After spending the last week in Manila, I arrived in Singapore this afternoon. This was the question posed by a friend of mine during dinner and it was only then that I realized I had unconsciously referred to Singapore as "home". The last few times that I went back to Manila, my definition of "home" had been incredibly clear. My soft, fluffy bed, people-infested malls, huge family dinners, dessert runs with my best friends - this was home to me. I referred to Singapore as the place where I studied, and going back always managed to elicit quite a few buckets of tears from my eyes. I remember looking out the window when the plane was about to take off from the Clark airport and thinking, "I wish I didn't have to leave" while concurrently biting my lip to keep the tears from flowing.
As expected, I was excited to go back to Manila during this most recent trip. I took the midnight flight out last Sunday and was once again looking out the plane window, this time with a feeling of joyful anxiety swelling up inside of me, which was even more magnified by what I saw:
And when I saw the pitch-black ground solely illuminated by glittering lights as we descended into Manila, the familiar feeling of being "home" settled inside of me. The week quickly passed by though, in a blur of meetings with friends, long, tearful talks, and hearty laughter over good food and conversation. Pretty soon, I was looking out from the window yet again, as the plane left the Clark airport.
The heavy feeling I used to get from leaving "home", however, was contained to a minimal extent. Oddly enough, I was feeling the exact same way as when I was leaving for Manila a week ago. The dread of going back had been replaced by the same kind of joyful anxiety associated with going "home". Being welcomed by smiling faces at the arrival area definitely helped as well :) (Thanks guys!)
Hence, after much pondering, I guess I'm beginning to get comfortable with the idea of making Singapore home. And while the Philippines will ultimately always be home, I think I'm off to a pretty good start right here and right now.
With Kris, Preaw, and Jen - my staple clubbing girls!
Cool kids at the back of the bus!
Leovine's one of the girls :)
At New York, New York with Ivy, my Singapore big sis :)
After Ming Feng's Seth Cohen makeover
With Dawn and Fiona, my foster sisters!
Pigging out at the PGP kitchen, courtesy of Caro's home-cooked dinner :)
The reason why Singapore's been a blast so far :)
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