Our First Trip to Clark

Thursday morning arrived, and we took a two-hour trip from Manila to the Clark Air Force Base. Although we will not be moving up there until around December (the second phase of the TI project will move from Manila to Clark in the next few months), we decided to scout out some housing options while we had some extra time. The drive was quite an experience. “Beep, beep!” The vehicles continuously honked their horns. Hardly any vehicle drove in their own lane instead they constantly weaved in and out of the surrounding traffic as if passing one more car would help.:-) The close calls and sharp turns in traffic did not frighten any of the Filipinos, but we thought most of the driving was a bit risky. During our time in Manila, we have decided not to get behind a wheel. Otherwise, we would probably end up in a wreck!

Thankfully, a Filipino driver drove us to Clark and back safely. Our driver’s name was Ruel and he had a unique accent that entertained us the entire trip! After we left the hotel, he told us a little about Manila and himself. Somehow in his conversation he mentioned, “I am a born-again Christian.” From that statement, we all got excited and told him that we too were born-again Christians. “You are born-again Christians, too? Oh! I am so excited! That is so good!” Ruel exclaimed with a thick, Filipino accent. From then on he began to tell us about his church and his Bible study that he teaches on Sunday afternoons. He really wanted us to come to his church, but then he realized that we would not understand the sermons because they were spoken in Tagalog (the national language). Having a Christian driver made the long, bumpy, ride more enjoyable.


On the way to Clark, it seemed as though we drove through a maze to exit the big city of Manila. Throughout the city, we saw numerous areas of “squatters”—very poor living conditions. Although we had seen such poverty before in Mexico, it was still sad to see those living conditions even in metro Manila. A few of their “homes”, which were made from wood and metal scraps, barely compared to the size of a king-size bed.


Pictured here is a welcoming sign right outside of the Clark base for Texas Instruments. Because many Filipinos are under such poverty, the local community is extremely excited about the TI project as well as the many jobs and opportunities that it will bring.