Dorsai - Kelly's adventures

Then she looked at me speculatively, and said "There aren't many U.S.sailors that come to our country that take the time or effort to learn our language, Mr. Marshall."

"Please, call me Dan – and this is Kelly. I'm sorry to say that I know that, Ms. Ramos." – "It would be Miss Ramos, but I think Marlyn would be better since we'll be together for a while." – "But the Philippines isn't the only country I spent time in, and I found that I liked to learn about the places I was lucky enough to visit. I also found that it was easier to get the help that I so often needed if I was able to speak at least a little bit of the language. I have no illusion that I am fluent in Tagalog; but I hope that I can at least be polite."

She listened to that, and when I was done, told me "Yes, I think that you were probably the kind of visitor that we like to have here, Dan."

Then she turned to Kelly and said "I was told that this is your first trip to our country. You impressed Cherry and Mhay very much with how quickly and well you learned the Tagalog they were able to teach you.

And Mhay was very pleased that you remembered how to show them you wanted them to come over here. It isn't often that we get visitors that take the time to learn our way of doing things."

Kelly answered her by saying "Dan was able to explain a few things to me on the flight here, and help me understand that*I* am the foreigner, now. I am sure that I am still going to make mistakes, but I would hope that you would be kind enough to correct me, so that I don't make any more than I have to. This is a new place for me, and I know that I have a lot to learn – I don't want to be an 'Ugly American'".

Marlyn smiled at that, and told her "You are too pretty to be an *ugly*

American anywhere – but I understand what you mean. I'll be happy to help." She went on to tell us "Your driver is waiting out front with the car. If you'll give me moment, I'll get him to help with your luggage.

Please, wait here."

I assured her we wouldn't move from that very spot, and she smiled at me before heading for the door. True to her word, she was back in a minute or so with a very fit-looking middle aged man. When they were standing in front of us, Marlyn told us "This is your driver and bodyguard, Bhoy". I could see Kelly thinking that over as Marlyn went on "He is retired from the Philippine Army, and even served a tour in Viet Nam, so he really is qualified as a bodyguard. He works as a driver and guard only to have something to do, and to make a little extra money. I've worked with him before, and he is very good and very helpful. As I told you in the email, we won't be going anyplace where there is any real risk; he is here more as an insurance policy, I think you would call it."

I told her "I understand, and thank you."

She smiled again, and said "It is I who thank you, Dan. Ours is a poor country, so anyone who is bringing jobs for our people is someone we want to take care of. If you're ready, we can get you to your hotel now."

Kelly and I both indicated that we thought that was a fine idea, and Bhoy quickly moved to take command of the three largest of our bags, while Marlyn picked up a fourth. Kelly and I both tried to protest, since we were left with only our carry-on bags, but Bhoy and Marlyn both ignored us as they led the way out of the terminal.

Once outside, Kelly immediately knew why I'd 'suggested' (all but told her to wear) light clothing for the flight: we were hit with heat and humidity that was happily very rare in our part of the U.S. I watched, too, as Kelly tried not to react to the varied smells that hit us – the combination of odors that any large city in the tropics develops: auto exhaust, decaying vegetation, and too many people – all leavened with heat and humidity. For someone who'd never been exposed to it before, it can be a real assault on the senses.

Once Bhoy had stowed the luggage, we all piled in. Bhoy drove, of course, while Marlyn took shotgun; Kelly and I were left with plenty of space in the back. I was more than a little surprised when Marlyn had Bhoy drive us past the monumental garbage piles near the airport as we made our way to the hotel. When Kelly saw it, I saw her turn pale and her expression change slightly when she saw the number of people digging around in it. A little farther along, we passed a shantytown, and Kelly saw the crude shacks that lacked even the most basic plumbing. I heard Kelly draw a breath, and quickly squeezed her hand to let her know to keep quiet. When she looked at me, I mouthed the word 'later', which she understood to mean that we'd talk about it in private. As we got closer to the hotel, Kelly started noticing the traffic – and I saw her flinch a few times when she thought we were going to have an accident. I suppose I should have warned her about the insane Manila traffic.

When we got to the hotel, the outside staff quickly got the van unloaded while the desk clerk (five feet of condensed cute) got us checked in.

Ready to head up to our rooms, I turned to Marlyn and said "If you don't mind, I would like for us to go over your plans for our trip this evening. I would be delighted if you would join us for supper in a few hours, after we've had time to rest from the flight, and clean up a little."

Marlyn answered "I was thinking the same thing, except for the dinner part – but I accept. What time would you like me here?"

I checked my watch to find that it was getting close to 3:00 PM. "How about seven o'clock, then?" I asked, and she readily agreed. I went on to say "I don't think we'll be going very far tonight. Do you think that we should ask Bhoy to stay?"

She thought it over, and answered "No, I don't think you need to. This is a good hotel, and there isn't any trouble around here. Just don't go more than a few blocks, and you should be fine – I think you know what places you will be safe in. Once we leave Manila, though, you will want to let Bhoy know what your plans are, since he can help you better than I can."

"Then that's what we'll do; thank you. We'll see you at seven, then?"

She nodded, and we parted company.

Up in our room, I tipped the bellboy when he'd unloaded our luggage, and he left happy – carefully closing the door behind him. Kelly and I both had a look around the rooms (it was actually a small suite) before both of us released a sigh of relief. I was the first to start undressing, but Kelly didn't hesitate to follow my example. In just a few moments, both of us were naked as we headed for the bed to lie down.

As the air conditioning dried the thin film of sweat from our bodies, Kelly looked at me and said "I couldn't believe that pile of garbage, and how all those people were digging through it! What were they doing there? And what about that place with all those shacks? I thought I saw some woman actually peeing behind a bush!"

"That garbage pile is actually kind of famous – every so often, a chunk of it falls over and kills a few people. All the people you saw on it actually live there; they dig through all the stuff trying to find things they can sell for food or clothing or anything else they need."

"But it's garbage!"

"So? Haven't you ever thrown away something that was still good, just because you didn't want it any more? We recycle aluminum at home, but here, it's not so important – so there's plenty of aluminum cans and other stuff for them to dig out and sell. It's not fun, but for most of them, it's do that or starve. I know which one I'd prefer."

I went on to tell her "And that bunch of shacks we saw is a poor neighborhood, is all. The woman you saw probably was peeing behind a bush; damn few of those places have running water inside, never mind actual toilets. But even the people in those shacks are better off than the ones at the dump, aren't they?"