Where are we?

Tara and I are still in the Philippines, today marks 24 days! After the first week of settling in and getting over the jet-lag, we were on our way. Of course, it would be a proper trip if soccer wasn’t involved…after all, most if not all our travel has involved soccer! As Terence mentioned in the last post, we are here because Tara was invited to the Philippines Women’s National Soccer Team’s training camp. The team made it to the 2nd round of the Asia Olympic Qualifiers and puts Tara one tournament closer to potentially playing in the Olympics! The idea still shocks and amazes me…to think back when to when she was 4 learning soccer basics through Lil’ Kickers, that time she wore pink cowboy boots to her first soccer practice in kindergarten for St. Matts, then playing club ball, making varsity as a freshman at Holy Names and soon ending her senior year getting into PLU with a Presidential Scholarship and playing soccer for them (ugh, I know, that was a super long proud mom brag.) Who would have thought she would make the PI Women’s U-16 National team back in 2016 and play her first international tournament and today…MAKING IT on the PI Women’s Senior National Team with the prospect of advancing through to play in Tokyo 2020! Blows my mind. We are Qatar bound on April 1!

Tara and her teammates

Terence and Teren will be making their way to Manila next Thursday and as a family, traveling to Qatar to cheer our Tara on! We’re there for 10 days so if any of you have any recommendations on things to do, let us know!

I’ve been living solo in the condo (Thanks Aunty Emy) since Tara is boarding with her team. BGC (Bonifacio Global City) is super nice and have found my bearings. Everything is relatively close and walkable, there is Grab (which is like Uber and I think Uber owns them) which makes is convenient when you don’t want to walk in the blazing heat. Living is pretty easy and chill here and can’t wait to be here on a more permanent basis!

Here are some pics from our trip so far! If you follow me on IG you may have already seen these! Enjoy and until next update!

DTF is here!

DTF is super thoughtful and make these purse/bag holders available!

F1 Hotel – Had to come back! Tara and her teammates from the U-16 spent a good 3 weeks here before the official training camp back in 2016 for the AFC Championship Tournament

Massage time! The one at F1 Hotel is hands down the best one I’ve gotten here!

Fun Benches in BGC!

Pretty convenient to have a gym in our condo building

My view when i wake up, window is literally right by the bed, love it and don’t mind waking up to this!

Training Camp – Rizal Memorial Stadium

I have yet to ask but we see this in metro areas, roosters and chickens tied up to the trees which are in the middle of the roads sometimes!

Paradise

Balai Isabel Beach Resort

Just palm trees and sun

Been doing more matcha lattes vs. my usual lattes

This is Burgos Circle and people still do Pokemon GO?!?!

A staple, daing bangus, rice and eggs

Spin! The instructors are great and the workouts are amazing!

Watched the President’s state of the union speech of sorts…he dropped so many f-bombs and putang inas on public tv. My takeaways: if you sell and do drugs, you will be punished (and possibly killed), he doesn’t like the casinos, and that was it…granted I only watched like 5 minutes of itThank goodness for technology, get to see my other baby

Infrastructures, madness, a Borromeo running for council, and a meat store

Not in BGC anymore. What the girls walk through to get to the stadium.

$74 Pesos

Before getting the wifi and internet set up in the condo, spent a ton of time at starbucks drinking lattes and free wifi

Not only a gym in the building but a swimming pool perfect for swim workouts

Fresh pandesal, all day

Shake Shack coming soon

Halo-halo, a favorite filipino dessert

So I have a gym and swimming pool in the building and this super nice walk/run path! 3 miles out and back, so perfect for quick run workouts and intervals