Are you coming home this December?

It is December and I remember while I was still working in Makati, I would brave storms, traffic, human multitude in the airport, sleeplessness, and aching back just to get the chance to come home to my parents and siblings. In October I would already file my leave since I am not the only one vying for the December vacation schedule…

Anyway for those Cebuanos who’ve been away for more than 10 years, when you come back these are some of the things that will greet you:

1. You will find that dili na suroyanan ang Colon. People now flocked to the huge cold supermalls (SM City Cebu and Ayala). Grabe, world class na ta.

Colon Street

2. You thought you are still in Cebu City, but realized nga miabot na diay ka sa Carcar. Yes, Talisay and Carcar are now cities. From N. Bacalso Ave up to Minglanilla, commercial buildings are lining up the streets on both sides. You can not deny progress.

South highway is so wide already we need crossing points and bridges to get to the other sides. Kapoy kaayo mosaka pero kung mohasi jud ka ug tabok, daku ug chance nga maligsan ka sa mga suicidal nga drivers (daghan ni sila), resulta - patay ka.

Fuente Osmena Cebu

3. Talisay and free beaches are now just memories. Congested na ang Talisay sa kadaghan ug people. Resorts na ang uso sa Lapulapu, pero dollar lang sab ang bayad. Kung gusto gihapon ka ug libre nga payag-payag lang, go further as in further to the South or North. But I am not sure anymore if there are places left unexplored because even Bantayan is now frequently visited. If you still have provinces and relatives maybe it is better to stick there.

4. You will also find that global na ang Cebu. Although a lot of our young and not-so-young work force are leaving us, napulihan man sab ug mga foreigners. Many of our dalagas and not-dalagas are getting married to foreigners, thanks to the Internet. Some of them are staying here in our beautiful islands. So do not be surprised if you see a lot of fair-skinned men holding hands with our morena beauties.

Alegre Beach Resort

5. Grabe kadaghan na ug mga tawo, in fact mora na ug Manila kay sobra na sab ka-traffic. Daghan na man gud ang naay sakyanan. I think this is probably because of the proliferation of second hand units from Japan and Korea, which offers prices much lower than the brand new and branded ones. Ang uso karon, multicab. Pero naa sab mga Mitsubishi, Toyota, ug Isuzu SUV's (for the rich).

People have also flocked here because of available jobs. Once upon a time the big two in MEPZA were Timex and Fairchild, now MEPZA is so full of business locators. I should have been happy. However I have reservations that perhaps developments are too much for the area. It is showing signs of congestions. But still there are many businessmen still interested to put up their business there. That’s just my personal opinion.

Okay, I think I will just have to stop here. There are probably a million things I have missed. everybody is welcome to add their piece…

Photo credits: Google Images