A White Christmas

 

It is probably every Filipino's dream to go to the United States with its promise of a good life. Sadly only a minute percentage is given the chance to go, with hindrances that include difficulty of securing a visa and finances.

I have always dreamed of traveling abroad for vacation, but when I grew older, I realized that my plans were a little far-fetched. In our household where only my father was earning for the family, we were part of the millions of Filipinos belonging to the lower middle class.

After graduation, I worked in a couple of not-so-profitable jobs for seven years. I can say that my childhood dreams died with reality, for it requires 55 of our meager peso to measure up to a dollar.

But in the Christmas of 2003, my dream finally came true. My photographer-friend Nanette was invited to hold a one-woman photo exhibit in Milpitas, California, U.S.A. So she invited me to tag along as her production assistant. After much prayer, I applied for and was granted a U.S. visa. For our plane tickets, we were so blessed with sponsorships and people who loaned us the needed money! Finally, we bought our round-trip tickets that only cost us $853 each, including our domestic flights.

The morning of our flight to San Francisco, Nanette had to pick up the $200 from her aunt in another city that the latter promised for our pocket money. I met up with Nanette at the airport with roughly P1,000 in my pocket, which is less than $20. Nanette gave me $100 and thus constituted my pocket money for the three-month trip to the United States. We were assured anyway that when we got to Milpitas, the St. John the Baptist Parish would sponsor our accommodations. We were going to be okay for the next two weeks.

Our host, Fr. Norman the parish priest, not only provided for our needs, but also graciously toured us around Silicon Valley. And since it was Christmastime, other Filipinos invited us to their homes and we were given money and gifts in every home that we visited. We got invited to many places, and in the San Francisco area alone, we were able to go to about 10 cities in all, including Napa and Sonoma Valleys-two places I only fantasized about.

After the exhibit, we had to find a way to get to L.A., because our tickets back to the Philippines are booked from here. The problem was, we had two pieces of really large luggage and other loose stuff from all the Christmas tidings we received. We couldn't afford to take the plane, but still God's provision came at an opportune time. A friend of mine offered to take us for a seven-hour drive to Los Angeles on New Year's Eve. He took us in his car along with about 100 kilos of luggage-for free. In LA, more friends and relatives accommodated us and we were able to see about 10 more cities. There were also people who took us to Universal Studios, City Walk, Disneyland, and California Adventure-parks whose ticket prices (at $50 or more plus tax) we could never have afforded.

Then my Aunt Carmen in Orlando bought me a ticket to Florida's capital. By the end of January, I said goodbye to the cold winter of California and welcomed the breezy weather of Florida. My aunt took me shopping, dining, and to places I never even knew of, including a floating casino that anchored on international waters because gambling was illegal in Florida. I visited about six cities in Florida, not to mention Downtown Disney, the more than 10 resorts in Disneyworld, and the four theme parks, namely Magic Kingdom, EPCOT, Animal Kingdom, and Disney-MGM. We also went to City Walk, Universal Studios, and Sea World Orlando. I had the grandest tour ever! But as if all of these are not enough, I was blessed with more.

Aunt Carmen decided to sponsor my trip to New York so that I could meet my two uncles there. I flew to the Big Apple for a 12 day-visit, where I had my first snow encounter. I was able to stay at different houses in the two boroughs of the world capital-Queens and Bronx, while I was treated to day tours of Manhattan, Staten Island, and Brooklyn. Although it was frozen everywhere, friends and family took me to different places where either we savored the best menu, had photo ops with tourist attractions, or just went shopping.

After the biting winter of New York I flew back to Orlando by the end of February. On the day of my flight, I had breakfast in New York, then we drove to Connecticut to have lunch there, and finally, had dinner in Florida. In my grandest dreams, I never imagined this kind of trip! I stayed for another week in Orlando before flying back to LA.

In my remaining three days in LA, we made the most of the moments dining, going out with friends, and of course, packing, which I had a hard time doing. All in all, I had three hand-carried luggage that included a laptop given by a cousin plus two boxes weighing 70 pounds each. I had to ship another big box home because I had so much stuff! With all these things, all the places I've been to, and the $150 I paid to the airline as penalty for changing my flight schedule, I still had my $120 in my pocket, plus another $200 extra. Honestly, except for the photo exhibit in Milpitas that was a planned event, the rest came spontaneously. Looking back, I could not attribute everything that happened back there to anything but divine providence.

God really makes all things possible. He not only granted my dream, He extended my free Christmas vacation to three months. It was one of my best Christmas when I had experienced God's provision in an immense way.

by sigroid75