THIS IS NOT GOODBYE
Twenty-three more days and counting. Then I leave the country to pursue a masters degree in the United States.
Will you continue to write your column? What will happen to your website? These, among other things, were the most frequently asked questions.
Okay, I shall continue to write for The Freeman. Thanks to e-mail, there is no reason why not since that is how I submit my weekly musings anyway.
The website is an altogether different issue. It stays up there in cyberspace but starting today I will no longer be able to update it. The proliferation of free homepages in the Net is a comforting thought that I can always put up a new one from that part of the world. There is Geocities, Infoseek and Xoom, just to name a few.
Somebody already suggested I keep a journal of things I miss in the Philippines. I tested this idea among friends and acquaintances and they warmed up to it. Filipino and Americans familiar with our culture thought it would be a good idea to explain to people back here that life in America is not always like what we see on TV and movies. It can be very lonely there, especially in places where there are few or no other Filipinos.
People actually miss the very things that we take for granted here. I can relate to that. I already know I will miss Esperanza and the other Filipino and Spanish soap opera that Inday religiously follows. An issue in which we have little choice or supper will be late because she'll be at the neighbor's house watching TV if my brother so much swipes the remote to change the channel.
I know I will miss the old bachelor across the street who croons "My Way" to a karaoke system in stereo while everybody is having breakfast. I missed him the first time, sitting in Indah's porch in Long Beach, at eight in the evening that seemed like midnight. Except that midnight in my neighborhood here in Private has more signs of life what with vehicles coming and going, the balut vendor doing his nightly rounds and some inebriated souls arguing among themselves out in the streets.
I know I will miss the coconut and banana trees that grow just about everywhere in both rural and urban areas. Perhaps you were not paying attention but in the sidestreets and many vacant lots around the city there is always one or two. Now being summer the bougainvillas along the street islands are in full bloom. So are the santan flowers in many hotel and office lawns. That is how I always picture Cebu in summer. In some parts count yourself lucky if you come across cherry blossoms and golden showers crowding out the few remaining leaves.
I know I will miss the estambays -- young and not so young men who while their time at some sari-sari store in the street corner, playing basketball, drinking beer, heckling passers-by, especially women. Believe it or not I find their noisy presence discourages thieves from breaking in houses. Those who dared quickly found themselves beaten up. These toughies are rather protective of their turf and its residents that my brother had to come in defense of a terrified taxi driver who bumped his car.
And I will miss trekking and the camaraderie of my mountaineering pals.
Having said that, I shall not go quietly. I will have one last "fling" with the Green Earth Mountaineers in Kota Kinabalu, Sabah, Borneo. Malaysian Airlines' Cebu to L.A. flight route stops over KK so I might as well climb Mt. Kinabalu again for old times' sake. It is Southeast Asia's highest peak at 14,000 ft but an easy climb for the reasonably fit. GEM is inviting other mountaineers. The more, the merrier, the cheaper!
Care to join us? You can if you have a passport, the time and money. Aleson Shipping runs a ferry from Zamboanga to Sandakan, Sabah ... about 6 hours from KK. Starting May 1 the boat will pass by Cebu before proceeding to Zamboanga. Budget P10,000 to P15,000 for the 10-day adventure on May 23. This covers the boat fare, the two-day trek to Mt. Kinabalu, bus fares, accommodations, and meals.
The boat departs from Cebu on Sunday and arrives in Sandakan on Tuesday. We climb Mt. Kinabalu on Wednesday and leave the park late Thursday. Between Friday and Monday there is a choice of exploring the other exciting attractions of Sabah: white water rafting in Padas River, the Poring Hot Springs which features a canopy walk within a rainforest, the Sepilok Orang Utan sanctuary, the Gomantong Caves, and Kinabatangan river cruise promising a wildlife sightseeing safari. The boat leaves Sandakan for Zamboanga on Tuesday. For P1,500 more you can fly and be in Cebu on the same or next day. For more details contact Jojo Rocha at 253-3394.
From KK I fly to Kuala Lumpur, Los Angeles, and New Orleans where a bus will take us to school some 100 miles away. There a different kind of adventure awaits me.
My website remains at http://www.gsilink.com/~go2net. I can be reached by e-mail at tonettego@excite.com
April 30, 1999