My Best Trip

One of the things on my wish list this year is to start travelling again in different places and as part of my birthday wish, I went to Siem Reap as a treat to myself.

The travel time was outstandingly surprising since it only took me forty minutes from Thailand to Cambodia. I was still writing on the arrival sheet when the pilot announced that the plane is ready for landing. 

There were confusions on my part and the people around me as the English language was not as understandable from a native point of view. It was quite a struggle to queue along the visa section, to find the hotel's pick-up car and to speak to the hotel's staff. I was quite happy that I landed safely and that I will be in the company of my two very good friends.

I met my girl friend first where she travelled from her hometown to the city proper of Manila by plane, then to Kuala Lumpur before settling in Siem Reap. The travelling hours were ridiculous, as with the changing of planes, but as she said, "It was all worth it!" My boy friend came later in the evening after a gruelling flight from Chicago, Manila, Singapore before reaching Siem Reap. Of the three, he sure was the most tired.

I'll spare the details of our trip but the exhilaration of meeting two great people was the highlight of my trip. We had been friends years ago and it was our first travel adventure together out of our comfort zones. 
The stories and the laughter shared along were simply priceless. It was one great experience. 

A Different Perspective

When I moved into this classroom where I am right now, I immediately noticed a blotch of paint on the side of the cubby holes for children. I looked at it and saw a face of a woman, a Native American woman for that matter.

I summoned my assistant to basked in my new discovery and she saw something else. She saw the black face of a demon lurking on the wall of this fixture. A different perspective on her part.

Later I asked another assistant to look at the picture and she came with no answer as she cannot see anything from this magnificent accident of art. I showed her the image but all she can say was ,"I don't see anything."

Life is how you see things. When times are tough, some would crumble and fall while some will rise and shine. When money is lacking, some will resort to evil ways while some will try to live simply. When we fail in love, some will see it as an experience learned while others will forever hate to accept love again.

Today is Valentine's Day but I see it not only as a special day for couples to celebrate their times together or their new found relationships. I also see this day as an opportune to show more of our caring nature to others and to tell the people we are close to, that we care and love them in return.

Though I failed plenty of times in matters of love, I simply refuse to stop from loving people around me. A Happy Valentine's Day to everyone and may the spirit of loving be with us always, in work and in our personal endeavours.

Generosity

With my very busy schedule, which was my choice, I ended not taking care of my love on a consistent basis. I would still sweep the ground, trim the branches, and fill up some pots with dirt but that would be it. Ever morning, I am even in a rush to get on the bike to go to school without giving a glimpse of what goes into the garden.

Just this week, a student cancelled my class because he was sick and it gave me the time to not only walk and clean the garden but to see what’s different. An unruly climber had slithered up to my orange tree and bloomed flowers on top of it. Pink and reddish petals canopied the tree and it was a sight to see. I got some and placed them in a basket.

Another climber had blossoms a-plenty and these flowers come in three different stages. They start as small buds and white flowers, turning to red petals before becoming brownish paper like flowers. These climbers had been perennial favourites. I have them in front and at the back of the house.

I was also greeted by the pleasant aroma of this plant when I go back home in the early evenings. It has this wonderful scent that is easy to the nose and not overpowering that permeates the air only at night time. I am blessed for that these trees, whether they are the shorter or the tallest ones in my garden, unselfishly bear flowers year after year. I was told that if they grow higher than the house, I am truly lucky. And yes, two of them are.

As I let some plants grow wildly in one of my pebbled corners, the plants had been gathering in bunches and shooting up towards light. These plants bear the most yellow flowers that attract butterflies and flying insects all the time. The flower last only a day but it flowers all throughout the year. They compliment the other annuals and perennials.

My driver gave me a small air plant two years ago as a birthday present and blue and purple flowers had been sprouting since then. I showed them to him just this week and he told me that they seemed to be happy in my little paradise. It does, because my neighbours have some and I have never seen them bloom. The flowers are exquisite.

And lastly, one plant that was given to me many years ago had produced hundreds of plantlets and the matured plants have been sprouting shoots again. They are elongated stalks twisted like wires and with small buds at the uppermost ends. Soon the buds will burst into white flowers that will then blanket the side of the house with a show to remember.

The generosity of these plants and trees will forever be imprinted as I write their stories in my blog. Nature really wants us to remember their beauty and importance. Whether they make your place pretty, give you shade from heat and the wind, or plain green for the eyes, their existence is magnified not only by their contribution but also by their generosity to always give.