My Vacation in Pinas
Time flies so fast. It was just last year I was dreaming of my upcoming vacation in the Philippines; I can’t hardly wait with the momentous event of “once again” being reunited with my loved ones. Now, that dream is finally over. I’m back in Brunei. I’m back in my own reality. Although my stay in the Philippines was super short (two weeks and 3 days), the memories are huge enough to rejuvenate my mind and body and keep me running on the fasttrack.
Now, let me rekindle all the happy encounters I had when I went home to my beloved Pilipinas.
A few days before I had my vacation, my mind was afloat. Half of it was already on vacation mode, while half of it, struggling to finish some errands in the office. Nevertheless, I was so ecstatic and overjoyed. I told myself, finally, after a year and 1 month of homesickness and hardwork, I would be given the chance to grab the ticket to genuine happiness – be with my family and friends.
What was ironic on my preparations, I was excited yet I was a bit lethargic to pack my things. Believe it or not, I just packed my stuffs on the eve of my flight. Plus, I bought all the pasalubongs to my family and friends on the same night. Call it a rush or cramming, I definitely enjoyed it. To me, it lessened the “burden” of being so overjoyed. Burden because, too much excitement would not allow a space for me to fall asleep. At least, after I fixed my luggage, I got tired and ended up in a sweet sleep.
On the day of my flight, I had a good and packed breakfast. While eating with Cecil, I still kinda felt the “surrealism.” That’s been a year, I said to myself in surprise. It seems like yesterday Cecil and I arrived in Brunei and now we’re here ready to go for a grand vacation, a follow up statement in my mind. Indeed, time flies soooooo fast.
The moment we finished our food, we dressed up and waited for Shiela and Soc to pick us up and bring us to the airport. Soon they arrived, cheering us on our much-awaited moment.
While I was on the car, my mind was driving me crazy. There were fireworks of thoughts. First, I was so joyous with the fact of going home and seeing my family and friends. Second, I was nervous because of the adjustment I had to take on my vacation. This is because of the stories I heard from previous Pinoy employees who adjusted terribly with the Philippine’s traffic and noise. Third, I was checking on my budget if it’s enough. Reality check, it all boils down with the expenses. But, I trashed that thinking. I have to enjoy and be with my family, that’s what I confirmed. Fourth, I was pondering on processing my Open University application. And fifth, I was drowned in weighing my how my life would run in the next two weeks. On top of that, I was looking forward to my family’s summer getaway – to bask under the sun at the famous white sand beach of the Philippines, BORACAY! Plus, for a person who never set foot on the glorious island and would be given a chance to experience the island’s beauty, I guess, it’s a blessing to be thankful for.
Soon, the plane departed. But before that, as a patron of excess baggage, yeah, I did it again. I paid 58 brunei dollars for my baggage. I got 4 kilos of excesses!
I was already in the plane. Seated beside me was an old white woman. Although she’s talking to me in bullets, the words never registered in my mind. Indeed, my mind had gone back in the Philippines.
After one hour and 45 minutes, the people in the plane, who are mostly Filipinos, started to make noise while peeping on their windows. To my curiosity, I checked on what they’re looking below. OMG! It’s the Philippines. Then I saw the gargantuan SM Bicutan from above. And from there, I said to myself, finally this is it.
But the reality didn’t sank that fast. Not until I collected my baggage and walked on the aisle of NAIA. I was so shocked. The people were talking in tagalog. The people came in droves. No women wearing Tudong. The images were so Pinas that it slapped the surrealism in me, a bit.
As I push the trolley with my baggage and set out on the waiting area, there I saw my family waving at me. The smile plastered on their faces was incomparable. Kuya Eamon, Jepjep, my cousin Lot and papa fetched me.
As soon as the high-pitched voices of my family embraced me, I affirmed I was totally HOME.
Taking EDSA was such a joy ride on our way home. The authentic scenarios reminded me of my birthplace. There were the swerving vehicles, the shallow roads with pink urinals of the MMDA, the touted buwayas traffic the road, the left-handed cars, the people crossing the road everywhere, the sidewalk vendors, the gypsy woman, the huge billboards, SM Megamall, the tall buildings in Ortigas defining Manila in its urban vibe, the jeepneys, the tricycles, the outrageous buses, the pollution, the footbridges, the churches, and many more which I missed a lot. I even laughed inside the car when we’re sandwiched in traffic along EDSA. All of these, only in the Philippines, I thought.
After an hour and a half of travel from the airport, we reached our house – home sweet home. I stepped into our house. Nothing had changed aside from some sections of our house were dusty. Plus, a few floor tiles were broken. Overall, it’s the same walls, floors and ceiling who witnessed my ups and downs in life.
Soon, Manang came out from her room and prepared a merienda. Nice, spaghetti! It was cooked by my younger brother Jepjep. Yumyum. It was just strange at first to eat with my family. That’s because, back in Brunei, I used to eating alone in my room at dinner time, or sometimes, I enjoyed lunch time with my Filipino mates. This time, it was the bestest merienda I ever had for the past year.
On one hand, one thing I immediately did when I arrived in our house was to utter a prayer in front of the urn of my mom. Honestly, I felt like, she was in our house. I knew she would be very proud and happy to see me. Frankly, I missed her so much.
I also checked on my room. Nothing had changed. Great. My books were complete and unharmed. My clothes were in order. Truly, Papa never let anyone used my room. It kept untouched for a year. Obviously, the dusts were the resident of it for a time. Strangely, now, it’s me.
It took me a while to absorb the new reality I was engaged with. On my first night, I didn’t turn off the lights. I was adjusting, everything was dreamlike. On the side, I checked on my schedule, then, composed my plans and… yeah, budget. Nevertheless, I threw all my apprehensions, anxiety and fears. With the two weeks vacation I have, I should not let each seconds, minutes or hours passed by without doing nothing, I told myself. And so, I set myself into the wilderness of my beloved Pilipinas.
Tags: family, friends, Philippines, vacation
