What a fine day to be out. The sun is up, almost winking, teasing the earth that it’s been hiding from almost this entire winter. This is the sky over Holland, blue, similar to the sky in Manila, blue, but not this type of blue. And the clouds, their bubbly waves, sun peeking through as […]
Today, 1st of January in the year of our Lord, 2013, a sister in the US gives birth, a friend in Manila dies. And just like that, life ends and life begins. *This is part of a 68-Day Travel Diary called Reflections of a Nearly Thirty. Read the full Reflections Series here.
I run, I travel. I use my legs a lot. I collect things both tangible and intangible when I travel: Post cards. That’s self-explanatory. Toilets. I don’t mean per se, but the experience. While there is a toilet in Utrecht where the seat is covered with plastic and you turn it around when you want a new plastic […]
As if taunting me that my days here are numbered, I find myself alone on the train today, for the first time since I got to Holland last year. My sister never lets me “go astray” at any time during my stay here, maybe trying to be the mother bear that she is. This entire […]
We went to a wedding today. It’s my first time to attend a wedding outside the Philippines. It’s the wedding of friends of my sister’s, whose love story is very not-so-love-at-first-sight. They were colleagues in Manila (at SGV, to be exact), became friends, each moved to the Netherlands, became really good friends, then a couple, then […]
First Day We’re off to Rome today. That should already paint a thousand words. Lesson 1 : It’s more massive than it looks. Everything is massive in Rome that you feel like an ant walking down its streets enveloped by how larger than life everything is. Rome was a real-life museum in itself. If you’re […]
My now 11-month old nephew is so cute I call him several names–Kung Fu Panda, Garfield, any Japanese-looking cartoon character, Mr. Shooli, Gangnam…. One time, I called him a piggy bank. I know these are nasty comments but he’s just too adorable to let pass the chance for my mind to think of who else looks […]
My aunt, my mum’s youngest sister, and other yaya of my nephew‘s (as you know, I hold the first Yaya title), arrived today. She’s one aunt who’s fun to have around. We probably hit it off because we’re both the youngest, but I can never be sure. All I know is that my heart goes […]
Sinterklaas is real! Legend has it that a man named Sinterklaas arrives in the Netherlands each year in mid-November by steamboat from Spain, moving from town to town, delivering candies to nice children. Much like our Santa Claus, which, wiki says, is derived from Sinterklaas. Today, coming out of the bathroom, I saw two boxes […]
Last night I already turned off the light and was ready to sleep And then, just when you think your eyes are tired enough, your mind isn’t I reminisced and reflected on what had just happened And those conversations at that birthday dinner kept playing in my head And it was about the mum (who’s […]
PenVille 