Thursday, December 14, 2006

breathtaking....

climbing five stories after the 42nd floor surely is...

Saturday, December 09, 2006

Strange...


A few weeks ago, I got to post that my dad has cancer. A few days after that, my uncle asked his children to have him checked because he was feeling ill also. That was after finding out Tatay's condition.

My uncle past away a day before we went to China. His was fast- lung cancer.

Just this afternoon, my cousin texted me that another uncle is in a critical condition in Iloilo after a bike accident. His left collarbone is broken.

Is this telling our family something?

Strange.

Sunday, December 03, 2006

Lost in Translation

It was about seven in the evening when we got out of the theme park. Our tour guide was waiting for us under the lychee trees outside. We were told that there was no parking so we have to be there before the designated time for the coaster to pick us up. Among the group, only two families went inside the park. It was a good experience. My parents enjoyed it a lot, especially my mom. She even rode the camel just to have her picture taken near the pyramids.

Thirty minutes later, we were dropped near a busy market area. Supposedly to eat dinner. Only our family have actually paid for the dinner as part of the tour. The rest decided to eat at a more familiar fast food- Kentuky Fried Chicken. We entered this local (spell C-H-I-N-E-S-E) restaurant that can probably seat the capacity of Rizal Ballroom. There was a table prepared for us. Amidst fifty more tables already filled with people-- apparently who obviously know each other. It was a party.

That very moment when my niece started to cry, throwing her tantrums to everybody except her mom. About five minutes of crying, people started to stare at our table. It was the time when my sister's face turned pale as she was trying to get her daughters temperature. The baby has fever.

We called our tour guide and asked if she could possibly bring us to a pharmacy. And after a ten minute walk, I saw a more familiar store-- Watson's. We went to the counter and asked (with of guide interpreting) for paracetamol drops. We were led to a shelf of over the counter drugs. And yes, not a single box labled in english. Out of desperation, my sister carrying her baby and I browsed through the boxes one after the other trying to look for meds that we can somehow understand. It was after about forty boxes when we got to see -- 125ml acetaminophen. That was the first time I saw my sister smiled that night.

We went back to the restaurant and saw my parents already trying to eat what was served- a total of twelve courses, that includes the fabled abalone and crispy pigeon. I barely touched the food because I was busy explaining to the counter what an ice is. It took them about ten minutes to actually bring us a glass filled with ice.

My sister quickly gave her little girl a cold rub to somehow bring the temperature down. It took her about thirty minutes for the fever to subside. Enough time for the oldies to finish what they started.

I had tea that meal.

We arrived at the hotel with the baby already asleep. After making my parents settle in the room, I asked to be excused for about an hour. I went to the fifth floor restaurant named- Western Restaurant. It was Karen Carpenter singing as I sip my 28-Yuan brewed coffee.

So, this is how it's like when you're not in your country...