Life lessons for the ages
When I was a small child, I used to love dressing up as Batman. I had a costume purchased at Megamall that I would sometimes wear for consecutive days; my long-suffering mother would religiously put it in the laundry every night to clean off all the crap I got on it during the daytime, and I didn’t like how the ears were floppy so my father devised a clever solution that involved a wire frame to keep them standing proud and erect. Nowadays I no longer parade myself around town dressed up like a superhero, but some of my friends have walked into my flat and mistaken it for the bat cave, only sans the cool gadgets. Then they ask me how I could possibly live in such a sea of clutter. It’s only temporary, I tell them. I’m moving things around. But I see in their eyes that they can tell that I am full of sh*t. I have been living by myself since I was 17. Along the way, I lost the discipline to live decently and now it is something that I must work on. In moments of great need, my best friend comes over and helps me get my place clean and tidy, but I suspect he will not keep on doing so for long if it becomes a habit.
Backpacking is great for me. It highlights the fact that I can live with the most minimal set of belongings and be perfectly fine. I think I am going to throw out 95 percent of the mess in my home when I get back to Manila and be all the better for it. Then maybe the gnomes that keep stealing my things and returning them in the most ridiculous places will move out and bless some other deserving soul. Slowly, I have been learning to be responsible for my habitations. I notice that if I take care of simple things right away like doing the dishes right after I eat or clearing away garbage as soon as I see it, household chores become much more manageable. I find being a guest in someone else’s home brings out the best in my housekeeping abilities, and if I can do that for other people there is no reason I can’t do it for myself when I get back.
Living on less is becoming addicting. In Manila, I didn’t have to worry too much about budgeting. It is of utmost importance here. I keep track of every cent I spend and update my financial records once a day to ensure I don’t run out of money for the duration of my trip. Here is an example of me living frugally: if I don’t count the food that was served at a recent conference I was at, I’ve eaten variations of the same meal for approximately two weeks: bread with cheese and some sort of meat that keeps well, like ham or salami. Some lettuce if I can get it. This has taught me two things: one, to eat only until I am full, and two, to eat slowly and consciously enjoy my food as much as possible. No use overeating if I eat the same thing for three meals a day, and wolfing down food is counterproductive to getting the most out of what I pay for. Back home, I have been known to inhale my meals. Now I am discovering what it means to chew. It brings me an inner satisfaction that inspires me to visit all my favorite restaurants in Manila when I get back and actually take the time to truly appreciate the food that I eat.
I have four T-shirts, two dry-fit sandos, a sports shirt, a linen jacket, a waterproof jacket, a scarf, a pair of swimming trunks, a pair of boardshorts, a pair of jeans, a pair of lightweight camping pants, four pairs of socks, and eight pairs of underwear. That’s my entire wardrobe here. I’ve found that I can manage with just that if I regularly do my laundry. I have learned to hand-wash my laundry in sinks. My toiletries bag has slimmed down considerably since I left, and tomorrow I will be testing out a 50-50 mix of water and vinegar as a deodorant. I found the odd concoction while I was surfing the Internet. The deodorant I brought with me from Manila has run out, and I don’t want to spend money on some chemical garbage that probably isn’t very healthy for my pit skin. I pray that the vinegar will work.
These are just some of the basic things I’ve been adapting to during my travels. It’s so easy to grow up spoiled in the Philippines if one comes from a well-off family, and I am grateful to my parents for everything they have done to aid my development. I hope that if I have kids one day, I can do the same for them.
