It’s been
2 days ago I have started my new blog and just thought of updating it today
with this new entry. J How have you been? How have I been? It is 6:09Pm and I am really thinking where
the heck Garry (my cousin) is right now.
I know he is in DFW (Dallas-Fortworth Airport) waiting for his next flight
going to Fort Wayne Indiana from his long flight from the Philippines. I wished
I had the chance to greet him with all banners and balloons and dining out
tonight around downtown Dallas but unfortunately, he only have a few hours to
stay in DFW airport before he needs to be checking in again for another flight…and
needless to say the long line of the arrivals in the immigration makes it
impossible for us to see each other before he heads to Indiana. But with this blog entry, I want to welcome
him to ‘the land of the free and the home of the brave’ – THE UNITED STATES OF
AMERICA!
When I
first came here, it was a stage of my life where I was thinking, this is where
God is leading me to…it was full of the unknown but I am so glad looking back
that I was also full of optimism that time.
Leaving Philippines, was also like leaving my comfort zone – it is
leaving everything behind that you will only realize the reality of it the moment
you wake up the next day in a very different environment and having a feeling
that you must be speaking a different language 95% of the time and reserve the
5% for the Filipinos whom you meet along the way! I didn’t have any problem
adjusting from my native tongue to speaking English. Working in a few call centers helped me a
lot. But honestly, it took me a little
while to be able to adjust my ears to the ‘slang’ and it is sometimes funny how
I can misinterpret/ mishear what my husband is saying. Food is the next thing that comes to mind
when you aren’t in your own country. You
begin to wander around looking for food that you used to unlike way back when
you were still in your own country. I
still can remember the first time I saw Silver Swan soy sauce & Vinegar in
the Asian market how I thanked God! It was priceless! I felt like I found a
treasure that day! And the rest of it
followed…and later, I began to discover a lot of sources of my “own” food.
For
many years here now in the United States
I got spoiled to so much things…like hot and cold shower, cheaper groceries,
freebies, coupons, free refills of drinks in almost every restaurant, reliable
mailing system, unlimited call & text in all networks in the 50 states,
return policies in all the stores – those are just a few.
Coming
back to the Philippines for the first time in 2011 with my then 6months old
Ava, for the first 2 hours I was falling in line at NAIA immigration I suddenly
turned like a ‘sweat machine’ all of a sudden.
People falling in line waiting for passport stamping were like in a
contest like ‘who would finish first’ without consideration of mothers like me
who have infants. It is always fun to
come back to Philippines. I may not come
home very often; Philippines will always be a part of me especially with my
food choices. I may have a different definition now of comfort, fashion, and
ideas BUT I the cravings of Filipino dishes and the love for Filipino arts and
music will always be in my veins!
And right
now, I want to share for those who don’t know yet about this FREE app for
android. If you miss Philippines FM stations
and Filipino drama,
Search
and download. Manila Love Radio 90.7 in
your Playstore
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