Changing

The hills of Koronadal

So I came home for the sembreak. I haven't been home since December of last year. My parents prefer to come to Manila to see us because their schedules are more flexible and it's also less expensive. This means I don't get to come home to Marbel a lot.

One of my professors once said that one of the things he likes about our localities is that they keep on changing. Just get out of town for a month or two and come back. You'll find out that a building has been erected or demolished, a vast tract of rice paddies suddenly becomes a shopping mall, and there are new roads to remember.

I always look forward to changes whenever I get home. Marbel and Mindanao in general always has something in store for me.

Hello, GenSan coastline!

We went to Davao City... to go to the mall. Haha. I wanted to go to the beach, but the parents wanted to go to the mall. Guess who won?

Davao City has another SM. This one has Forever21, Cotton On, and other fancy-shmancy places that the rest of the region has been deprived of. All I can say is: about time! 

Then Abreeza...

We then stopped by GenSan on our way home. And guess where we went?

I have to admit. SM GenSan is quite nice.

You're probably wondering why we're so fascinated with malls. It's just that growing up in Mindanao, every bit of physical change seems to matter. Malls are a huge part of those changes. Years ago, we had to travel 4 hours to Davao to get to the nearest decent bookstore. Now, everything is nearby.

It makes me happy and sad at the same time. I'm happy because there is development, but I'm a little anxious about the quality of development. The number of informal settlers in the cities seems to have increased, and I was surprised by the amount of traffic in urban areas. The cities have also started to encroach into the mountains and the fields. 

But I remain optimistic. Now with the Bangsamoro deal going up, I expect my hometown and the rest of Mindanao to move forward towards a better and more peaceful environment.