Hello, Hivers!
How are you doing? I hope you are all doing fine, especially to fellow Cebuanos out there!
It’s been a long time since I wrote anything here. Well, I know people have shared their own experiences during and after the typhoon. And I think I’m ready to share mine.
Here's what the aftermath looks like:
We are blessed and I’m so grateful to have survived the typhoon and that our home was still intact. But just like everyone else in Cebu City, we didn’t have any electricity and internet. We were lucky enough to have a water source though.
The following days were stressful – both physically and mentally.
How It Affected Us Physically:
We checked everyone in our families. We jumped from one house to another, checking if there was anything we can do to help.
The home of my brother-in-law
Homes of their neighbors
My brother-in-law lost his home and now my husband and father-in-law are trying to find whatever is left from it and rebuild their house in the hills. My parent’s home had this huge electrical post tumble down right in front of them.
My grandma needed help cleaning up. We had to clean up in our home as well. And the search for the basic needs began…
People started panicking because there wasn’t any water. We didn’t have anything to drink. We were lucky enough to store 2 gallons which was more than enough for us. But we were worried about our families.
How It Affected Us Mentally
Seeing people in panic, lining up in gas stations, stores, and water pumps every day, all day didn’t make things any better.
Panic is contagious.
I couldn’t help but feel worried about ourselves. I mean, what if the stocks run out? What if we ran out of gasoline and water?
Then I realized – how about our jobs? With this much damage, I don’t think it’s going to light up soon and we weren’t wrong.
But we had to save our jobs. We have been blessed with amazing, most understanding clients and we couldn’t afford to lose them!
Saving our jobs led us to the best decision ever!
We tried looking for hotels with electricity. It was expensive but we were desperate.
But everyone seemed to have the same idea and it turned out that almost every hotel was fully booked. We couldn’t afford a hotel room for every single day if the situation lasts for a month!
We needed a plan B and that means relocation to somewhere else! The south of Cebu was more damaged so Cebu North seemed to be the better option!
Fortunately, my friend posted that there were rooms available in Catmon, Cebu and that everything is fine there. They got electricity, internet, water, and easy access to the market – you name it!
A bit desperate, we immediately went to the place a day before Christmas Eve (imagine the traffic) and carried an ever-so bulky PC set on a motorcycle!
It was a 4-hour trip, given the traffic and rush hour, and the blazing heat was no friend to us. When we reached the Catmon Municipal Hall, we had to go uphill then downhill and climb up again. It was farther than we expect.
But alas! We’ve finally arrived and made ourselves a home!
The place was perfect! Though it was a bit uphill, it had fresh air and a great view of how provincial life should be. The air is cool and we can even pick our greens right in the front yard!
This is what our room looks like. It’s finished with a tiled floor and I can smell a tinge of fresh paint. It’s definitely enough space for the price of Php 3200 a month (certainly beats spending 30K a month on a hotel!)
People here are super nice too! It’s amazing how people in the province greet each other all the time. It made me realize how much of a "snob" we city people are! Kidding. But hey, don’t get me wrong. It’s probably our nature in the city to ignore each other. But in Catmon, you would greet a stranger you come across no matter the time, age, gender, or what you’re doing.
This place has become a second home to us. Despite what’s happening in the city, we were able to find some peace in this provincial town.
What I thought was an escape from the aftermath of the typhoon has become this peaceful, much-needed hiatus from the unnecessary demands of life itself. It’s the best silver lining yet!