More than a hotel

Today we went to the 'first world' in Cebu, that is the Shangri-La Hotel, that's where the 12th Asean Summit is going to be held in a month. We went for a Christmas Bazaar, they have export items in which they sold for a bit over wholesale price. Both Kioni and I couldn't deal with the heat much, after just checking out a few stalls, we were soaked. And just like I said before, when Kioni feels bad, she hung on to me even tighter, and it doesn't matter how I explain to her that it will only make both of us hotter, she just wouldn't walk by herself. After a half hour out in the heat, we were about to pass out.

So we went into a buffet restaurant for some A/C and food. I was concerned about how much we were going to pay, but Dan said, 'Do you care at this point?' I guess I I didn't care how much we were paying, because I was about to pass out from the heat. It turns out, we have a 25% off of the $30US dollar/person lunch buffet, because we purchased a few US dollar worth of things at the bazaar. I was almost moved to tears when I saw raw fish and shushi! And of course, there are other 'first world' foods, including a chocolate fountain and strawberries! I didn't go for the chocolate, but Dan went nuts over it. Kioni ate a great deal of strawberries. It feels good to see landscaping around buildings again, and it is particulary good to sit down at a table without feeling the stickiness of the table and the chairs. Some missionaries here told us it is just fine to use money this way, because this is one of the ways to make sure you can stay and keep your sanity. I do feel a bit guilty over this, but I am starting to realize what they said is absolute truth.

Since we are not house guests, we cannot check out the pool or the beach, we just ate and left. It was a nice outing, and it does help us to know that if we need some break from the chaos around us, we have a nice place to go.