Pokemon Go Arrives in Manila

Tentacool, Squirtle, Polliwag. Welcome to the new vocabulary of Hart children leisure time. Pokemon Go has arrived in the Philippines.

"Pokemon Go is very fun," said Henry, an 8-year-old Poke-walker. He reported spending 30 minutes Saturday morning to catch 7 Pokemon.

"What makes it so popular is not just the game play, but you get to go outside and interact with other people," said Caleb, who first discovered Pokemon Go in Boston. "That's what makes it so addictive."

Henry (foreground), Madeline, and Caleb catch Pokemon in Bonifacio Global City.

Other updates

Here are the results from the swim team time trials: Sailfish. Maddie's times look good.

Caleb and I discovered the funniest thing ever: Guy On A Buffalo.

So This is Manila

It has rained every day.

My commute is five miles and 58 minutes.

We tried to get Katie a cell plan over the weekend. 3 hours later, we had secured a promise that a plan might be activated in the near future. On the other hand, our home wifi is faster than in Germany and much faster than in Cairo. This metric, home wifi speed, is my primary measure of quality of life, so I love Manila.

Everyone says hello all the time, which is disorienting after Germany.

Henry was very fascinated to discover that you can order corn at McDonalds.

No one drives their own car. Indeed, all the apartment buildings have rooms where the drivers hang out and watch TV and share gossip about their employers while they are waiting for a call to drive someone somewhere.

The school administrators and teachers are excessively friendly. Madeline has joined style club (I don't know what that means in practice) and made one of the advanced swim teams. Caleb joined drama and chess clubs. Henry is signed up for basketball and soccer.

The Disney Pics (Belated)

I like this one because the woman behind Maddie and Caleb really doesn't want to be on that rollercoaster

Maddie found the Expedition Everest camera!

Henry's first rollercoaster ride. He caught the spirit quickly.

Fantastic beard!

Not sure why my head looks enormous, but a nice pic nonetheless 

Caleb is all zen waiting for Space Mountain to start