Short and sweet

Vacation is a necessity when you are working or studying. Whether it is long or short, it helps give balance to tired mind and body, particularly when one is nearly burning out. Sometimes, weekends and regular days off from work are not enough to re-energize and motivate someone who's too fed up with the cycle of work, especially the people who works in a different country, far from families and loved ones.

Fortunately, my husband is entitled to an annual vacation to our home country and we decided to use it last April and May. We counted the days and weeks until our vacation and planned trips with families and few friends. We chose to spend a great amount of our time with families simply because, family first. We thought that being with our family and bringing them to great places especially our parents, were a way of giving back, and an expression of gratitude for the love (and time and money) they spent in our early years. Maybe next time, we'll do more meet-ups with friends and acquaintances.

Our hometown in Cavite, Naic, did not quite change at all. Yes, there were new places and cafés to hangout in, which we did not get a chance to try, and there was a rise in population brought by relocation, but the ambiance of the town is quite the same. That is actually one of the things I like in Naic, it gives you a warm feeling and a sense of home.

Waiting for boarding

Our flight to Manila was actually delayed for two hours. But hey, we're still happy.

We were really glad and grateful upon our arrival in Manila. The 9-hour flight from Riyadh to Manila only added up to the excitement of seeing our family after many months. When we saw some friends who seemed genuinely happy upon seeing us, we felt happier. Though we have missed a lot of happenings with them, it doesn't seem to matter.

We traveled to different pretty places in the Philippines; some were really far. We went to Baler, El Nido, Puerto Galera, and not so far places such as Tagaytay and Batangas. Summer in the Philippines is really fun and great. I hope to write about our adventures in those beautiful places!

Aside from traveling and visiting some places, we also made sure to attend the Sunday mass because it's definitely one of the things that we missed while staying in Riyadh. It felt new and refreshing to see and hear the gospel with other people in the church.

When our flight back to Riyadh was nearing, we felt sad, yes, but somehow tried to be more optimistic and grateful for the weeks we were able to enjoy with family and friends. We'll be missing a lot of things again, but we are hopeful that days will pass by quickly and it's time to go home again. Our vacation in the Philippines might be longer than others, but I feel that I wanted more and thought that it's not enough. It was short and sweet, filled with happy memories. Still grateful! :)

At the NAIA terminal

Going back to Riyadh. See you next year, Manila!

* Music playing at the background: By the Sea - KI