, with that fact aside, I still had no sense of direction while I was there. Cebu City is a much smaller place than Manila, but I wasn’t familiar with the jeepney routes or where Banilad is in relation to the Ayala Mall. So, I ended up taking a taxi everywhere when my cousin had to work last Wednesday.

I had to go to Banilad from Capitol to meet with Attorney Liza Osario from CCEF (Coastal Conservation and Education Foundation), then to San Carlos University-Main Campus to visit the Cebuano Studies Center and to hopefully run into Dr. Resil Mojares (which didn’t quite happen), and then off to the San Carlos Seminary to have lunch with my Uncle. This whole day of riding taxis I spent over 250P, which is roughly equivalent to 5 bucks, which isn’t a lot if you consider how much a taxi in the States would cost. While on the other hand, riding the public transportations (jeepnies) costs only 6P per trip, this would have saved me a lot of money if I would’ve been familiar with the routes.

It’s not that I’m a stingy person, but as just someone used to using the Metro-bus system in Seattle, it’s quite hard to adjust to always doing the conversions in my head and justifying the cab ride, because it’s cheap in comparison to the cabs back home. But, can I really compare the two situations? Should I mimic my student budget and lifestyle from back in Seattle?

Went to Pizza Hut at Ayala in Cebu with my cousin Teresa who’s 22. She asked me before dinner what I’d wanted to eat since I hadn’t been back in 9 months, but I wanted to take her somewhere, where she probably hasn’t gone to for over 9 months since I’d been away. So that’s how we ended up at Pizza Hut, the bill totaled to about 560P, pretty cheap for two people if again you convert.

Teresa is a nurse, earning the minimum wage in the city 223P/day. Pizza Hut = 2 days at work. Her older sister, Leah earns even less, she works outside of the city and so earns the minimum wage of 200P/day. She works at the massage & spa on Badian Island Resort, where a massage package runs at the lowest for 2,800P. This doesn’t even include the boat ride or the day trip if you want to go to Badian Island for just the day, which costs I believe $25. It’s an interesting situation, who can afford the pizza and the massage?