We were supposed to go out and do more work today. But the areas where we are working are not structurally sound, to put it nicely. So our hosts came to breakfast this morning and said that it is not a good idea to be outside today, so they put off the work until Wednesday. Fair enough, we’ve learned to trust them on things like this.

We knew the wind had been bad. And we knew the rain was coming down in torrents. But we did NOT know that we’re seeing the gentle side of a bona-fide tropical storm. It is hitting Manila pretty hard. We’re about 700 km (435 mi) from Manila, and getting a milder version of their problems. You can read this page of the Washington Post to hear about the problems the weather is causing in Manila: http://www.washingtonpost.com/world/asia_pacific/philippine-storm-leaves-1-dead-4-missing-wayward-barges-smash-into-manila-bay-shanties/2012/07/30/gJQAjEBUJX_story.html#

Here, the wind is whipping the trees and pushing the roofs off some buildings. And the rain is causing some flooding in low-lying areas. Road construction has stopped, because the places they have dug through the roads have filled up with water. It’s consistently rainy in the Philippines, but not always so rainy that you can’t see to drive.

So today, we hung around the house and spent some time at a shopping mall. (Malls are very well built, and aside from flickering lights a couple times there were no problems there.) Purchased some luxuries – Coke and chocolate! Ritter chocolate is cheaper here than Hershey’s is – yay! I love Ritter chocolate but can rarely afford it. My tastebuds are doing the happy dance. 🙂

Stay dry and keep your roofs on, people!