From There and Back
It’s been a while since I last had my entry here. I feel a bit bad for not being able to do so but at the same time I realize that it is but normal. I didn’t even get to check my email that often during our stay in the Philippines. Not that we didn’t have internet connection, we actually get free wifi back home (someone forgot to secure their wireless connection). It’s just that when you are home there are more important and more fun things to do rather than checking your emails which are mostly “forwards”. There is just so much to do with so little time. But now that I’m back here in Doha, I will write for the blog whenever I can.
Xiane and I got back on July 26, after our 1-month extended stay in the Philippines. As it was last year, Tian went back here a month earlier than us in order for Xiane to spend more time with her grandparents. We got to spend three more weeks with my family in Baguio. There each weekend we visited the different tourist spots in the Summer Capital of the Philippines. Xiane went biking at Burnham Park. On another weekend, she went horse back riding at Wright Park. She was so happy to ride on a pink-haired horse (the horses are quite stylish). We had lots of photo ops with the stunning views at the Minesview park and enjoyed munching on inihaw na mais (grilled sweetcorn), grilled squid, fish balls, etc. It was really great to have visited these places once again and to have been able to bring Xianelle there was quite an experience. Of course, we were regulars at SM Baguio (the biggest chain of malls in the entire Philippines). We would go there to shop, the cinemas, eat out and most of all just stroll. Xiane loved staying at the play areas that they have for kids. SM Baguio, has 3 different play areas. It’s a very profitable business actually. There you leave your child to play for a fee, (the minimum time would be 30 minutess). The staff is also there to babysit your child although understandably not on a one-on-one ratio. They have toys, slides, playhouses, tv, etc. to keep your child busy. It’s a big help especially when you need to do your shopping and you know that your child is just going to get bored and spoil your shopping. It makes shopping faster and more efficient. But of course you also have to check your kid once in a while.
After our three-week stay in Baguio, we had to spend another week with my in-laws. There I spent the week, cleaning up our bedroom, keeping our things in place, packing and preparing our things for our flight back here, while Xiane spent each day at her Mamita’s giftshop. The week went by so fast, before I knew it, it was time for us to leave again. I cried big time when I bid my mom and sister goodbye in Baguio. I also shed some tears on the day of our flight, when I said my goodbyes to my mother-in-law. Leaving people you love and care for has never been easy even if I have been doing this for quite a long time now. Just the thought of missing on a lot things makes your heart sink because you know that you can never turn back time. Time spent away from them can never be replaced. But for now, I guess it is enough to make me happy to think of the times that we spent with them no matter how short it may be. I am just so glad that every year we get to be with them. As I always say, there is no place like home.
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