THANK YOU FOR THE MUSIC
Before I get into the serious stuff, I wanted to share this with those who are interested and were supportive of my search for the right guitar and case (even if there was only one in the whole Raon)... I just had my first guitar lesson since coming back to Oregon. My guitar sounds awesome -- in somebody else's hands:) It was so fun to have a lesson again. This guitar does make me sound like I playa little bit better because the strings aren't as hard on my fingers and the body is smaller. I love the guitar!
For those that haven't heard... Tita Chary was kind enough to take me to Raon a second time to find a guitar case. We stopped at the first music store we saw and asked if they had a case for an acoustic guitar. They produced one that was reasonably priced and locally made, but looks like dracula's coffin in the inside with the bright red lining and the outside had some scratches that they were trying very hard to rub away. So we told them we would look around a bit more. We then went to another store that had one, but cost almost four times more than the first one. Since I haven't been booked for any gigs yet, I decided to keep looking. A couple of other stores didn't carry one. We finally found another store that had one, so we asked to see the case. The guy ran off and came back with the case -- the same exact case that we saw in the first store! Tita Chary and I then went back to the first store and bought the case from them. I apologize to all Raon shoppers looking for the one and only acoustic guitar case available in the whole area that I now own.
AND MORE
I think I'll start with the "and more" part of this entry. I have been missing life in Manila so badly. There were so many amusing aspects of life there that I miss.
I miss the "quotation marks". Katrina and Justin pointed this out actually. "Everything" has "quotation marks" for no "apparent reason". Walking around Raon I would see "signs" saying "Sale" "P100". "It's so funny."
Katrina and I would make fun of and complain about how long it would take to buy anything from any department store cashier. You see, it takes at least two people to ring your purchase. There's the one that punches items into the cash register, then there's the one that bags it and staples the receipts. Sometimes there's a third person to circle seemingly random numbers (random to us anyway) on your receipt -- for more efficient stores this is also done by the second person. Oh, they will staple your bag shut at least four times. When you pay, too, they will always ask you for change before they give you your change. I could never understand this! Let's say your purchase is 33 pesos. You give the cashier 40 pesos. Instead of just giving you 7 pesos back, they will ask you if you have 3 pesos. Then she will give you your change. There are times when you end up with more coins than if they would have just given you your change right away.
The songs that I grew to like while living there are still being played -- everywhere. There are a lot of songs that didn't go mainstream here in the US, but highly popular in the Philippines. Who will ever forget Kevy Lattau, Fra Lipo Lippi, Pizzicato Five, Swing Out Sisters, Lighthouse Family? How many times did we dance to "Rock the Boat" and "Buttercup"? Oh, of course, there are those Pia called "suicidal love songs" that sing about losing a loved one who is already in love with somebody else but they're still declaring undying love to that person. Now who would ever do a thing like that in real life? :) There just always seemed to be music playing everywhere -- the grocery stores, malls, security guards station (to which Malina said, "Mama, there's a party!"), restaurants, taxis, department stores, eating areas, tricycles, pedicabs,... Don't forget people who walk around singing whether they're by themselves or with a group of people. Filipinos just love to sing. We've recently been up to visit Katrina and Aki in Portland. We ended the day with an hour of karaoke. Katrina made me sing the hopelessly romantic songs that repeats lines over and over. Such fun! For anybody looking for entertainers, Katrina and I will gladly sing for your parties (who said "entertainers" had to be good?).
I miss Aling Paring. "Aling" is a term used to refer to an older woman. A couple of days before leaving the Philippines my mom, Tita Chary, Vincent and I went to Angeles, Pampanga. Pampanga is another province about two hours away from Manila. They are known for their love for food. We were originally looking for Aling Lucing (an eatery in Pampanga), but was led to Aling Paring. No, not all restaurants are owned by older women. We found this restaurant that was probably once a garage. We were the only ones there and we had no idea if the food would be any good. While waiting for our food Aling Paring herself entertained us and then told us that she would lead us to the stores my mom was looking for. She told us all about her family, the history of her restaurant, how Aling Lucing was tragically murdered, and more. The food was quite good, the atmosphere was quite homey, and we were even given free bananas (the Philippine bananas are the only bananas I like to eat because they are sweeter and better tasting than the cavendish we have available here). It was just such a nice experience.
A BIT OF REFLECTION -- FRIENDS AND COMMUNITY
The local flavor in the Philippines is so full of flavor. I miss the variety, the flair, the idiosyncracies, the humor, the music, and most especially the people... This is not to say that I don't like life in Corvallis. Well, I am a bit homesick right now, but I also do appreciate life here and the friends I've been surrounded with here. One aspect of my life that I am thankful for are the lessons I've learned in making friends and finding community wherever I'm at. I am not a very social person by nature. It is something that I really have to push myself to do -- really, I do. It takes me a while to adapt to any place, but once I get passed the homesick stage I am able to create my circle of friends. Community and home to me is wherever I may be at any stage in my life, at any geographical location. My friends and community have evolved to reflect where I am at my life. Right now I am primarily surrounded mothers, people who do Church-related work, new and old friends, and life-challenged friends. When I was in Manila I was surrounded by fairly new friends, work-related friends, relatives, my gay friends, and family friends. Each person brings gifts and lessons to be learned. Each person brings a different sense of humor, level of conversation, and perspective. This all transcends race, gender, and age. People are truly people wherever they may be, whoever they may be. It's up to us to appreciate, to learn, and to treasure whoever is in front of us wherever we may be, whatever we may be going through.
MY CHANGE OF HEART
Another entry on my heart?! I recently wrote about losing a best friend and what sorrow that brought me. It was my choice to end that relationship and cease all communication. As the days passed (yes, some of you are probably saying it hasn't been that long), I realized how important that friendship is in my life and how tired I am of all the negative emotions that came out of that decision. Due to circumstances of our past and the present, it may be a bit difficult and painful maintaining this friendship. I will take that pain rather than the deep pain that comes with losing that person completely. That person has always held a special place in my heart from the time we first met. Don't ask me why, but the Lord has placed that person there. I've tried to see if I could place someone else in that spot, but it's been designated for that person. I've had a couple of sighs, rolling of the eyes, and one angry reaction at my decision to become friends again. I have decided that I will strive to love even those that are hard to love as we've been asked by Christ to do. This love is difficult, but well worth the effort. This person has been very special to me and people who are special are worth working hard for. I will do this for any friend. I will do this for you.
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