With a little help from my friends

With a little help from my friends

First posted 00:41am (Mla time) May 27, 2006
By Katrina Holigores
The Philippine Daily Inquirer



FEELING displaced and disoriented is not an uncommon state when one is in a new place, and experiencing culture shock or just all over shock from his or her surroundings. These two rather alienating feelings were what hit me within the first 48 hours that I arrived, in Mactan, Cebu. Some may think, Cebu??? Friends laughed at my initial whimpers by comparing my past moves to other countries but they just didn’t understand where I was coming from. As we age, we form habits, we have comfort zones, or behavioral patterns that give us a sense of place wherever are. If you think only children have security blankets you’re wrong, adults have them too, they’re just not in tangible forms many times. I had, over the last two years built up a schedule for myself that jetted between work, socializing, traveling, romance, exercise and hedonism. All of a sudden, I was away from home, but not “away” from home, and short of sounding like a brat, I was at a loss of what to do next. Even with a new job as producer for Fashion TV, and an upcoming Model School Gala to look forward to (which was handled rather successfully by new friends and colleagues Rebecca Piket and Daniel Moretti) I was still feeling like I had made a rather drastic change in my life.

So what’s a newbie to do? Newbie’s gotta get busy. Work will soon get up to speed but in the meantime the hyperdrive in me must be satisfied … so I took a quiet moment, and “asked” the powers that be to keep me occupied and do away with my comfort zone. Well, the powers that be, ironically enough, were on hyperdrive and answered me within 48 hours. The first weekend I was invited to a press con headed by the very charismatic and personable Julie Alegrado-Vergara (a dear old friend who I had met almost serendipitously in Cebu more than 3 years ago). Julie had long ago dreamed of putting up a foundation that would be beneficial to all her countrymen. Her foundation, Turismo Rural, aims to teach and train anyone to promote tourism in their locale, whether it be through ancestral homes, bed and breakfast accommodations or heritage tour. In other words, no matter where you come from, there is a beauty there that must be shared to others and through tourism, great or small, a chance exists for the Philippines to improve its economy and its dwellers to be more respectful and aware of the treasure they are quite literally, standing on. Aside from being hosted at her already popular family owned and run resort Maribago Blue Water, we were then whisked off to Sumilon Blue Water Island Resort, located about 2 ½ hours away by car in Oslob, Cebu. On the way, we stopped by an ancestral home, a local café favorite and a church. Analyzing this situation that had me relaxing and reconnecting with old friends, it was almost as if the weekend was trying to wean me away from my old life through several comfort manifestations.

But what next? It was the second week, approaching the second weekend (and a Mactan Holiday) and although work had picked up the pace a little bit, I still dreaded the long hours of nothing. Before the pangs hit though, fate intervened again. Another friend, (a blonde, always seemingly programmed on hyperdrive one) called me and asked me to take his place at a series of events being thrown at the Shangri-La Mactan by the Lifestyle Network. White Hot Summer was the theme, and it was going to be chockful of activities from a fashion show, a cooking show, a furniture exhibit, a beach party, and the clincher: spa treatments at the newly opened Chi Spa. I looked back at my comfort zone list, everything was met with a check mark. Who could refuse? Needless to say the Lifestyle Network knew how to shake the homesickness blues. The parties were well attended bringing in the fashion and society forerunners in Cebu. While the cooking show had me win a book authored (and later autographed) by guest chef Glenda Barreto. I also saw more old friends from Manila who then introduced me to new friends based in Cebu. It was probably this last "intervention" from the powers that be, or the friends that be that finally jumpstarted by acceptance of my surroundings and my situation. It was almost like a three day farewell party to a life I had gotten accustomed to and a solid welcome to a "new" stage of life.

It’s been three weeks and there have been changes, but none have been unwelcome. There are adjustments but they only serve to make me realize how adaptable and flexible one can become given the chance to stretch out into new territories. And thank goodness, for interventions.