Three months from now, my life will change radically. The first obvious change will be the location. I shall switch my metropolitan center to a few degrees from the equator. Dominating my scenery will be a non-familiar cityscape. The smell and colors of saffron and curry shall dominate my olfactory and visual faculties.
Second, I shall be documented as an alien. All my life I have had the privilege of being a citizen in my own country, simply travelling to and from one Asian city to the next. I shall be trading this for a status that has been described by some as "lower." I shall become, in the words of some, an OFS, or an Overseas Filipino Student. With the continuous shifting of the earth's social plates, I will 'plummet' into the cracks between overseas professionals and blue-collar workers, who at times are rigidly enforcing their boundaries from each other. Think of youself between two trains speeding at opposite directions on parallel tracks.
Third, like an odd butterfly regressing back into its cocoon, I shall return to studenthood and try to re-master old lines from the a very sordid song. If I take it like Carla Montemayor's column, this is a step backward in terms of being a professional and waking up the following morning as a student dependent on monthly stipends like Robert Downey, Jr. was on ice. Nevertheless, the economics of it all still makes sense. After all, who ever said that the Visayan "pirated" into "slavery" in the Sulu Zone didn't live a better life after the raid?
I am obviously excited about the prospects of regaining my independence from an oppressive regime that is currently in force at that peasant-inspired household. Indeed, I am really excited about the prospects of getting away from the inevitable revenge of the peasant (with apologies to Gavin Kitching).
Save for my true family and friends, I shall hardly miss what I'll be leaving. Anyway, it's just a 3 1/2 hour flight away. How tough can it be?
