Going Down - Not Unless You Buy Me Dinner First

Life in these islands can be surreal – at times weirdly funny; at other times just a wee bit out-of-this-world. It has its rewards though especially for someone like me who suddenly found herself in an extended holiday in this exotic country. You see, I came here to the Philippines to visit an ailing aunt who, sadly, eventually passed away. Excited to see my cousins and trying in my own way to help my uncle get over the loss, I ended up staying for over two months. Then one thing led to another and I started developing severe stomach cramps. I was told I needed to undergo gall bladder surgery; so I did. Unfortunately, an unexpected thing happened during my surgey and in the height of all the tension, my surgeon accidentally sliced my bile duct. Zoom in to the present time and I’m still here, almost 5 months since I first came, trying to heal my wounds as quickly as humanly possible.

Don’t take me wrong though, I am not complaining. It’s true, I plan to sue the living daylights out of that stupid surgeon but as to my recovery, I can’t complain. My relatives are treating me like a real princess.

Hey, but this is not what this post is all about. It’s about funny things I’ve encountered so far in my interactions with people from here. Take for instance that one time I went to have my passport validated at the Canadian embassy. I was standing at the rearmost part of a ‘talking’ elevator in one of the more modern buildings in the city when, after listening to the elevator saying over and over, “You are now on the 29th floor. The door is about to close. You are now on the 30th floor. The door is about to close,” a young girl near the elevator door suddenly blurts out,”Mom, doesn’t that woman ever get tired of saying the same thing over and over?” Seemingly irked at her daughter’s rather stupid question, the woman answers in a voice loud enough for all of us passengers to hear, “How in heaven’s name can she get tired when . . .she’s getting paid to do that!”

Say what? Of course, I didn’t laugh! I didn’t smile either in case they start thinking I was laughing at them. But I immediately knew then as I positively know now — life in these islands is gonna be one interesting, side-splitting heck of a ride!

J