When my family was billeted in a classy Metro hotel by the Baywalk area, my nephew was very excited. It was his first time to go and sleep in a nice hotel, complete with bathtub and a magnificent view of the sea (which I agree, was enough reason to be excited compared to our usual bath and ambiance at home). He was running and jumping all at the same time, eager to use the hotel's amenities to satisfy his thirst for experience. He kept telling my mom (his grandmother) "Lola, its my first time.."
I remembered the time when we were very young (I was seven I guess,) when mom and dad would take us out to a company sponsored outing and get billeted in nice hotel/resorts with amenities that we never see at home. The very first vacation was in Puerto Azul (Cavite area if I'm not mistaken) and we were appreciative of the nice air conditioned lobby and the very soft bed and one has to run out and there was the sea! There was also a pool but we were more excited to get sunburned by the sea with our dad and some children who were of mom's office mates'. Aside from that there was sumptuous feast every meal and that (Thank God!) we get to observe (since we cannot afford to lose our manners when we were with mom and dad) other people's children eat like savages with other foreign resort guests. There was this vacation at a private resort in Caba, La Union. The beach was so tolerably saline that I have been successful in learning how to swim by myself. I guess that was also the first time I ever tasted fresh seafood and vegetable that I never realized that as picky as I was, I could also eat local vegetables and fish! During that vacation I had been able to experience what it feels like to have some sort of luck in seeing money float towards me while underwater diving. It wasn't that much..just 50 pesos. But during that time, I had been able to buy some mangoes for my family's dessert that I realized what it feels like to see how one's family appreciates things that you have given them. Another memorable vacation was at Hidden Valley in Alaminos. I realized how haughty I have been because I almost drowned trying to prove my father that I am an expert swimmer - which I really am not. The food and the natural surroundings are also a big plus. I would have enjoyed going back there but when I realized how much dollars were to the peso ($1 = Php25) during that time, it turned me off big time. It was an exciting learning experience that we always look forward to it every vacation and would utilize our child's curiosity to explore and enjoy every place we visited by keeping memorabilia (sand, a flower, a leaf or whatever small junk that we can keep in our pockets) and by taking pictures.
When the company doesn't feel like going to beaches, they go to the summer capital of the Philippines.. Baguio! That time, it was such a pristine place with the smell of pine cones in the morning and seeing dew on leaves at the break of dawn. That was the time before the great earthquake hit the city, and no..we haven't been near the Hyatt either. We were at the very heart of the bustling city with plenty of half naked tribesmen (in complete costume!) walking and carrying big baskets of vegetables or begging for alms. April in Manila is sweltering hot while in sunny Baguio it was cool and we felt comfortable wearing the winter frocks and leather jackets our father bought for us when he was in Switzerland. My younger brother thought we were in another country since he saw a lot of foreigners strolling about Minesview and Burnham park. We enjoyed eating basketful of strawberries dipped in condensed milk and jars of sweet, crunchy homemade peanut brittle. My mother kept snapping pictures everywhere. I guess she was making up for all the time that she was always away on a mission and that she wanted to preserve the time when we were children and still totally dependent on them. That was the first time I ever fell in love with a place that was so strangely familiar.
Going to excursions, company sponsored or not helps a lot in keeping our family closer because we have no one else to talk with except our family members. Sometimes we do get along with other people's children but we usually prefer to be with siblings since we can get our own way (my own way actually, because I'm the eldest) in doing things. I guess that is the reason why even if we're already grown up, we (my siblings) still love to be with each other's company. We still laugh at our own stupid jokes, lenient at our own hilarious pranks and forgiving at our mistakes. Hopefully it will rub on to our own children in the future.
I remembered the time when we were very young (I was seven I guess,) when mom and dad would take us out to a company sponsored outing and get billeted in nice hotel/resorts with amenities that we never see at home. The very first vacation was in Puerto Azul (Cavite area if I'm not mistaken) and we were appreciative of the nice air conditioned lobby and the very soft bed and one has to run out and there was the sea! There was also a pool but we were more excited to get sunburned by the sea with our dad and some children who were of mom's office mates'. Aside from that there was sumptuous feast every meal and that (Thank God!) we get to observe (since we cannot afford to lose our manners when we were with mom and dad) other people's children eat like savages with other foreign resort guests. There was this vacation at a private resort in Caba, La Union. The beach was so tolerably saline that I have been successful in learning how to swim by myself. I guess that was also the first time I ever tasted fresh seafood and vegetable that I never realized that as picky as I was, I could also eat local vegetables and fish! During that vacation I had been able to experience what it feels like to have some sort of luck in seeing money float towards me while underwater diving. It wasn't that much..just 50 pesos. But during that time, I had been able to buy some mangoes for my family's dessert that I realized what it feels like to see how one's family appreciates things that you have given them. Another memorable vacation was at Hidden Valley in Alaminos. I realized how haughty I have been because I almost drowned trying to prove my father that I am an expert swimmer - which I really am not. The food and the natural surroundings are also a big plus. I would have enjoyed going back there but when I realized how much dollars were to the peso ($1 = Php25) during that time, it turned me off big time. It was an exciting learning experience that we always look forward to it every vacation and would utilize our child's curiosity to explore and enjoy every place we visited by keeping memorabilia (sand, a flower, a leaf or whatever small junk that we can keep in our pockets) and by taking pictures.
When the company doesn't feel like going to beaches, they go to the summer capital of the Philippines.. Baguio! That time, it was such a pristine place with the smell of pine cones in the morning and seeing dew on leaves at the break of dawn. That was the time before the great earthquake hit the city, and no..we haven't been near the Hyatt either. We were at the very heart of the bustling city with plenty of half naked tribesmen (in complete costume!) walking and carrying big baskets of vegetables or begging for alms. April in Manila is sweltering hot while in sunny Baguio it was cool and we felt comfortable wearing the winter frocks and leather jackets our father bought for us when he was in Switzerland. My younger brother thought we were in another country since he saw a lot of foreigners strolling about Minesview and Burnham park. We enjoyed eating basketful of strawberries dipped in condensed milk and jars of sweet, crunchy homemade peanut brittle. My mother kept snapping pictures everywhere. I guess she was making up for all the time that she was always away on a mission and that she wanted to preserve the time when we were children and still totally dependent on them. That was the first time I ever fell in love with a place that was so strangely familiar.
Going to excursions, company sponsored or not helps a lot in keeping our family closer because we have no one else to talk with except our family members. Sometimes we do get along with other people's children but we usually prefer to be with siblings since we can get our own way (my own way actually, because I'm the eldest) in doing things. I guess that is the reason why even if we're already grown up, we (my siblings) still love to be with each other's company. We still laugh at our own stupid jokes, lenient at our own hilarious pranks and forgiving at our mistakes. Hopefully it will rub on to our own children in the future.