Fish out of water

I got a chance to be back in the Philippines since my May visit. As I was about to leave the airport there’s this feeling that makes me uncomfortable. It’s kinda a fish brought out of the water. I know I am from the Philippines and yet the moment I step out of the airport it caught me. Probably I have adapted to the Guam atmosphere or it was just that my body clock is still sticking to the Guam time, a two hour difference, thus my body seems to reject the state that it was submerge into.

The last time I came here I asked how the country was after the successive financial blows brought about by the sub-prime woes of Wall Street. Gases were at the Range of Php 40-50, rice is at Php 30-40 range, and minimum jeepney fare is at Php 8.50. The groceries that your Php1, 000.00 can buy was reduced to half as much what you can buy a year ago. I asked the taxi driver I hired and told me that gas prices has already stabled but it would be nice if it would still go down so that at least they can make ends meet. Life here truly seems to be harder than a year ago.

As I step into my old apartment, I felt this uncomfortable feeling of limited space. I know I had live in this apartment for nearly 8 years and yet it seems that I am place in a tiny room were I can’t breathe. The light was dim and it added to my dizzy state. As if the place is too small for four people and yet this very same place served me and my three siblings in our college years. Probably I have not yet adjusted or I have not yet switched my adjustment button to condition my body to this Philippine setting.

I was early the next day to process my POEA clearance. The first observation was that traffic is bad and that everywhere seems to be scathe by the black smoke coming out of buses. Pollution lurks in the city…and yet so many Filipino’s still prefer to live in such place where employment is available. Anywhere you look people are trying there best to survive another day…either the right way or the wrong way. Where in the world will you find a bus still waiting for passengers to come to there bus even the traffic light is green.

Probably I have forgotten the life back in the Philippines. But I realize something in my short vacation, if Guam can do it why not Philippines? Simple traffic rules and yet everyday it is violated. Wages are low but the problem is people are choosy…at the same time unwise in their use of money. They complain that they don’t have enough to survive a day and yet they a have a cellular phone on their hand forward ridiculous text messages. Problem truly is in our Pinoy mentality…our culture of laziness and use of connection to politicians. Things could have been done to make our country a better place to live but we never make an effort to do it….