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Last night, I was at this party that LittleSister was hosting for a friend who was moving back to Sweden. Amongst the swirl of modsters and college radio DJs, I'm sitting in a corner with Derek and listening to him talk about Afghan warlords the way most locals talk about the Red Sox.1 Our conversation wanders for a bit before he asks me about the Philippines, and we talk back and forth about President Arroyo, the terrorists and the comeback kid economy. Then he asks me if I've gone back recently.
"Nope, haven't been back in ... seventeen years."
"Not at all?"
"Nope."
"Are you ever going back?"
"Actually, yeah, I'm flying back next year. Maybe February or March."
I can feel LittleSister's surprise and hear the silence in her part of the room. I haven't told her about the plan yet, just hinted at it in minor dinner conversations. She knows that it's been on my mind lately, but she also knows that there are a lot of things that I think about and don't act on.
"You're going just to visit right?"
and I say "yes" but my mind's still thinking 'maybe', knowing that there's a recessed corner in my brain that thinks about actually moving back after LittleSister graduates. It's that same corner which has filed away words and advice from friends from India, Singapore and Thailand who've done their own stints of time visiting their roots and adapting to being a stranger in your own homeland.
I couldn't really tell you how serious I am about this, and, in the array of possible future homes, how much weight Manila has versus Vancouver, Seattle, Toronto or Boston. It's all plans and possibilities and lots of travelling 2 between now and next May, collecting data and checking options. What I can tell you is that my current perspective on Manila is horribly skewed -- the glossy memories of a ten year old distorted by the contempt of an extended family that always preferred life in the States. I can tell you that reading blogs like Cheesedip and browsing sites like PhilWeavers have made me realize that my brethren aren't quite as backwards as my relatives would make them out to be -- and that I have to go back, just to see everything for myself.
and that's what I tell myself and other folks who ask me about my plans. I'm just going to visit -- see what my options are. Even if I don't take any of them, I'll appreciate Boston more for knowing why I've picked it over the others.
1 - number one reason why I like hanging out w/ Derek: he's the sort of guy who'll wear the Husker Du t-shirt and will wax at length on the oeuvre of Galaxie 500, but would much rather talk about geopolitics and baseball, as he tries to relate the similarities between General Abdul Rashid Dostun's career and the current performance of Nomar Garciaparra.
2 - already booked for a Canadian Airlines flight out to Vancouver from 9/18 - 9/23. My stay also happens to overlap with one of the local goth club nights, and I've already got the promoter offering a guest DJ spot while I'm visiting. All I can say is, awww yeah.
* - oh, and I went to the Mum show after the party last night. The show was awesome, but some of you know that already, I don't really have anything to add to the slew of positive reviews, except to say that more electronic musicians should use accordions. Seriously.
"Nope, haven't been back in ... seventeen years."
"Not at all?"
"Nope."
"Are you ever going back?"
"Actually, yeah, I'm flying back next year. Maybe February or March."
I can feel LittleSister's surprise and hear the silence in her part of the room. I haven't told her about the plan yet, just hinted at it in minor dinner conversations. She knows that it's been on my mind lately, but she also knows that there are a lot of things that I think about and don't act on.
"You're going just to visit right?"
and I say "yes" but my mind's still thinking 'maybe', knowing that there's a recessed corner in my brain that thinks about actually moving back after LittleSister graduates. It's that same corner which has filed away words and advice from friends from India, Singapore and Thailand who've done their own stints of time visiting their roots and adapting to being a stranger in your own homeland.
I couldn't really tell you how serious I am about this, and, in the array of possible future homes, how much weight Manila has versus Vancouver, Seattle, Toronto or Boston. It's all plans and possibilities and lots of travelling 2 between now and next May, collecting data and checking options. What I can tell you is that my current perspective on Manila is horribly skewed -- the glossy memories of a ten year old distorted by the contempt of an extended family that always preferred life in the States. I can tell you that reading blogs like Cheesedip and browsing sites like PhilWeavers have made me realize that my brethren aren't quite as backwards as my relatives would make them out to be -- and that I have to go back, just to see everything for myself.
and that's what I tell myself and other folks who ask me about my plans. I'm just going to visit -- see what my options are. Even if I don't take any of them, I'll appreciate Boston more for knowing why I've picked it over the others.
1 - number one reason why I like hanging out w/ Derek: he's the sort of guy who'll wear the Husker Du t-shirt and will wax at length on the oeuvre of Galaxie 500, but would much rather talk about geopolitics and baseball, as he tries to relate the similarities between General Abdul Rashid Dostun's career and the current performance of Nomar Garciaparra.
2 - already booked for a Canadian Airlines flight out to Vancouver from 9/18 - 9/23. My stay also happens to overlap with one of the local goth club nights, and I've already got the promoter offering a guest DJ spot while I'm visiting. All I can say is, awww yeah.
* - oh, and I went to the Mum show after the party last night. The show was awesome, but some of you know that already, I don't really have anything to add to the slew of positive reviews, except to say that more electronic musicians should use accordions. Seriously.
