Tag: philippines
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The Conversations I Never Have
‘Twas the season indeed. There was tinsel. Presents. The ability to listen to *NSYNC’s Christmas album—arguably their best and most amazing work, ever (I mean, who could forget JC’s “O Holy Night”? Lance’s super deep and perfect “YOU” when he sang “The only gift I wanted was you”? And the sexual undertones and overtones of…
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20 Aprils
The girl cried. Hard. Her aunt tried to soothe her: you’ll be back, don’t worry, it’s only for a little while. Nearby lay the youngest, 7 at the time, 8 in a month to be precise. She was annoyed. Very, very annoyed. Crying, she thought to herself, is for wusses. It was 1992. The next…
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Embattled Mindanao
Mindanao, Philippines, October 2008. My dad was a journalist in college (maybe even post-college) in the Philippines, but he gave it up because he said it was too dangerous. He was right. Of the top 20 most dangerous countries for journalists listed by the Committee to Protect Journalists, the Philippines ranks fifth, with 38 dead…
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The Philippine ‘Katrina’
It had been years since I’d been to the Philippines. I barely remembered it. I was nearly 8 when my family immigrated to the U.S. to live with my mother, who had worked as a nurse in the States for several years. Last year, we visited for the first time as a family (except for…