Driving in Manila

We chanced upon Discovery Channel Canada's "Don't Drive Here" reality TV series which featured Manila as "one of the world's worst driving cities" last night.

Whatever the circumstance, it's always a thrill seeing your home country in a 'foreign' (I still consider Canada a foreign place haha!) television.

Oh, these familiar scenarios that I miss! I never thought I'd miss Manila's 'chaotic' atmosphere.

I miss those gigantic buses, those colorful jeepneys. And I miss the tons of people on the street! Nakakamiss makakita ng sangkatutak na tao sa totoo lang!

I couldn't blame the show's host Andrew Younghusband for "failing" the challenge. He was supposed to learn how to drive better than a professional driver in Manila. He was ultimately tasked to drive a jeepney and after some time, he gave up. Sobrang culture shock ang inabot niya.

Younghusband is a Canadian who's used to organized traffic, disciplined drivers, wide roads. He can never beat the survival-on-the-road skills of Pinoy drivers.

I've been driving in Manila since I was 18. I've experienced the worst, I must say. This is the reason why I am afraid to get a driver's license here in Canada. I am not confident that my driving skills are in congruent with driving in this city.  I am an aggressive driver because I was socialized that way eh. Baka puro violation tickets ang makuha ko dito.

On the other hand, parang takot na rin akong mag-drive uli sa Pilipinas pag-uwi ko. In the ten months that I've been living here (yep, ten months pa lang ha), nasanay na rin ako na dito, akmang tatawid pa lang ako ay hihinto na ang mga sasakyan para sa akin. Every place is within reach (kahit ilang daang kilometers pa yan) kasi nga walang traffic. Maluwag ang mga kalsada, functioning lahat ng traffic lights. Lahat organisado at maayos. With all the complaints and rants that I read on Facebook every day about Manila's horrendous traffic situation today (which is far worse than ten months ago), I doubt kung kakayanin ko pa talaga na magmaneho doon. Baka hanggang Bulacan na lang talaga ako.

Oh well, let's see.

Some rainy day sentiments

It's a cold and rainy Thursday. I am loving the weather. Parang nakikisama ang panahon, nakikisabay sa maulang lagay ng Pilipinas sa ngayon.

But unlike in the Philippines, there will be no dreadful typhoons here. No destructive winds. No deep floods. Just mere rain showers.

According to my husband, there is hardly any natural calamity here in Edmonton. An earthquake is in fact very unlikely to happen. Whoaah, so ganito pala sa ibang panig ng mundo. While we Filipinos are getting so used to regular calamities and natural disasters (Philippines daw is the 3rd most disaster-prone countries in the world, next to Tonga and Vanuatu), other countries and people are enjoying hassle-free lives. Ni hindi uso ang brownout dito.

Life is really not fair noh?

I am grateful that at 34, I was given the chance to move into a developed country where life is much better and easier. But I am not selfish.  Inasmuch as I am having a good time here, I couldn't help but feel the hardships that my fellow Filipinos are experiencing in our home country right now. I get heart-broken whenever I watch the news, seeing homeless families and hungry children is just too much painful to bear. If only there's something I can do.

Let's just all pray for our beloved Philippines.

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NOTE: Due to strong winds of Typhoon Glenda last July 16 (Philippine time), the huge gate of our garage hit the windshield of one of our buses. My brother also incurred a minor knee injury because he was trying to control the said gate. But other than that, we are thankful that all our family, relatives and friends (and our other properties) are safe. 

Bye, Old SPCB!

It's just sad seeing those old structures go.

Picture taken from a classmate's FB account. Credits to her.

Especially if you've spent so much of your childhood there.

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I am thankful though that I had a last glimpse of it last November 1, 2013 (before I left for Canada). Salamat din at napicturan ko.

Old elementary building of St. Paul College of  Bocaue

The next time I go back there, parking lot na lang ito ng simbahan.

I guess there are things that we have to let go. After all, the only constant thing in this world is change.

Opposing Weather

Haha, not so long ago I was in Manila experiencing a 30+c weather.

And now I am in the opposite side of the earth haha!

I am not sure if I will ever miss the Philippine non-summer weather (summer weather will definitely not be missed!). But I sure miss wearing sandals and shoes! Imagine, I've only worn boots the past two months!

It's Christmas in Pinas!

The Philippines is 15 hours ahead than Edmonton so they are already celebrating Christmas now. I can't help but feel sentimental. This is my first Christmas away from 'home.'

For the past so many years, my mother and I, together with Tita Oya and other relatives, would attend the December 24 10pm mass in Lolomboy (my Nanay's home barangay where I grew up). Then after, we'll head straight to SanDoc's house for a simple noche buena.

I am lucky because in this day and age, we have all these technology in the world to connect with our loved ones who are so far away. Nakakatuwa kasi kahit ang misa, mapapanood na live online!

The Roman Catholicism is really shaping up!

Ang saya ko kasi hindi ko pa rin totally na-miss out ang mass na dinadaluhan ko taon-taon.

I wasn't able to finish nga lang because I had an abdominal ultrasound appointment at 8:30am (Edmonton time). Pero hanggang sa sasakyan, I was watching.

And after my appointment, when I turned on my Iphone, this was what I saw. I knew that my cousin Cricket posted this for me. I used to be their photographer.

On our way home, I contacted SanDoc via Facetime and I was able to see my family at home, feasting! Really, I've never been this grateful with technology!

I spent the last two hours scanning my FB, making usi on how my friends and relatives spent their noche buena. It was fun, feeling ko kasama ko na rin sila. Postmodern na talaga ang celebration ng Pasko ngayon.

To everyone in the Philippines, especially to my family and friends, Merry Christmas from us here in Edmonton!

Picture courtesy of Bitstrips