Delayed.
I am back!
Come to think of it now, the 10 days overseas seemed to have passed pretty fast.
But during the course of the 10 days, time dragged by.
Overall, this experience was interesting. But at the same time, not very comfortable.
That is probably because I didn’t understand tagalog.
And I didn’t feel as safe as I would in Singapore.
There were contrasting differences between the two countries that caught my eye the moment I landed in Manila on the 19th.
Very very few tall buildings. The wires hang above and outside. Beautiful scenery with the mountains. Rocky roads. In my opinion, distasteful traffic. Missing traffic lanes/ arrows. Left hand drivers. Not so clean air. People sleeping just about anywhere. Children roaming the streets. Cold cold nights that start early. It turns dark even before 6pm. It’s like the day starts earlier and the nights end later.
I can’t remember them all.
I may sound like I didn’t like my stay there.
But I guess it wasn’t exactly that I entirely didn’t like it, it just wasn’t too comfy and I was always out of comfort zone.
I experienced all the different weathers.
Wind that could blow me away. Seriously. Muddy ground because of the rain. Warm sunny days. Colder-than-aircon nights.
Ah can I say that I hate hate hate crickets.
The crickets there are huge. And I saw one right in front of me and freaked.
Some children stare at me. Like they’ve never seen a human like me before.
I eventually got used to it but I didn’t like it.
Well, I’m human too.
But I guess as my mom says, it’s probably because they have never seen me before and I am the fairest.
Some stare at me for more than one day.
They don’t quite care if I look at them staring even.
Hmmmm.
The more unforgettable moments were when I was pressured for karaoke and felt comfortable after awhile, the day we went to the amusement park and I felt I almost lost my life, and the trip to Tagaytay to view the smallest volacano.
I really am thankful for my relatives for being really accommodating to me.
And I guess I did learn that I am pretty spoilt and pampered.
But well. We have very different cultures. Different ways of living.
The people there are more loving, I’d say. They show they always care. And I guess that made me teary often. It was touching.
At the end of the day, I am glad I made it to this trip and Mom and I got there and back safely.
Now now, it’s about time the new year arrives.
The year did not fly by with all its events.
It’s been a good year. Great. Great year.
I’m thankful.
