Back on the road.... or plane

Just touched down in Manila, traveling once more. This time I will be gone for 3 months as well, just like I was for Thailand. It has been 13 months since I last left the country and this morning as I was in Hong Kong for a layover I remembered the last time I was here when I just found out that I got accepted to UC Berkeley- it is crazy to realize how much my life has changed since that point and how much I have learned about the world since that moment.
I will be in the Philippine's for 15 days traveling and touring to then fly to Mumbai, India to begin my 8 week water and sanitation project with Haath Mein Sehat, to then return back to Berkeley in late August. It will be quite the summer ahead of me and I am anticipating every single moment. The rush of the semester ending and everything else has pushed me to really want a break.... traveling is my outlet for this. Despite scaring my family (especially my mother), learning by doing is my way of understanding this world.
I arrived in Manila to a storm, grabbed a taxi and met up with my cousin at the hotel he was staying. The weather is very hot and humid, a refreshing change from San Fransisco which has been chilly (almost winter chilly) this past week. Manila reminds me very much of Bangkok in terms of housing, highways, globalization, and organized chaos. We will spend the next day or two in the city until we decide on what path to take next- the Philippines has so much to offer and I can't wait to soak as much of it in as I can in the next 2 weeks. I'd love to stay longer but I'll take what I can get in 15 days :)
Thank you to everyone who has helped me out and supported me for this trip- it is you that make this all possible and you know who you are!!!
I can't wait to show you all what I'm seeing.... man, the world has so much to offer!