Lost at Pohnpei

Sending money is one of the reasons why an over seas contract worker like myself gets his reward. It is in the giving that such promise of hard work receive satisfaction. Whatever the amount of money that can be sent to help one’s relatives in the Philippines is a valuable gift to share.

Jane and I were about to go singing on the hill with the rest of the gang, when I remembered that I was supposed to send some money to my mom. So, we stopped by a Western Union branch and made my very first transaction.

This was the procedure I followed for sending money:
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Sometimes we make decisions to leave and to go back to the place where we are from, sometimes, we just had to start all over again.

Going back to the Cupid’s bar and grille with one thing in mind. Spending the last time with Doc Lino. Yeah, my roommate had to leave and before doing so, he treated us for some dinner and singing up on the hill.

Marcial and Badette brought the kids with them, Doc Lino sang “Feelings” with one of the guests at the bar, and the rest of us enjoyed each others company.

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When folks of the same nationality bring their customs to a foreign land, the celebrations are picturesque impressions of home.

The night was still young when we arrived at the Club Flamingo where the members of the Filipino community and guests were already celebrating Valentine’s. Some of the staff of the Genesis Hospital were already there, so we found our way through the crowd and seated ourselves with the group.

One of the events of the night was the selection of Mr. and Ms. Valentines. There was definitely wrong that night when I was chosen as one of the candidates. There were three SDA teachers and three of us Pinoys who were there. I could not recall the names of the teachers, but the two other Pinoys who were with me were Jordan and Jun Jun.

I thought, how could we compete with the backstreet boy image of those teachers?

The host announced the mechanics;

“There is only one elimination round,” he said. Then gave us each a pen and paper.

“Whoever writes the most four-lettered word or more from Happy Valentine’s Day in two minutes will be our winner.”

Boy, that was the fastest two minutes I ever experienced in my life. There was an intermission number first with our friend, Kit leading the dance floor.

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Connecting with friends with similar interests knows no boundaries.

A good friend from down under sent me some books that I would be using. Yeah, it came in a package and it felt like Christmas morning.

I opened the box slowly and documented the books inside. Wow, talk about nerd rush, the smell of the books reminded me of the days I used to bury myself in the pages where cups and cups of coffee and snacks scattered on my study table.

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Thank you Mae for the books. We are both students of this passionate pursuit of understanding the science of life.

Whenever there are things that could remind us the “what used to be,” there are no second thoughts. Just go for it.

Surprises became gifts when that afternoon, Jay, asked me to join them in playing badminton. The words, “covered court and free” caught my attention.

“Really?” I said to myself. “A covered court on the island?”

I rushed to my room and hastily changed to my badminton gear;

Shirt – checked

Shorts – checked

Rubber shoes – checked

Socks – checked

Racket – shouldn’t forget that

It was a thrill when I kept on asking where we were going to play.

“We are going to the COM,” Jay said.

“Taraflex floors?” I asked.

“Carpeted,” replied Jay.

“What the…” I was in a badminton nirvana. I have never played on a carpeted floor before.

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