Different towns have their own versions of the religious festival but Pampanga (north of Manila) is the most popular one because it boasts of actual nailings on the cross. It's not as bad as you think. The nails are quite small and they are thoroughly washed in alcohol before they are hammered into strategic areas of their hands to do the least damage. And their weight is supported on the cross by ropes on their hands and foot platforms. Of course, the pain is still real.

After three hours of driving or so, we arrive at our destination, Saint Catherine's Monastery, officially the Sacred Autonomous Royal Monastery of Saint Catherine of the Holy and God-Trodden Mount Sinai. The monastery was sanctioned by the orders of the Byzantine emperor Justinian I, between 548-565 BCE. But,in the year 330 ACE, the Empress Helena, the mother of Roman Emperor Constantine the Great, built a church with massive granite blocks, believed to be on the site where God spoke to Moses through the burning bush.

When my family arrived from Canada, I was eleven, and was very naïve and ignorant to the ways of the world. So, my first memory was moving into a small apartment on Lower Queen Anne Hill. Eventually I would become a high school student on the hill’s top at Queen Anne High School, the same place where I first met my lifelong friend, T-Boy editor Ed Boitano.

As the road winded through rolling hills and a ranch full of playful ostriches, we knew something special was awaiting. And when we past a pasture of grazing horses and entered a tiny village of windmills and half-timbered buildings with gabled roofs, our suspicions were confirmed: we were going to have a memorable time in Solvang. 

Nursery rhymes are thought to be instrumental in helping children develop an ear for language, that is according to Mem Fox, author of Reading Magic. The short, rhythmic style of nursery rhymes help children to sound out unfamiliar words, aiding them in vocabulary expansion as they begin learning how to read and process other crucial language skills.

The country holding captive the birthplace of the religion I grew up with, Christianity, of the ethics that shaped me, has withered beyond redemption. It seems hell-bent on withering spirituality throughout the world.

After our UNIWORLD riverboat docked in Luxor, we flew back to Cairo and then to Sharm El Sheikh International Airport on the Asian side of Egypt. To say we were fagged and weary was an understatement; we were overwhelmed by all that we had previously experienced and the daily five a.m. wake up calls on the riverboat added to it.

I have a great affection for swimming pools. Jumping into refreshing, crystal clear waters in Southern California has always had a way to soothe my senses. I've noticed when my Seattle friends realized that I had a swimming pool in my backyard in Burbank, they appeared to be envious, wondering why someone like me should actually have pool. I would remind them that having a pool down here is not uncommon. In fact, due to the heat, our pools are often not heated. So, I would invite them to join me for a dip into my pool, as I invite T-Boy readers to enjoy my below prose.

And we hadn't even entered the huge barn containing all the afore-mentioned stalls proffering fresh fruits and veggies, baked goods, cheese and chocolates, plants and more varieties of nuts and dried fruits than you ever knew existed. Also clothes, backpacks, jewelry, African handicrafts, tropical oils, bath products and too many other items to even contemplate. If there's anything you could possibly want, I promise you it's there - you just need the patience to seek it out.

While driving deep into the desert of Egypt's Sinai Peninsula, we sat three hours in a van, which was part of a convoy, apparently to assist other vans in case of mechanical failures or possible attacks from unknown assailants. There were many checkpoints along the way, guarded by soldiers and policemen. With us were two very nervous U.S. tourists who spoke endlessly of the nearby war that was geographically close but emotionally felt light years away. The other occupants in the van consisted of driver, our own policeman and our highly educated guide whose narrative of the harsh landscape of sand and boulders had the shaped mountains, the home of the nomadic Arabic Bedouin people, making the hours seem like minutes.