Coming To Manila, Day 1, Part 1: The Arrival

Okay, before I start on Day 1, just know there'll be a lot of side notes and parentheses going forward, as I explain to the non-Filipinos certain phrases, customs, etc.

Now, about Day 1: So we landed in Manila at around 1 PM on Nov. 11th; there were about a kajillion Koreans on line with us at Immigration so that took a little while to clear. Just pass Immmigration was Baggage Claim, and there supposedly, waiting for me was Rodel.

Now, Rodel drives for my uncle, Arthur Defensor, the Majority Floor Leader of the House of Representatives of the Philippines. The eldest brother of my mom, my sister and I call my Uncle Arthur "Tatay" - Filipino for "Father" - and we call his wife Cosette "Nanay" - Filipino for "Mother - so any future references to those two on this blog will be as such. Anyways, Rodel is able to get into baggage claim because he is allowed to, so my cousin-in-law Ate Michelle - who is married to Tatay's eldest son Arthur, Jr., a.k.a Manong Toto - told me beforehand he will be waiting for me there (Ate is a Tagalog honorific for an elder sister, or for a female relative who usually isn't much older than you; the male equivalent is Kuya. But in my family's native dialect, Ate = Manang, and Kuya = Manong. Confused yet?)

Having never met Rodel before, I asked her how he would recognize me. Ate Michelle said she would give him a picture of me; I, on the other hand, suggested: "How about he come up to me and give a secret phrase I would recognize him by? Like say 'Tedted is great!'" (Tedted is my Filipino nickname -- don't ask). She didn't even bother to reply to that suggestion. Party pooper, just like Stew! ;-P

So, as TJC and I exited Immigration and onto Baggage Claim, there indeed was Rodel with a picture of me. It was kinda funny, to be honest with you. We got our baggage, and we waited outside on the curb while Rodel got the car. Several minutes later, Rodel drove up and behind him in a second car were my Ate Michelle, her son Renzo (whom I will talk more about in a future post) and my Tita Doris.

Again, to explain to the non Filipinos, "Tita" literally means Aunt (and "Tito" means Uncle), but Filipinos basically extend that honorific to any of their elders short of their grandparents; if you don't qualify as an "Ate" or "Kuya", you usually get "Tita" or "Tito", hahaha. Tita Doris takes care of my Manang Tata's (Tatay's eldest child) children, just like she took care of me and my sister back in the day. She was actually with my family already when I was born, if you can imagine that!

Tita Dors, Me and Renzo

I hadn't seen Tita Doris in 13 years, and I was extremely happy she was there. She was there literally from Day 1 of the ErwiNation! Of course, I was very glad to see Ate Michelle and Renzo as well. I actually see the two of them every 3 or 4 years as they come visit us in New York and every time, Renzo is bigger and taller. He is a man child - such a baby face, but at 11 years old he is almost as tall as me!

While Rodel brought our luggage to the hotel, the first order of business for everyone else was for me to visit my brother's grave straight from the airport. I miss the little fella so much, and it would not have been "coming home" without me paying my respects as soon as possible.

From the cemetery, Ate Michelle drove us towards the hotel and gave us a quick driving tour of Bonifacio Global City, where the (unfinished) condo at Two Serendra I bought (with my sister and her husband as partners) is located at. I was pleasantly surprised at how huge the Serendra complex was. I had known it was a nice place on a great location, with all the nicest restaurants and stores in the complex istelf or within a stone's throw, but I did not appreciate the sheer vastness of it. I was expecting 10-15 buildings in the complex, instead I saw easily 30-40!

While riding shotgun as Ate Michelle drove, I came to the realization that I cannot drive in Manila. While people drive much slower than what I am used to over here in the States, they drive EVERYWHERE on the friggin road. People have no conscience about cutting each other off because they are driving slow enough that everyone has time to react for the most part. And people cross the streets willy-nilly as well. The roads are also so narrow that extreme congestion and traffic is a way of life. And don't get me started about the Jeepneys... those haven't changed, they still cause a lot of traffic with their sheer volume and the fact that they stop anywhere on the road to pick up and drop off passengers.

We checked in to our hotel around 2:30-3 P.M., and Ate Michelle told us she'll pick us up again around 5:30 P.M. for dinner with Tatay, Nanay and the rest of the family. I finally got to do my 3 S's (if you don't know, don't ask), and from about 4:30 on, TJC and I wandered around the Glorietta Mall, which was connected to our hotel via underground passage.

Malls are HUGE in the Philippines, and there are TONS of them; a lot of social activities revolve around malls as well. You go to a restaurant, chances are it's in a mall. Hang out with friends, chances are it's in a mall. On this link is actually a good article about the phenomenon. At one point during our trip, Tom and I were walking around in a mall in the middle of the week at around 3 PM, and the place was packed to the gills! Made me wonder if people actually work or go to school over there, ha.

At the designated time, Tom and I were picked up at our hotel by Ate Michelle, Renzo and Tita Doris again, and we were off to the Power Plant Mall for dinner at Crustasia. Joining us there would be Tatay, Nanay, Manang Tata, her husband Eric, their kids Ina, Migs and Brix, and finally Nanay and Tatay's youngest son Nonoy and his wife Vanessa.

I won't lie to you, Nonoy was the person I was looking the most forward to seeing in the Philippines. He and I grew up together and remain the best of friends. When his family used to live in Iloilo (the province my mom's side of the family is from), my family would go visit them during the summer and stay for a month before going to Bacolod (the province where my dad's family is from). From the time his family moved to Manila in the mid 80's til the time my family migrated to the States in 1989, I would go spend every weekend at his house where he and I would get into all sorts of craziness and fun.

And soon enough, we were about to re-live that craziness and fun again.

- End of Day 1, Part 1