Musings of a Homesick Filipino*

I get melancholic sometimes. Like right now, I miss my home country, Philippines. I miss the Philippines unseen online and the Filipinos who are invisible on Facebook. Like when I would grab food at the makeshift stall at a corner and have instant lively conversations with the stall keepers. Filipinos are easy and fun to talk to, you see. Unless you chance upon someone very shy who would only give you a smile as a reply, people normally have opinions and are not afraid to express them. Like when I discuss politics with a public transport driver while waiting for passengers to fill his vehicle, he would have a comment about how the Philippine government's always been ran by crooks. 
I say our mere proximity to everyday news provides an easy opening for public engagement. Ask a security guard and even he has something to say about the demolition of illegal settlers in a nearby community. A little later, he will refer to that place as his and his family's home and then you understand a bit where his biases are coming from. Ladies on the side walk selling cigarettes and candies, they normally have many gossips and that also make for a fun, malice-free chat. My life is simple then and now. It has a different background because I am in a different country. And Europe is a picture-perfect backdrop. But life remains simple and my perspectives have even become simpler. For one, my changing environments in the past three years require for me to live with a little bit more clarity if I'm to adapt, survive and succeed (in retaining my sanity). Not drinking too much alcohol helps a lot in being more aware of myself and of my new environment. Ironically, I have stopped over-drinking just as I started living in a country that produces the best of beers. But seriously speaking, I am managing my vices well. I'm not getting any younger perhaps, c'est pourquoi the process of outgrowing my teenage habits commenced while in Europe coincidentally. You know I turned 29 if you read my post on the 6th of July. Besides, vices are quite expensive, are they not? I'm not a shopaholic to begin with. I do put some make-up on once in a while. Aside from the cleanliness, roads, effecient transportation system, discipline, peace and order, security here in Belgium and Northern Europe at large, the opportunity to write has been a great source of joy and contentment for I have long found writing to be an enjoyable hobby.
I did lie when I said I sometimes miss the Philippines because I miss it always. But what I miss is the real Philippines that is not visible on the internet. That deep reality unseen and hidden from the Facebook newsfeed of, well, relentless selfies among other things. I'd like to believe that is a different Philippines, one that is far from what I know and not even close to the fun Philippines I grew up in. But I am confident that that other Philippines I love remains. And that thought always makes for an exciting homecoming.
*Translated version of "Maikling Litanya Kapag Ako'y Nalulungkot Abroad." Attention: Benjamin and Sangya! :)