Leaving on a jet plane - just wish I wasn't coming back again !
You all must know the great song by John Denver and a.n.others who sing of ones who leave on a jet plane, dont know when they will be back again, well its getting closer, Miss Gina and I are in the last week of our pre-departure arrangements.
Tales of a Land paved with Gold, where money falls off trees, and vampires and werevolves roam the streets of London at night, yes we are getting ready for that all important triumphant return and that Nostalgic trek to the land we left behind.
I know many of you who came here and left your country of origin will idenify with us right now, all those last minute shopping trips you make, well now what have we forgotten ?
1. Visits to Asda/Tesco/Sainsbury's for those buy 1 take 1 offers of Cadburys Chocolate, Corned beef and Spam.
2. New swim wear ? bra's Panties and Boxer shorts, as my Mum say's never get caught without new ones in case you have an accident and have to go to hospital.
3. New clothes, for the beach on Boracay, Puerto Galera, Amanpulo, or Apo Island ?
4. Shorts, flip flops, sandles, Sun shades, Digital Camera, a few GB of extra memory, Sun Bloc, mosi repellant for those late nights on the p....on Boracay.
5. Pasalubong for your extended family, and money more money and lots more money, the list is endless.
I made a post some 3 or 4 weeks ago, about how time was getting nearer, all the flights are booked, the passports are ready, the holiday money was sent in advance, planning more planning and packing and re packing, Filipinos allways love to pack their suitcase and re pack it at least 20 times in the week before they depart.
Well its 3 days to go and a wake up, yes only 3 days to go and a wake up, and then before we know it, we are off again to the land of jeepneys, tricycles and Chicken Manok.
And whilst we all make fun of what we do in the process of getting ready to go, there is an element of excitement, not that I am going out to see my girl for the 1st time.
Hahaha, I have lived with her for over 3 years, I mean in the old days, it was kind of exciting to arrive at NAIA and see that bright smiling eye fluttering babae waiting for me in the visitors area.
But have to say, she is not a babae anymore, oh yes of course I should have said...aaaarghhhhh its si misis !
I suppose now for different reasons, is a kind of different excitement, now we make that nostalgic triumphant return as a family unit.
Remembering of course we are the foreign part of the family, the ones who live abroad and of course it goes without saying, we are the remitters in the family.
The foreign son in law and overseas living foreign daughter are due to arrive back in the land that once sent them forth to work, and make life better for them.
I was wondering though, whats it going to be like for the foreign daughter who arrives back in the land that once she knew, and how its change so much even over a period of 12 months.
The fact is, the Philippines is and always will be pretty much the same, apart from of course the gap between rich and poor getting even bigger, its not that the rich are getting richer, its that the poor are getting poorer, if that makes sense.
For the foreigner daughter who has made her home in a foreign land, it just seems poorer when she makes the triumphant return home, only to find that yes, there is still the usual SNAFU in government departments, banks work slower at a snail pace, and nothing seems to work like it does in her country of adoption.
Its only when one travels to the other parts of the world that the cracks start to appear in the perception of how you see your country of origin, I am just hoping that my girl does not got to mad or make too many comments about life back home.
The deficiencies are all too clear, but for the returning foreigener husband its kind of all part of the experience, like they had not really forgotten what it was like, and the deficiencies in the Philippines can sometimes be a novelty, like the tabo shower, rather than showering under a luxurty Aqualisa or Mira, throwing cold water over your head from a large water bin, with a saucepan is kind of a cute experience you could only get in the Philippines.
For the foreigner daugther who exclaims on arrival "Wot no power shower" she has become integrated into a life of certain expectation, in going home...she learns that nothing much has changed, in fact it almost seems to her that it has got worse.
Many returning Filipinos often tell stories of triumphant vacations back home, bringing lots of pasulubong for waiting siblings, and are quick to criticise the obvious failings of their home country, in fact many find they have alienated themselves quietly over the years, and never do seem to settle in the way they once did before without even thinking about it.
They enjoy their returning vacation only to scrimper back to the airport once its time to say goodbye, and when the big bird climbs high into the sky a little tear drops down their cheek but they lament that they are the lucky ones, with a job waiting back in foreigner land, and the safety and security of a nice hubby for company, its not so bad after all.
Well its only 3 days and a wake up, and we are leaving on a jet plane, and one thing is clear, after a relaxing holiday, we will always know, that we can come back again.
Thats not too bad now is it ?
but i enjoy reading 
. yes u r right
Originally Posted by ginapeterb
