If you have seen pictures of modern day Philippines filled with trash and poverty, you would think it is a pretty terrible place to live. But for me, it is paradise filled with good food and family. The last time I had been to the Philippines was three and a half years ago for a family emergency. This summer, was no exception.

If the 14 hour flight was not enough to drive me insane, walking out of the airport was like walking into a sauna. All the layers I wore to keep myself warm on the airplane had to be shed off so I would not drown in my own sweat.

My family and I landed in Cebu, Philippines, the island where I was born. As soon as I got into a taxi, I immediately knew that the Philippines is nothing like America. It is not required to wear a seatbelt and there are people sitting on the roofs of their cars while the car is going 60 miles per hour.

The best part of being in Cebu is the food. Everywhere you turn there is a Dunkin’ Donuts that serves Choco Butter Nut, the best flavor they serve. Sadly, you will not ever find this flavor in America and the Dunkin’ Donuts in California is far from the Rocklin/Roseville area.

After two days, we left the city of Cebu to my parents home island.

When we arrived at Ormoc, Southern Leyte, there was a big difference from the big city of Cebu to this small town. On the weekdays, students were at school for eight to nine hours and on the weekends the whole town went to gather around the plaza to eat snacks or to dance. After staying there for four days we drove 45 minutes to my parents’ hometown, Macrohon. We moved into my grandmother’s house right next to the beach, where we were greeted with chickens running around the lawn and dogs roaming around the house. For the time that we stayed in Macrohon, my family and I would walk to this beautiful beach every day where the sand was made of pebbles and the water was always clear.

One night while watching TV, our house, as well as all the neighbor’s houses, went completely dark. There was a burn out for almost 30 minutes and we had to use candles to maneuver around the house. If that was not a sudden shock, the following morning there was no water coming from the shower or from any of the sinks. I could have never imagined this happening in Rocklin where most people would have probably gone ballistic.

Another big difference in this little town was that most people did not know how to drive. Instead, people ride either a Put- Put or a Motercab. A Put-Put is a bicycle attached to a seat where two people can ride; you have to pay your driver five pesos per person which is only $0.1 in America. A Motercab is similar, but costs 10 pesos per person ($0.2) and is on a motorcycle.

Going back to Cebu for a mini vacation before going back to our home island was a tropical getaway. There are no planes going from islands, only boats. My family and I took an eight hour boat trip to Cebu and when we got there, we drove three hours to Oslob, Cebu to swim with the whalesharks. It was an experience that I will probably never forget in my life. My family and I were canoed not far from shore and as soon as we got to the feeding area of the whale sharks, we saw these enormous whales that were swimming underneath us, beside us, and even right in front of us. It was amazing and also scary to see these amazing animals so close to you and to see their enormous mouths suck in all the fish around us. You are advised advised to stay four meters away from these whales, but they are so used to being around humans that they actually come to you.

Another major place we went to was a church located two hours away from Cebu. The church was so massive it looked like a castle from the medieval ages. The church was very strict, however, when it came to clothing. As I walked into the church, a guard immediately stopped me and my mom for wearing shorts, the guard make us leave the church until we could find clothing that would hide our legs.

The next day, we took a boat back to our home island. After staying there for four days, we left for good and went back to Cebu and in a couple of days we traveled back to America. Coming back home was an amazing experience that made me realize how much I missed living here. This vacation let me experience what it is like to live in such a cultural and tropical place. I enjoyed seeing my relatives the most because I rarely ever see them and they are so much fun to hang out with. I would never hesitate to come back, because to me this is my second home where I can be around my family and friends.