After a good few years of living in the Philippines and even more of calling it home (since I define home as where my parents live), the journey will come to an end this June/July. My parents are heading back to Jakarta-side, so I guess that’ll be my “home” from then on.

Like they say, you never know what you’ve got till it’s gone. And I don’t think I took full advantage of living in this beautiful country. I don’t even know how to speak tagalog after all these years, apart from the few words that I drop in so that they give me the “local” and not “tourist” price.

While I say my good bye in what could be my last visit “home”, I thought I’ll do another list like what I did for Indonesia. It’s not as well-researched (I’m stealing time on the library computer), but it’s no less heartfelt. Maybe someday, when I’ve left and truly realized how much it means to me, I can write a better-composed one.

1. English-speaking: makes getting around so much easier. But that means I lose the drive to learn Tagalog. Darn.

2. Friendly and happy people: I find the pinoys (the local term for Filipinos) in general have a happier outlook in life than, say, the general Indonesian or Singaporean eventhough financially they are as or less well off. A very laidback and outgoing, takes-life-as-it-comes nature. I like getting service from people who are happy giving it.

3. Weather: being somewhat above the equator, the Philippines have its hot months as well as its cooler months. Hot months are crap, but the cooler ones are just nice. You can walk around without getting sweaty and sunburnt, which means Manila has a lot of open-air parks and recreation spaces next to its oversized malls (which are, in contrast, perfect for summer).

4. Nightlife: officially, I know nothing about the Manila nightlife. unofficially, I know quite a bit and it’s goood. Cheap & fun; a lot of music, and even more drinks. And no ID checks

5. My dad’s office: It’s like a one-stop convenience center. Free internet (which is where I am posting from), big big library, cheap international food, a commissary (where I can buy lots of imported goods and charge directly to my dad’s paycheck hahaha), a post office, a laundry service, banks, atms, water/electricity/DHL service.