Dear kids, it’s been a while – almost a year now since I’ve written something. Guess that shows how
busy I was (still am). I do try to spend time with you whenever I can. Ask your Mom. Hehe.
But I am once again not at home. I'm actually not even in the country. It is my last night here in Nepal. I’m flying out to Bangkok tomorrow and
then Manila the day after. So you’ll see me in two days. I’ve been here at Hotel Himalaya in the district of Lalitpur (not Kathmandu) since last Saturday
for a workshop on climate compatible development (CCD) -- though you may not
want to hear me talk about that. At least not this time, but here’s a link
anyway in case you get curious.
I’m writing because I want you to
remember something -- something that I’ve realized ever since I’ve begun
working with ICLEI. Here it goes: Friendship is universal.
So are beer, music, and dancing. Learn the art of each and you will never be a foreigner
anywhere.
As you know, my work
takes me to places. But more than the experience of being in a new place, I
enjoy the fact that I meet genuinely nice and good people from all around the globe.
For me, the job is also about creating a mark and learning from each person you meet – some you would know by name, a few you would know by
face, others you’d build a virtual relationship (e.g., e-mail, Facebook, Twitter,
and all other platforms out there – at least until you get a chance to see each
other face-to-face).
Today was the culmination of a
week-long workshop attended by people from all over. We had participants from Belize, Ecuador, Jamaica, Bolivia, Argentina, Mexico,
Germany, India, Nepal, Pakistan, and Indonesia. For some of us, today might be
the last time we see each other (though I hope not.) But this week-long experience
in Nepal is something that we will always have in common. It binds us and creates a certain connection among us not shared with anyone else. I guess what
I am trying to say is, wherever you go when you become older, cherish everything
that comes your way. Enjoy each moment and try to get to know the people you
are with in any way you can. Trust me, it matters. And as a father (and a good
student as I’d like to believe), I would also tell you this: please take your
history and geography classes seriously. You don’t want to be talking to
someone from a Caribbean island country and not know where his/her country is.
Or you know, please pay attention when your teachers discuss about Shiva and
Vishnu too.
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| With fellow workshop participants on the way to Swayambhu Temple |
Okay, back to our topic here. The workshop ended
this afternoon and I thought I would have a quiet and restful night but I was wrong. I was invited
by our former ICLEI intern, Bijan (who is a Nepalese currently taking his PhD in
Japan but is fortunately in Kathmandu these days for another internship). We went to a local bar called
Paalcha Newari Kitchen. A little backstory: I actually sent him a Facebook message when I got here last Saturday thinking it would be cool to reconnect as we have not seen each other in (almost) two years. So a life tip here: maintain contact/s. It is not so hard these days with almost everything accessible online.
Anyway, back to the invitation, if I was
being my typical self, I would have stayed at the hotel. But I realized
that it is not every day that I get to visit Nepal and have the chance to meet
with a former colleague and get to see how the local night life is. So I indulged
and ended up staying in the bar for almost two hours. (PS: If we were talking a few
years earlier, the two hours would have been longer.)
But here is the thing I want you
to know: the time
I spent at the Paalcha Bar reaffirmed my belief that some things are
indeed universal. Sure I downed two bottles of beer – one’s called Gorkha (a
local beer) and the other’s San Miguel but my mind is still working properly. Tonight I went to a bar knowing only one person (and got to meet his
friends too). I probably won’t remember their names. But I will remember the few
good hours I spent there. They were very hospitable and did not make me feel
out of place at all. There was a local band playing English, Nepali, and Indian
songs. There were dancing (lots of it).
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| Paalcha Bar: Does it look like it's the first time I'm meeting all but one of them? |
Those times when I was
just sitting and observing, I realized I missed my friends back in PH – especially
my high school and college friends who have seen me as I went through a number
of changes in my life (college, grad school, marriage, fatherhood). When you kids came, a lot have changed – foremost, your
Mom and I weren’t able to spend as much time as we want to with our friends. Goodbye
late night outs, bars (not that we were so much into it), and sleep overs. That
comes with parenting. And it’s not that we regret it or anything. But I want
you to realize the value of friendship in your lives. It is important. As I watched
this group of friends dance the night away, I realize how lucky I am to have
similar people in my life. There are quite a number of them and you do know
them. They’re your Ninongs and Ninangs. I hope that when you grow older, you
find similar people who will see you through the bad stuff when we (your Mom
and Dad) cannot – and it’s not because we don’t want to but because you need
other people apart from us to help you through. We've been there, But believe me when I
say that whatever it is you are going through, we are here for you – probably not
in the way you need but in the way that we know how as parents.
I’m feeling a little heavy-headed
now. I’m feeling the need to sleep. I’m happy to have spent my last night here
in Nepal with a friend (across the distance) and some new faces who were not
really my friends but made me feel like I was one while I was at Paalcha Bar. Maybe I miss having such moments with my friends. Maybe I miss having drinks and not caring too much about tomorrw. But kids, that is not the point I want to make. When you grow up and see the world, never forget that friendship is
universal. It speaks the same language everywhere. Beer, music, and dancing –
they’re quite the same too. Master them. Goodnight.
Love lots, Dad
Disclaimer: When I talk about the beer, I'm not encouraging you to drink. But if you do try, please be the master and not the other way around.
