All that worrying for nothing...
Immersion's finally over. The day before leaving for Maporak, I kept whining about how I wasn't gonna have fun, or fit in, or get something from the experience, partly because my supposed partner backed out at the last minute. It's funny though, because right after leaving the area, I was already trying to figure out when I could return. I think a part of myself grew a little bit sadder, older and wiser in Maporak, and even with the gazillion things to do that welcomed me when I went back home, I'm not the least bit sorry that I went. I wouldn't call the experience life-changing, because to say so presupposes a drastic change in me. I've changed, yes, but I wouldn't want to be hypocritical and start promising things I might not be able to live up to. Don't get me wrong, I learned so much during the three days spent with Nanay Trinidad and the Aeta kids from Maporak. I just hope that I can forever take with me whatever I learned from the people I met there, because to forget would be to say that my Maporak experience was all for naught.
It would be impossible for me to run a list of everything that happened. Maybe there isn't much to tell. If I write about my three days with my Nanay, our horrid (but exhilirating...kind of.) climb to the top of a mountain, my first real slow dance (ayihee!), our river adventures, or the crazy but adorable kids from Maporak, you probably wouldn't understand the significance behind every listed person or every little event. So I'm leaving this entry like this. No pictures, not a lot of details, no analyzing -- just so I won't forget. Just so every time I read this entry, I'll be brought back to peaceful, sandy, little Maporak and remember just what made our visit there so meaningful for me.
To Kuya Ubit, Mommy Yas, Panky, Gigi, Kuya Cute, Glenn, Yaan, Karen, Diane, Kris, Batang Z, and the Brokeback boys Jonas and Miko, thank you. I don't know what exactly I'm thanking you for, but there. Thank you thank you thank you. :) [I think I left someone out but I don't know her name. EEEP!]
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Post-immersion entries are allowed to be unabashedly sentimental, no? I hope to be back there soon.
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