September 15

I have been in the Philippines for 3 months.  A lot has happened.

We went to the gym today.  I felt a little sore, but did a total of 45 minutes on the treadmill and some light weights.  Grace was working out hard today.  She is a lot more dedicated than I am.  After the gym, we came home and Grace invented a new dish for lunch.  It is similar to a Monte Cristo sandwich, which she didn't know existed, but the bread is wrapped around the meat and cheese.  Grace is really good at getting fried things drained really well, so they aren't greasy, so her creation was better than the best Monte Cristo I ever had.

I suppose this goes back to the days when the Spanish were in charge, but it seems that people here have a thing about light and dark skin.  Every soap and grooming product for women and even for men advertises "whitening" ingredients.  I think Grace has beautiful skin, and I love the color, so I'm glad she isn't obsessed with lightening her skin like so many women here seem to be.  It makes it difficult for me to find anything to use to wash my face or bathe with.  I'm white enough already, and don't really want any bleaching chemicals on my skin.  I hate what advertising does to people.  Thin girls think they need to gain weight, healthy girls think they need to diet.  White girls go "tanning" and brown girls use whitening cream.  Of course even old, fat, white men aren't immune to advertising pressure, and I am as guilty of vanity as anyone else.  I just think it is so unfortunate that people think they need to buy this or that or have operations to be "attractive."  I especially am opposed to breast "enhancement" surgery.  I've never seen a natural breast that was too small for someone to love, and the natural ones are so much more fun to touch.