A Taste of Life

Sometimes, I still wonder why  I ended up being a nurse, when in fact, it was far from I wanted doing in real life. I remember imagining myself when I was a kid as being an architect, designer or maybe a lawyer? Then later on, it has changed on something else coz I wanna explore and travel the world, I even dreamed of being a flight attendant. (Oh, come on, that's why I call it "just-a-dream".)

However, I just realized that no matter what you have become, no one could ever stop you from doing things you want in life. So never stop dreaming and living with it.

Maybe I just caught up here in my bed stranded today and I just want to lay down all day, give myself a break and make my neurons do the working for me. So here goes my journey for these past few weeks or maybe months that I long to write a story about but I just did not have a chance because of a so-so busy life.

Well, it has been 8 months that I have been living in a brand new world. That was fast! It seems like yesterday when I was so fascinated how my life has been changed drastically into a life I have never even thought of having.

This world is indeed a material place. I never thought that as much as people try to defy that money can't buy happiness, still there are a lot of people who are dying just to be rich. And on the other hand, there are some people who have fortunately have all the money in the world, but are dying to get some dose of freedom and happiness from within. And this is it! This is exactly where I am right now. I don't know why I ended up being here, but I know there must be a reason...So let's start finding out why.

Of course, at once I was also so amazed... With all the richness of "Oil and Gold" this country have, no wonder they can afford to have a luxurious place and remain the richest amidst the drifting and crawling economy of the other countries.

As most tourists and first timers in this country, I bet you will be also amazed how luxurious their cars are, which are seem just so ordinary for  them. Like, you can see Ferrari Cars, Lamburghini, Range Rovers, Beemers, Maybachs roaring on the roads and simply parked all over....na para bang galit na galit sila sa pera! All females walks on very tall heels with all the LV, Chanel, and other branded bags all over, like how much that one costs? Oh I can't even touch it, "nakakapaso ang presyo".  But no kidding, that's how money is simply nothing for them, na para bang may plantation sila ng pera na d nauubos. So I could hear bitter Pinoys in here saying, "mauubos din yang mga OIL nila, sa ugali nilang ganyan, mauubos din yan!" hahaha Oh well, I just wish even katiting na yaman eh mashare nmn sa napakaraming nagugutom na bata sa Pinas..

Still....I feel like a tourist every time I visit places in the emirates. I still could not stop the Ohhhhsss and Ahhhhsss because I am so much mesmerized on how their richness has transformed a desert into a very fancy and futuristic place. So I just cold not stop taking pictures... (for future references that I might as well share to people or even my children one day)

True enough, their place is far more than beautiful that I could describe, but of course, there are so many things they are deprived of. Kung ang mga Pinoy eh deprived sa money, I think there are so things that money can't buy that they don't have too. Like, freedom and true love. I was just shocked to know that they don't believe in it. (i mean, love) Well, with all due respect, we all do have different cultures and as they say, "when you are in Rome, act like a Roman." So as stiff as there life may be, we just have to deal with that. That's how they live and believe.

And so, after 7months, out of the blue, I finally felt a pinch in my heart. Homesickness filled within me, like I wanna go home right there and then and I don't know why. Maybe it happens to all. And maybe I did not lose my insanity yet yet all the impulse, I booked myself home the moment I felt the longingness to be home at one time. Kaboom!

Welcome back to the Philippines!

All of a sudden, I just felt like doomed in a time machine, and was back to the yesteryears! Sa taxi palang, I felt bad about some people on streets namamalimos, the heavy traffic, the noise and all.. Yeah, I so love the Philippines, and that is why, I just suddenly thought, "why can't life be fair? sana kahit konteng yaman, mashare man lng dito, habang yung ibang tao nagtatapon ng pera".

So there it goes! I decided to go home in the hometown, far south in Mindanao where my childhood days happened. Para maiba lang...

I only had 2 weeks vacation. So as much as possible, I wanted to spend it to the maximum level, nang masulit man lang... We did things that I used to do when I was a kid. We attended the "prusisyon" on a holy friday and went to the places we used to hang out.

This is the beach resort of my "late lolo" that we used to go playing sand fights and patintero before. I just felt sad that it was not as clean and nice as before. It has changed a  lot.

And whether you believe it or not, this is what I used to do when I was a little kid. Hindi nmnang tumalon ng patiwarik, but to simply jump in here. Oh ha, bata palang, I know that I have always been brave and risky. Kung kinaya ko ang fastest roller coaster in the world ng UAE sa Ferarri world, kinaya ko din to! And seriously, I did it again. No pictures nlng kasi nakakahiya. hehe

And that's me and my cousins, waiting for our courage to build up, bago makatalon sa pier...

Finally, I decided to go to the extremity of this vacation. I joined the "Love Drive Outreach Program". It's like reaching out the poor people in remote places and trying to share little gifts of happiness to them. At first I just thought of giving my share and not to go there nalang. But, sumama na din ako...

They call this "habal-habal" and this was actually the most exciting thing I had in this trip.

Look how we mountain trecked just to reach those children waiting for us... Egggsayyyting dba? hahaha

Right there, I saw a bunch of children who were so much overjoyed with just some snacks and clothes that was given to them. Their smiles and laughters were priceless. And this is the place where I have found LOVE where none in the other part of this world. They joys they had has made me realize that money is not what life is all about.

UAE has indeed been a great eye opener to me. It has made me peek what is life in the future and life in the past. It has made me changed my perceptions that middle east is such a scary place, coz it's not all the time. You just have to follow the rules, and you not get wrong. It is indeed a wonderful creation in this world. And it has made me realize that back home, there's a lot of people who are striving to survive, and my problems are nothing compared to them...

And according to Patty Laurel,

"We don't need to be the richest country in the world, we don't need gold plated toilet bowls. People just need to be fed and children just need to be schooled. When you travel, there are always lessons you can pick up from other cultures and it's always good to somehow apply these things back home. :) So every time you take a trip abroad, get to know their history, their cultural traditions, and the systems of government..see how a country works and try to learn as much as you can. Travel is more than taking a few nice photos, buying a couple of souvenirs, it's about educating yourself and seeing the world in a whole new perspective."

A Simple Life

It has been 7 months since I left the Philippines. It was not long yet, but seriously, I was teary eyed when I first took step at the airport and saw the signage, "Welcome to the Philippines!"

My heart jumped for joy and and until this day, I could not still believe that I am home again. I was and still am, overjoyed.

Well I know that it was quite impulsive to go decide to go home without any plans to do so. But I believe that there was no other cure of homesickness than to go home. I was not even thinking how would I be able to do it. I just prayed to God that He will make me happy and one day, I woke up and Im in this place. Yes, I am home. And there's place like this.

Whenever I look around every corner of the Philippines, I could not help myself comparing... I could see a big difference on how laidback life in here is. Everything is so simple. The way people live, and how they survive. I am quite thankful that indeed, I have experienced both sides of the world.

However, if I could choose where my heart wants to be, it would always be in a place where my loved ones are. No amount of money could ever replace the happiness love can bring. I know it was quite expensive to dream, but I realized that when you really want something and love to have it, there will always be a way.