Pinas! My 3rd Homeland =)

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Philippines 9 April - 28 May 2010

part 1: living la vida locale!! Isulan, Sultan Kudarat

How can I ever summarize this part of my trip? I've thought about it so much... it's almost impossible! haha... since leaving Melbourne I knew that I had a lot of free time in April/May & my preference was to live somewhere with a small provincial community to experience a different lifestyle. The Philippines seemed a perfect choice, since I already knew the place on a basic level, already spoke a bit of the language and I have so many friends there that I would love to see & get to know better. I spoke to my friend Joyvie there who lives in the South of the Mindanao region (commonly associated with terrorism & violence)...hehe...the other appealing factor of going there was that J & her family were campaigning for the election (which was set to be held on 10 May) so I had the chance to be part of the campaigning & witness the election - which funnily enough is called Halalan in Filipino... hehe... so my name was plastered all over the TV screens! haha =)

I arrived in General Santos on the morning of Friday 9 April- Gen San is the closest major airport to Isulan, where J & her family live - the drive to her house should've taken no more than 2hrs, but we had a flat battery on the way & spent a good 1/2hour trying to start the car - we eventually did with the kind help of some very beautiful Pinoy young men 😉 hehe... I was happy to note that I remembered quite a bit from J's region since my initial 1wk visit there in Sept 09... until she tested me on my 2nd day there - i was riding her motorbike (with her on the back) & she challenged me to find my way back to her house without her help with directions... somehow I made it most of the way! hehe (licks finger & touches shoulder - modestly) ;p

From the moment I arrived in J's house I was greated with big smiles, warm hearts & treated as a member of her family. Life became about -"Hala you take a rest"; "Hala eat more"; "ate, tara na! (let's go)"; as well as teaching me all the nonsense words in Ilonggo - such as buli' mo (ur bum), layas! (get out!) & ti'mo (whatever!)... hehe...this seemed to entertain everyone who heard me say it... so I smiled & kept repeating things that should've got me bashed but luckily my charms saved me... erhm! hehehe... when not doing the above, i would accompany J & others to complete errands related to the campaign or her sister's (jade) architecture projects; riding motor (bike) to the market to buy things & cooking!
One of the most striking things about my time in Isulan (about 6wks) is that I never saw a single other foreigner the entire time i was there (til we were back at Gen San airport to take a flight to Manila!)... It's been a very long time, if ever, that I was the only person somwer of a different race/ethnicity... but the fact that I was treated like a celebrity there did make it easier =) my fave celeb moment was when i went to the dentist for a general cleaning & spent the first 10mins there being asked 10000 questions by him & his grandma& posing in pictures with him, the lola & his assistant... hehe...so I guess it's fitting that I came straight to Hollywood following that experience! (why isnt anyone asking for my autograph dammit!!?? dont they know who I am?!) erhm....
...ok...back to reality...
Things I loved about Isulan - the informalities between people for example: Nonoy the gulay vendor (vegies) just comes around in the mornings & spends half the time playing with us or watching TV with us whilst trying to sell vegies; waking up to the sounds of roosters & other birds (I must admit this wasn't an immediate love, but with time it became so cool); the way everyone knows everyone; the ability to just walk across (a dirt) road to buy groceries, etc... mostly tho I loved my family there (papa's wise chats, mama's generosity & "eat more" statements, bibi's humour, tata's 'insi winsi' spider song & pepet's dimples, cheeky smile & general cuteness & intelligence =)
I managed to get to know most of J's extended family & all their nicknames (tho i think i'm still confused about some of those... hehe)... the unfortunate passing of her lola (grandma) meant that I experienced the beautiful way in which Filipinos farewell their loved ones, with nightly family gatherings, lots of eating & um...playing cards (gambling addiction begins here...tonggits anyone!? how bout lucky 9?). I also got to meet all the lovely people that are part of J's life, most of whom insisted that I marry a Filipino (if not their son, then someone they know) hehe... just like my family in Lebanon ;p
J's other lola (who lives next door to her) is also super gorgeous & amazing at remembering English, Spanish & Filipino poems/songs from her school days!! the day after my arrival (10 April) we celebrated her 90th bday!! she told me with a cheeky smile that she hoped to live to 100 so she can be a centenarian...hehe... she's amazing at her age! truly blessed.
Finally, here I achieved life goal #379 - riding on a motorbike with 4people on it! I also drove the bike with 3people on it - last year I fulfilled the goal of being the 3rd person on the bike (this is a definite upgrade to that achievement!) =)

After 6wks in Isulan I felt as though I'd lived there forever... I was so worried bout how I would deal with the big city life again... I'll remember this time forever & all the memories that just cant be put down in writing...I hope to go back some time soon & visit my newly adopted family there =)


Part 2 - Manila with Maya's family

One thing to note is that J actually has a 2nd family - her bestfriend Maya's family in Iloilo & Manila... which means that as my sister I also now adopt Maya's (Joyce) family too!! haha... I cant keep up na! on 19 May we arrived in Manila to meet Maya & her family... we spent the next 3days travelling around the Laguna region going to different stunning resorts - Punta del Fuego being the most beautiful!! Thanks to Maya's mummy & her Gov contacts...hehe... then we went back to Manila & I got sick! haha...
we spent a lot of time walking around malls (as u do in Manila) - I even went to Fitness First gym here (scoring a free super cool & deadly personal training session from the personal trainor there) hehe... my abs loved it! =)
we also went to Enchanted Kingdom - an amusement park, which was so much fun & resulted in this video clip: rocking noggins
hehe
again fitting that i came str8 to Hollywood!!

Manila was fun...Maya & her family are super (excessive use of the word "super" is one of the influences from being in the Phils for too long...hehe) funny & smart & fun to talk to & hang out with... & that's exactly what we did =) my time there ended with a movie - the Prince of Persia - which I really enjoyed! I almost missed my flight thanks to Manila traffick - but tito Dregg the driver (& co-star in the noggins) worked his magic & got me to the airport just in time - this after i had the drama of realising that my flight had been wrongly booked for the 26th of May instead of 28 May (I noticed this on the 27th of May) but somehow Philippine Airlines staff managed to transfer the booking from Davao to Manila & change the date for me FREE OF CHARGE!!!! I love PAL!!!!

BIG THANK YOUs TO...
Joyvie, tata, CM, poopy...
Joyvie's family (the Perez's & the Maravillosa's)
...special mention to my "son" nonoy
Maya & her family (the Galanto's) including tito Dregg & tubig
all the Filipinos I met who brightened my day with their gorgeous warm smiles
the roosters outside, the turkeys... hehe

mis u all heaps!!!
ur always in my heart (maybe not the animals... just the ppl who opened their homes & hearts to me =)

Hala's Tan-O-Meter

absolutely disgraced!!!! after all my hard work in Cambodia... I leave the Philippines whiter than winter!!! =( thanks to everyone's deep concern that if i sit in the sun i'll be too black... i was banned from tanning =( so i have to start all over again :/ hmf!!! I stand at a disgraceful "puti'" colour (white)

FLIGHT COUNT

Gen San - Manila
Manila - LA (time travel expedition =) )

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Comments

[halabaloo]

one more thing from the author...
forgot to add that i fulfilled my lifelong dream #379 - driving a motorbike with 3people on it =) this was soon followed by the fulfilment of lifelong dream #381 - being a passenger on a motorbike with 4 people on it!! hehe... I've really done Asia now I think ;p