A Welcome Respite

March 12, 2021

Next to attending to some family-related concerns, my recent trip to my Papa’s hometown in Quezon Province was a spur-of-the-moment decision. When we found out that my cousin and his family (who are residing in Manila) had such plans of traveling down south, Mama and I thought of joining them despite that the plan happened on short notice.

It’s somewhat a relief knowing that my late father’s hometown is a COVID-free municipality. However, this was not a reason for us to be complacent so we still abide by the usual health and safety protocols. I may not be wearing my face mask in the photos but those were just for a few seconds, and as soon as we’re done, I still wore my mask back on. The last time I was here was almost three years ago. I must admit that visiting relatives here was somewhat bittersweet as this reminded me of the last trip I had with Papa. However, I thought that joining relatives on this trip after a stressful year of dealing with the lockdowns and quarantine would somehow be helpful. And probably, it indeed was.

They say that at some point, one has to try going to places that they have never been to, or perhaps to places that bring them happiness. And this year’s trip proved to be just that. While our summer plans were greatly affected by the ongoing COVID19 pandemic, and despite the “no summer outings for now" policy is in place in most areas, spending time in this seawall, and seeing the serene views was enough to bring back some of the summer memories I had as a child.

Another thing that made me appreciate this trip is because it gave me a chance to redeem myself from all those “health mistakes” that I have been committing against my own body. Life in the province made me realize how “sinful” I have been for the past year of being in quarantine. And I loved how, even for just four days, I was able to redeem myself given the kind of life I had while I was on vacation. Being in a place far from access to junk food and soda allowed me to commit to healthy eating habits. The absence of the usual modes of transportation got me to move more (as in unlimited walkathon!). My usual morning allergies went on break too because I get to breathe fresh, unpolluted air which is very much different from how it is back home. And because I didn’t bring my laptop and hard drive to this trip, I got to take a break from those late-night Kdrama marathons which meant crawling beneath the sheets early! And by early, it meant lights are already out by 8:30 pm. A thing that is very much different from my 2 am sleeping habit when I am home.

This four-day trip gave me the chance to bond with relatives as well since I only get to see them whenever there are “major occasions” either during Christmas or New Year or even when my relatives would return home from overseas. With this photo with my nieces, the four-day break gave me that realization of how cool it is to be a “Millennial Tita” in this cruel time of struggle due to the pandemic. And by cool, it meant being able to relate to conversations about school (including the fiasco and hardships of online learning), to talks about Kpop, and of course, our common denominator, Korean dramas! I wish I caught that silly moment on video when started getting all kilig and brought out their laptops when they found out that I have all the episodes of Crash Landing on You saved on my mobile phone! It made me think what else would have happened if I brought with me my 1TB hard drive!

My friend Jon Villegas told me that experiencing life in the province can do wonders to your mental health and I can attest to that. Though the trip was only for a good four days and three nights, it was one of the best impromptu decisions that Mama and I made. Spending time in a serene environment allowed us to rest physically and give our minds a well-deserved break from all the negativity that has been going on for almost a year. Hopefully, this ordeal of a pandemic will soon come to an end. And should that happen, I would love to go on another run of return road trip again!