september eighteen. it was early morning when i left for manila. i was quite scared, as i usually am, just thinking about manila. plus, my konsensyas didn't intend to pick me up at the airport. so, i left it all up to my lost-and-poor-in-directions self and...ehem...fate!
i immediately asked the guard at NAIA where to take the bus going to baclaran. i hopped on the bus and asked the driver to drop me off at the bus terminal in baclaran. but the grumpy driver told me to remind him again later for he might forget it. plan b: look for a nice person in the bus to ask. i found one. a decent lady of about 50 years old was seated on the fourth row. i took the seat next to her. 15 minutes after the bus left NAIA, i asked the lady how much longer will it take to get to the baclaran bus terminal. she told me that it will only take a while and that she's getting off there, too. i said a loud 'thank you' in my mind. so, when the lady got off the bus, i followed after her.
as my feet landed on the area of baclaran, i sent a message to my konsensyas. this was how our text messages flowed:
me: i'm here na in baclaran!
k's. where?
me: close to the overpass.
k's: damu bala overpass sa manila..
me: (uh-oh! hinting that i'm probably lost)uhmmm..okay, i'm close to the kfc store
k's: what other buildings can you see around you?
me: uhmm, dating daan, max's, bpi...
k's: can you see the metropoint mall?
me: (ran to the lady who was selling jewelries) ate, saan po ba dito ang metropoint mall?
ate: sa kabilang kalye pa yun. sumakay ka ng blah blah na jeep, then bumaba ka sa blah blah blah
me: okay, thank you, ate ( walked away )
me: mader, diri na lang ko mahulat sa inyo sa kfc.
k's: okay, wait ka lang ha..kadtuan ka namon.
me: (texted my bestfriend that i was lost)
....after 5 minutes....
k's: mader ari na kami sa kfc
me: huh? where? di ta man kamo makita
k's: ara ka sa gwa sang kfc?
me: yes
k's: lakat lakat ka bala
me: (stepped out on the street) ari na ko galakat lakat
k's: hala, diin na na kfc man?
me: tupad sya sang bpi mader
k's: okay, wait ka lng gamay ha.. explore ka lang da danay pero within 3-meter radius lang ha
me: hahahahaha!!!
....after 15 minutes of walking around....
k's: mader!!!!!!!
i just laughed out loud when i was finally reunited with my konsensyas. the three of us walked hand in hand as we went through the streets of baclaran going to their boarding house.
happiness! happiness!
we couldn't stop talking and laughing even as we reached their boarding house. we rested in their room and just talked and talked until our tonsils were strained.
at around 4, we gathered our stuffs to tambay at the mall of asia. oh, i miss my konsensyas a lot! even just hanging out with them like that, walking hand in hand...i will totally miss them once they leave for uae and dubai.
september nineteen. my konsensyas woke me up as early as 6:30 to prepare for a loooong day. they prepared breakfast while i washed up and changed clothes. i had to recycle my skirt from the other day because i didn't feel comfortable with the pants that i brought with me. so, we were out on the streets at 8:30 with my cv's and a map. we went to one agency to another to fill-out application forms, pass my cv's and have quick interviews. at around lunch time, i got in a long line of applicants for an interview. an hour and a half after, i got a very interesting interview with ms. zen. i applied for an administrative job but she wanted me to be a teacher in a school in brunei. uuhhmmm...very very interesting, but the salary offer wasn't very very interesting.
ms. zen: do you believe in fate?
me: yes
ms. zen: well, i believe that if it's for you, it's really for you!
me: ahuh! right!
...silence...
ms. zen: so...do you want to get my number?
me: of course, but i don't have my phone with me
ms. zen: it's okay, i'll write it down for you
...before i left the room...
me: thank you for your time, ma'am.
ms. zen: today is your lucky day!
me: ahuh!
i felt so sorry for my konsensyas for waiting for me for a couple of hours. we looked for a fast food restaurant right away to feed our hungry tummies. and after that lunch, we took another loooong walk around malate area. i wanted to give up and just go home but my konsensyas pushed me not to give up looking for the 2270 building. aarrgggh! it felt like walking a million blocks already but the building was still nowhere to be found. that's it! at 5:30, we called it a day and headed to the lrt station.
the lrt station. uugghh! this is another challenging task. getting on the overly crowded train! on the first try, i almost got in, but my konsensyas pulled me out again because they couldn't get in. we tried our luck on the next train. we got lucky! yey!!! we squeezed ourselves with the other passengers inside the train. the lrt ride was utterly impossible!
we resigned early for the night. we were all tired after the looong walks...
september twenty. i got up at 7:30 and made pancakes for breakfast. we had a hearty talk over breakfast. we only had a few agencies to visit for the day, so we decided to leave after lunch. we wandered around makati city. the city of skyscrapers and smelled of brewed coffee everywhere. we just passed a few cv's there and rode back to manila. another scary and lrt ride, and we survived the day!
september twenty one. free day!!! we shopped at the baclaran market and ate lunch, popoy and basha style :) we went home at 4 and i packed my things. we spent the rest of the hours chatting over a liter of coke and peanut butter sandwiches.
at 6 pm, my konsensyas walked me to the bus stop. but after walking a few blocks, there was still no bus stop in sight. the rain started to fall big time, so my konsensyas made para to the next jeepney that's going to the airport. i quickly said goodbye to my konsensyas and hopped on the jeep. it was raining cats and dogs and i was scared that i'd miss my stop. then, manong driver stopped and announced "terminal 3!" i asked the driver again just to make sure that i'm going down the right spot.
i had no choice but to get off and walked under the heavy rain. oh geese! i so wished i don't hate umbrellas at that time. i couldn't find a taxi so i ran, following the trace of the man who got off the jeep ahead of me. when he turned around the corner, i did so too. then i lost him. i walked a bit farther and found him taking refuge outside the guardhouse. the guards took pity on me when they saw me dripping wet. they asked me to get in the guardhouse, which i did. they asked me if i want to change my clothes. i said, it's okay, i'll just change at the airport. they told me that i can change in the security van if i want to and they'll drive me to the terminal. i accepted the offer and felt warmer and better. the guards drove me to terminal 3. i was so thankful to have angels who helped me in my distress.
i checked in and waited for my flight back to iloilo. the flight was turbulent because of the heavy rain. after an hour of holding on to my seat, we landed at the airport.
it felt so nice to be back home. to finally know where to get off and not just depend on the map.
but i miss my konsensyas.....
#blooperoustrip#
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