Philippines -- Nagpunta ako sa Pilipinas

Philippines. This country, my place of birth, was beautiful when I visited it in 2008 with other family members. I was culture shocked into awe when comparing it to Canada. Yet, during my travels, I grew to enjoy the wondrous events that took place during my stay.

Though the culture was originally derived from an Asian background, it has been ransacked by Western ideology, and has caused most of the city folk to speak English. Movies, dramas and other forms of media have used several English words in a regular manner for the viewer to absorb. When English is joined with the native tongue (Tagalog), I tend to name it Taglish, a common form of speech. For me, it is not the most attractive ways of speaking, but I can comprehend it better than the unharmed Tagalog.

After I had arrived at the airport, one situation had really struck my heart. At a stop light, impoverished children tend to approach your idle vehicle and ask for money. My relatives explained that this is a norm and the children tend to put on a sad facade to lure you to increase the amount you will give. When the money was finally given, the children did not give thanks. They only moved towards the next car with haste before the red lights turned green. I was not upset at this point, but I finally did understand the warnings others had given me prior to the trip.

HIGHLIGHT. I saw my 2 childhood friends when I entered the Philippines. Here’s some background: When I was still prep school worthy (Less than grade 1 in the Philippines), I moved to Canada leaving them behind. As a young child, the promise to always keep in touch with them was difficult. I had created new friends in Canada, where they then took more priority than my previous friends. Pure immaturity can cause others to forget good friends, but the immaturity level was due to my youthful age; not from some preposterous argument where someone had turned into an ignorant foe, forcing themselves to overlook friends due to unreasonable events.

Fortunately, we were all able to gather. Tamerlane a.k.a. Tmur had stayed in the Philippines. Paula moved to New Zealand in the still (hopefully) innocent age of 13, where she then later moved to Sydney, Australia. Prior to my flight back to my motherland, we all had created plans for a reunion. In the end, Paula also returned from whence she came. The meeting occurred. It felt like three strangers gathered into a Starbucks where the infamous pick up line was used “Hey, do I know you from somewhere?” Finally, with realization twinkling in the eyes, conversations were raised, and friendships bloomed once more. Currently, I still continue to speak with them.



Ah… so many other highlights from that trip. Though as time elapsed, the finish line was ever closer to return home. I remember the Typhoon of Boracay (an interestingly wet trip to a beautiful island; also the main picture of the site was from an airline view towards Borocay), Fancy Shmancy Greenbelt (where some parts not even foreigners roamed due to the pricing of items were similar to the stores abroad), ridiculous inexpensive yet delicious cuisine (Like lobster, caught at the ocean side in the morning), and the family members I had once forgotten.



It was a long 3 week trip with many stories to be told. However, I must stop since I grow tired with every letter that is typed. This is “Mendoukusai” [Translation: Troublesome]. Yet, I am still bleeding blood from my hands to add more flavor to this blurb. OK, I’m done.