SYJHTSU (Sometimes You Just Have To Shut Up)

I left with an ugly-looking rash on the right-side of my mouth. I haven't had enough sleep for days. I crammed for our last paper and for the finals the day before. The 3 hours of brisk hand-writing (Professor's instruction: Write legibly. I give very low points for answers I can't read.) for the final exam didn't help. I was in no mood at all, especially for the stares at the airport. I screamed in my head: Screw you people! My cousins said I looked like a terrorist with the face mask and the dark eyeglasses (that comes with pointing while laughing their heads off at me). Haha. Funny.

My mood relaxed a bit upon landing on the Busuanga airport. I say 'a bit' coz the 2-hour dusty rough road to Salvacion triggered the not-so-happy me again. I was at my breaking point. I got bitchier by the micro-second. Oh, and did I mention that the doctor said I had to refrain from eating seafood for a while because of my infection? Great. Palawan without seafood. Just great.

I was surprised to find the world painted in a different shade the next day. And I mean literally. The sky was bluish gray at 5:00AM (Yes, I woke up around this time for the rest of my vacation), and it slowly changed to a mixture of red, orange, pink and yellow. The moonset was beautiful. Its parallelism with the sunrise on the other side of the island was breathtaking. I found myself ranting less as the days went by. I slept better (and earlier! weeeeeeeeeee!). I ate slower. I smiled more.

Everything was timely, as it was holy week. Time for reflection, as the elders say. I reflected in my own way - a little different from the usual prayerful means that my Mom expects us to be in. We went to a lot of beaches - one island per day. My cousins and I were in our "skimpy bikinis". How in the world are we going to be prayerful in those outfits? Huh. You tell me. But you see, amidst all the antics, the crazy fun while swimming, snorkeling and picture-taking, all of us will fall quiet. For a long time. In our own time. It's as if we knew when to keep quiet, and not to bother each other. We just sat on the powdery white sand, and stared at the wonderfulness that surrounded us. We took in all the beauty that we can - from the countless white-sand beaches in the islands nearby, to the vast blue waters, to the bright sky, to the yellow and black cardinals. We did that, even by the pool at the resthouse. Stared at a distance. Sighed in awe. Thanked the Lord for the blessings of family, beauty and relaxation time on top of peace and quiet.

The 6 days in Palawan was more than a vacation to me. It was a renewing experience. It reminded me that sometimes, you just have to shut up. I hope the Lord understands that we simply had to do it in our bikinis.