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There is nothing like spending time with family… even if it is not your family, spending time with a Mom and Dad is wonderful and today our friend Mike was kind enough to shared his family with us.

Today we were in Manila where Mike is originally from and he offered to introduce us to his family and take us around for the day!  I had no idea what he had in mind for us, but we just said do what you would normally do and we will just tag along.  With that said, we got off the ship to find his mom, dad and god mother waiting for us on the pier.  What kind, warm, loving people!  Mike’s mom greeted us with a giant hug and a giant care package of snacks and pastries from the Philippines. (Aren’t moms the best!)  With our introductions out of the way we piled into their car and drove to the Mall of Asia to have lunch at Mike’s favorite restaurant, which specialized in fried chicken?  I have to admit I am still a little confused by Asians and their obsession with fried chicken.  I mean KFC in Asia is like Starbucks in New York… they are everywhere!  Anyways, it was nice to just relax and have a family meal together.  After lunch we explored the mall, which as you may have guessed in the largest mall in all of Asia (hence the name, Mall of Asia)… crazy!  I have to admit that it was not the cultural day in the Philippines that I had expected (fried chicken, giant mall) but like I said before, we asked Mike to make no special plans and just let us tag along.

Back at the pier there was a full party under way!  I don’t know if I have talked about this before, but about half of the crew on board is from the Philippines so the ship set up a bunch of tents with food and drinks for everyone and their families to hang out and visit with one another.  There was even a local marching band performing right up until we sailed away.  It was a very fun day, but it did make me miss all of you back home!  I cannot wait until May 15^th when I get to see all my friends in New York, May 16^th when I get to see my Rhode Island family, May 17^th when I get to see everyone in Boston and May 18^th when I am home in Maine.  It is going to be the best!!!

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