I have been trying to write up my impressions of my new home and new life in Eroreco Subdivision of Bacolod City since the end of my first month here. Each time I fail.

 

My new home is not my home – it is an extended Airbnb arrangement that is likely to be extended much further – but Asgard is not a place.

Home is a nebulous and almost intangible combination of familiar sensations and predictable backgrounds. When I used to go out with Dex in the early mornings in Belgrade, we had a routine. We saw the cafés on Obilicev venac as they prepared for the day, we saw our fellow dog people on their walks on Knez Mihailova and in Kalemegdan. And when it was done, we ended up at one of only a few cafés to sit, read, and chew on a rawhide bone. It was safe and predictable within a limited number of variables.

Knowing the background means that your focus can be on the foreground and the day ahead. You don’t have to think about where the next trash can is to throw out the doodie bag.

Arriving here, it is taking time to establish that kind of routine. We are outside the city center, thus making the surroundings less crowded and less chaotic. Out street is part of a planned grid that looks like a fan, connected after 700 meters by trellised alleyways. Along each street are myriad dogs behind gates and fences, and when we walk by a rising crescendo of barking marks our passing, waking up everyone for miles.

Dexter has already been assimilated into the life of the subdivision. When I go to the bakery, someone will always say “Good morning, Dexter!” The same as I pass bus stops and the school, whose wide parking area is a good place to run.

I am still thinking about where I am much more than what I am doing here. I am very happy to be here, but I mean that I am conscious of knowing my surroundings. After 52 days, the tipping point is near.

My new life is very different from the old one, especially because I am sharing it with someone I love. Discovery is easier when you take it slow and can share it with someone. She colors the new experiences in bright and surprising ways, not giving my inner Grumpy Guy the chance to rear his cantankerous head.

The inconvenience of having to bring in drinking water in 20 liter jerrycans every few days is tempered by the mere fact that she shows me how normal it is. The idea of not having hot water in the shower (which we don’t) is offset by the fact that it is always around 30° (86°F) and we wouldn’t even use it if it were there.

I am thankful to her for helping me keep my perspective. I am thankful for her in every way, and there is so much more to discover. It is the single shining difference from my old life.

A typical day starts with coffee or tea. I brought a kilo of coffee with me, but it dwindled quickly. The tea is a new thing since my coffee is not easily or cheaply replenished on the island of Negros (probably it would be easier in Manila or Cebu City). I am currently experimenting with oolong tea, green tea with pandan leaves, and butterfly pea flower tea. The last one is lovely and blue when it is brewed, but it lacks caffeine. After this, the morning constitutional promenade begins.

Our walk is still a cartographical journey, with certain sectors already mapped out and stored. We usually end up at the bakery – where they never seem to have the same selection two days in a row – or we could walk further afield to the shops along La Salle Avenue depending on traffic. Walking along the side of the big road isn’t always easy.

I spend my mornings working on finding new clients for life coaching, branding projects, and for new teaching gigs here, in China, and elsewhere. After running through the possibilities of the day, I will take a break to read, or we will have lunch together.

Except for her being with me, this part of my life is very much the same as ever. Working, reading, writing. We will often watch movies in the evenings, but I watch almost no television anymore, something that had been a part of my daily life before. I don’t miss it.

I look forward to writing more as my concentric circles widen, and I get to know more of this new world.