Goodbye, New York City and USA

We woke up around 9am and had some bread and provolone cheese with sausage and eggs for breakfast. Outside tita Agot's apartment complex, an autumn tree finally burgeons.

Then we went to Chinatown once more to buy some baked siopao to bring back to Calgary and had some more ice cream. Truly it was a delicious diversion! Tita Agot also bought some garlic stir-fried kangkong leaves and some chilli crab for lunch take-out. We watched some Filipino teleserye while we had our meals.

We struggled for a bit in trying to fit our articles inside our four suitcases and a balikbayan cargo box but with strategising and some compromises, it was accomplished.

David, Tita Agot's friend, picked us up and took us to the airport. We bade goodbye to the ultimate host, Tita Agot, down at her car park. We also said goodbye to her gallantry and generosity. It was utter pleasure meeting some of her friends-- her family in the Big Apple. One would never survive in such a busy and somehow, despondent place without the warmth and sincerity of genuine and lasting relationships.

Thankfully it was a smooth check-in process for us when we got to the JFK airport. One of my workmates said she and her family had to go through five security checks when they took flight from there but we only had to undergo one.

We also said farewell to the wonderful temperature of 27C. Back in Calgary we are expecting some rain and snow, and a maximum of 4C over the next few days.Read more