Manila Briefings: Random Observations After a Week of Semi-Random Tourism

After so much travel in non-English speaking countries, hanging out in a former American colony is quite a shift in gears. I have said thank you in Portuguese and Spanish as a reflex when everyone I have encoun tered is very fluent in English. What else have I observed in my week in Manila and on the road to a volcano or 47 (yes, apparently 47 vents or volcanoes or something, I don't know the…