Reactions : Missing Manila..

It is about a month after the board exam. And it is very unlikely of me, but i can't help missing the city of Manila..

When we arrived in Manila to begin another series of reviews for the board exam, we were welcomed by huge and tall buildings, people-teemed streets, wide highways and busy millions of people...in short, it was a very congested city.. From peaceful Los Baños to nonstop Manila, this is an adjustment i won't forget.. Our room was a little crowded for eight of us to live in and study.. It was so hot in there.. A day after we arrived, i caught a cold.. I bet it's because of pollution, mostly smog.. I started hunting for a place to eat..one that serves fish and/or vegetables for me.. Manila, they say, is dangerous and that i should be careful and watchful of my valuables..lot's of modus were possible and i could be one of the helpless victims in no time. I seemed out of place.. In a place where there are lots of people around you, not to mention again that there are eight of us in the room, i felt that i have no privacy...there's no space... Even my CR time is restricted.. :)

How on Earth can i not be stressed in two months of stay? Then i wondered, how on Earth could all these people choose to stay and live in this seemingly endless nightmare?

Days after, i began to adjust well. I was able to use the CR as fast as i can. My roommates were responsible in contributing to the orderliness of our room (i think).. Well, at least my cold went away asap. I started befriending carinderia store owners there.. They easily remembered me because i am a vegetarian who eats fish.. Tsk! I soon realized, people in there are not as bad as they were painted to be... As a matter of fact, lots of them were very friendly especially when they get a hint that i am Bisaya because of my oh-so-obvious Bisayan accent.. Suddenly, I became more at ease in the city.. One time i came out at eleven pm.. I was just so bored in our room and i was so hungry. So i decided to buy food outside.. They say it would be risky, but i took my chances... Well, it came out that nothing happened to me.. I wasn't kidnapped, i wasn't stabbed... I came back to our room safe and sound..

I also fell in love... JOKE!! Well i just think i did... There was this security guard who smiles as if there was no tomorrow... He was so kind and he really drowns out everyone in the room whenever he is around.. And let me just tell you that i was enchanted by him.. And just so you know, he is Bisaya-speaking too... But to tell you the truth, he already has a lovey-dovey.. Huhuhu.. I caught him speaking to her over the phone twice.. Huhuhu. Talk about something breaking your heart.. Oh well.. But he took a picture of our class.. So winnerr!! :) hahaha!

I experienced lots of kind people in Manila.. In Intramuros, there was this guy in charge of a souvenir store who is very artistic and very accommodating.. I don't know, he was so kind that he even dared to advertise another souvenir store just so i could finally find what i was looking for, even when i did not buy anything from his shop! he was Mr. Papier-mâché.. He led me to Silahis Center: Emporium of Philippine Art, Craft and Culture .. There i met ate Mercy... She was also so accommodating to us and she even told us to visit her again and also requested me to do my best in the board exam.

I observed that there were lots of people in Manila..and there really were lots of poor people, and beggars.. I doubted if i should give them food or money... I don't know whether they're faking it or what... And besides, even if i give them something, i realized that i don't have that much money and i can't really help all of them.. But then again, there was this little voice inside me that says i should give what i can give...but that it shouldn't stop there.. Because what they need is not just fish but also the knowledge of fishing.. One night, I met this gentle, old lady. Her name is Lola Caring. She doesn't look like a beggar.. Her dress is neat and her hair is tidy.. She looked very fragile and thin and we just had a small conversation. I learned that she was begging because she couldn't start a business because of the need of a capital. She had children but now they have lives of their own. However, they do get in touch with each other once in a while. She doesn't have a home but she sleeps in the concrete footbridge near Morayta. She is able to eat with the money given to her by people on streets. She, i was also amazed, is able to take a bath with the help of a generous restaurant who allows her to use their bathroom before they open up their store for customers. She has a strong faith in the Lord and she also attends Eucharistic masses. I have learned and realized that giving money or food doesn't exactly mean that you are tolerating beggars. I believe that if they were given a chance, they also would not choose begging as their profession. It's just that average/rich people like you reading this composition should reach out to help those who need help. Indeed, Bo Sanchez in The Bottomline was right to say that giving alms will never be obsolete, but it shouldn't end there.. Our reaching out to them should also level-up from giving food or money to something much more, something that makes greater impact for them.. We have to really help them rise..

There are also lots of beautiful Catholic churches in Manila. And the Church that made the biggest impact to me was the Quiapo Church. The first time i attended mass there, i swore to myself i would never go to this Church ever again. i said i would try another one. the place is so full of people. There are Eucharistic masses almost every hour, yet lots of people still attend to each mass (esp the 12 noon mass). There are lots of vendors outside the Church. There are lots of poor people and beggars. The Church is even next to the market. i wondered how people going there to pray could ever concentrate to communicating with God.. tsk! But then, for some reasons, i went there another time and another.. Eventually, i saw something deeper in that place of worship - i witnessed the deep devotion and faith of the people to our Lord Jesus Christ. i saw in their eyes sadness.. but with a hope that everything would be okay soon. i saw people's troubles in different levels. Some are worried about their upcoming board exams, some are suffering from health problems, some are struggling financially.. and all of them came together to that Church just to figuratively "touch the edge of Jesus's cloak and be healed". Before, i sometimes criticize the grandeur of Churches, especially that of the Catholic churches.. i thought maybe money should be spent instead for the poor.. i realized (with the help of the reflections of other people) that even the poor widow gave all that she had just so she could give her contribution to the temple treasury (Luke 21:1-4). These are the same poor people today, the masses, who make up our Church and who willingly give what they have to strengthen this place of worship.

Quiapo Church @ 4:00 ;)

I realized that more than malikot ang kamay and pilyo and heartless, the people of Manila are hardworking dreamers and fighters... They aren't laid back like lots of us here in Davao are. And i will forever be thankful to them for showing me that there is love and hope even in that seemingly hopeless place.. Indeed, God is in their midst!

Here i am, still missing Manila.. But i won't forget to wake up everyday and realize my dreams. ;)

Let us include all of them in our prayers.

P.S. Final scenes of Manila while "Drops of Jupiter" was playing in the background...