I woke up early again this morning and decided to make a break for the shower (there are about 8 of us family members sharing a bathroom). Oh, and we're talking a very loose definition of shower here (a pail full of water that I "shower" over my head). Today is the day of our family reunion so I wore a skirt (which actually was really nice in the heat--I've been sweating pretty much constantly since I got here) and then I sat around most of the morning trying not to get too sweaty.

Around 11 am we started decorating for the party and the food arrived (a catered lunch since there were about 50 people coming). Everyone started arriving and I got to meet many more relatives than I ever even knew I had (and unfortunately many of whom their names I've already forgotten). We had lunch and I ate out in the nipa hut with several of my cousins and their children.

After lunch, the festivities began with hymns and talking (mostly in Tagalog so I was pretty lost since I only have a very basic understanding; however, I had been given the task of taking pictures with all my aunts' cameras--5 cameras total--so I stayed busy that way). My mom has 5 sisters and 1 brother and each took a turn getting up and telling about (I assume) their families and the general course of their lives.

I'm pretty fortunate that everybody speaks English very well, however, when everybody gets together, the default is Tagalog (understandable) so sometimes I'm left a bit lost. Sometimes I can get the gist of the conversation through gestures and the occasional English word/phrase or through some Tagalog that I know.

This is a good time to describe a balikbayan box. This is a box containing many clothes, toiletries, toys, etc. that a Filipino sends to family and friends back in the Philippines (or brings back when he/she visits). That evening, after most of the reunion festivities were over, we had a balikbayan giveaway where we wrapped many presents (guess who did the wrapping) and went around in a circle so that everyone could choose something.