Oh, Manila!

Oh, Manila, you are a hard city to love, but I do love to visit you. The heat and smog are as bad as I remember from eight years ago. “Smells like Manila,” I said as we exited the airport. “That would hurt Lola’s feelings if you said that to her,” my nine year-old scolded. (I later told Lola what I said and she laughed in agreement.) In chaotic and congested traffic, stop lights seem to be merely suggestions on when to proceed and when to stop. Drivers only pay attention to the other cars, scooters, motorcycles, bikes, jeepneys, and bold pedestrians. Parts of the city have changed in recent years: there are new high-rise developments with adjacent malls, giving parts of Manila a feeling more like Singapore. Other parts are still the same as eight years ago: undeveloped pockets of land with shanty towns, illuminating the difference between the haves and the have-nots. Although, I should admit that even the blighted areas are looking a little better. At least the walls of the homes seem to be made from concrete blocks now, instead of barely overlapping corrugated metal from several years ago. I’ve seen fewer children begging in the bumper-to-bumper traffic, but it doesn’t make it less heartbreaking when I do see it. Even with all of this, I also look forward to visiting Manila. Of course, shopping at the Tiangge doesn’t hurt. But, the cheap prices aren’t all that I love about the city.

Even if I can’t say I love this city, we’ve loved our time in and around Manila, with nearly all of it having been spent with family and friends. It’s easy for us to love the people of Manila, especially our people. Marilou (aka Lola), Jesse (aka Lolo), and Julian (aka Tito Ugz) have tolerated us descending upon them, suddenly creating a Party of Seven at home and for many of our outings. Since I don’t get to spend much time with my in-laws, I appreciate our time together. Marilou, aka Lola, is always attentive and assessing and adapting. I love that about her because it reminds me of what good teachers do! She lovingly pays attention to what the girls like to eat and plans meals around that. Of course, she usually feeds us before we even realize we are hungry! In our trip to the beach, she altered the booked accommodations because she wanted a better experience for us. She scouts the best restaurants for us to try after Sunday Mass in the mall’s third floor. She gathered extended family in her home so we could share a meal with them and hang out. She arranged for a pediatrician to come to the house so Lu could have her ears pierced. She took us for mani-pedis on our first day here and bought a cake for the girls’ belated birthdays. She suggested the girls spend a day at Kidzania, which was a big win for them (but not so much for Yo and me). She’s planned what food to take to the airport because she’s worried we won’t like the eateries at the terminal. She lets me know that she prays for me/us. (I’ll take all the help I can get!) It’s pretty clear she’s the #bestmother-in-lawever. Lolo is so wonderful, too, of course. He loves to interact with the girls. He greets them cheerfully, asks about them, and makes sure everyone is happy and taken care of. “Lolo is so nice,” my seven year-old observed. “He always holds the door for us and makes sure we are happy.” Thanks for setting the bar high, Jesse (not that Johan doesn’t, of course!). Ugz takes the doting uncle role seriously. He takes us swimming at the local swim club, buys the girls bukos at every opportunity, takes turns with Johan in chauffeuring us around, mostly while I sigh and stress out in the car. Ugz stays unfazed by life in his city, even as he admits that he likes the quiet of small towns much more. Ate/Tita Kris has also been so generous with us. She delivered pasalubongs to us yesterday and we got to hang out for a bit. I hope that our girls realize how lucky they are to travel to a foreign country and to have gifts so generously bestowed on them. (They are currently at a second play date down the street with the kids of Johan’s childhood friends. Yesterday, they came home from their house with a purse, a deck of Uno cards, and a Rubik’s cube. More generosity!) Unfortunately, we only got to see Tita Del once during this trip. She’s always fun to have at any party and quick to make the jokes and everyone laughs. Plus, she picks out the loveliest Filipino-created runners, made from pina plants. 🙂 Johan got to reconnect with a lot of his friends, too. When we weren’t have delicious meals at home, we met up with his friends for yummy meals out.

After being married to a Filipino for 11 years, I’ve earned the status of being one of them. Johan and Ugz were getting the bags from the van at the beach, and I offered to help. “Mayroon silang mga taong naroroon to help out,” Marilou said to me as they walked away. I paused, looked her and said, “I don’t understand what you just said.” “Hay naku! You are so familiar now, that I forget that you don’t speak Tagalog!” she laughed. I feel like I’ve arrived. But…we have to leave Manila tomorrow to head back to Singapore so we can fly back home. Hay naku!

Despite our packed schedules, I’ve carved out time to work on my inquiry project, which is due in less than two weeks. I feel like I should throw in another “hay naku!” after typing that, but I’ve probably used too many of them in this short post. Since we are headed back to Singapore for a night, I guess I have another option: My inquiry project is due in less than two weeks…Alamak! But, seriously, I’m almost done with it. I’m writing, revising, and refining now so I’ll be able to submit it in the next few days, lah.

This was a great way for us to end this trip to Asia. We are so grateful to have been able to live and learn here — all of us. To cap it off with time with family has been a true blessing.