A Tour With Catriona

Although we have been in the Philippines for over one week, we still have several questions such as “Are there any Chiropractors over here? Where is the best place to find a piano? Do you know if there are any beekeepers in the Philippines? Can you tell us where the best place to buy food is located?” We heard by word-of-mouth that there was an excellent lady who could answer most of our questions about Manila. Her name? Catriona Stoss.:-)


Yesterday, Catriona, originally from England, showed Mom and us girls around a portion of Manila and helped answer many of our questions. Not only did she show us around the Makati area of Manila (where we will be living for the next 5 months), but she also showed us the best places to find almost anything from clothes, furniture, & shoes to jewelry, food, & hair cuts. The entire day, our “tour guide” showed us where to find the best deals and products for all kinds of things.


Throughout the day, Catriona showed us the S&R club, which is a lot like a Sam’s Club, and several markets that had more food options such as fresh milk, good meat, & fresh bread. Catriona even took us to a hair salon that has a hairdresser who can cut curly hair. In this Asian world, it is a bit hard to find anyone who can cut curly, “western” as they say, styled hair.


Besides being a wealth of information, Catriona had such a neat accent and was so much fun to listen to. :-) Occasionally, she would fit “ya” into her sentences. Instead of saying, “You have money, right?” She would say, “You have money, ya?” Not only was she extremely fun to listen to, but also Catriona was very helpful and willing to show us anything that we needed in Manila. It was such a blessing to have her show us many things that we needed.


Because most Filipinos have darker skin, they frequently look for ways to lighten their skin color. According to what Catriona learned, light skin usually indicates some sort of status to them because they have an inside job vs. outdoor labor. Those with darker skin have usually had to work outside in the fields or such. For those who are not able to stay inside all of the time but still want that “light” look, they buy lotions or creams with skin whitening in it. So, while we were out shopping, Catriona reminded us to check the ingredients in our lotions, creams, and even toothpaste to make sure that we do not accidentally buy something with that whitening ingredient.


All in all, we learned so much from Catriona. Bit by bit, we are settling in here in Manila. Now, the only thing that we are still looking for and still praying for is good church. :-)