a blog in awhile. No longer really a tourist, I have fallen into a very comfortable lifestyle. To hot to be outside for any amount of time, so I've been spending most of my time inside. People here hide from the blistering sun, with real reason, it is intense! At stop lights, vendors come to your car, and sell all kind of things. Water, peanuts, popcorn, cigarettes which you can buy single, candy, steering wheel covers, newspapers, and the one I really like is arm and hand covers to protect from the sun. They are long, thin knit arm covers with fingerless covers on the hands. All for the sun!! So being inside is both for comfort and necessity. Of course when something is needed, or there is something interesting there is no hesitation to venture out into the oven. I have been cooking almost every night. Mira has decided my food is much better than any restaurant we have gone too.
I have taken a few Asian ingredients and turned them into some really interesting dishes. Even surprising myself. Cooking a lot with Shrimp and Squid, also oyster sauce, the juice of Calamansi which looks like the little brother of a lime. It is tart in flavor, but damn good. Soy Sauce, roasting a lot of red peppers, lots of garlic, and a few other special ingredients.
Last week I found myself sitting in the waiting room of a small private hospital. I had brought a book and was trying hard to concentrate but the distractions of being somewhere new were to much to handle. I have to see how things are working, see the people, just see what drives the wheels, so to speak. At one point as I put the book down, a little girl probably about 5 years old was staring at me. I smiled and gave her the littlest wave. She turned quickly and buried her face against her mother. But within a couple seconds her face turned and she was looking at me again.
I waved again and she lifted her hand and waved with her finger. A couple of people were looking at me, I wondered if they thought I was crazy.
The floor of the waiting room was small tiles, and the little girl counted and stepped 6 squares towards me and stopped. She was just staring and smiling, and when I smiled back she ran behind the pillar I was sitting next to. She hid behind it, and we started playing a little game where I sat. She asked me what my name was in Cebuano, and went on with some fast talking that I had no idea of. Mira told me she was telling me her sister was sick and she was waiting for her.
We kept playing boo and her running away and talking to her mother and then she would come running back. A couple of the people had turned there fear of the bad man into smiles, and were just watching. As I sat there amusing this little girl her sister appeared next to her mother. She was a tiny little thing, probably around 3 or 4 and had what I think is called a "cleft lip", it is not a nice thing for someone so innocent to have to suffer. She had the brightest dark eyes you could ever imagine! When she saw her sister laughing with me, she came right over to me and stood about 6 inches in front of me. Just staring at me. Her father called out to her, but she didn't move. The first sister came next to her and whispered in her ear.
The little sister came close to me and was touching my arm and touching my freckles. The father called out to them again, and as I looked over and smiled, the mother held his arm as if to say, "it's ok." Someone from the hospital then approached the parents and started talking.
One of the girls reached up and started touching the hair on my chest. Then the other one also started to do it. Mira started laughing, and I was also laughing. The girls looked at us laughing and weren't quite sure as to our laughter. Then the older of the two girls took my finger and pulled me, I was a little unsure what to do but Mira pushed me out of the chair, and the other girl took my other hand and pulled me across the waiting room. The girls seemed to know the layout of the place, and took me on a little tour.
Mira called my name, and I turned to see that a couple of nurses and the Doctor were all standing with her smiling and looking at me the fool. She motioned me to come over, and we were ready to leave. The girls had followed me over and were standing a few feet away. I motioned to them, waved and said goodbye. They ran over and spoke some words. "Do you have to leave?" Was the Cebuano translation. "I'm sorry girl's, nice to meet you, bye bye." I said to them. I looked over at the parents to make sure they would stop the girls from following me out. It was funny as they pressed there faces to the glass doors and waved. We waved back!!
Our prime purpose in life is to help others. And if you can't help them, at least don't hurt them.
-His Holiness the Dalai Lama
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