White Flag

The Talk of the Town

Ayla took Parker's hand and pulled him closer to her. Despite her small, petite structure her hand was strong and firm. He stood 4 feet away from her because of the human sized Christmas lantern she wore.

"Parker I want to introduce to you these Filipino foods we cooked for tonight. We hope you like it because we seriously had your taste buds in  mind when we made them. On this side we have pinakbet, chopseuy, Pilipino spaghetti, bulalo, beaf steak, adobo, pansit malabon, kare-kare, lumpiang ubod, lechon, bibingka, leche flan, sapin-sapin and puto bungbong. 

Ayla pointed at the foods as she talked. Parker watched her in amazement as she spoke her native tongue while wearing her costume. It was fascinating how serious she was despite the way she dressed. Parker looked behind him and saw her friends sitting at the table taking off their mascots.

 "It's very interesting to me how your family and friends prepare for Christmas here in you country." Parker said while clipping the pansit with the disposable thongs. He took what was familiar with him and added some rice because he knew Filipinos loved their rice. 

"Of course Parker, we love this season. The weather gets better for starters. People cook amazing food and everybody just overall become more approachable during this time of the year. You can basically see everybody so excited to go home. So why did you come here Parker?" she ended, her eyes curious. 

"Well my dear I just wanted to travel abroad." Parker said nonchalantly. "I wanted to see the Philippines too.  I didn't know it was such a beautiful country."

"It is actually, do you know that my dad and mom almost left this place? They wanted to be OFWs which basically means overseas Filipino workers so that I and my sister could have a better life. But when I was born they decided to stay instead of leaving." Ayla said as she took her seat in the table. 

"That's interesting" 

"My dad's side isn't rich but they built this town from the bottom up by the grace of God, Baguio now has become a safe haven for a lot of the people in the Philippines and even foreigners. My mom grew up in the States but she came back here because she felt God called her to come back. They met in this very place and made a home out of it." Ayla covered her mouth as she took a bite of her sapin-sapin which basically is colorful sweetened rice with brown sugar and coconut milk. 

"They realized they had the same mission which is to make Philippines beautiful again and then through that give a respite for balik bayans which means OFW's who comes back home to the  Philippines. The OFW's deserve a home you see and that's our church's goal. Do you see those nipa hats over there? They're basically little homes that houses travelers who want to truly experience the farm life.

"What makes OFW's so special to your parents that they made this?"

"OFW's are Filipinos basically who go abroad to make a life worth living for for their relatives here in the Philippines. You have to understand these are mostly mothers and fathers  who leave their young at an early age. That's intense sacrifice they do there. I for one can't imagine leaving my parents" Ayla said while pushing back her star behind the chair that kept falling because of wind. "If we could give a smile and place where they can feel safe and assured that they will not be shortchanged of that experience, then I think its worth giving it a grand try" 

"I understand. I think that's actually a really beautiful purpose." Parker murmured thoughtfully as he forked his noodles.

"I want to be part of that Ayla." Parker said after a long moment of pause. 

"Oh for sure you can, come with us tomorrow. We will be touring  a balik bayan family around before we bring them to our resort. 

"You have a resort?" Parker asked shocked. 

"No it's Candice's parents, she's my cousin by the way. She's one of the strawberry mascots beside me earlier." 

"I'm excited Candice, thank you for sharing that with me." Parker said his heart fired up for something meaningful at last he thought.