Where in the world

Now that the time for us to leave for the Philippines is drawing close, our friends and families start to realize that we indeed will be living on this land for the next two years! But where in the world will we be in the Philippines? For some of you who are geographacially challenged, you might even think, "Where in the world IS the Philippines?"

It is in South East Asia, to her north is China, south is Indonesia, and west are Myanmar (formerly Burma), Cambodia, Lao PDR, Thailand and Vietnam. It consists of about 7,000 islands.
The Philippine Islands became a Spanish colony during the 16th century; they were ceded to the US in 1898 following the Spanish-American War. In 1935 the Philippines became a self-governing commonwealth. It has a population of 89,468,677 (July 2006 est.)
We are going to Cebu City, the second largest city in the Philippines, where Megellan landed. It is located in Cebu province in the middle of the country. (Click on map to enlarge.) To the south is the big island of Mindanao, where most of the country's Muslim population lives.

What is most well-known about the Philippines? Other than the large number of professionals and workers who live all over the world. Geographically, The deepest known spot on the planet, Challenger Deep, is found at the bottom of the Mariana Trench, just east of the Philippine Islands in the Pacific Ocean. Sounding of the depths in the Mariana Trench measure 36,198 feet. This is approximately 7152 feet deeper than Mount Everest (29,022 feet)! Click on the map below to see a fly-by video of the Mariana Trench. They even found fish there! (Click here to see the fish video).
And of course, you can't talk about the Philippines without talking about the white sandy beaches.
Anyway, it is a hot and humid place that will give your books a good coating of mold. Will tell you more when we get there.