THE PHILIPPINES – Back to the Motherland

August 2019

A partial summary of my life –
• March 1995: I was born in the Philippines.
• March 2001: My family and I moved to the United States of America.
• July 2010: I visited the Philippines for the first time in 9 years!
• February 2019: My parents moved back to the Philippines.

This gave me a good reason to visit again. So on August 2019, after another 9 years, I flew to the Motherland and saw my parents, aunts, uncles, and cousins! Here’s a photo dump of the adventure.

Mayana Peak (Negros Occidental)

Scenic Overlook near Padre Pio Shrine (Salvador Benedicto)

Mag-Aso Steaming Ground (Valencia)

Kasaroro Falls

Tierra Alta Lighthouse

My biggest takeaway–
THE OBVIOUS: The Philippines is beautiful.
THE LESS OBVIOUS: Although the Philippines is beautiful and the people are extremely joyful, there’s still so much poverty. When I saw my aunts, uncles, and cousins, they were wearing clothes and shoes that I donated to them years ago… I’m talking about a decade ago! The quote, “One man’s trash is another man’s treasure.” was never more real to me than in that moment. Therefore, I want to appreciate the life I live in the first-world. And I want to do more to serve those in poverty. Thank you Philippines for planting that seed into my heart!