Where do I go from here?

Thrilled. Exhausted. Clueless. I landed for the first time at Rumualdez Airport in Tacloban City with mixed emotions. I may have no idea about this place and tired from a long trip from Davao City, but still im excited to a new life waiting for me to experience.

Immediately after fetching me from the airport, my staff toured me to the heart of downtown Tacloban. Instantly, I realized that this isn’t a modern city but a simple yet fine place. No soaring skyscrapers but only old yet historical buildings. No busy traffic but only noisy yet remarkable red tricycles.

Why am I here?

Merely three months ago, when I could still enjoy my breakfast freshly prepared everyday, I didn’t have any idea that I would be living this kind of life that I have right now. Nor did I expect a sudden shift of my relaxed yet contented life to a more challenging life on edge.

Due to an unexpected work promotion, I hasty leave Davao City and moved here in Tacloban City – a place that is quite unfamiliar because of too little information that I know about. Everything became new to me, from physical ambience, workplace and clients, to local dialect.

I spent my first few days to realize that I now live outside my comfort zone. I have no mom here to wake me up every morning. No more housemaids to iron and wash my clothes. No nieces to cuddle after a stressful day of work. No bestfriends to hang out over a cup of coffee. I often asked myself, what am I doing here? Are all these worth the prize?

Everything changed and I was left with no option but to adopt. I am now literally on my own. As I realized, I have gained skills to adjust and live with it. Easier said than done but I am now coping. I may not enjoy my breakfast most of the time but I have learned to cook for myself. I can now iron my clothes with no hassle. I also got a few friends to spend time on weekends. Even the learning to converse in Waray was satisfying to do.

It’s merely three months now and I have become aware of my new existence. Same old me but has matured independently.

I still don’t know until when I’m going to stay here. But what I’m certain of is I am here to live a life!

Pure-hearted Ilonggo?

They say that you could easily identify if the person is an Ilonggo by just simply talking to him. Ilonggos are famous for their very distinctive melodious intonation. Being soft-spoken, it has become their oral trademark that could not easily be concealed or denied.

Not in my case. I may be a pure-blooded Ilonggo but I don’t sound like one because I have mastered other local dialects despite usage of Ilonggo as our basic household language. I can speak fluently in bisaya/cebuano or tagalog without any hint or indication of an Ilonggo accent. Therefore I could not easily be identified as Ilonggo during initial conversations. This is partly because I grew up in a community with mixed orientation of languages mainly bisaya, Ilonggo and tagalog.

Despite that I have remained a true blue Ilonggo. I am wholeheartedly proud of it. It may not be obvious in words but it will manifest more in my actions.

Batchoy remains one of my most desired merienda.

Laswa (law-uy) tops among the daily menu entree.

I also eat kadyos (or sometimes we call it “KBL” kadyos, baboy, langka). Tambo kag tagabang (bamboo shoots) is also a favorite.

I still prefer bandi instead of calling pinyato or peanut brittle.

My meal wouldn’t be complete without Sinamak on the side. (but lately I have shifted to Pinakurat, the same concoction but the solid ingredients were grind instead)

Ti Ilonggo gid ko ya!

Ngaa haw? Ti mo!

I know and im certain that most of you would have this initial question of what my heading means. To answer that, ngaa haw are words derived from my native dialect Ilonggo that plainly means “why?” Unfortunately I still could not find the perfect English match of ti mo. But to let everybody understand, it is simply an expression that is usually expressed to answer the question, why or ngaa haw? Most of the time, ti mo is being used when you are not sure of what to respond or when you do not know the answer at all. And sometimes, it is strangely used when you wouldn’t want a follow-up question because you just don’t want to answer anymore.

“Why is the sky blue? Without thinking, to us Illongos, it is best answered with “Ti mo”!

To some, it sounds cool. To others, it’s absurd. To me, it’s an art. But the bottom line is it did not aptly answer the question.

Everyday we face countless ngaa haws and I believe those questions should be answered appropriately.

This blog certainly would not give you a ti mo answer. This blog will answer explicitly every critical ngaa haw that I will face in my day-to-day life.