No place like home ......

No matter where I maybe I will always yearn to go back where I belong.
I miss those days where you need or forgets something you can easily go to those "sari-sari" stores or asked the help to get it for you.

The early morning smell of fresh bread, the coffee, the puto with hot chocolate, the fresh slices of mangoes. While eating your breakfast, the menu for your lunch is already being fresh prepared start from the wet market and in a few hours merienda will be served then followed by dinner.

I missed my Mom and brother's cooking for us and going to church together. Doing a lot of things as a family. I missed my Aunts and Uncles. My cousins and cousins in law as well. My brother and his family. My nephews and nieces who I haven't met yet since migrating here. Imagine what I am missing.

I missed the rain. Where we can take a shower and play with the rain until it stops or until we are shivering.

I missed those days where our laundrylady washes our white clothes and put in under the sun and when washing curtains she always but this starch to make it a little bit stift.

I missed Cebu Plaza Hotel located in Nivel Hills, Lahug. The Taoist Temple, Cebu Zoo, The "Bukid", The Lantaw, Cafe Tartanilla, Bai Disco, Y101 FM Station, Sunburts Fried Chicken, Sto. Nino Church, Cathedral Church, Shamrock, Larsian,the beaches and a lot of this so called signatures of Cebu.

I missed those summer days and nights where you can wake up late and sleep til your eyes drop. When my cousins from out of the country and out of town would flock to our place and stay for the summer or we were picked up by our Aunts and Uncles to spend the summer with time.

I missed Bantayan Island where we spend most of our summer. The endless days and nights at the beach. The endless seafood dinner. Just lounging by the sea while waiting for the food to be served. The buko juice, mangoes, rambutan, mangosteen, chicaron, ampao, biko, langka, santol, lanzones, siriguerllas(I hope I spelled that right), masareal, masi, steamed rice this are some of the food that I will not trade for anything else .....

Life in Cebu is such a nice one. You can lounge around yet what you want and needs are being prepared for you already. You got all the help you want and need. If given a chance I would rather be in Cebu and retire and live my remaining years there.

Don't get me wrong America is the land of opportunities and yet it has given me and you a lot of opportunities but still nothing compares of being home.

Indeed there is no place like home.