Beers, karaoke, and dimsum

"You may travel the world, but nothing compares to what you call...HOME."

No word would ever describe the fun I had with Davao.

It was like going through a photo album where you see your family and friends - laughing with every moment you had, enjoying every memory you once had.

For once, I thought I was a foreigner in a land where I grew up. And it's never a good thing, not even nice. 

Malls are sprouting all over the city, buildings continuously rise, and taxi cabs of all colors run around the city - these are some of the changes that occurred during my absence. But everything remained the totally the same which I liked, by the way, because it made me feel nostalgic.

Two weeks was not enough to satisfy myself with Davao's cool breeze, fun people, and exciting sights (all sorts of sights...hehehe). But two weeks was enough for me to reminisce the best things that happened to me in this magical land.

My lola was the happiest being with her to celebrate the holidays. Not coming home for almost a year made her really depressed especially that I grew up with her and celebrating both Christmas and New Year with her made us both the happiest persons alive. 

I was able to cope up with my cousins - the happenings in their lives, the things I need to know, and the truths about me. What made this vacation even better is that I assured my cousins that I may not be there physically, but whenever they need me, I'll find ways just to help them.

I got the chance to meet my friends. Bottles and bottles of beers were witnesses to our chatting and laughing - collating all the fun times we had together. 

I miss those guys - I miss the laughters, the games, the drinking sessions, the crying moments, everything. And it pains me whenever I think of them together in Davao, always spending time together. Argh!

And the list continues.

I just can't wait for my next homecoming. 

And rest assured, it would be another worth-noting trip to the land I call HOME!

Coming home for Christmas

(The busy street of J.P Laurel in Davao City)

I slept. I woke up. I was late.

I always have this habit of coming late during my flights. I don't know. It's either because I woke up late or it's simply because of my delaying tactics. As I said, I don't know.

I have been a constant traveller and I love the feeling of being one with the heavens and seeing what's below through a bird's eye.

But this trip is a whole lot different. With just the thought of it, butteflies start flying in my stomach. It was not the airport, not the airplane, and definitely not the thought of flying.

After an hour and a half of sitting on a window seat, the flight attendant finally spoke, "We have just landed on Davao International Airport," I sighed. And there I realized. What made this trip different is that Im coming home. Finally.

There I saw them - my aunts, my uncle, my cousins, and my lola. I was almost in tears, but I decided not to. I don't want to start my vacation with tears. Not a good start, I thought.

Seeing smiles from your family was heavenly. It was like I haven't seen them in years.

Everything was the same - same food we are, same songs we sang, same beers we drink. What made this extra special is the gift-giving session. Excitement filled the air when I gave my Christmas gifts - smiles, thank you's, I like it's..that made it more special.

Celebrating Christmas with my family means a lot to me. It's not about the gifts that I'll be receiving. Not the drinking sessions. But it's celebrating the season with the people you love, the reason you call it a celebration.

I am now looking forward to a Christmas celebration same as what we had this year. We may not have the fireworks. We may not have the special hamon. What we have is a blessed and meaningful celebration of Christ's birth. Nothing compares to that.

Nothing could ever replace the bliss when you come home for Christmas.