Good afternoon and welcome back to the channel! Today started with a bit of a mission—we were heading down to Moalboal because Jessa’s parents needed to borrow some money to buy vegetables for their market business. It’s money we technically don't have, as it was set aside for our taxes, but the plan is simple: we buy the vegetables tonight, they sell them on Tuesday, and we get the money right back.
Of course, in true Philippine fashion, nothing is ever quite that simple. We got to town only to find that the Bank was offline. So, we did what you always do in these situations: we sat down at a cafe, ordered an Oreo cheesecake and a small burger, and waited for the system to come back up. It’s a bit scary dipping into tax money, but I have faith it’ll work out.
Eventually, we managed to get the cash and headed back to the mountains. Jessa was dressed like she was in the middle of a Norwegian snowstorm—she’s so sensitive to the "cold" here, even though I’m perfectly fine in a long-sleeve shirt! We also had a bit of a debate about her learning to drive the car. She wants me to teach her, but I told her I’d need a glass of whiskey just to be brave enough to sit in the passenger seat with her! For now, I’m sticking to the driver’s seat.
We had a serious talk about our budget. The next two or three months are going to be rough. We’ve committed to a very strict budget—about 15,000 pesos a month for food, milk, diapers, and fuel. It’s a huge challenge, especially with a car that drinks way more gas than a motorbike, but we’re determined to make it work until we get our debt fully cleared.
Monday morning was an early start—or at least it was supposed to be. I was up at 3:00 a.m. expecting to go, but Jessa’s dad was a "no-show" after a party the night before. We didn't actually get moving until about 9:00 a.m. We piled everyone into the Kia—Jessa, her mom, her dad (who was looking a bit hungover), and Liam—and headed deep into the mountains of Ginatilan.
The drive was incredible. We went further into the mountains than I've ever been before, on roads that are only just being carved out and cemented. This area is the heart of vegetable farming here. We stopped at a wholesale spot where the family did their "quality checks." Jessa even managed to score a bag of "ugly" organic cucumbers for a great price—they might not look perfect enough for the fancy stores, but they taste amazing.
While the family handled the vegetable business, Jessa and I headed to the municipal hall to try and fix our tax situation. It turns out Jessa is the very first vlogger in Ginatilan to ever apply to pay taxes! The staff there didn't even have the right forms or the OTR/PTR system set up for it yet. We have to go back on Thursday once they’ve figured out the process. It’s a bit frustrating, but I’m glad we’re doing things the right way.
Thanks for watching, and I’ll see you in the next one!
