I can not believe I allowed more than a month to pass without blogging. Part of it is because… Hmm… Do I really have to explain myself? Nah. Never mind. Everyone who knows me knows I’ve been avoiding confrontation. It has been a hard year for me. Seriously.
Anyhow, I can not believe it’s already May. Just got home from vacation/exile. I’ve met camels, dessert lizards, koalas and wallabies on the way. It’s amazing how much culture shock I had to go through and how I suddenly missed it as well.
Forgive me if it will come out offensive to some, but I do not like wearing an Abaya. I feel like I lose my individuality whenever I wear it. I feel suppressed and highly deprived of sunshine, ok not really. I just can’t seem to express myself with clothes. All the women looked alike to me. Like ghosts in black floating on the sidewalks (parang mga black lady kamo). But I know it’s like a puny shield from the stares of horny-horny-haven’t-seen-a-woman’s-flesh-since-childhood men. Believe me. It can be degrading sometimes how some men there would look at you. Like an object. Just something that can be possessed. Whatever.
And then there’s down under. For the short time I was there, only two words can sum up my experience: topless beach.
Ok so I didn’t exactly see topless women while I was there. It wasn’t summer there, too bad 
but still I was hoping to catch a wave or there while I was there.
The two opposite cultures I had to endure. My gosh. Great way to break mediocrity.
But you know what? I missed my home. Big time. I missed eating loads of rice, I missed my bed, I missed that noisy “Gulay!” vendor I hear every 8 o’clock in the morning biking around the village. I missed Philippine beer (and to think I’m not too much a beer person). I missed my computer (although my laptop was a really good friend while I was out). I missed my friends and family. I missed my complicated reality back here in the Philippines, no matter how chaotic it is. If I missed home in this short span of time that I was gone, how much more those who haven’t gone home for years…
Honestly, there really is no place like home.
I just really feel I should update more often since I am online more than 25 hours a day, 9 days a week and my work is practically revolving around the Internet. But like I said, I’m tamad so meh. 
Anyhow, I would also concur with that of what you said about the abaya degrading to men as well. I guess the generalization is harsh and in turn, what they fear (on certain men losing respect for women) sometimes gets worse.
