Listana Day

It’s frustrating to try to put into words my trip back to the Philippines. I feel like there are no words to describe my experience. Some places that we went to during our Albay tour brought back so much warm emotions. I don’t necessarily remember driving or going to these places at a young age. But, something about driving to my dad’s hometown, Anislag, Albay, just felt extremely familiar especially with my cousins.

Lolo and Lola's old home

Most of our traveling was spent in the car and we talked about everything. It felt like we were attempting to catch up on those eleven years in our limited 8-5 PM Albay tour. To me, seeing the places were eye-opening but spending time with my family made the whole trip.

Before my trip to the Philippines, I did not really understand the Filipino value of family. Our family deeply values family, but it’s a whole new level in the motherland. During our Albay tour, I was amazed to see my cousins from my mom’s side bond really well with my cousins from my dad’s side. We were one big family, something that isn’t as present in the States.

Our first stop was Your Brother ATV near Daraga. Gabbie, Ate Pau and I were on one ATV and Royce, Angel and Tita Bennie were on another. This ATV course had more hills and a lake to ride over. Ate Pau and I spent most of the ride catching up about school, career, family, friends and aspirations. It’s interesting to realize how many conversation topics we talked about in such a short amount of time. We crammed 11 years of our life in that 8-5 PM tour.

New whip

I also realized that my cousins from my dad’s side want to travel abroad for jobs. They asked me about the overall life back in the States, and I did not refrain from telling them the truth that I saw. Life in the States isn’t the ideal especially if you are an immigrant. The standard of living is much higher compared to the Philippines therefore we “make more money” in America. In exchange for making more money, we had to leave our families and simple lifestyles behind. In America, it feels like we always want more. Once we reach our goal, we have another one. America is a great place for people that always want more for themselves, for their family. I did not hold anything back from them.

After the ATV ride, we had Jolibees for lunch. The worker messed up our drive-through order, and we spent the entire time waiting for our order trying to the right order. I guess she was under-pressured because we told her 10-20 different items. Still not an excuse to mess up our order.

While driving through the long and windy roads to Misibis Bay, we ate Jolibee. The portions are half the size as the portions in the States. No doubt about it, Philippines food will always taste 100 times better than Filipino food in America despite the smaller portions.

Honestly I have no clue why we drove to Misibis Bay especially since most of the attractions require the whole day to enjoy the place. We had 3 more hours left for the tour and we haven’t even gone to Cagsawa, the main place that I wanted to see in Bicol. Regardless of the random trip to Misibis, I was grateful for the precious view of the beach, the hills that spread outside of the Chapel and the gorgeous amphitheater. This resort had viewpoints that showed the many beauties of the Philippines.

Fancy resort entrance

That view though

Shoutout to mom for getting this

That view though x2

On the way back to Albay, Ate Pau and I got lost in our conversation about meditation. She told me that she once spent an hour every day meditating for an entire month. For that hour, she thought of nothing. I don’t think that I can even make my mind think of nothing for 2 minutes. Thoughts always race in my monkey mind. Maybe I’ll practice meditation and work on having my mind more at peace.

In the last hour of our tour, we went to Sumlang Lake and Cagsawa, the best for last. The breeze in Sumlang Lake made you forget that you were in the Philippines. I could spend an entire day there relaxing and looking at the Mayon. We probably spent at most 30 minutes there, and made our way to Cagsawa. It’s crazy to notice how time flew so fast, and most of our tour was spent in the car (lol).

Straight up cheesin'

Wacky Wacky

When we got to Cagsawa, I got extremely nostalgic. I remembered the childhood version of me throwing up the peace sign in front of the Mayon Volcano and the Ruins whenever dad, kuyas and I had tourist days. To me, the Mayon Volcano and the ruins are more than a volcano and ruins. To me, Cagsawa is a symbol of my childhood. Even after all these years, the place is just as beautiful as the time I left it.

I'm home

After all of the picture-taking and feeling like a tourist moments, we drove back to the Casablanca suites. I dreaded the car ride back because I knew and my cousins knew that this was going to be the last time we saw each other until the next time. To us, it’s not a good-bye but instead a see you later.