By the time this posts, I’ll be on a plane halfway to the Philippines. When I left last year, I didn’t think that I would be returning so soon especially considering it had previously been a 10 year gap between visits to the Motherland.

My feelings leading up to this trip have been more apprehensive than excited this time around. I feel like I’ll be leaving so much behind this time around, and have already done all that I want to back in the Philippines. It’s a strange thing to feel this way about a trip of which most people I know would gladly trade places with me. For some reason, I want to keep working and keep on the grind without having this interruption. Maybe it’s because I’m afraid that once I pull myself out of the flow it’ll be difficult for me to get back in. 

I’ve been thinking about it. I’m looking forward to this trip so that I can have time away to read, to write, and to rejuvenate. However, I realize the greater importance this time around is the opportunity to spend time with family. This might be the last time my family and I will travel back home together. I’m not only travelling with my parents and my brother but with my uncle, aunt, and two younger cousins. I’m already annoyed to the teeth with their antics but hey, it isn’t everyday you board a plane with a five-year-old in tow. However, the specific reason for this trip is to be present at the anniversary of my Grandfather’s death. I’m so grateful that I had the chance to spend time with him before he passed, less than one month after I left last year. There is a legacy in Sagada surrounding the Bosaing family name, and to learn of all that he had done for that mountain town is awe-inspiring. It’ll be weird to visit without him still around.

We’ll see how I feel when we land. There’s nothing but sun in the Vancouver forecast while we’re flying into humidity, thunderstorms, and typhoon season. I’m writing this as I wait for our flight to board and I’m eager to get this 13 hour flight over and done with. From there, it’ll be a bus ride from Manila to Baguio City where we’ll spend the night and then a bus the next morning from Baguio to Sagada. It’ll be a bumpy ride.

PS - Duty free shops are the BEST. I can only buy fragrances in a duty free shop cuz it’s so darn cheap. And I think I’ll just drive down to the border any time I want to buy alcohol because $22 for a 1L bottle of Crown Royal, whaaaaat?!