The Gypsy and The Traveler

Hola! Bonjour! Hello! Mabuhay! 

Since it's the start of Full Moon, welcome to another dose of random babblings from the Moon Sisters! :)

The story of this post started in one of our endless conversations, wherein we talked about all the places we want to go to. At first, we agreed at almost everything. From the landmarks we'd like to visit, to the things we'd want to try when we get there, and the food that we'd want to eat. We have shared the same opinion in most of them. That is until we reached the topic of home. And here's the reason why... ;) 


The GYPSY ~ Rhio

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I grew up homeless. 

Before I came into this world, my parents had already built a house somewhere but weren't able to live in it because my mother kind of gave it to his brother who happened to be starting his own family back then, too. 

So, when I was born, for the first few years of my life, I grew up at a rented apartment in Manila. I remember that we weren't allowed to go beyond the green wooden fence because our nannies would fear for our safety. A few years after and for reasons we can't quite comprehend back then, we went to my mother's hometown where we stayed at my grandparents' house. My brother and I had a lot of wonderful childhood memories there and we're definitely proud to be our lolo's and lola's favorites. But, sometime when I was in grade school, my mom and my grandfather had another huge fight that made us transfer to a house for rent which my uncle would love to call the little house in the prairie with the farm at the back as our playground and which is just a walking distance from my mom's workplace. When my grandmother became sick, my grandfather called us back again to his place so that my mom could better take good care of my grandma. After high school, I went back here to Manila to study for college and has been staying at my aunt's place for several years now. 

No wonder that all throughout my life, I would always yearn for that escape, that sweet little dramatic escapade where it would take me somewhere new, somewhere where nobody knows me, somewhere where I can carved myself out and be known for who I am and not just what I am, somewhere that would totally accept me.. Because as much as I love all these homes that I've been, they've already become all too familiar and feel like I need to uproot myself to grow on my own.

I'm not complaining, in fact, I feel so blessed to be able to have these homes to have my sanity sheltered and the people to share with. But, sometimes, I just can't help that gypsy-kind-of-feeling of going out there - finding your own very niche in this world and have a little home that you can truly call your own wherever that may be. 

Maybe that's why when I leave these homes of mine, I don't miss the place that much. As much as I love to reminisce and nostalgia would creep up in me from time to time, I know that the people in there are whom I truly missed the most. Maybe that's why I don't like saying to myself that "I miss home!" because truthfully, I don't have one to go back to. Maybe that's why I fall in love easily to the places I've been and places I've yet to go to, because I always see the potential of that place to be a new home for me, like I already belonged in it even if I just stepped right in it for only a few minutes. 

Yes! I can't wait for that magical moment to arrive, where I'll just gracefully exit and finally go to that one place and make it my new home. I know that it would be scary yet exciting. Imagining, all my bags that are packed and ready to face all those infinite possibilities that the new place and finally a new home for me holds. 

Will it be a "Hello, New York!" or "Bonjour, Paris!" or "Ciao, Italia!" The possibilities are endless, right?

Because, truly, one thing's for sure, home is wherever I am. ;)

The TRAVELER ~ Jhun

Traveler. Foreigner. Explorer. Sojourner.

pair of clothes, a couple of paperbacks, and guitar...we're good to go

I want to travel the world. That's one of my main goals in life. See the world with my own eyes (not just through somebody else's camera lenses). Set foot on foreign lands. Taste exotic foods and relish its' pungent aroma. Listen to the stories shared by the people I'd meet in my journey. Absorb everything life has to offer. Be anything I want to be. 

Be everything and nothing, all at once... 

Here are some of the things I'd definitely do once I get the chance:

"To taste the stars" - by drinking Champagne straight from the vineyards of Champagne, France. To enter jazz clubs in New Orleans. To hitchhike across the loneliest road in America - US Route 50. To write stories while munching on freshly made macarons in a patisserie in Paris. To get lost through the maze of subways in London. To watch Broadway performances in New York. To enjoy a cup of cappuccino in a cafe in Italy. To ride the bullet train in Japan. To waddle with the penguins in Antarctica. To climb and shout at the top of Machu Picchu in Peru. To enjoy the crystal blue waters of the sea while sailing across the Caribbean. 

I want to do all of these. Thinking that someday I would be able to, excites the heck out of me. Just writing about it now makes my palms all sticky and sweaty and my heartbeat go crazy. I love the adrenaline rush I get from trying new things. Most of the time, I follow the rules. But sometimes, my daily routines tend to get too boring for me. So just to break the monotony of my life, I'd do random things I've never done before. I would not think about the consequences, I'd just follow my instincts and do whatever it is that my mind's decided to do. Lucky for me though, most of the time it ends well. But for those times that it didn't, it's fine just as well. At least I got to try something new. ;)

To think that being born, raised, grew up, and still living in the same place for all of my life - one would think that it would make my feet itch to run away as far as possible, as soon as I can and never come back. But in truth, it's quite the opposite. I'm like a ship traversing the endless ocean. I could be thousands, millions, or even billions of miles away. I could be sailing around, taking my fill of uncharted territories. But at the end of every journey I'll take, I'd always lay down my anchor back in the only place I'd ever call home. 

Yep, that's me. The scaredy-kid who easily gets fascinated by new, glittery things at the beginning - but when the sparkle of it all starts to fade away, begins to cry and longs for her mum to carry her back home to the comforts of  her old, musty, security blanket. Just add a bit of thumb sucking and good ole' Raggedy Ann to cuddle with and we're all set. Back to kilometer zero. Far away places could lure me to visit their wonderful views with their beauty and charm. It might even be (almost) able to make me want to find my own place to call home. But at the end of the day, I'm just like the sun who never fails to set on the  same spot on the horizon after a long, long day of sightseeing. *^o^*

Find a pair of ruby slippers. Click your heels three times. Repeat after me.

"There's no place like home. There's no place like home. There's no place like home..."

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