It was going to be Christmas in less than an hour. Along with my three fellow travelers, I was on board a ship going to Manila to attend a seminar for our school newspaper. The boat was late so we docked at the designated port more than 10 hours behind schedule and now, the desolate feeling of missing Christmas with my family slowly seeped in to me and to my friends, I am sure.

Although at 18 I was thinking and acting older than my age, I was nevertheless afraid of the unknown. It was my first time to be away from home. There was something about the big city that frightens me without viable reason; the shadows seem to be oversized and darker than normal and the people are distant and somewhat unconcerned.

A group of ship personnel made advances on us saying we can stay and celebrate Christmas with them. They were all men and what are they going to do with 4 gullible young girls? We took our bulky heavy bags and headed for the exit.

We walked on the peculiar streets of Manila so unfamiliar to us. Revellers were everywhere throwing glowing firecrackers in the streets and starting their merry making early. We had nowhere to go. Luckily, my mother sent my aunt to pick us up outside of the pier. An aunt whom I last saw when I was still a toddler, I could not recall how she looked like. I terribly had no idea yet I had no choice. How am I going to recognize her and vice-versa?  Someone waved at me from the pack of well wishers just outside the pier. A gaunt lady that resembled nothing like my mother was smiling. I don’t know her yet I felt a little sure that it must be her. I mean, if not, I would not know what to do!

She just came home from working in far away Saudi Arabia as a maid and was maltreated (thus the gaunt look). She hugged me and we were off. I asked her how she knew it was me and she replied, “because you look just like your father”. We spend a quick Christmas, just had food and slept because of fatigue due to the long trip.

The day after that, we were off to travel all the way north for the seminar. Our fellow travellers were from all over the country and it was a blast hearing more than ten different languages inside the bus. Though in my own country, I felt foreign, funny and I felt great looking at the differences of my own people.

It was our first time in that northern city of Baguio, a place called the city of pines because of the pine trees that’s all over the city. It is a very beautiful city, and it isn’t dubbed as the ‘honeymoon capital’ of the Philippines for nothing. It was December and we were amazed at how cold the place was, so untypical of a tropical country like the Philippines. I thought we were lucky to have the feel of cold, as if we were somewhere abroad during winter.

The seminar was over after three days and it was time to go home. I exchanged addresses and phone numbers with the fellow travelers staying in the same dormitory room (we were 10 girls in the same big room) and promised to keep in touch. Then we were off in separate buses. Knowing that we will not be able to make it to Manila before the New Year’s Eve, we decided to stay with one friend whose relatives live on the next town. Four of us spent the New Year cheering, teasing each other and talking like there’s no tomorrow. We were talking of the crushes we met during the short seminar, who was cute and who was not. It was the best girl night I had in my whole life.

Mark Twain said, “I have found out that there ain’t no surer way to find out whether you like people or hate them than to travel with them.” Well, my four friends liked and appreciated each other more because of the travel we made together. More than 12 years after that travel, we are still in touch and the flame of friendship is still very much alive.

This writing exercise is fueled by the writing prompt “fellow traveller” at Sunday Scribblings.