Thursday, September 16, 2010
Adventures in Manila.
2:51 AM | 
Posted by
daniel
I’ll be the first to admit that all of us here in the Spiritan House of Studies, Manila, have that sort of bachelor approach to housekeeping--basically clean, but not fanatics about it. So you can imagine my surprise when I opened one of the kitchen cupboards and found what looked like sand all over the place! “How did we get muddy sand in the cupboard?” I wondered aloud as I called for the guys to join me. Then, in the midst of all that muddy sand, I saw what looked like pieces of rice running back and forth…termites!! We had been invaded by termites! As we opened cupboard after cupboard, we found they had moved into a number of shelves and were obviously enjoying themselves immensely. So I grabbed the phone and call the termite-folks. Believe me, everyone here in Metro Manila has them on speed-dial! Termites are part of daily life and people just take them in stride. The next morning witnessed the massacre of the visiting termites, but we had no time to mourn, being too busy cleaning up their mess. I was exhausted since I hadn’t slept well the night before, wondering if our newly acquired house was going to collapse around us, having been an all-you-can-eat buffet for the local pests. But thank God, after massive spraying, poking and inspecting, we were declared termite-free, complete with a year’s warranty! But everyday I find myself checking the cupboards, just in case…oh me of little faith!
As if that little adventure into nature wasn’t enough, a few days later I got a text message from Dennis while at still at school. “Dre, we’ve just killed two big snakes in the house…I hope they’re not all over the place.” I didn’t know if I should rush home or just make a reservation at the Hilton Hotel. In fact, they weren’t IN the house, but right outside: two big, long non-poisonous garden snakes. I guess the violent rains had disturbed their homes. Or maybe they were coming to visit the termites? Who knows? Later when I was on the phone telling a friend about our snakes, I saw the hugest hornet ever fly into the room. Making plenty of room for this 747-like creature, I was horrified to see it fly into a clump of mud stuck on the bottom of the jalousie windows!! (Well, I told you our housekeeping isn’t always what it could be!!). It was building it’s home in our home…but there just isn’t enough room for all of us, so summoning up our courage, we knocked the nest, sprayed it wildly with Raid, stomped on it like enraged flamenco dancers from Seville. What a zoo!! And I thought that moving to the big city we’d lose touch with nature!! It’s been like living on the Discovery Channel this last month!! While the Filipinos all tsk-ed and commiserated with our dilemma of finding the snakes, all our Chinese friends immediately congratulated us and told us how very delicious snake soup is!! Still, I’d rather be the one eating the snake than vice-versa!!
Fr. Cyr, our young Congolese confrere, finished his English course and returned to Taiwan to begin his Chinese studies. He made amazing progress in English in such a short time, and if he does the same in Chinese, he’ll be preaching up a storm in Taiwan in no time! Fr. Arinze, our Nigerian confrere studying at Ateneo, joined all of us in our farewell party at the local pizzeria. We already miss Fr. Cyr’s hearty laugh!
Remember how I subtly dropped a hint in an earlier blog page about needing a bicycle for the house? (Okay, so I actually just begged, but you can’t blame me for trying!). Well, nothing happened from the blog, but when I asked some local friends about getting inexpensive bikes, they looked at each other and said they would give us their two bikes for the community!! With the two beautiful bikes in the back of our friends’ pickup truck, we stopped to buy helmets on the way home. Were Dennis, Emboy and Aying happy when we arrived at the door!! What a wonderful surprise and once again we are so touched and blessed by the kindness and generosity of people around us! The bikes have really made things so much easier for the guys; they zip around the neighborhood now in a flash.
We’ve also been busy in our gardens, both the vegetable garden in back and the front garden as well. We’ve planted some flowers in front, a luxury that we’ll enjoy since breakfast and lunch are almost always enjoyed at the outside table. We even entertain friends there, too, since it is naturally cooled by the towering trees and comfortable cross-breeze. Because of the carport roof, even the rain doesn’t disturb us there. I have to admit that some of the plants seem to have a bit of a problem adjusting to the front soil, but we’re patient and busy pruning. These days, God takes care of the watering!
While much of the world has just now begun school, we’re getting ready for the semester to end! Less than a month to go, so you can imagine all the papers, reports, and preparation for final exams. For all of us, students and teacher, it’s a very busy time. Maybe that’s why we especially enjoyed last week’s silent morning recollection, something we aim to have at least once a month. It’s important for us as a Spiritan family to sit quietly with the Lord and each other…and LISTEN!
So as you can see, we’re all doing well, thank God. The guys’ presence at the center for handicapped youth is such a blessing, both for them and for the people there. Emboy has also helped with a few retreats. My classes continue to be a joy and a constant invitation to grow in wisdom and knowledge. I’m always so happy to see our living room filled with young religious, the classmates of Dennis, Emboy and Aying, who come to study with them, or who come just to relax with them. One of their classmates told me he always enjoys coming here because it “feels like home”. That’s the best possible compliment! And our wonderful friends from China, Vietnam, Korea as well as the local crowd, keep us in good spirits and well-fed! Every time Sr. Hai-Xia whips up a delicacy from her hometown in China, she stops by with enough for all of us to enjoy, too!!
September 19th is the 24th Anniversary of my ordination to priesthood. What a blessing, what an adventure with the Lord! Thanks for being a part of it all…Oran, Rome, Dubai, Pittsburgh, Iligan, Metro Manila. I can see all your faces…and all your smiles.
Don’t forget you have a standing invitation to come visit. Oh, just one thing…if one of the snakes in the garden tells you to eat from one of our fruit trees, I wouldn’t, if I were you…
May God bless us all!!
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