A BALIKBAYAN'S DIARY (PART ONE)

It has been 3 years since I visited Asingan. In fact, I spent Christmas 2003 in our hometown..As always, being a Balikbayan has its ups and downs, but the UPS usually outweigh the DOWNS when you come to see it from a different perspective...

Well, I say that the plane ride is the MOST EXCITING part in any trip. Especially boarding the the Hong Kong-Manila flight.Most of the passengers will be Filipinos. They will be very noisy of course, they are hyper because in less than 1 hour, they will land on Philippine soil. And they would smell the Manila air which is unlike any other kind of smell in the world.  The stewardess who would talk on the plane's PA system would be a Filipina and she would make the usual announcements in Tagalog. To a travel-worn Filipino who spent 14 hours 33,000 feet above the air with nothing to do but stare at a TV screen or read some book or pretend to be asleep, the announcement is really heartwarming. Forty-five minutes  after the take off from Hong Kong airport, the screen map will tell you where you are, atop the island of Luzon, heading for Manila.From Vigan to Urdaneta would be about 10 minutes, and you could feel the plane descending because your ears keep popping. Then as the plane noisily descends into Manila air space you eagerly stare through the window ( if you are lucky enough to secure a seat beside one).First will be a luminous cluster that will gradually expand into a city of assorted street and billboard lights. The plane touches the runway with a final bump-and-grind then it taxis around heading towards the terminal..The stewardess announces frantically in Tagalog, "Please do not open your hand carry compartments yet, wait 'til the plane completely stops.."Do some passengers listen? No. Either they are deaf in both ears, or they just don't give a shit at all..

Once you are out of the plane and trekking through the corridors leading to the Immigration, Customs and the Baggage area, the feeling is different. You are home. You  will see a Filipino posted every few feet away along the corridor staring at you. Are these security people? Or just plain nosy standbys? Such a gauntlet do not exist in other airports like Toronto or LA..Only in Manila, you would say. Then to the Immigration booths.No sweat here . It is in the Baggage retrieval section where you would start sweating bullets, and not because the air conditioning units are off..

A certain Juan dela Cruz would approach you asking if you need help.."that is my job to help newly arrived passengers", he says. No Thank you, you would say..He never gives up..He sticks annoyingly by your side like a lost puppy. Too bad you can't kick him away with your foot. So you give up. You say OK..Fast as lightning he produces a huge cart and start helping you retrieve your baggage as they show up at the carousel. Very helpful chap. He says he is doing it for free, that's what he is paid for. He has a name tag, working forTourism or something

All baggages are recovered. Now you have to wade to the alligator pool; the customs."What did you bring?" ask the inspector sometimes weilding a cutter meaning, cooperate otherwise I will open your baggages and you will have a hell of a time putting them back together..She keeps an eye as you bring out your pass port. She would smile slightly as she sees the fiver you slide inside between some passport pages. She hands you your baggage claim tickets. You push your cart out of the wading pool before an alligator bites off another chunk out of your ass...Freedom you say silently..Ooops, not quite. A uniformed staff asks for your ticket and while she counts your boxes and checks the receipts she would discretly ask;"May Chrstmas ba tayo diyan?" Well you arrived a few days before Christmas, so she is right! You could not even swear at her. She can raise a fuss by calling an airport guard. So you hand her a dollar bill and she lets you go.

The guy who saw you first is still on your side..The people who are supposed to meet you are nowhere in sight.."Do you have a ride?..Let me call you a taxi..These are safe, we know their plate numbers.." He asks. "No, No," you say remembering some stories of balikbayans who were fleeced by crooks doubling as taxi drivers. One rode on a taxi. In the middle of the trip, the car stalled.. Can you give it a push?..asked the driver..The balikbayan got out, pushed the car, the car started then it accelerated and disspaeared in a cloud of smoke..I hate to be in that balikbayan's shoes..All of his luggages and papers together with gifts from friends in Toronto to  relatives in the Philippines..

You say NO, but still your reception committee is still nowhere in sight..Then you say YES and minutes later, the reception committee found you! You can't cancel any more your request to the guard. ..And on top of that, the Juan dela Cruz whose job is supposed to be helping newly arrived balikbayans, starts asking 1000 pesos as a Christmas gift..At this time, you begin hating the word Christmas...

(to be continued)

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