33,000 Feet Above Ground

Espacio

Today marks my one month away from home, away from family, away from everything Manila used to offer me.

During the first two days of my relocation...I cried. I cried so hard that I just want to go to work and then home and sleep my worries away.

But during the course of my stay, I was actually liking it here. First, I'm away from my ex. That's a good thing. Believe me. Second, the traffic is minimal! Commuting time is reduced to one-third of my previous time there in Manila. Third, the people here are way nicer. They don't have that Manila angst and impatience. They're more patient and they're more friendly.

So I think I have adjusted pretty well for someone who had been so dependent on my family for doing stuff for me. I am really liking it here. True, I still miss home especially my pets but I figured I could really stay here for a while.

Although what I noticed was that it's really hard to be vegan here. People here are more meat-eaters than the people in Manila. The tofu here is limited to the groceries (which by the way are very expensive).

Soymilk in the groceries too are more expensive here. The brand that I'm purchasing costs only 65pesos but here it's 71pesos. Can you imagine a 6-peso markup?! That's 24pesos for every 4 cartons that I purchase. And I consume about 3-4 a week.

Another of my staple is peanut butter and the brand that I am buying here costs about 190pesos. The peanut butter that my sister buys from Pampanga only costs 110pesos. And sometimes I even get the peanut butter for free.

So yeah, there really are ups and downs with relocating and living independently.

But you know what?

I don't regret it one bit. Not one bit at all.

Because there's truth when people say you discover yourself more when living independently.

And I totally agree.

Part 2