Homecoming

After about a year of blissful beach life existence in Boracay, I figured it was time to trade in my well-worn island slippers for the comfort shoes of city life once more. Never mind that the habagat season was just beginning and bringing a rain of new possibilities to the island this year. I was going home.

So last month, I came back to Cebu, too late for my alma mater’s weeklong centennial homecoming celebration, TUNOB sa U.P. I was just in time, however, to experience firsthand that a 2-minute taxi drive in the city already costs more than P40, that the basic jeepney fare has gone up to P8 from P6, or that the prices of movie tickets have skyrocketed to about 50% more. Even Charcoal Grill’s ever tasty and dependable 5-peso ngohiong is now being sold for P7.

But while one feels the gaping hole in her consumer pocket, Cebu’s changing landscape tells you that the city is far from challenged, and is in fact, booming despite the times.

I remember that the 30-minute ride from the airport was an intriguing blur of new high rise buildings, worse traffic, new line of car models and more advertising billboards. Who would have thought that the influx of international companies would cause employment ads to leap from the classifieds to the skies?

I came back to see SM Northwing fly and well-heeled yuppies do The Walk at IT Park. Ayala has a new posh wing and Lexmark just erected a couple of buildings. Starbucks is multiplying. Even Figaro has come to Cebu.

After being an island girl for some time, I really do not know what scares me more – that I would no longer know how to walk on high heels or that a city you’ve walked on for so long could change so much after only a year.

But then one dawn, while jogging along a nearby park, I was surprised to see some familiar faces – the once pregnant lady in hot pink pants, the faithful group of Chinese businessmen, and even the guy athlete in skimpy shorts. A face or two lent a smile of recognition and I gladly waved back. It felt good to know that some things remained the same. In that moment, as I reveled in the cool morning air, I felt at home for the first time.

Like an old classmate you meet again three jobs later, Cebu may sport a different look now, but I realize the history is still there. Now looking forward, I can’t wait to get to know this city once more.


-- SunStar Weekend, 9/6/08