Two days left until I go back to reality

I guess I was always a bit of an outsider, wherever I was... but now I feel comfortable that way. You might not realize it, but everyone feels like an outsider on some level, especially when you're growing up." - Utada Hikaru

Was reading an interview with Utada on aramatheydidnt and these words just spoke to me, because I was always the outsider myself. Too Filipino for my American friends, too American for my Filipino family, too different from my Filipino-American friends... unfortunately, although I understand and feel Utada's words, my Daly City upbringing wasn't as exciting as her Tokyo-New York childhood.

I especially felt that awkwardness during this vacation, with Adriaan as an added external factor - as the mediator between him and my family (my world, more like) I felt a lot more Filipino than I used to, especially as I had to explain everything about the Philippines to him (not that the one-month vacation was enough). I also used my native dialect more, and even began to ease back into Tagalog. But after he'd left, it was so much more apparent to me how awkward and in-between I am, pinging between cultures, vacillating between jet-setting and provincial, and speaking this bastardised jumble of Tagalog, Kapampangan and English with bits of French, Spanish, and Italian (and Japanese mixed in for my Arashi-obsessed nieces).

But you know what? I like being this mixed up. Sometimes I wish I was more mixed up, actually - I would love to have had a crazy, globetrotting existence (well, more than I already do now). And considering the history of the Philippines itself, I think the Filipino people fit this extremely international/multicultural life better than anyone else in the world. (Just ask the Filipino janitors in Antarctica.)

Just something for me to ponder as I leave one home for another... and shiver in anticipation for the Utada concert next week!!!!

A Holiday Message from Duckie

It's midnight in the Philippines! Church bells are ringing all over the Islands (and all over our part of Asia) as we welcome the anniversary of Christ's birth.



Am listening to Josh Groban's "O Holy Night" (my favourite version) as my cousin Mayeth is doing my hair - I'm slated to sing La Cantique de Noel (aka O Holy Night) in about four and a half hours... and I'm getting over a cold. Wish me luck.

Hong Kong is the place to be

I've been in Hong Kong for the past few days, and I'm leaving in about twelve hours. I'm writing this from the hotel lobby's computer terminal (it's about 2:32 AM lol) and I just had to say that I'm kind of sad to go. Adriaan (who was partly raised here) was right; you can live here your entire life and never run out of things to do. This is so far the only city that has tired me out this much (four nights out of five I fell asleep before midnight, and I'm a night owl) and I enjoyed almost every minute of it (even though I got a bit snappish when my feet hurt/I got dehydrated from walking around so much). Oh, and we also went to Macau (the Venetian and the part of town around St. Paul's) - I can cross those off my "Hana Yori Dango/Boys Over Flowers" location list XDDDDDD

I really don't know why I'm still awake, especially as I've been so tired at night these past few days, but I just felt like checking in haha.

Hong Kong!!!

After one lovely flight (Adriaan and I got one row away from business class because we were so early and he is so tall) I am now in Hong Kong. The ride to HK Station from the airport was beautiful, and the airport has been voted Best Airport several times since it opened. I'm in quite a nice area - right on the edge of nightlife and shopping. Adriaan and I have already checked out Wan Chai, which is the part of the nightlife area on the Island, and will soon be going down to see the races at Happy Valley Racecourse, which is down the street from us. In fact, our (23rd story) room overlooks the course, as well as a lovely Catholic cemetery. Right now we are on the fifth floor of our hotel, which has a patio enclosed by a bamboo fence and rattan furniture. The air is balmy, and just right now that we've stopped walking :D I've been up all day, but HK just has so much energy - tonight, just on our block, the weekly races are on; traffic is bustling on Queen's Road East and Wong Nai through the tunnel; and across the street at Queen Elizabeth Stadium the East Asian Games are going on (I've been seeing a lot of athletes go in and out of our hotel, in addition to the normal swanky looking tourists) - so I don't want to crash just yet.

More to come as the vacation continues.

Stuck

in the NAIA Centennial Terminal for four hours because my mom and Uncle Jun have to get out of Metro Manila before coding hours start (and today's our unlucky day). I love travel and I love sunrises and I love airports and I love that I'm going to Hong Kong and I love that I have free Wi-Fi AND a place to plug in but I HATE GETTING UP EARLY.

Homecoming

I'm in the Philippines!!! I've been here since the third (left America on the first and landed at 3:30 AM Thursday). This is quite an interesting trip because I'm finally taking someone who's not related - my friend Adriaan from college (dude in the pic) is here with us for a month before he goes to Thailand for his TESOL certificate.

So far it's been pretty chill - we went to SM for two straight days, I relaxed at home a lot, and got to hang with family again. They're pretty amused by how game Adriaan is with everything - he isn't picky for the most part, so he's just been trying everything and seeing a lot of the sights (although we were a little freaked when he went walking without a cellphone for an hour lol). I'm still concerned about their true thoughts about him, though - everyone's been saying he's at the mercy of my grandmother and her razor-sharp wit XD and there's always the novelty of having a white guy around. Tongues must be wagging about me/him >_<

I got a new nephew and two new nieces/goddaughters, with another on the way, so I've just been playing with the kids. I feel soooo domestic lol. Carlos is so cheery (and heavy aaaargh) while Lian and Vikki are adorable, although the poor girls have got their share of health problems. As Vikki is Mayeth's daughter, I've been looking after her most. Yeth and I have a running joke that Vikki took after me (skin problems, can't live without aircon, always wanting to go out) because I'm her best friend LOL.

Also, this sounds totally dorky of me but I'm so excited to be in the Philippines for the last week of "Lovers in Paris" (although I'll be in Hong Kong the last three days...) XD

This week we'll be jetting off to Hong Kong for five days, so look out for more updates soon!

I want nobody, nobody but Ondoy

Found this clip while randomly looking at the typhoon footage and it reminded me of when I was little. I lived on Piy Margall, a street that runs straight into UST, and this part of Manila floods easy. Our block had raised sidewalks... that the floods still reached the top of. I was four when I moved to America, so every flood looked epic to me when I lived in Sampaloc - my feet wouldn't even have reached the ground if I ever dared to wade through the water, wee little thing that I was. Now, I'm twenty-two, and know the scope of the (unprecedented) damage that this typhoon has caused - and it is truly epic.

But the best thing about this clip is at the end; now I know that it isn't proper to make light of the storm, but the ending is priceless. The water is waist-deep, the damage catastrophic, and the storm victims... begin singing "Nobody."

Gotta love the indomitable Filipino spirit.



This couldn't have come at a better time, because the song has been on infinite loop in my head for the entire month of October thus far.