when i eat fresh lumpia, my heart churns

(from my PI trip in early january, entry 3 of 3)

we have arrived... at the beach!

this is my very first trip to the islands. the philippines is like no other place i've ever been to but home, brought up from my childhood. it’s like i haven't been here in a long time. like true tourists, we relished in everything the beaches here have to offer: cheap drinks, crafty souvenirs and water activities gallore. tito viktor insisted we enroll in the 2-day J.E.S.T. program (jungle environment survival training). thanks to him and all of the ex-soldiers that trained us, i now have a brief understanding of the native forestry, fisheries, wildlife management and habitat conservation. with a bolo, a butterfly knife and a shit ton of bamboo, i can build a brand new colony. let's get lost in the jungle :)

you can't deny the fact that the philippines is a third world. most of the houses are run down, the buildings are aged and weathered, the dogs running around the streets are just as skinny and sickly looking as their owners. but despite the poverty, the people here are kind and generous. with a bottle in hand, it seems that almost nothing can bring down their spirits. the come-what-may vibe here is definitely infectious and i intend on bringing it back with me to the states (minus the bottle).

as expected, the food is beautiful and the men are just as delicious. god, i still can't get enough of this magnificent country. and as i'd grown native to my motherland, it was already time to go home. i wish we could've stayed and skated through rice patties a while longer. i made a promise to return, the same way i promised to go in the first place. i dream of seeing more next time and we always seem to manage…

being back home, there is already much less awe and culture shock and more getting back into the groove of things. i've always understood how truly priviliged i am to be here with what i have and what my parent's parents have given me. seeing everything in its physical state makes me feel guilty for my way of living. but it would be too extreme to throw it all away for the sake of being "humble". and to squander all of this opportunity would be sacrilegious to what they went through. so from here on out, under this warm filipino sun, i will always be grateful for what i have. i will never take my life forgranted.

i'm back at work now, been traveling coast to coast these past few months ending one season and starting another. as i stand here enjoying the pretentiousness of fashion week, when i close my eyes all i can envision are the sounds and smells of the islands, like being so close to the confused and congested jungle amazingness. haha.

thanks for the good times ny, but i left my heart in pampanga.