Out of Words 18 : Bukid

Notes on Going Back Home

I am three nights away from Manila. Yes, after more than 5 months working in Shanghai I am returning home just in time to celebrate my birthday and couple of important things. I realized that preparing myself getting there was focused more on looking and buying pasalubongs for love ones and relatives. I was thinking of these things even as early as last week. It seems I can’t get away with this tradition even I was a self proclaimed modern man.

Anyway, Sunday I roamed the shopping malls of Xujiahui, the streets of BaoShan, Fuxing and Shanxi and squeezed myself in the alleys of this Tutuban like commercial edifice in Yu Yuan to get something to bring home.

In Yu Yuan, I bought steel key chains. The seller showed me secretly Olympics mascots keychains and I was so excited that I purchased two boxes them perhaps because I dreamed of having some. Knock offs summer games souvenirs were very hard to find unless you’d purchase originals on authorized stores original but expensive. That's how the Chinese love this upcoming event that they won't allow such domestic piracy on goods related to Beijing Olympics.

Meanwhile, upon learning that he airport charged 50rmb per kilo if baggage exceeds 20kgs, my paranoia caused me to buy a weighing scale awhile ago. Who would want to spend more on the baggage fee more than the baggage itself. My luggage registered 17kgs and I hope it would stay that way.

I miss Manila and my hometown province so much. I have a lot of stories to tell you about this country so please Manila receive me with your open arms and give me a good dawn in my coming.

My Shanghai Crib

Tonight I am forcing myself to write a thing or two here because I had nothing to do upon arriving at home early from my office which by the way stole my weekend with me beating Monday deadline. Anyway it’s a relief getting home early so today I would like to write about my apartment. It’s located where the Changle Lu and Changshu Lu meets in Xuhui district where the residential zone and with the most numbers of medium rise buildings of Shanghai is located. I opted the flat primarily because it’s proximity to my office which is 15 to 20 minutes walk and secondly the rent is cheaper considering the real estate market here is very high compared to other districts. To my north is Jing An Temple and my south Huaihai Middle road. The two places nestles popular the malls, numerous boutiques, eats places and 2 lines metro stations. The building has a shabby and dry exterior perhaps because it cemented skin badly need a painting job but my 41 sqm room located in the 3^rd floor is blessed with furnishings I never had in Manila.

My humble abode has a small kitchen, sala and T&B and a bedroom that shares my indoor “sampayan” facelifted with walls clad on textured paper and white hue ceiling. The fenestration facing south gives me sunshine to light and warm me in the morning and offers a good reading on what today’s weather. My neighbors are 2 to 3 storey high clustered houses with terracotta tiles or slab concrete roofing which gave me an ambience that I residing a foreign but still oriental realm.

Usually in the morning and early evening sometimes I can hear one of my neighbor playing his violin and one familiar tune he/she plays is Korsakov’s The Flight of the Bumblebee whilst another middle age neighbor squeezing his self for spot in the corridor to practice writing calligraphy in the morning. But no my place is not an artists’ haven, nighttime I would regularly greeted by men filing rubbish to recycle for profit on the ground. I have been staying here for five months already and feel ok and at home even I have only two English channels on my tube to keep me updated on news and things outside. Censored nga lang.

During midnight when the city of Shanghai sleeps, I can audibly hear the honks from ships passing Huang Pu river in the south and the sound makes for some strange reasons makes me feel happy.

It’s time to sleep and to dream again. Out!