Swirling, whirling, twirling and blurring, the days of the past 2 weeks have managed to twist themselves together and mesh into one giant blob of gooey memory. Everything started innocently enough, with Erin and I bidding adieu to our lovely little life in rural Philippines to visit the big bad city of Manila for our mandatory medical and dental check up. We plodded our way through trike and van and plane and taxi until we made it to the Peace Corps approved pensionne, where we holed up with our fellow volunteers awaiting our turn to be poked and prodded by the powers that be. That part was actually pretty fun, as we got a chance to tell tall tales with our friends from different regions who we had not seen since our last mandatory Manila meeting. I was lucky enough to bring along a small traveling friend with me to my check-up, a roundworm, who somehow migrated into my intestines, most likely through my contact with someone else who had contact with, well, poop. Sadly, after taking 1 pill, my friend was nevermore and I left him somewhere in the Manila sewer system. After getting approving nods from our doctors and dentists, we all managed to find our way to a local resort where we had our Mid Service Training (MST), which was a rather useful assortment of volunteers sharing experiences (good, bad and ugly), local resource people giving advice for future projects (again, good, bad and ugly), and evenings off to relax and laugh and burn off steam with our volunteer friends. It was well designed and totally useful to some of the projects that Erin and I have planned for the next 9 months or so. Amidst the clatter of seminar-speak we managed to frolic in the wave pool, go duck-pin bowling (where we served as our own "pin monkeys", setting up and retrieving both balls and pins for one another) and, for those who chose to participate, showed off the various mustaches that we had brought for the unofficial Mustache Bash 2007 Celebration (though some would dub it a competition...). In the end, fun was had by all and we returned to the middle of Manila to finish up medical appointments that had not been completed. I was the proud recipient of 2 moles, freshly removed from my back by a skilled dermatologist, as well as a rectal probe, which, while not refreshing in any way, shape or form, proved that nothing dangerous lurked in my nether-regions. Erin, however, was not so lucky. Though she did not experience the joy that is a tube in the butt, the dentist told her that she needs to have a wisdom tooth (or 2) taken out. While dentists and Peace Corps medical staff in Manila and Washington have been conferring as to the details, Erin and I have been dutifully waiting the process out at the aforementioned pensionne (which, by the way, serves up a rather delightful club sandwich, complete with tuna, bacon and cucumber for a rather reasonable 80 Pesos) with other misfits who are on medical hold. Fortunately, Erin's appointment for extraction is next Tuesday, however, she will not be able to fly until at least Thursday, which means we will continue to bide our time here for another week. We decided to take the opportunity presented to us and make lemonade, however, and have been busily researching various graduate programs for our post-Peace Corps life while concurrently learning the ins and outs of Metro Manila with our other sick friends. Misery loves company, so we jokingly rejoice when someone returns from an appointment with word that they have to stay in town for another appointment in a few days, which guarantees us pleasant company for at least a spell longer.
A haiku, if you will

Manila, you stink
Busy, crowded, unfriendly
But, Taco Bell? Yum.

Scott