Aussie trip (part 1)

ang utang kong kwento..

sept 25, 2009

mama: may super bagyo raw, tuloy ba flight mo?

i did not pay much attention to what mama said. friday morning seemed to be fine. it was a sunny day and had my last minute shopping in the morning before i prepare for my flight. for the last time, i have looked for gracy's contact lens and hoping that this time it will be a success. pero wala talaga :-( i just bought a new set of earpiece for my ipod. my flight is for about 10 hours and i cannot stand without having music playing on my ears (kahit na paulit-ulit ung songs hehe).

ETD - 20:30..at 330 pm, im ready! exactly 4pm, we left home. papa helped me with my luggage (praying na hindi ako mag-overbaggage) and mama is non-stop with her questions and advices. "anong oras dating mo dun?" "kailan ka babalik?" "ung recipes dala mo?" "kapag nagluto ka, tikman mo tapos pag kulang sa lasa timplahan mo na lang." "wala ka bang dalang jacket?" "hindi ba malamig dun?"

speaking of luggage, i will reveal what's inside of it :-)

1. my clothes
2. my personal stuffs (including the plancha ng buhok ahihi)
3. gracy's olays
4. lanie's anniversary gift for mike, 3 bottles of shampoo ata un pinabili nya kay jazzy
5. 7 pairs of slippers for myla, mike and matt, pasalubong from myla's ate, maricar. i met her in our building a day before my flight
6. then pasalubong for cesar from his family. meron gel, t-shirts and meds. after 30 minutes namin magmeet ni maricar, dumating naman si liezel. medyo tumagal kwentuhan kasi we saw mangie at the lobby

then in my handcarry, there's my camera, notebook, other clothes, mini starbucks city mugs for gian and my pasalubong for cesar, mossimo shirts and superman stuff.

and speaking of mama's advices on cooking, before i left, i asked her to write down for me the recipe for adobong manok, sinigang na baboy and beef steak. when i woke up the next morning, hala! hindi lang 3, lagpas sampu yata ung sinulat ni mama. meron tinolang manok, paksiw na isda, menudo, pansit, spaghetti at marami pang iba! (sobrang naapreciate ko si mama. i love her so much)

lala: ma, uuwi pa po ako.

mama: e sinulat ko na rin, malay mo. iwan mo kay cesar kung gusto mo.

before i leave, pinraktis ko magluto ng adobong manok at sinigang na baboy para hindi naman nakakahiya :-)

at around 530pm, we arrived at naia centennial terminal 2. suddenly, i had a flashback..dati si papa, si lola, si auntie, si uncle, si kuya ung hinahatid namin sa airport. dati wish ko lang na sana ako naman ihatid nila sa airport...mama and papa waited outside the airport. i will just check-in my things then i'll go out again to be with mama and papa for at least few minutes. this is not my first out of the country trip but this one is different..special i must say.


sa pila pa lang, may nakilala na ko :-) her name is martha, she is five years old. she's with her filipina mom, aussie dad and baby brother. they are going back home to melbourne.

good thing that i am 3 hours ahead my flight, kaya though i have an overbaggage of point something, they allowed it! sa bagay, point something lang naman :-) and the lady at the counter did not even care to weigh my handcarry. maliit lang kasi and mukhang hindi mabigat. if she only knew, it's more than 7kgs! after checking in, i went out to see mama and papa. then after few minutes, i kissed and hugged them and said our goodbyes.

papa: "anak, ingat ha." (i love you pa!)

i filled out the form for the immigration and took 3 extra forms for lanie's parents.

while waiting for my flight, since wifi is not working at my area, i decided to just walk around and look for something to eat. then suddenly..waaaaaah!!! naiwanan ko si piglet sa bahay!!! pasalubong ko sana yun for mikee. sigh..(binigay ko na lang kay malaiya pagkauwi ko).

one thing i like about traveling alone is that i get to know other people. i had another 3 conversations with my co-passengers before boarding the plane.

conversation #1 - with a foreigner. he's with his filipina wife..at delifrance while eating. i shared seats with them since it's full packed!

pam: hi, can i share a seat? 

foreigner: yeah, sure. are you also going to melbourne?

pam: nope, to sydney. so you both are from melbourne?

foreigner: i migrated to australia. i am really from....(sorry i did not hear what he said but it's in america). i fell in love with the place so i decided to retire in australia.

pam: oh i see..how's your vacation in the philippines? where did you stay?

foreigner: it's ok. (looks like he's not satisfied). my wife lives in bicol...you have small servings here. the beef, the pork, they are all small. in australia, they have big servings. you will know it when you get there. but the chickens here are big. (hmmm..san kaya un? fastfood ba eto?? i wonder)

pam (ipagtanggol ang pilipinas mode): sir, i suggest that you visit the other places in the philippines. there's a lot more to discover. i assure you, sir, that you will be amazed to its natural beauty. i have been to some of them.

foreigner: we have been to batangas and the beach is good. (ah ok..)..so are you going to sydney for a holiday?

pam: yes, sir.

foreigner: good. i tell you, if you experience australia, you will love it. i suggest that you get a husband there.

pam: thank for your advise, sir.

conversation #2 - she looks younger than me. she's married to an australian who she have met at a bar in manila.

pam: sydney?

pinay: ay hindi, sa melbourne ako.

pam: ah..bakasyon din?

pinay: oo. two weeks lang. pinapunta kasi ako ng asawa ko. lagi rin ako umuuwi ng pilipinas. ayoko kasi dun. malungkot dun. wala naman akong ginagawa. palagi lang kaming nasa bahay.

pam: wala pa kayong anak?

pinay: wala pa nga e. gusto ko na nga rin.

pam: oo mag-anak na kayo. sigurado mala-anne curtis din ung anak nyo (may ganun!)

pinay: oo, artistahin..(we both giggled. then she showed me her hubby's picture). eto picture ng asawa ko. (in fairness, marunong pumili si ate hehe). ikaw sinong pupuntahan mo dun?

pam: friends ko. mga dati kong kasama sa trabaho..

conversation #3 - age, late 40's or early 50's. also married to an australian but they don't have any children.

nanay: san ka anak? magbabakasyon ka?

pam: sa sydney po. opo bakasyon po. kayo po?

nanay: dun na ko nakatira. citizen na ko. pero umuuwi ako ng pilipinas kasi malungkot dun.

pam: san po kayo dito nakatira?

nanay: sa pampanga. sa may magalang.

pam: kilala ko po ung mayor nyo. kapatid po sya ng barkada ko.

nanay: ah talaga? akalain mo nga naman. sinong pupuntahan mo dun? boyfriend mo? pinoy ba?

pam: friends ko po. mga dati kong kasama sa trabaho.

nanay: oo anak. dito ka na lang. malungkot dun. iba pa rin ang pilipinas. mas masaya dito.

whew!! so that's the first three hours of my two-week holiday. different people with different perspective in life.

we boarded the plane earlier than i expected. i chose to be seated at the window side which is not a very good decision! i forgot, matagal nga pala ang byahe..i looked outside. it's starting to rain.

to be continued..