it's that time of the year to reminisce, recount and re-examine the year that was. a new year has dawned on me and i found myself in the other side of the equator, in a land not my own but where i chose to tread my own path.
last year, i was in one of the most alive cities i've ever known, where only tuesday nights are delegated to the twilight zone. the place was vibrating with energy. each day was a reason to celebrate, to commiserate, or to simply enjoy the company of friends and family who were just one holler, IM or SMS away.
the malls and the the tiangges* welcome the shopaholics, fashionistas and bargain-hunters alike with open arms, embracing them until exhaustion pulled them away or until the stores close at 9pm, whichever came first. the aroma of fresh coffee then beckoned you, and you find yourself sharing a cup or two of latest java mix while swapping stories and great finds with your posses. you step out outside of the coffee hub only to find yourself being drawn to the music being played by a local band in the pub next door. the doorman greets you and shows you to your usual couch where you sit and order a bucket of your favorite home-brewed amber drink, in this case, San Mig light or Red horse beer, with a plate or two of sizzling sisig, buttered garlic mushrooms, or a tray of pizza. the music gets louder and faster as the night progress. eventually, you get back to your senses and find your way home happy and revitalized for the day ahead.
tired of the usual movies and club scene, you head to the local rock climbing gym and literally climb your way to the top. tuesdays and thursdays are badminton nights, while weekends are spent at the pool or if you had booked early enough, at the white sand beaches along one of the thousands of kilometers of coastline that surrounds the land i call home (the top banner was shot in Boracay. also check out busuanga and panglao).
my favorite lola (grandma) whom i fondly call 'ima' was just a short road trip away, along with my cousins, nephews, and people who saw you 'evolve' from a lanky kid to a much taller but still lanky kid who looked like an adult.
as i'm writing this, i am seated lotus-style in one of the university lounges in the environment building alongside other students, who are busy tapping the latest assignment on their laptops or most checking out their facebook pages. not one of us look the same, as always - not the color of our skin or hair, not even the slight slant of our eyes. we can very well be poster kids for one of those benetton ads that used to fascinate me when i was growing up. neither of these grown kids are my classmates, as my own class starts in three and a half hours and in a different building.
i am a student again and have been one for almost a year now. i've traded my office bags for a backpack or tote. my feet had a hiatus from walking in stilettos for fear of being injured. i have worn my high heeled boots once and my feet did not forgive me for it.
the edgy corporate look was shelved for something more relaxed. no more leather pencil skirts and dress trousers. it's either t-shirts, singlets/ tank tops paired with jeans, shorts, or short skirts with comfortable, flat shoes or thongs.
i don't catch the fx, g-liner or the flamboyant jeep to work, but instead wait for the brisbane translink bus, or train, or sometimes citycat to take me from one place to another, mostly from home to uni, the mall, south bank, the city and everything in between, and back again.
my lungs have grown accustomed to the crisp, clean air that envelops brisbane, especially after this morning's brief rain shower.
there aren't as many familiar brown faces now, except when i go to attend church and fellowship meetings on sundays, or when my friends go to the movies or the city. instead, i'm surrounded by friends, classmates, and team-mates from every nook and cranny of the earth. my closest mates have hailed from bhutan, japan, taiwan, philippines (of course) and thailand, with new friends from italy, brazil, china, zimbabwe, mongolia, austria, sweden, iraq, australia, new zealand, egypt and canada.
i haven't picked up a badminton racket for almost a year now. i do run for my life with a rugby ball every wednesday night since the start of the semester playing touch football. before taking up touch football, i used to go to the local gym where i swam every once in a while or took a long leisurely walk to the nearby park to burn off some energy. (this partly explains where the kilos went since i got here.)
i still miss filipino food and i'm always eager to try the next best thing. so far, the closest i found was the roasted pork (in lieu of pork liempo) at the quaint Vietnamese BBQ restaurant at Sunnybank, or any of the chinese stir fried noodles for pansit in Little Hongkong at Market Square, as well as the taho dessert that they sell across the street, all at Sunnybank. There are a few Fiipino grocery stores but I never go there for fear of buying everything in sight. Their pan de sal bread is good though, my auntie buys some from there once in a blue moon.
i probably have sent out hundreds of resumes now and have revised my CV for an awful lot more times than that. i've seen career counselors, attended career talks and fairs and have amassed a fair number of giveaway pens and toys from all those events. i still continue to scour the job market, network and send CVs out in hopes of finding my match, and never losing hope. somehow, it seems that the J-man is preparing me for something really big, that's why i'm not getting any of the small-time gigs i was willing to settle for.
so now, i'm going back to perusing course readers, doing assignments, preparing for my seminar, and sending an application or two.
i'm facing challenges head on, as always, welcoming each day as an adventure waiting to be conquered.
there must be a reason why i'm still here, so why not make the most of it and have fun in the process? i will go back to manila someday, but for now i'll spend my days as an environment grad school student in oz, until the next adventure beckons.
