"Anyway... moving on. Kakadating ko lang galing ng India. Mahigit isang linggo ako sa init, alikabok at mabangong simoy ng hangin (hehehe). Height ng Summer ngayon doon at umaabot ng 43 degress C sa shade at mahigit 50 degrees C sa direct sunlight. Isipin mo na lang kung anong pakiramdam kapag sumakay ka sa kotse na nakabilad sa araw sa India... Akala ko mainit na sa Pilipinas, mayroon pa palang mas malala. Piso na lang, impyerno na. Niyaya nga akong mag-golf ng Distributor - tumaggi ako. Next time na lang... mga winter time malamang (hehehe). Pero nag 2 bottles kami sa golf club nya sa Delhi. Spoiled din ang mga golfer doon: may 2 taga hanap ng bola, 1 caddy at 1 taga-payong at taga-hawak ng flag. Parang may basketball team ka sa fairway. Hehehehe..."

"Accidental Tourist... yan ang buhay ng katulad nating byaherong engineer at salesman. Pag may chance na pumuslit sa mga tourist site, pinupuntahan natin (pero di sinasadya) - Parating aksidente nga eh. Nakapunta rin ako sa Taj Mahal dahil may cliente na nag-cancel ng appointment. Hehehe... Nalibot ko ang Delhi, Calcutta at Mumbai: by car, train and eroplano. Masarap ang biyahero na hindi turista: at least ibininigay sa iyo ang tutuong litrato ng isang lokasyon... hindi scripted na package tour. Nakikita mong lahat ang nangyayari sa paligid mo. Nakikita mo ang masama at mabuti, tama at mali sa isang lugar at tinitimbang mong lahat. Iba rin ang India, mayaman sa kultura at history pero mahirap ang mga tao... parang Pilipinas na hindi parang Pilipinas. hehehe... does it make sense?"

"Naisip ko nga, swerte pa rin tayo kahit papano. Mayron tayong chance na paunlarin ang buhay natin through sipag ang tiyaga. Pano mo ito masasabi sa mahigit isang bilyong tao na walang direksyon ang buhay? Nakatira sa mga tent at slum area, ni hindi nila alam kung papano at saan kukuha ng kakainin para sa pamilya nila. Hopeless and without options - pag pinagsama mo itong dalawa, mas maigi na sigurong tumalon sa Pasig River na may hawak na mabigat na bato."

"Sa Wonderware, ako ata ang may mga adventurous na area: india, pakistan, indonesia, philippines, sri lanka... hehehe. The Latak of the Asia-Pacific Region. Pero pag tiningnan mo, mas maraming magagawa kahit may gulo. Di rin naman mahirap mag-cover: actually mas magaganda nga ang mga hotel sa India at Indonesia. Mas maganda ang pakitungo sa iyo dahil pinipilit nilang pagandahin ang lahat ng nakikita mong pangit. Magandang halimbawa: sumakay ako ng train from Calcutta to the Steel Capital of India called Jamshedpur (4 hours) which is owned by the Tata Group of Companies. Pag labas ko may nag-abot sakin ng bulaklak, dinala nila ako sa hotel, pinakain at pinakilala sa mga big boss, pinag-salita sa auditorium na puno ng mga pinakamagaling sa India sa Steel Manufacturing, free tour sa steel museum at planta.
Hehehe... yung bulaklak ang di ko makalimutan, ngayon alam ko na ang feeling ng isang celebrity. hehehe..."

"Kapag palayo ka ng palayo sa mga nakagisnan mo, habang dumarami ang mga mga nakikita mong bago, kapag humahaba na ang panahon na di ka nakakatikim ng
pagkaing gusto mo... hinihila ka nang pabalik. Ang isang magandang dulot ng pagbyahe ay nararamdaman mo kung anong ibig sabihin ng "pag-uwi"... gusto mong marinig ang ingay ng Maynila, gusto mong matikman ang tapsilog sa umaga, gusto mong murahin ang mga bobong driver sa kalye, gusto mong makita si Ping Lacson at Tessie Aquino-Ureta sa TV at pag-untugin sila, gusto mong singhapin ang hangin na puno ng usok at alikabok. OFW na ako! Bahagi ng mahigit 2 milyong Pinoy na papunta't pabalik sa Pilipinas... Alam ko na kung papanong sigaw-sigawan, bastusin at tratuhin na parang bobo ng mga tao sa airport."

"Pero, kahit anong pangit ang makakagisnan mo at kahit ano pang marinig mo, uuwi ka pa rin... Hehehe."

This is an excerpt from Jay's letter to a friend... his observations and experiences on his trip to India... how he felt about what he aw and how he incorporated these things into his life.

I got it down here because now I have some things to say myself. Jay has been an engineer from the first day I knew him... he hasn't been anything else... maybe everyday he got to be more of an engineer than he was the day before... but then it's just an enhanced version of exactly the same thing. When we first met, he just finished college... at the time waiting for respondents to his job applications. Then, as now, he was unassuming... taking things as they came. He never told me how much he was hoping for... probably like everyone else fresh out of school, the ideal job was the first one that became available... the ideal employer, the first one that hired him... oftentimes leaving at the first opportunity. Probably... I don't know.

He has come a long way from that first job. He's been to so many places, seen so many things and has had a taste of so many flavors. He has changed a bit, but in a way, has remained pretty much his own man. Technologically, he's always had a taste for the new and the sophisticated, but always at a practical cost. He would never sacrifice quality for a bargain, but neither would he become obssessed at the expense of everything else. Maybe he has developed some cockiness, but only when given bad service where there should reasonably be a good one... and yet after much tolerance has been given out and wasted. He still would not tolerate unfair treatment on himself or anybody he cares about. A man of few words and a lot of companionship... love for knowledge and information... books, movies, music... singing, drawing and now add golf.... adventurous in food, less in clothes... giving a lot, never asking, always wanting. He still wants to try skydiving and flying a plane. Now he wants to visit Greece and own a house in Australia. Still, he loves the Philippines and everything Filipino, and will never be so far away from home in his heart... and yes, he still loathes everything that makes our country imperfect.

And he travels. We weren't married yet when he went on his first trip... and I've been packing his suitcases from day one. At first it was an occassional thing and then it became more regular, more often. When we got married, I had to learn to expect those absences and live with them. Time came when we would be together for 2 weeks in a month... now it's a bit better, 3 weeks in a month. I've often wondered what it would be like to be married to somebody who never went anywhere... out at 6 or 7 in the morning, back at 7 or 8 every night... 5 days a week... we would have our weekends, our holidays... we could plan birthdays and anniversaries and every known occasion to the day. Now I've stopped wondering cause I've realized how futile it is... and how dull the alternative would be.

The pattern... I would pack his suitcase... everything from his clothes to his toiletries... his books, and occasionally, the camera. Even when I was still working as a nurse... I would try to switch duty hours with colleagues so that I can be available to see to his things... and after a while, my colleagues have learned to live with it too. Thank God they were an understanding lot. Then he would go out the door, we'd kiss and my eyes would trail on him as he walks away... keeping him in sight, until he rides the cab and it drives away... and always the whispered prayer, "God be with you." Then I would go back to the house and wait for him to call from the airport... which always comes in between check-in and loading time. Everytime he goes on a trip, there have been only two important phone calls... the first is when he reaches his hotel and the other is when he reaches Ninoy Aquino International Airport. I've never really cared what he did or where he went in between... those two phone calls would tell me that he has arrived safe both ways and that has always been enough.

Everyday he's away, I would scan the dailies, focusing on news on whatever country he's in... hoping to see none. See, I am a worrywort... I still am to this day. At the beginning, I used to get sick everytime he would go away... the first time, I had chicken pox and he was in the States. I missed him so much and yet when he came back, I wouldn't show myself to him because of the scars. Call it a coincidence, for me it's a physical reaction to worry. I don't have it as bad anymore... I've learned to trust God's loving protection, Jay's survival instincts, and in between, my ability to amuse myself. So now I just have headaches. We would get in touch with each other as best we can but how and how often would always be dictated by two things... technology and economics. There was a time I would even log a countdown... the days, the hours, the minutes... but I soon fell out of the habit... it was tiresome, not to mention crazy.

And then he would come home. Happily, I have never been slack in making sure that the house is spick and span everytime he arrives. Personally, I think it plays a very big part as to why he has come back each time, not lugging excess baggages from his trips. I would have for him hot food on the table... everything he loves... well, almost... and he would have for me his stories. We would be eating and he would be telling me his stories. I would be unpacking his suitcase and each item I bring out that wasn't there when he left would bring about a story. We would lie down in bed to rest, and he would tell me his stories.

Over the years, he has told me about the colors of the autumn leaves in the US, the fog in Mount Apo, the ancient pubs in England, their bunkhouse in Bicol, the vendors in Thailand who communicated with tourists through the aid of big calculators, the beaches in Cebu, the Manila-like atmosphere of Jakarta, the long drives to Quezon, and India... which seems to have opened his eyes a lot more than any of the places he has been... and made his heart more grateful. Everywhere he went, he would pick up a local wod or two and add it to his vocabulary. He would talk about the heat and the cold... the sights, the sounds, the people... and the food, oh the food. England is bland, India is spicy, Indonesia is flavorful, and the US is McDonald's. Gladly, he never talked about the women... omitted?... well, gladly still.

Last Saturday, the 25th of May, marked the 11th year of our marriage. Not much has changed. He still travels and absorbs everything like a fresh sponge... I still see him off, and worry, and wait for another glimpse of the world through his eyes. When the traveling stops, maybe my worries will stop. But should this go on for another 11 years, I could only be thankful. He is a child of the universe and I will let him be.