Our Journey to the Philippines

I had mixed emotions while I was over there! I enjoyed the company of my family and friends in the Philippines but I sure missed Kurt! I was also concerned about Kirstin the entire time we were there. Was the weather too hot for her? Was she enjoying this as much as I do or was she sad that daddy is not around and she's surrounded by unfamiliar faces speaking unfamiliar sounds? Did I put enough sunscreen on her? Will I be able to survive another long flight with her alone? But, my mother and my sister-in-law assured me that everything was fine and that I should take a break. I must admit that it sure felt nice to be away from responsibilities once in a while.

While in the Philippines, I planned to do a lot of shopping but I ended up only buying one shirt and one sandals for myself. Though I spent almost the entire day looking for an outfit. My theory is, being a Libra and the no return, no exchange policy that is subtly implemented in the stores in the Philippines are not a good mix! I know I have a tendency to change my mind and knowing that I will have a hard time returning the things I bought if I changed my mind turned me off! I got so used to the lifestyle in the US where you can return things even without a receipt. Not sure if that's good or bad but it sure didn't help me while I was over there shopping!

I sure had great time at the beach and had great time swimming at the pool and singing till the crack of dawn with Thomson people! Things were crazy as always! Going to the beach is something that I could not do as much as I wanted to here in the US. Aside from the fact that the coast is a 2-hour trip from where we live, the water is really cold even in the summer so that makes the trip seemed not worth it.

It was also a good Holy Week experience for me since I was able to really reflect on it. I was able to go to Church, watch Sinakulo and pray to my heart's content. Whereas in the US, Holy Week is not being observed at all so that was a good going-back-to-the-tradition kind of thing for me.

Though I certainly had fun on my short visit, I realized when the plane landed at the Portland Airport and I saw Kurt coming to welcome us, that this is where my heart is now. And it felt good to be home!

You may ask how Kirstin did in the airplane? She's a trooper! She hardly cried and mostly slept all the way there and back!