Last January 8, 2006, a cloudy Sunday night, I took a fateful one-hour flight from Manila to Cebu. Fateful, because it marked the start of my “rotation” to our company’s Cebu branch. I was going to be living away from home for the first time in my 22 years of life. And for me, that thought was unnerving beyond comprehension.
Ok, I will be honest. I felt like an OFW. The 300 miles between Manila and Cebu felt like 300,000 miles. The tears would not stop flowing – from the time I was seated at the gate waiting for the boarding call, until I was on the plane and fastening my seatbelt, from the time I was by the luggage conveyor belt, until I was on the taxi to the hotel, and up until I was on my hotel bed that night. I was crying my eyes out.
Now, eight months hence, believe me, I still cry. I still get homesick and there are no words to describe how intense the feeling is. But I am pulling through... day by day... I survive.
I had programmed my mind that I would be back in Manila by August. Every inch of me is craving to be back home. It’s not that I haven’t been back since January. Quite the opposite, I actually travel back and forth to Manila as if Cebu was just Tagaytay or Bulacan (Oh yes this is a popular comment from friends). But there really is something different about being home. Really home.
Anyway, I just received news that I might be here until October. Don’t even ask me how that made me feel. It deserves an entirely separate entry.
And so to comfort myself and to try to nurture some kind of acceptance, I have decided to come up with a list of the things that I love about Cebu. Here goes… I hope it works.
1. No Traffic. Or let me just put it this way: traffic is way better than Manila. I don’t really know why because Cebu does have quite a number of uncouth drivers (think worse-than-Faura/P.Gil-jeepney-drivers) but you can get yourself around while encountering very minimal traffic. This also means I can get up later than usual – 8am to be exact – and still get my ass in the office for the 8:30am call time. All this compared to Manila living when I have to wake up at 6:30am because I have to allocate at least 1-1.5 hours of travel time from Las Pinas to Makati or Ortigas.
2. I get free gas. And I use the company car. With gas prices hitting the high Php40’s, this is definitely an advantage. The only problem is I don’t really have a lot of places to go (since everything seems so near here, plus all my barkadas are in Manila) so my full tank actually lasts for a month. Sometimes I take road trips just so my gas can register a few lines lower in the gauge. But, heck, I’m not complaining. Anything that’s free, bring it on!
3. Food = Cheap + Good. Very, very bad for the diet though. But diets are no match for the many places that serve delicious food at rock-bottom prices. There’s the Tong’s Eat-All-You-Can meal at Php 149.50, the yummy barbecue ribs at Casa Verde for only Php 120.00, the to-die-for Kinamatisang Kawali at Dessert Factory for Php 150.00, the Cream Cheese and Garlic Burger at the Burger Joint for Php 65.00 – I can go on and on. One thing’s for sure, even if you’re on a tight budget, you’ll never go hungry in Cebu.
4. CnT Lechon and Carcar Chicharon are sinfully amazing. And so amazing are these two, that they deserve a separate category. I am a CnT Lechon loyalist. I cannot remember how many people I have brought to their branch in North Reclamation (in front of SM Cebu), but I brought in every single person I know from Manila who came to Cebu. If back in Manila my picker-upper was a Starbucks Rhumba Frap, in Cebu, it would definitely be a 1/4 kilo serving of CnT Lechon with their signature dip – soy sauce and vinegar. Makes my mouth water just thinking about it. As for the Carcar Chicharon (by the way Carcar is the name of the place where this yummy chicharon is made) – it will give Chicharritos and Lapid’s a run for their money. Ahhhhh. So many good things are bad for the body – this you will realize over and over again in Cebu!
5. My culinary skills have evolved. Whereas back then, my cooking involved only simple frying and some minor boiling, I now know how to cook a mean Adobo, Pork Steak, Torta and Sinigang. I have also perfected my Spaghetti recipe and learned some new garnishes like this shredded radish thing and kamatis with bagoong. And most important of all, I am now more successful in my rice cooking attempts, sans the rice cooker!
6. The work environment is really good. Don’t get me wrong, the workload is still there; if anything, the workload has actually increased. The responsibilities have gotten bigger in scope and I also have to render overtime on some occasions. But the environment here in the branch is much more laid-back and relaxed. Partly also because life here in Cebu is still relatively more unhurried and leisurely, despite the fact that it is as metropolitan as any city can get. And add to that the fact that I have the best manager in the world. :)
7. Having so much freedom has made me grow as a person. Like I said, it’s my first time to live outside of the house where I grew up. Meaning: no parents, no curfew, no nothing, just do whatever you want! It’s so easy to go overboard and just throw your life away, you know, just live like a careless 22-year-old. But instead, this experience has taught me discipline. Freedom really is such a privilege and it must be used well. I have had a lot of fun times in Cebu, but I can also proudly say that I have chosen to uphold my principles and keep myself in check most of the time, despite this being very difficult to do when you’re alone and without supervision. I truly believe that discipline is best exemplified when you choose to do the right things while knowing fully well that nobody’s looking.
8. I’m living life by my rules! I still control myself but this doesn’t mean that I never have fun. No curfew – let’s talk more about that! Honestly, my dad says he prefers that I’m in Cebu and he doesn’t know what I’m doing or where I’m going, than me being in Manila and him worrying every other minute. And really, it works for me just as well! It only means I can get a coffee fix anytime I want to (like, say at 11pm in the evening), or go out on Sundays and watch a movie with a friend (which is impossible when I’m Manila because Sunday is a family day). I can go out on weeknights and I have way looonger Friday nights, if you know what I mean. I can also stay in bed on weekends as long as I want (without having to be guilty that everyone else is up and doing some kind of chore) and have TV marathons till my eyes hurt. I have a choice whether to have dinner or not (which is not allowed in our household – you gotta be present at the dinner table whether or not you’re eating – family tradition, you know). In other words, I make all the calls for myself and take responsibility for each decision and action. And you know what? It feels so damn good!
I once read in an Arlene Chai book that migrants are never complete, that they will forever be broken people. In every place you go to, you have to build a “home” – it is a place that signifies security, comfort, peace. Eight months have passed and building a home in Cebu has been inevitable, despite my constant longing to be back in Manila and Las Pinas.
What I’m driving at is, I have realized that though in a few months’ time I will be moving back to Manila, it will not be too easy to leave Cebu. In retrospect, it has been quite an experience to be here. I learned many things in such a short span of time. I feel wiser and more mature, and in fact, more prepared to face new challenges that I know will come my way real soon. In reality, I did find a lot of things to love in this place.
*sigh*
And I thought I won’t be able to come up with anything for this entry.
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