This was the day I had waited years for. For the first time, we would see for ourselves the place where my mother and father met, the place where our grandmother—Nanay—had lived for perhaps 30 years. Our second cousin—Gigi—greeted us in the parking lot of a strip mall on the edge of town. First weContinue reading “Day 8: Olongapo City”
Day 6: Honda Bay
Mom hated the lakes and rivers that we loved as children. “They’re shitty,” she insisted. “That’s a dirty, muddy river. Don’t go in there.” Once while camping, she evaluated the lake. “It’s freezing! And you can’t see a thing if a fish swim up and bite your pecker. The damn thing is a shitty green.”Continue reading “Day 6: Honda Bay”
Day 5: The Subterranean River
We landed at Puerto Princesa Airport, Palawan, on a blue day in late June. In truth, all of Palawan is deep azul y verde. Crayola had the Philippines in mind when they developed their blues and greens. Cirrus clouds feathered the deepest, almost space blue. Cumulus white cotton formed a bed upon which the lighterContinue reading “Day 5: The Subterranean River”
Day 3: Villa Escudero Plantation and Resort
Nanay was a farmer’s daughter from Dapa, an island off the coast of Mindanao, in the Surigao del Norte region. She moved to Manila and then Olongapo City, both across the Visayas, over 700 kilometers from her home. I hardly expected to find any hints about her life at a hydroelectric plant-turned-sugarcane plantation-turned coconut plantation.Continue reading “Day 3: Villa Escudero Plantation and Resort”
Day 2: A Short Ride in a Fast Machine
My apologies to the composer John Adams … Barangay San Antonio los Baños Laguna. Early in a monsoon season that has lacked rain. If Philippine farmers get one crop of rice a year, they are happy. Two would be a miracle. But how can they plant when the monsoons will wash the crop away? ItContinue reading “Day 2: A Short Ride in a Fast Machine”
Day 2: Pagsanjan
This is my mother’s country: a symmetry of canyons, the first bedecked in Tagalog, Chinese, and English signage amidst a tangle of cables; the second sedimentary rock in striated layers, purple and white streaks cutting toward the river below, a lush and wild arrangement of tropical life draped, bushy, twitching with birds and dragonflies inContinue reading “Day 2: Pagsanjan”
Day 1: Intramuros & Binondo
I am in awe of how Filipinos navigate traffic. It’s not just the drivers in their delivery trucks and vans and the passenger cars. But it’s also the jeepneys, motorcycle and scooter drivers, bicyclists, bike taxis, and pedestrians, many of whom push or pull carts and trolleys overladen with goods on delivery. And it’s alsoContinue reading “Day 1: Intramuros & Binondo”
First Impressions—My First Visit to the Philippines
Taking a detour from my usual work because I’m on vacation/on assignment doing research for my book… in the Philippines! I’ve made a few discoveries: —JAL Airlines may be the friendliest airline I’ve ever flown, and that includes some very good experiences on Virgin Atlantic and JetBlue. I have found that all flight attendants areContinue reading “First Impressions—My First Visit to the Philippines”
“Vogonic” Definition
Adjective. To advocate for and adhere to the weight of bureaucracy. See description below. “Here is what to do if you want to get a lift from a Vogon: forget it. They are one of the most unpleasant races in the Galaxy. Not actually evil, but bad-tempered, bureaucratic, officious and callous. They wouldn’t even liftContinue reading ““Vogonic” Definition”
A Flip in Dialogue Changes a Character
So I was a fan of Alice Oseman’s Heartstopper before it became a Netflix show and a cultural phenomenon. Like many other LGBTQ people, this is one of those stories I wish I had when I was a kid, along with Saenz’s Aristotle and Dante books and the Young Avengers. Since the Netflix release, IContinue reading “A Flip in Dialogue Changes a Character”
Nicanor Abbott 