Immigration museum

Today, I've decided to go to the Immigration Museum.  It was a choice between Melbourne Museum and this one and I chose to come here because, well, it is close to my heart.

Im a migrant.

All of us in the family are migrants.  My dad has been a migrant for a while due to his job posting.  My mom was from another province, moved to Manila when he was a teenager, stayed in Aparri for most of her life, and when my dad passed away, became more mobile than ever.  She would stay with my brother in Manila for a few months, go home to the province for another few months, come visit us here for a month or two, or would go to my sister in Melbourne when and if she can.  My sister has lived in three different countries aside from home.  My brother is based in Manila.  And my younger sister and I are here.

These photos, or should I say, captions, strongly resonated in me.

the words that welcome you to the museum

True. So true.  How a trivial object carries with it a lot of meanings.

 

Sometimes I question my assumptions to the point when I no longer know what I believe in

  

spot the green philippine passport

 

 

Eavesdropping

Unintentionally eavesdropping at foreign exchange students’ conversations makes me smile because they constantly remind me to make the best of every situation.  I mean, they are here as students but for the most part, I think they are travelling.  And since a number of them (at least the ones whose conversations I understand anyway) come from the west, they usually make Singapore as a homebase for their travels to the region.

A lot of them take the bus from U-town until the Central Library or Business.  And in that few minutes of bus trip, I usually pick up conversations that go something like these:

A: Hey, how are you doing?

B: Good, how are you?

A: Good.  I just came from Bali over the weekend. 

B: How was it?

A: It was awesome. The beach was really nice.  We also went to these rice terraces and like biked for the entire day.

A: So did you just come back today?

B: No, I came back yesterday.

A: Where did you go?

B: I went to KL and Malacca.

A: How long were you there?

B: I left Friday so I was there for around 5 days.

A: How did you find it?

B: Oh, it was great.  We basically ate a lot. I have a friend who was from there and he would bring us to a stall and say this is my favourite, and to another stall and say this is another favourite, and another favourite, and another.  I like the food there and it is really cheap.

A: How long was the travel?

B: I flew to KL but from KL to Malacca, it’s about 1.5 hour drive.  My friend has a car so we drove.

A: Did you like the place?

B: Well the locals love it because it’s relaxing.  But for a tourist, there is really nothing much to see.  By 8pm, the shops are already closed and there is no more food.

A: So what’s your travel plans this week?

B: My friends are planning to go to Cambodia for the weekend but Im still thinking if I should go or not.

A: I went there two weeks ago and I learned that this season is very hot. They usually go up to 40C but the good thing is there is no humidity there. Unlike here, it’s hot but also very humid.  I still cant get used to the heat. Im sweating like sh*t!

Aah...the joys of traveling and adjusting to a new place.

Planning Session

This is the first Mancom planning session that I have been to.  It was a long but generally good experience :)  In college, I was a shy student so even if I joined several orgs, I did not dare run for a leadership position.  So this Mancom thing is very new to me.

People of different ages, backgrounds, mindsets but bonded by one trait - the desire to give back to UP and the Philippines. I am excited :)

Quick notes

Dear March,

Thank you for a productive encounter.

You were so hectic with both work and social commitments and I am thankful that you became that way.

Till we meet again,

Gi

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Dear April,

I thought that the end of March paved the way for a little breathing time for me but I think Im wrong.  You've just came and Im already overwhelmed with a long task list.  Ok, I may be exaggerating.  Maybe Im just being a scatterbrain now.  But I know for sure that you will become a critical month.  Im looking forward to your third week onwards though :)

Please be nice to me.

Love,

Gi