Monday, November 2, 2009

A plane trip back home to Manila


Years ago, I immigrated from the Philippines to Canada. In a matter of less than a year, I left and hurried back to the Philippines. It may be a mystery to some why I went back (Philippines having such a "backward" image - an image at times true a lot of times false) but the immigration experience made me realize that the Philippines is really where my heart belongs and where I am truly happy.

I try to explain to others what makes the Philippines (or Manila) so special for me. It may be hard for others to appreciate it amidst all the pollution, corruption, natural (and unnatural) disasters, poverty and chaos but I think it this chaos what makes the "gems" of the Philippines even more special, more valuable, shiny and truly "bling bling"! A lot of foreigners / visitors have experienced this for themselves but if you haven't visited the country, you will certainly have a lot of apprehensions about Manila and the Philippines.

Gems like the happiness and smiles among the desolate, the helping of others by people who have nothing of their own, the strong family bonds despite the forces that pull them apart - lots of gems to enjoy and to learn from.

For the next part of this blog, I will continue and try my best to write and draw more of the gems, the stories and experiences I have of the Philippines and show why it is a GREAT place to travel too! Cheers from the Philippines!

5 comments:

flipnomad said...

amen!

i grew up in manila, though i've been away for a couple of years...

as i was walking this morning from binondo to lawton, i realized that manila is really beautiful and has it's own unique character that sets it apart from other asian cities... i love manila...

Jona Panesa said...

so glad your heart belongs to our country. there are really true gems in our country. I just hope it won't gets polluted.

vjgonzaga.com said...

Hi there, what's up kya Rob Pat? hehhehe...
I saw your Probe Episode (if I remember, sa Ch.5 pa nun). I watched it coz like most pinoys, we think grass is always greener on the other side of the fence. True probably, specially compared to Canada but there's something in Pinas that makes it special.

Like you, my heart is in the Philippines but I still have that dream of going to other countries.

Sana all of us would value our country coz it's really a treasure (people, culture, resources, lahat), we're trully blessed. We just need to look and observe.

Thanks for telling the world that you love this country and for setting a good example.

God bless!

http://pinaswowstheworld.blogspot.com/

james said...

nice sketches! very unique... continue doing more sketches in the future!

Rose Dy said...

I love manila now that I am almost 2 years here. Lovely blog sir robert.