Just Passing By

I swear, this will be my last post about my homecoming. It’s been a month and a half since we got back here and the details of the trip are starting to fade a little. If not for the pictures, I would even think it was a dream. I waited for that trip for so long and it came and went by so fast that I almost wished time stood still on the day we were supposed to fly. That way, it means we would still be bursting at the seams with excitement and pleasurable anticipation. But note, the keyword there is almost. I almost wished, but I didn’t.

If I hadn’t gone yet, I wouldn’t have seen and hugged my friends. There’s my BFF, Joey, and childhood best friend, Nori. I met with my old co-workers in Holy Angel and my Kapampangan Center team mates who even threw a party for me. Had I not gone yet, I wouldn’t realize how rich I was with friends who still love me and people who were glad to see me.  My husband was amazed at how many people I know. Everywhere we went I was sure to bump into someone I knew from some time before. Angeles City is not that small but I guess I’ve been around a lot before and mingled with so many that it was hard not to be recognized. I ran into my old students and previous co-workers at the mall or at the coffee shops; ex-bosses at bars and hotel lobbies, that it was too scary to go out without making sure I looked decent. There were days when I had marathon dates, starting with breakfast, and on to late evening parties. What I’m most amazed at is the fact that they greeted and welcomed me with so much sincerity and they treated me like I never left, like nothing changed. This is the Filipino hospitality at its finest.

The only downside to this is the fact that I was getting text messages every few minutes and it was hard to keep up. I haven’t had much practice text messaging here in the US that hearing my phone beep every so often discombobulated me. (Don’t you like that word? It’s my word of the week!) And my text friends respond so fast, I was in a lot of pressure to text faster. Whew! At first I just called them but I soon realized that I spent so much reloading my credits that I had no choice but to text, lest I use up all my pocket money on pre-paid cards.

Anyway, it’s started to snow as I write this. It’s the first snow of the season. The weathermen say it’s the earliest we’ve had it in 25 years. To me there is another perspective to this: it just made it clearer that I am in a time and place so far removed from Pinas, from family and friends. I can’t wait to go home again. And hopefully, when I do, I won’t have to leave again.