Arriving at the airport, where I had spent over six hours waiting for Snickers earlier on this week, was accompanied by many smiles, waves and words of friendliness and kindness by those I had talked to last time I was here. They had remembered me and wanted to congratulate Snickers on his fight.
“It was a cheap win for Jason” one of the security guards noted. I agreed. “A win is a win though” Snickers added but the security guard added “but we all know it was a lucky win”. I felt as if I could hug this man and thank him over and over again. Our stay in the Philippines had been amazing, better than expected, and the Filipino people had clearly found a spot in our hearts and nestled right in. I will especially miss the staff at Dao Diamond hotel. I loved the fact that it was managed by two women and I think it’s safe to say we all fell in love with them.
Whether it was us asking them to do extra things for us like warm up Snickers’ soup, bring our food to our room, or hang out our laundry to dry, they were more than willing to help accommodate us and they always did so with a huge mile-wide smile.
I stuck around for a bit at the airport to chat with some of the outside security but then it was off to the pier to grab the Super Cat to Cebu.
My plane was scheduled for 1:55am (Monday morning), so I had a whole day to kill. I jumped in a taxi and asked him to take me to a hotel with a beachside view. We toured the city for about an hour and chatted solely about boxing. I was quite flattered to note that he knew of Snickers’ fight and even recalled Snickers’ actual full name.
Although many told me that basketball is the number one sport in the Philippines, it is very clear that boxing takes a close second if not a tied first. Everyone I talked to in the Philippines was aware of last night’s fight though it wouldn’t be aired until 10am and 10pm today.
The driver, a cute pudgy man with the name Mandy, dropped me off at a resort and waved me goodbye. For about $50 CDN I got a one day pass at a five-star resort and that $50 included free use of all their pools, rock-climbing, snorkeling equipment and kyacking, free Internet and towel use, as well as a whack of other free uses and a free lunch buffet.
I headed straight away to the lunch buffet but was quick to note I felt like I had just arrived back in Korea. There were Koreans as far as the eyes could see and besides the Filipino workers, I was one of few non-Koreans. I tried to ignore this fact but when I couldn’t help but overhear a Korean family complaining that there wasn’t enough Korean food on the menu I just about snapped. Them pulling out a bag of $2 kimchi from their bag at a five-star resort was the breaking point for me, so I picked up my bag and called it an end to lunch.
“There’s no escaping!” I thought to myself.
And there definitely was no escaping. Even when I was in the pool I was surrounded by Koreans. I tried my hardest to ignore listening into their Korean conversations.
The resort was stunning, absolutely stunning but I would never go back there even if you paid me for the simple fact that a vacation out of Korea for me includes not being bombarded by Korean things – the people, the manner, the culture, the language. I could have just stayed in Korea if I wanted to experience this. I had just spent so much money to travel to a point that felt exactly like my starting point but with a nicer beach and cleaner sky.
Snickers had asked me earlier on if I wanted to go on a family trip (with my in-laws) later on this year, to which I responded with “I think I’ve traveled enough with Koreans this year.” In their defense however, my in-laws’ defense that is, I’d like to think my Kim side of the family are well beyond being the average Korean family. Though Mama Kim insists on asking me weekly when am I going to have a baby, she respects my need for space and lets me take care of Snickers on my own terms and K-Gere loves the fact that I am a feisty Polack who adores his son. One of my sisters-in-law runs her own private academy and nursery school, so she’s quite successful and is the man in that relationship, a label not worn by many Korean women. As for my other sister-in-law, she works as an English teacher and tutor. Because of her adequate handle on the English language, we’ve been able to bond on a different level and I think I’ve opened her eyes to some things.
Spending the whole day by myself at this over-the-top beautiful five-star resort was interesting at first but that interest quickly died with the realization that Snickers wasn’t with me to enjoy it. He had left the Philippines without seeing the beach. I chose to not enjoy the beach water and instead wait for us to return to the Philippines so that we could enjoy it together.
I really missed him and felt almost guilty for being at such a resort without him.
My mind got the best of me after I had exhausted myself with swimming. I sat down in a nearby hammock and started to ponder yesterday’s turn of events. I still hadn’t found what to say to Snickers about his fight beyond telling him that I was so incredibly proud of him. Over fifteen thousand people had come to watch him fight and though the fight had certainly not gone as planned, those fifteen thousand people saw quite a show and Snickers’ passion and skill had been noted and commented on by so many.
At one point, I actually started to get mad. I got mad at God. Many people had wished Snickers good luck on his fight but I had refused their good luck, telling them that luck is for losers. My husband has skill and heart, two things that cross out his need for luck. I’ve never relied or believed in luck but instead put my faith in preparation and determination, and in God. I had prayed to God repeatedly, not asking him to give Snickers a win but to keep him safe. Snickers’ safety in the ring was the only thing I had been praying for recently so when his game was called on account of an injury I was so disappointed.
This past year my mom not only was stricken with cancer and was given only but limited time to live. God healed her though. If God could take her from her death bed and breath life back into her then asking him to simply keep my husband safe in the ring seemed like a piece of cake.
“Maybe God doesn’t hear me anymore.” I told myself. I ended up getting rather upset about this, knowing that the one thing I had asked for was the one thing that hadn’t happened. It was definitely hard to digest this notion so I decided to wait it out.
“Maybe God doesn’t hear me anymore.” I told myself. I ended up getting rather upset about this, knowing that the one thing I had asked for was the one thing that hadn’t happened. It was definitely hard to digest this notion so I decided to wait it out.
I waited four hours. The feeling of disappointment never left but it was time for me to jump in the airport van and head off to catch my flight.
I waited in an overly air conditioned airport packed to the brim with Koreans all heading to Korea. Some people recognized me from the fight that was aired earlier on today on the hotel TVs so I slipped on my sun glasses, flipped on my hood, and sat alone.
I was eager to see Snickers again, overly eager actually, but I didn’t want to go back to Korea. I hadn’t missed Korea since I first left it actually but I never expected to fall in love with the Philippines. Strangely enough, I had to excuse myself and wash my face in the bathroom after I let my thoughts get the best of me. Today’s day at the resort with Koreans being all in my face and every which turn only acted as a rude awaking and harsh reality check that I’d once again be having to deal with Korea. I have mixed feelings about Korea, now more than ever. I love Korea because I now have family there (of which I consider many of my teammates my extended family) but my passion for it desparetely needs to be re-sparked. I felt so unexpectantly comfortable and happy in the Philippines. I was an overly-smiley Polish girl who happily got up at 6am for harsh morning runs and the only thing I really complained about in the Philippines was that one idiot-and-a-half Korean.
The Philippines would have felt like a little piece of Heaven.
The fact that after my trip back to Korea comes my trip to Canada was basically the only thing that got me out of my seat and on to that plane at the last boarding call. They had closed the boarding gate actually, and it wasn’t until a worker there noticed me and questioned if this was my plane or not that I actually got up. I wanted to stay in the Philippines. And, like Big Yoo had expressed at the press conference, as my plane left the airport with me in it, I looked down and said “I love you Philippines!”
QUESTION OF THE DAY...
Where is home?
QUOTE OF THE DAY...
Home is where the heart is.
-- Author Unknown
QUESTION OF THE DAY...
Where is home?
QUOTE OF THE DAY...
Home is where the heart is.
-- Author Unknown
2 comments:
Maybe God's way of answering your prayers was to have the ref call the fight when he did, thus costing your husband the win. Maybe if the ref hadn't called the fight, then Snickers would have eventually won, but at the cost of being seriously injured rather than just needing a few stitches.
Hi Random,
Thank youI never thought of it that way but thank you for putting a spin on how to view it. I like your point of view. I still can't shake my original thought though, but I wish I could.
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