Some might say Metro Manila is dirty, some might say Metro Manila is crowded, and some might say Metro Manila is polluted. They might be right, but it is definitely a one-sided reflection about this gigantic, metropolitan region.

Regardless of all the dirt, regardless of all the crowds, and regardless of all the pollution: Metro Manila definitely has its advantages. People seem to be more relaxed (and walk significantly slower – what a healthy deceleration), the food tastes better (of course, since it’s Asian food – unfortunately not that spicy), and prices are lower (but never say that publicly – or they will become more expensive).

As for me, I have the privilege to do my internship with Monsoon (the Asia Pacific communications team for Wycliffe International) here in Metro Manila, Philippines. Until Christmas I will (learn how to) write some stories about the work of Wycliffe International in different parts of the Philippines and even in the greater Asia area.

Having been to Indonesia for one year in 2006 and to South Korea for six months in 2008, I am really looking forward now to learning as much as possible about the Filipino culture, people, food, and maybe also language. One big difference I experienced so far, are the jeepneys.

Since Rachel already blogged about the public transportation, I’ll keep it short and simple: Riding a jeepney is really an experience (not to say an adventure). It’s slow, unhealthy – but cheap. Taking pictures of jeepneys is a lot of fun, because they all look unique. Here’s my favorite “jeepney-picture” so far:

Because I don’t know what you’re interested in and I could tell you so many things, I’d like to let you decide what you want to read next. So please participate in this poll:

As a German I’d like to close with a quote, which is quite popular in my country: “If you find any spelling mistakes, you can keep them.”