Friday, April 29, 2016

Back

*Sigh

I exhaled a huge amount of air as I rolled and packed my clothes inside my luggage bag.

"I'll surely miss Cebu," I said to myself.

Zipping the bag, I sighed once again.

I went up from my room to breathe some fresh air and check the sunlight. The ambiance and atmosphere is a far, far cry from Manila.

I went down again to check what I might have missed. Nothing, I guess.

My Tito finally came a few hours later to pick up my stuff.

"There's no turning back for you, G."

It was my conscience making me bite reality.

"Yes, yes I know that," I replied.

It was sad saying goodbye to such a beautiful city. It was also my first time being completely independent. It was a wonderful feeling: you get to know yourself more, you get to do what you want to do more, and you get to be responsible for your actions more.

*A few days later

As I climbed onto the plane heading back to Manila I remembered the time I was going to Cebu.

I was worried and excited at the same time! Away from family and friends, heck, I don't even have any relatives there nor do I speak Bisaya and eat lechon. But it was a gamble I was willing to risk...

"Three months. Three fucking, stressful, toxic, educating, adapting, worrying, convoluting, happy months."

I looked at the sun again one last time before the plane ascended.

"But everything's gonna be okay," I told myself. "Everything will be okay."

As the plane finally lifted off I smiled down and looked beyond the place I shortly called home.




"But these are crazy times. I sometimes believe these must be the craziest times ever." - Maggie, Plainsong by Kent Haruf

Thursday, April 21, 2016

Hanggang Saan?

Tumingala, minasdan ang mga ulap.
Sana'y maabot sila, munting pangarap.
Tinignan ka, sinambit kaya mong mahawak.

Tumingala, sinubukang abutin.
Hindi, hindi talaga kayang kunin.
Tinignan kang muli, wala, ulap ka pala din.

Sunday, April 3, 2016

30,000 Feet Above Ground

Processed soy with caramelized brown sugar
So last 26th of March marked my two months here.

Can you imagine?

I've been living and residing here for 60 days already.

But it's time for me to say goodbye to this beautiful place.

The places are beautiful. The people are beautiful. Everything is beautiful here.

But anxiety got the best of me - with adjustment taking longer than expected and workload eating pretty much my time.

Yeah I'm a quitter. No saving grace here.

So I'm going back to ridiculously congested and clogged Manila with the hopes of doing something better - a work with a purpose or perhaps finally open a vegan shop.

This is far from the end of my journey here. I will always cherish the memories I have gained here as well as the people I have encountered and bonded here.

This place will always be special.

For a Manila boy, that is.






Part 3

Selfishlessness

 "G?" My colleague asked me while I was documenting on a patient. "Hmmm?" "Pwede bang maging makasarili kahit minsa...