&OTHERSTORIES wool sweater
2014. a new year has just started.
there has been a cyber absence around here on my blog. bad move maybe, but one of the best decisions i´ve made ever for myself.
i wanted to start my year far away from my reality, far away from the cold winter that has enveloped Germany to align my views and find myself (if you can call it that) so that i can start the year right..
i spent the last three weeks in my hometown with my kid. he was one year old when we last visited the Philippines and after four long years, i decided that he was old enough to remember and understand where his mom came from.
i did bring my laptop and camera but time was too scarce to sit in a coffee shop and drain what is left of their wireless connection.
97 million people, half of which most probably owns a phone, tablet and a laptop. you do the math how crappy internet there was.
living a life with my european salary, it was too good. dining out almost 3 times a day, riding a taxi to almost anywhere, snorkeling, staying at gorgeous resorts, buying nice things.. doing things that weren´t remotely possible here.
i had a very heartbreaking conversation with a taxi driver. he didn´t own the car so he has to pay 25 euros rent everyday and 25 euros for gas. he drives 22 hours a day and 5 euros is all what´s left for him to feed his wife and three kids. if the day ends good.
and there i was spending 10 euros for a meal. or wearing a thousand euro bag.
Miguel kept asking me why there are people sleeping on the streets and best answer i could come up with is that they lost their homes. he kept asking why and i kept on making up stuff. it was too painful to say that he was probably born on the street, his mom probably dead and he has nowhere to go.
he then kept asking me to give the kids, that pass our house every day asking for food or asking to throw our garbage away for some coins, some money so that they can go to school.
how can i tell him that it will not be enough?
i am glad that he was able to see the difference between the Philippines and Germany and he still wants to come back.
#MISSIONACCOMPLISHED
