The Patriot Family

My Lolo Iking was a patriot. A general who served with Manila's Finest until his retirement. A general who kept his vow to serve and protect the people. A man who loved his country with much fervor and never thought of leaving it - even if he could've easily hied off to Spain and rejoin his roots there. A grandfather who talked to me about love for country so passionately, it's something I've been carrying with me wherever I go.

My Dad is a patriot. Despite living the picture pretty picket fence life in Georgia, he still looks forward to and loves coming home to his little house in front of a beach in Bicol. In one of our many conversations, he told me how he wasn't keen on giving up his being a Filipino despite his long-ish stay in the U.S. Each time he comes home, he tells us that he'd rather be home than anywhere else.

With two generations (probably more, if I got to meet my Vio Abuelo Ramon and our ancestors before him) of patriots, it doesn't come as a surprise that my sentiments about the country are the same. Despite all the county's faults, and even if we don't have the conveniences that other first-world countries offer, this is home. And it's hard to imagine living life away from home. Especially with elders such as Dad and Lolo Iking.

Last night, I found another patriot in the Morales bloodline.

My now-Castillian Tita Eve (pronounced Ehh-vehh) has been living in Barcelona for more than 50 years. After leaving Manila when she was in her teens, she planted her roots there, fell in love and got married there, raised her family there, and who can forget the "did-a-lot-of-things-and-bought-lots-of-apartments-there." That said, I'd assume that she's now a full-blooded Spaniard who'd complain about how the Philippines is such a dump compared to Barcelona, or Amsterdam, or Paris, or Andorra, or Lisboa, or any of the plethora of cities she's visited. After all, I've met a number of people who - after having lived in another country for a year or two - would talk about this country as if it were the most hopeless place in the world.

While having an after-dinner conversation, I was pleasantly surprised by her point-of-view regarding the Philippines. It began with our trip to Tagaytay where she had a spa treatment and lunch at Sonya's Garden. She was telling us how they'd go to Tagaytay with Lolo Iking as kids, and how it's still as beautiful now as it was 50 years ago. She went on by saying that the Philippines is such a beautiful country and that we have everything here - beautiful places, great food, excellent shopping (yup, it runs in the family) and so many perks that you don't get in Spain.

But she also said that despite having everything, the country also has its downsides. Like how Manila is so crowded and can be quite dirty (she compared it to Damascus, I think) and that the cab drivers tend to prey on unsuspecting foreigners. When her Spanish amiga visited Manila, her comment was: "I'm sorry Eve, but I don't think I want to visit that place again." Her reply to that was: "I understand."

She understands the faults of the country, but the good thing is, she hasn't given up on it. Part of our conversation was about what more the country can do in order to make it more tourist friendly. Barcelona, she revealed, is heavily reliant on tourism and is the 2nd most visited city in Europe after Paris. Still, she thinks that the Philippines has more to offer than Barcelona. And she's hoping that we can get our act together because a lot of people should visit our country and see how beautiful it is and how much it has to offer.

And like Dad and my other relatives living in other continents, she said that if she had the means, she'd fly to Manila (via Business Class) every month and go to the spa, go to Nail Spa (her new favorite place), eat Filipino food, and be with the family she temporarily left more than 50 years ago. I think that's a very good reflection on how she's still very much a Filipina at heart.

Oh, she also added that she'll come back every month for the shopping. She goes berserk over the pearls in Greenhills everytime she visits. After her visit to Rustan's a few days ago, she had bags and bags of abanikos, shoes and other Filipinana goodies. Proof that aside from patriotism, shopping also runs in the family.