"A Grateful Heart is a Magnet for Miracles."

The other day I found male neighbors in their 20s and 30s playing "tumbang preso" in the side street where not a lot of vehicles pass. Tumbang Preso is a Filipino children's game literally translated as "knock down the prisoner".  The goal is to knock down a can with their slippers or flip-flops. I was amused to watch them set up their game, dividing themselves into two groups equally standing at opposite sides. The game should be played by a maximum of nine players. One guards the can while the rest stands behind the line to hit it.  I couldn't help reminiscing about my childhood playing this game as well as hide and seek with my friends in abandoned buildings or a thrill seeking game "of patintero"

Patintero, on the other hand, is another group outdoor game played by two teams. It requires speed, agility, strategy and team work. The rule of the game is to pass through the grid lines guarded by the opposing team without getting tagged. A chalk is used to draw the grid lines on the ground and a bigger space is required roughly around 6 linear meters in depth length x 4 linear meters horizontal width. It is usually played by four players per team. 

Have you played this game when you were young (er)?

2. Green Therapy

When I moved to the south, I have always wanted to wake up early, drive up to this spot and drink my freshly brewed coffee in my thermos while enjoying this view. Finally did it this weekend!

Was sucking the sweet nectar from this flower a part of your childhood? The santan plant, Ixora coccinea grows into a shrub and thrives well in the heat.  I finally learned how to propagate them by using their plant cuttings.  

Love & light,

Arni

The contents of one's bag reveal so much about a person. I can't necessarily claim I can't live without these items. Yet, you will see how my lifestyle has been altered when I compared them with previous posts;  such as, what's inside my beach bag when I was still living in Dubai and my hand carry luggage during a 4-day trip to Prague.

Hope you're all having a great week. December entails wrapping presents, last minute shopping, traffic frenzy en route to your office Christmas Party, year end work load, travel plans looming ahead, vehicle tax increase, income tax reduction, ho ho ho 13th month pay, what a way to end 2017!  

As always, the year end brings a wave of nostalgia.  Before 2017 sneaks up on me, I'm going to post my favorite finds and insights about living in the Philippines this week.

Photo by Lito Flestado

I have always been intrigued by my friend, Shela's experience when she decided to move back to Philippines for good after living in Dubai for many years.  While most of our friends in the sandpit saw their future immigrating to western countries (I'm not saying there's something wrong with that), but Shela imagined herself coming home.

Shela enjoyed a comfortable life with her husband and daughter in Dubai. 

Like most expats in the Middle East, we all knew we had to leave at some point.  She quit her fabulous job in a luxury fashion brand in order to set up the business on her own, while her husband stayed behind in the UAE, as a back up plan.

We were still in Dubai then, when she took the leap.  This chapter of her life was not really a part of our social media conversations. Online chatting wasn't really an ideal medium to share what she went through during her first year in the Philippines.

An idea sparked recently to feature her which was initially driven by my curiosity.To be honest, I wondered if she ever did go through repatriation blues as I did.  Having read her side of the story while putting this blog post altogether, I wished I have read it before embarking on this journey.  So allow me to share with you my brief interview with Shela about her experience moving back home:

My youngest sister ecstatically gushes, "To date, this is the best waterfall I have ever seen in my life!" 

I paused and wondered for several seconds and yes, I found myself nodding as well, "Me too!"

I'm seizing this opportunity to appreciate the goodness that I discover in my home country. Here's a round up of 3 things that made me happy this week.

It has been 2 years since I moved back to the Philippines for good. 

If I were to ask my 2015 self, I would have imagined that by now I am well acclimated to my life here. That I have embraced every flaw and idiosyncrasies of my beloved country with unconditional acceptance and unwavering tolerance.   

Yet, the last thing I wrote was a long paged account of bad customer service.  I decided not to publish it.

For the simple reason that I can't expect others to change for me,  nor blame things or people that are beyond my control.  

"When in doubt, eat Tapsilog"

Haha, that's my attempt in being funny today.  (Tapsilog is a popular Filipino breakfast, a plate of marinated beef with fried rice and sunny side up egg)

I will be honest. My friend, the repatriation blues has re-visited me quite often lately. 

Sometimes I wonder, what if I had the chance to warn myself in 2015 before leaving Dubai and coming home to the Philippines for good? These are the words I'm going to tell her:

Dear Self,

Are you by any chance a foreigner married to a Filipino or Filipina and you are contemplating staying or living in the Philippines for a longer period?

For the first few years of erratic visits to the Philippines, Yohann and I have used the Balikbayan Visa that would allow him to stay in the country for 1 year.

All we needed to do is queue together and present ourselves to the officer at the Philippine Immigration Counter before entering the country along with our NSO Marriage Certificate. The assigned Immigration Officer has the right to approve or reject a Balikbayan Visa.

It's nothing extraordinary. It's merely a stamp on the foreign spouse's passport, but this would allow him to stay longer than the regular 30 days given to most Non-Filipino tourists. The drawback though, is he won't be able to get a Balikbayan Visa without me, if he exits and enters the country later.

13A Permanent Residence Visa...ah the sound of it already rings alarm bells of complex application process.  Fear not. Take a deep breath. 

Before I begin, I would have to warn you that this post is not a guide on how to get there, but in case you are planning to go there, Read: A Vegetable Basket in Cebu

All I can remember was, I was nodding to a 5AM rendezvous after glasses of sweet white wine the previous night after a sumptuous boodle feast.  

2016 slipped away. At least that's what it felt like for me.  Imagine you're eating a delicious quiche and at the back of your mind, you know fully well, you have the entire dish to yourself? Then by surprise, there was just one bite left. You stare at that last piece and wonder what happened to the rest.  

When you live in the middle of a rice field, it's amazing to see the changes in the landscape daily. You'll have a water buffalo hanging out chewing grass during his break or a month old calf peeking through your glass window. Toads harmoniously chant their own operatic version of Don Giovanni while you have a pack of teenage dogs howling in front of your bedroom window after midnight. My husband and I kill gazillions of mosquitoes a day but the best part of living here, so far, are cozy rainy afternoons.

I am posting photos taken in different periods during our stay here:

Today marks the day we finally get our own home internet connection. Yes, you read that correctly. Our home. After 2 years of nomadic life, I can finally fill up the blank address page in a raffle coupon without hesitation.

My absence online though was a result of a roller coaster of emotions. 

The Anxiety of House Hunting

It took us more than 2 months searching for the right apartment. Satisfying extremely high standards with a limited budget can be quite a challenge. The first three-bedroom house we saw felt like 'the one.' 

It was a dangled carrot that dimmed any possibility for other prospective apartments to compete with. However, the property owner took an extremely long time to sign the contract, despite giving us a verbal agreement that she accepts our contract draft. With lots of postponed meetings, delayed or unanswered texts and phone calls, the whole waiting game took a month. Only to be told later that 'the house' was sold. 

Anxiety, tears,  and depression took over. I had no idea searching for an apartment can be such a minefield. It was so far from my experiences looking for an apartment in Dubai even during the peak of its economic reign. In the Middle East, as long as I have my check book with me, I can sign the contract, close the deal that same day and move in whenever the apartment is ready for occupancy.  

Desperation opened our eyes to other possibilities. We visited more houses after that until we came across a two-bedroom single detached home that was under construction in the middle of a rice field.  All of us felt good when we checked the house and we knew that was it. 

We saw about 19 houses in total. 

The House and the Fiesta

We were invited by the house's lovely owner  and her beautiful family to celebrate Argao's fiesta with them. During this period, we got to know them a lot more. 

Since then our fate turned around. I suppose good things come to those who wait.  It is true that we can do anything, but we can't have everything.

House Blessing Preps

Health Challenges

In between while waiting for the house's interior to be completed, we had to go back briefly to Manila to take care of our furniture and personal effects to be shipped, while dealing with some health issues. 

I went to see a urologist and after undergoing an ultrasound, I was told that I have an 8mm kidney stone blocking my ureter.  Surprisingly, I wasn't in any major pain. According to my urologist normally in this scenario, he would admit me for a ureteroscopy already, but I begged him if we could go down the medication route and rule out non-invasive procedures that would land me in a hospital bed. 

I went through two weeks of drinking 2-3 liters of water per day, taking the prescribed meds, and downing pure lemon juice with olive oil.  By the time I got back to Cebu, I had my second ultrasound and my stone is gone. Thank God, you have no idea how relieved I was!  

Shipment

We have consulted several moving companies for shipping items from Manila to Cebu but either we got a really high quotation or we never got any response. My old schoolmate, Madz Uy who works in the shipping industry recommended Big-ger Freight Solutions Inc.  

I remember my first phone call to schedule the ocular inspection with Ronald Arkoncel, Vice President for Sales & Marketing for the shipping company, already gave me a good feeling. Our succeeding correspondences were even more impressive. Ronald is such a gem! They were fast in responding and they were flexible in accommodating last minute requests. We were notified as soon as the 20 feet container reached the port of Cebu and we were constantly updated on the movement of the trucks on the date of delivery. All of our boxes arrived and not a single item was broken. 

Moving is usually stressful, but working with Big-ger Freight Solutions' professional and efficient team made our move easy, fun and definitely stress free. 

Contact:  Ronald Arkoncel
                Big-ger Freight Solutions
Address: Room 302 HHC Building, Victoria Street corner Basco Street, Intramuros, Manila
Telephone: +63 2 5468912 / +63 2 5277417
Email: rca_214@yahoo.com
Website: http://big-gersolutions.com/

Unpacking

Opening each of our boxes felt like opening Christmas presents. I finally found my french coffee press and my favorite mug.  I was reunited with my old comfy bed and my piano.

108 boxes. Now we are down to 35 boxes that are looking for storage.

View beyond our backyard fence. Awesome farming job guys!

Insects Smorgasbord

Being in the middle of a rice field means more insects. We hired Mapecon's pest control services to exterminate all fliers and creepy crawlies including post construction termite control. The pest control is a yearly contract with services done every 3 months. It made a difference as we see dead insects sometimes even ants, around the house every day, but the centipedes and spiders seem much tougher. Armed with a can of insect killer, I deal with centipedes and spiders I can find on a daily basis. 

Our unexpected house guest who slept in our front yard all day.

Unwanted Alarm Clock

We were also surprised to gain an unwanted alarm clock. A neighbor plays loud dance music through big speakers echoing across the field at 5 am everyday. It's so strong that our glass windows vibrate. 

One morning, we were woken up by blaring old 80s tunes. The lack of sleep sent us to a moment of assertiveness. My husband went several doors down to ask nicely if our neighbor could lower the sound down a bit. He was busy chopping wood with a machete, while listening to his Ipod plugged in gigantic speakers. He obliged, however. Since then, he played his music in reasonable decibels.

Guess what? It turned out 30 minutes later that there was another neighbor responsible for playing loud music at 5 am. We realized this later based on the different choice of music. The dance tunes continue to wake us up daily, perhaps until we assertively request for our neighbor to adjust the volume down.  For now we are grateful that evenings are peaceful and it seems everyone is in bed by 9pm.

Facebook Purge and Withdrawal

It has been 16 days since I abstained from checking facebook's news feed. The first few days were torture! Whenever I needed a social media fix, I turned to Instagram instead. Anyway, I'm still connected to friends and family on messenger since not everyone is on viber.  

I was inspired by a friend who completely disconnected from everything online except for her browser and viber.  I know, for a blogger, that's very close to social media suicide but I gave the FB abstinence at least a try. 

Verdict:

It was liberating. The growing political articles being shared are just too much for me and despite unfollowing friends who are too radical in advocating their political stance, my news feed was rapidly becoming too chaotic. It was overpowering the positive and entertaining posts that a couple of friends were sharing.  

The facebook silence is something I am enjoying right now. Away from the news that is beyond my control and away from opinions that I can never change. I am going to continue this FB fasting with a slight exception of sharing this blog post on the Travel Gourmande facebook page.

It's absolutely wonderful being able to write again. 

How have you been?

What's life like in your part of the world?

Love & light,

Arni

Have you ever been to a rustic place where time slowed down a few notches? If it weren't for the lightbox signage of a 24-hour convenient store and modern cars that whip past the two-lane national road, you might as well assume you're in a province dated back several decades ago. Vigan and Taal Batangas seem to have that vibe. Yet there are many things about Argao that neither the two have. Can you guess?

Rental Car? Check.  Fuel?  Check.  Baby Car Seat?  Check.

We are on our second road trip to South of Cebu as I am typing this. A continuation of our journey. The first one was a 7- day road trip  a month ago.   On the fifth day of our expedition, I suffered a dental implant abscess. This cut our trip short as I needed to head back to Manila for an emergency drainage. (I know, too much information :))

On our first South Cebu Road Trip, we rented a car via Cebu Easy Rental for 9k a week and drove down from Cebu City for 2 and a half hours to stay in Argao, our first rest stop. 

Our destinations: Argao - Dalaguete - Oslob - Santander - Badian - Allegria - Moalboal - back to Argao

We are back on the road again. It has been 5 days since we bid goodbye to Manila. Excited to continue our journey, we made our way to beautiful Cebu with an agenda in mind, to begin writing our story and start building our lives here. The first step to doing this is to find a rental home. We are currently house hunting. Let's see where this takes us.