Homesick!

I just discovered wi-fi signal here in Las Vegas! I still owe you all my Portland entry. That will be up soon. But now, allow me to dwell on this moment of homesickness.

After 2 months on the road, it is finally settling in. Last week at a hotel, I met a Filipino lolo who was working as a hotel janitor and I found myself hugging him. I believe that will be a moment that I will treasure forever.

I miss my dad and our tiny apartment in Makati. The long walks to the office and the delicious food we eat. I miss our car and the long hours we spend in Manila traffic.

I miss my mom and her cooking and our Tagaytay weekends.

I miss my husband. I miss missing him while I am at home and he is in the base, I miss anticipating the time when he can come home to me. I miss the late night phone calls and unlimited text messages.

I miss Sir Mario and my officemates in AFI. I miss my meetings. I miss my Nescafe coffee breaks, precious moments spent sitting on the table in front of the coffee vendo machine at the 8th floor.

I miss UPLB and school. I miss driving through Calamba and Pansol and the winding road at PCARRD.

I miss Landmark, Glorietta, Powerbooks, Big Chill, Jollibee, Red Ribbon. I miss avocado shakes and tapsilog. I miss riding the bus to Binan.

I miss scrapbooking.

I miss my bed, my closet, my books.

Heck, I even miss junk text messages and the sound of tricycles!

I miss my old life! Who knows when I'll get it back?

-- hanna in a moment of sadness --

Catching Up (Again)

I am now in Portland...

(from the last time I wrote, I was in Eureka, then there was Coos Bay... then now here!)

I wonder how many times I'll have "catching up" as my title?

I wonder how many times I'll say "I am sorry for the late update!"

Sigh. Jessica Walters, an Up With People staff member, was right. It is really hard to keep a blog updated on the road!

1. The schedule is crazily PACKED. We wake up very early in the morning, go through the day barely breathing, and go home too tired to do anything else.
2. We love spending time with host families.
3. Lack of internet access in some areas.
4. Lack of creative juices
5. A lot of things happen in one day and it gets too overwhelming to write about ANYTHING

Okay, I might be making excuses, but these are all so true! If you are a blogger having a crazy hard time updating your site, please share with me the challenges you face!

Pinoys Around The World

Excuse me, non-Filipino speakers - I just need a break from all that English. This entry shall be written in my native language.

Alam kong madaming Pinoy sa abroad. Kaya nga tumataas ang halaga ng piso, ay dahil sa dolyar na ipinapasok nila sa Pilipinas. Bago ako umalis para sa Up With People, naka-kundisyon na ang sarili ko na maghanap ng Pilipino.

Sabi nga ng kaibigan kong si Pat, "Hanna, wag ka mag-alala - kahit saan ka magpunta, may Pilipino. Pag nalulungkot ka, sumigaw ka lang ng 'baboy' -- sigurado ko, may sasagot sayo!" -- haha natawa ako sa sinabi niyang yon.

Well, hindi ko naman kailangan sumigaw ng baboy para mapansin! Pero ang masasabi ko lang, nandito na ako ngayon sa ika-apat na lugar sa Amerika, at sa lahat nga naman ng lugar ay may Pilipino!

Naalala ko, nakasakay ako sa bus sa Denver, Colorado nang tinanong ng Amerikanong katabi ko kung taga-saan ako. "Philippines," I proudly answered! Aba, bigla na lang may nagtanong mula sa liuran ko... "Saan ka sa Pilipinas?" Siya si Grace na tubong Cebu. Naalala kong tuwang tuwa akong mag-Tagalog.

Sa Denver ko din nakilala si Amy na nagtatrabaho sa mall, may isa pa pero di ko na matandaan! At siyempre, di ko malilimutan si Pastor Carlos at ang kanyang pamilya, at ang kanilang Colorado Community Church. Kung saan ako ay sumama sa church service, kumain ng kanin, nag halu-halo -- at nanuood ng ASAP sa TFC.

Matapos ang Denver, napadpad ako sa Tucson. Doon nag-aaral ang best friend kong si Em - at habang nag-iikot kami sa University of Arizona (o diba? dati sa LB at lobby lang ng Rural ang tambay namin) may nasalubong kaming isa pang Pinoy na taga-LB din. Ang saya-saya.

Ang sumunod naman ay ang Globe, Arizona. Saan yon? isa siyang maliit na town na ilalarawan ko na parang isang lugar mula sa Twilight Zone. Yun bang parang nai-lipat ka ng ibang dimension? Tahimik, antique shops, mga lumang tren.

Maniwala ka't hindi, oo may Pilipino din doon. Anim na guro at ilang mga nurses. Ang host dad kong Amerikano ay may CD pa ni Mark Bautista.

Ngayon, ako ay nasa Sierra Vista, Arizona - ang lugar ng Fort Huachuca, isang US Army Base. Noong isang araw, kasama ako ng isang grupo na nag community service sa base. Kumain kami sa Army Activity Center at napansin ko kaagad ang isang ale.

Ngumiti ako, nagtanong, "Where are you from?" - Siempre, ang sagot nya, "Philippines" . Siya si Greta, 30 years na sa US. May kasamahan pa siyang isa pang Pinay, asawa ng sundalong kano! (Siya naman ang lumapit sa akin at nagtanong, "Where are you from?"). Taga Cavite City si Greta, at yung isa naman (pasensya na, makakalimutin ako) ay taga General Santos City.



Noong hapong iyon kumakain ako ng Mexican food (sawa na ako sa kanya, promise - mahilig ang mga Amerikano sa pagkaing Mexikano) at nagbubugaw ng langaw (oo, may langaw din sa Amerika) nang may batang lalaking (high school siya , grabe matanda na ba ako at "bata" na ang tawag ko sa high school student?) lumapit sa akin, "Hanna?" ang sabi niya.

Matagal ko siyang tiningnan, ngumiti siya at nagsalita... "Kumusta ka?"

Apparently, yun lang ang Tagalog na alam niya. Siya naman si James, ipinanganak sa Pilipinas pero lumaki sa Amerika. Panalo, isa siya sa aplikante sa Up With People. Matagal din kaming nag-usap.

Noong gabing iyon ay may show kami. May bahagi ng show namin na tatakbo kami sa audience at sasayaw. Habang sumasayaw ako't kumakanta, may sumigaw ng pangalan ko. Si Greta! Ang sarap ng pakiramdam ng may kakilala at may kapwa Pilipinong nanonood sayo. Gusto kong umiyak! Mababaw ba? Homesick lang siguro ako. Ang tindi ng kaway ko nang ipakilala sa entablado ang Pilipinas :-)

Kaninang umaga ay nakapagsimba ako sa Catholic Church. Di ako gaanong relihyoso pero ang sarap ng pakiramdam. Isinama ako ng kaibigan ng host family ko.

Ano pa nga ba ang meron sa simbahang Katoliko kundi, Pilipino! Madaming madaming Pilipino! Nakatanggap ako ng regalong novena at madaming yakap mula sa mga kababayan ko. Ang sarap ng pakiramdam. Pati ang paring Amerikano ay marunong ng kaunting Tagalog , at pinatayo ako at pinakilala sa buong Simbahan. "This young lady is travelling around the world with Up With People"

Dinala din ako ni Emily (kaibigan ng host family ko) sa bahay ng kaibigan niyang Pilipino. Tingnan mo nga naman, may bagong hango silang Palitaw! :-)

Hay, overwhelming ang araw na ito. Madami pang kwento pero itong entry na ito ay para lang sa Pilipino. Malamang, mas madaming Pinoy sa San Diego!

Napansin ko lang, lahat halos ng kausap kong Pinoy - nagtatanong, "Bakit hindi ka na lang dito sa Amerika?" Hindi ko alam kung bakit, pero pakiramdam ko , sa Pilipinas pa din ang buhay ko (hindi lang dahil andun ang asawa ko)

Addiction

Addicted to...

But I should be eating ...

This! (mmm, real peaches! This is called a Colorado "summer peach" , it's all white inside)

In Denver and Missing the Makati Walkways

I used to work in the Ayala Ave. area of Makati City in the Philippines. There, it was fun walking around even when it is hot or even when it was raining because it was a pedestrian-friendly place. We had covered walks!

Denver is such a big city with wide roads that it looks almost empty. I always have trouble walking around and finding where I'm supposed to be because of the wide streets.

Now imagine having to walk across wide streets in super bone-drenching rain. It was freezing cold, the sewers were spewing out water, the sidewalks were flooded. And me and three other crazy people just ran through around 4 blocks of heavy, heavy rain. One time, while crossing the street, I left one of my flipflops in the middle of the road! I had to run back and get it. By that time all of us were running around in our bare feet.


We took photos, and people and locals were waving hello and taking photos. It was a hilarious experience. We finally got to the nearest restaurant to get something to eat while we waited for the rain to stop.


My roommate Lesley and I decided not to go to tonight's Culture Jam anymore because we were soaked! The rain did not stop though, so we just shivered our way down at the bus stop, and shivered again through the hour and a half trip back to our host family's house.

Wet Jaylee and Lesley at Johnny Rockets (a nice 50's restaurant)

Really wet and cold Vanessa, Hanna and Brodie.

Halu-Halo in Denver

Halu-Halo (roughly translated in English as Mix-Mix) is a famous Philippine dessert that has all sorts of sweetened ingredients like beans, nata de coco (coconut jelly), banana, corn, langka (jackfruit), ube, leche flan (caramel flan) -- topped with crushed ice, sugar, and milk.

Mmmm.

Ah and it is really true that you appreciate your country, your culture, your heritage so much more when you are miles away from home.

Today I had an opportunity to spend time with Pinoy (slang for Filipinos) living in Denver. The power of technology brought us together. (I Googled "Filipino Community Denver" and found them there and made contact!)

I got in touch with Pastor Carlos Bulalayao of the CrossWind Community Church and they were happy to invite me to Sunday Christian (Baptist) Service. Although I am Catholic. attending service is okay with me since it is all about God's message anyway.

It was a wonderful little group of Filipinos , everyone very enthusiastic, welcoming and everyone proud to be a Filipino. It was amazing how the foreign spouses have adapted to the culture and didn't seem to mind us breaking into happy chatter in Filipino.

After the Church service, we all (well, most of us) went to a Chinese Restaurant for lunch (they said so I can eat rice!) I rode with newlyweds Paolo and Harlyn who had an Eraserheads CD playing in the car Astig!)

After that, we went to the Bulalayaos' house for some halu-halo! The TV was tuned to the Filipino Channel and I was able to watch ASAP (nice show too!) and the Buzz!

Twas a nice day! Here's a photo of me with Pastor Carlos and his wife Tita Rowena.

Up with People Stage and Lights Setup

This entry is especially for my UPLB Thespian Circle Friends...

Up with People has amazing stage and lights equipment that travel with the cast all over the United States. When the cast goes to Europe, the office there has a similar set. When we go to Asia however, we would have to rent equipment because of the expenses involved.

While doing theater orientation, I immediately thought of my old college theater group - UPLB TC ... We used to have similar workshops with our newbies. Terrms like Upstage, Downstage, Wings, Fourth wall, etc etc made me miss my college days.... Oh how I wish we would have equipment like what UWP has!

Eat your heart out!

"In Brazil, Big Mac is more expensive than Havaianas"

After asking if it was acceptable in my culture to receive gifts from men, Rafael gave me these as a gift. I said thank you and he was surprised that I knew the brand. I told him that in the Philippines, these are quite high-end slippers (excuse me, "flip-flops" pala). His reply? In Brazil, Big Mac is more expensive than Havaianas.

It turns out that these "sandals" (as he calls them) are very famous in Brazil because they are so cheap and were produced for really low income people.

Amazing what branding and colonial mentality can do, huh?

“You’re Married? That is So Cool”

I usually get that comment whenever I say that I am married... my answer?

"Yeah, I think so too!"

When I decided to get married at 25, a lot of people told me that it will be the end of all my dreams and wild adventures. But this is not how I feel now. Because I know that Sam is that type of guy that I can dream with and have adventures with.

A lot of people here now at UWP are amazed at how can someone “attached” and “married” be leaving her husband and traveling all over the world. They all ask me if this was ok with my husband. And all of them smile or a few even gave me hugs when I replied, “Yup, he supports me all the way!”

I remember what Sam told me when I was first starting the good vibes that I will be able to join UWP, “Go ahead, that is for your own personal growth. I know that this is your dream … hindi kita pipigilan (I won’t stop you)” I was amazed by this very sweet and supportive answer because I was expecting some sort of resistance.

When finally I was all set to go, Sam told me that of course, he felt a bit of sadness but still won’t stop me from going. All throughout we prayed together and I was very emotional when he told me that if ever I fell homesick, we should draw strength and inspiration from each other even if we are far apart.

So here we are – happily married but separated by time and space. We hardly exchange messages since it can get expensive from my part of the world, and I can’t even just use a phone card to call him since he’s so busy.

As we both follow our dreams this year -- we are indeed busy with our own separate adventures, but in heart and spirit we are together… and so looking forward to doing exciting adventures together in the future.

I miss you Sam!