The year is 2020. A time of significant progress worldwide. We have achieved world peace. And men, as members of the one human race, finally landed on Mars. Interplanetary exploration has begun.
Wait a minute, that is not how I recall that year. Must have been a wonderful dream.
Ah, yes. Now I remember. Instead of world peace, there is rising tension between the US and China. Extreme weather and the damages this causes have pushed climate change into everybody’s mind. And who can forget the elephant in the room? 2020 was the year that Covid-19 became a world health issue. A disease not confined to some poor corner of the world.
It was also the year we had planned a long-awaited trip to the Philippines. This all began in the year 2019.
It has been over 20 years since I last visit, but at last, I am going back to the Philippines. But I have mixed feelings. I was excited to see for myself the changes that have occurred. And to see the progress in the construction and planned inauguration of JMTalondiagnostics.
I had reservations about getting together with people, classmates that I have not seen or spoken to for over 40 years. What will be like? Will I even recognize them? Will I remember the name and place the face? But I figure it is time. So plane tickets were purchased, hotel reservations were made and schedules were coordinated, we waited for February 2020. Then in Dec 2019, China announced that a new disease had been spreading in the City of Wuhan. There are people who think the Chinese tried to hide this disease and acknowledged its existence after they lost control of the situation. That this was an escaped bioweapon experiment. The truth of the matter is to be decided by smarter men and women.
As Asia masked up, we in the US thought this would be another one of those novel diseases that appeared, then either disappeared on its own, contained or cured. There was the West Nile virus, Zika, MERS, and SARS. But soon Covid-19 spread and the death toll rose. The Government encouraged everyone to wear masks. To protect those around us more than to protect ourselves. And air travel got restricted. We watched as airlines canceled flights and worried if our vacation would push through. Especially since our stopover was in China. We asked the airline for a refund but we’re told this can happen only if the flight got canceled. So we waited for the expected cancellation and made other arrangements. Lucky for us, our original flight got canceled. Our alternative flight arrangements are completed, and off we go. And just to be on the safe side, we brought along some masks.
Metro Manila
In the capital city, we noticed a few people already wore masks. A leftover from a previous health scare and the high-level air pollution, or any pollution level in the cities. And the hotel we stayed in did temperature checks before letting guests in. Otherwise, everything seemed normal. The biggest issue? Traffic. It can take almost a day to travel from place to place in the city. So people bundled their travel plans by destinations. The biggest change? So many high-rise buildings. I visited my old University DLSU, and every street you drove on looked like you were heading to an enormous wall at the end. Enormous improvements in travel to outside manila thanks to privatization of the freeways. Skyway, which are multi-level roads, litter the place. Just imagine how much worse things would be if not for these.
We took the time to visit a couple of local museums. We had lunch and dinner with friends. It is good to know that despite the distance, we can get together for even a while and reminiscence the old days like it was only yesterday. But at the same time, your lives are no longer intertwined like before. And if you stayed together too long, you might run out of topics to talk about and end up with awkward silence.
Tarlac City
One of the main reasons to visit is to see the progress of JMTalon diagnostics which was slated to open in 2020. In the city of Tarlac, it was to my surprise much-improved design than expected. There was a dialysis center, MRI, X-ray, and labs. Plus doctors’ offices and commercial offices. A pharmacy and a convenience store. All very nice.
Talon General Hospital was also a surprise, not because it was not bigger and improved. They shrank the hospital space to accommodate a government-mandated ramp. They expanded the top floor into an open-air area. And despite the smaller space, all the services you need were still available. You just need to watch your head so you don’t hit it on the overhang.
Tarlac itself has seen tremendous change since I last visited. The main street is now a one-way street. The school I first attended, College of the holy spirit, had moved. In its place, a new archdiocese-sponsored elementary school, I met some former classmates I have not seen since high school back in 1981. Believe me when I say, complete disorientation. They would tell me I was on this street, but I could not imagine how, or where, this was back in the days. A new city.
We also had lunch with some cousins. Just a quick update on how everything was doing. And during this trip, I got to visit the graves of those in the family who had passed and pay my respects. A cousin, an aunt, two uncles.
Time to go home
And just like that, it was time to go back home. Three weeks is very short, especially if you have to lose one week to jetlag and the time difference. We traveled through Japan. We planned on a long layover so that we could step out and go around. But by now, Covid-19 concerns had changed our minds. We stayed inside the airport, socially distancing from people. There were a few interesting things to see. There were shops, museums, and restaurants. And this being Japan, hi-tech toilets.
There were a few interesting things to see. There were shops, museums, and restaurants. And this being Japan, hi-tech toilets. And again, this being Japan, you can still find functioning payphones. I’m sure if we looked long enough, we would have found a fax machine somewhere.
It is always a pleasure to visit the old neighborhood. As time passes the place looks more and more foreign to me. It is easier to see the passage of time in the faces of people you have not seen in a very long time.
Perhaps this is the reason why those who have retired tend to visit more often. A desire to relieve, and to not miss those who are important to one.