Meeting Aunt Mary Ann

I didn't know what to expect. I knew what side of the family she's from. Who her sisters are. Her cousins. And that she was coming over yesterday at 3:00, but that's about it. Aunt Mary Ann is a business woman through and through, and with that comes connections. She was one of the relatives I had talked to before arriving and thought she could help me figure out where I'll be volunteering and possibly set me up with a part-time job if I wanted. So needless to say the "good impression" thing was at the front of my mind.

When she told me she'd stop by on Thursday I planned on inviting her into my apartment. I didn't think it was necessary for Lola to be there and to be honest, I was nervous to have her there. The reason for that is she's not so clear on what I'm looking to do and the explanations I give her don't seem to stick. She likes to act as the leader in our duo- and sometimes that's okay. But when it comes to my time and where I'll be volunteering, it doesn't rub me so well when she puts on her serious face and tells me what I'll be doing and where I'll be going if I can't get ahold of so and so. But the most dreaded thing I was afraid she'd do was to speak Tagalog to Aunt Mary Ann and leave me helplessly out of the conversation, telling her what I wanted to do and ask about where I was to be working. (This has happened plenty of times before with other relatives and no, Lola. Work and volunteer are not synonymous.) So in order to avoid that, I cleaned up my apartment.

She pulled in at 2:30. "Oh God, here it goes," I thought to myself as I prepared for the four natural steps that happen when it comes to meeting family (see post below). After the awkward dance (the reach for a handshake, step in for a hug, and not-so-smooth kiss on the cheek), I invited her up. We had taken about three steps when I heard a shout from Tita Minerva's doorway. "Noo please," I silently pleaded as I turned around. And there she was. Standing in her slippers, a pair of athletic shorts (soccer, maybe?), a cute top, and glimmering gold jewelry. Lola wanted us to go sit with her. Forced to surrender, my shoulders sagged with defeat and we made our way back.

We sat down and at first I was happy that Lola was there to do the talking in the beginning. Until she started talking about what I wanted to do, confusing "work" with "volunteer", and speaking in Tagalog. Then Aunt Mary Ann looked at me and said, "Hey, want to go to Makati City with me?" So I ran to change and grab the copies of my resume that I had brought along. 

In the car I clarified what I was looking for and how I wanted to spend my time here in the Philippines. We talked and talked and then she invited me to stay overnight on Saturday. She suggested that on Sunday, we cook Filipino food. She introduced me to two people that I was able to leave my resume with and they said they'd get in contact with us in these next few days. Later I ended up sitting in on a looong meeting that Aunt Mary Ann was conducting and afterwards, she took me to dinner, dropped me off back at home, and said she'd call me on Saturday.