Miss Jhoanna May Campos, Chief Exec, The Blue House
While I was stuck in Bahrain ( Dubai and Oman) for 14 months one of the students I sponsor in Palawan, Jhoanna, was very busy acting on my behalf. She rented a property in Feb 2021 at Bancao Bancao, received my 4 crates of air freight, and with Grecil's help , and Gracie's food deliveries cleaned and got the place ready for my arrival. When Beth alerted me to the fact that Foreigners were no longer allowed to enter The Philippines, due to Cov 19, they moved the furniture they had bought into storage and arranged for the other 57 crates to be stored in a Barn. When the barn owner moved , she had the boxes moved to her Boarding house where she shared a room with them for a year.
Just some of the empty boxes after we unpacked
On 3rd April 2022 I returned to Palawan and asked an agent, Agnes, to find me a house to rent for a year. Jhoanna went to see the two houses Agnes found and fell in love with the "Blue House" ( there were a blue and a brown house next to each other built by the same Landlords, Mick and Maggie - hence the name "M & M!". She sent me the pictures ( by then I was seeing friends in Lio) and I agreed with her choice, asked Agnes to get discount on the rent for a year, paid in cash, which she did, and Jhoanna got the landlady to sign the rental agreement I amended. Agnes arranged a removal company to collect the boxes from Santa Monica ( Jhoanna's Boarding house) and Ate Jhe organised a team of helpers to help load the truck and provided snacks and refreshments for all. By 27th April everything was in the house and we had paid the deposit and first months rent ( with help from Corleen who sent the money from Bahrain) and got the keys.
From Left , Jhoanna, Grecil, John, Chalsee, Kit and TJ enjoying breakfast
By chance , another of my scholars, Grecil, turned 21 on 26th April and I delivered her from Nacpan to the Microtel in Puerto for a birthday dinner with my other scholars and 2 friends. I paid for them all to stay overnight and then when it rained on 28th suggested they all come to my new house to help unpack. We set off in my car and a trike and everyone was allocated tasks!
The team gathers in the "Commercial room" at the Blue House
The house is in the Capital of Palawan, Puerto Princessa, where Jhoanna, TJ and Kit are at University. It is in Brgy Bagong Sikat which is in the south of the city , near the sea, Cathedral, Baywalk and the biggest shopping Mall, SM Mall. For those who plan to visit it's just 15 Minutes from Puerto Princessa International Airport. It is in a quiet narrow road leading down to the sea and has its own parking area. It is very secure with shutters, metal grills and padlocked gates and security lights. The landlords live behind the Blue house and are having a new house ( colour to be decided) built next to the Blue and Brown houses. Of course, I was the first to move in ! I have high hopes for a vibrant little community to develop at the end of the Rainbow!
Those who have known me for a long time will know that a big kitchen was a big requirement and the Blue house has that. We are planning a central island with cooker and a breakfast bar and then a big dining room table so we can cook and chat. It was so wonderful to be reunited with my many pots and pans which I had not seen since December 4th 2020. You can only begin to imagine how hard it has been cooking for the last 14 months. Special thanks go to Joshua, Jake and Corleen who taught me many new skills of "cooking in the provinces" like using an upturned bowl as a chopping board and a Perrier bottle as a rolling pin!
For breakfast the next day we went out for Lugaw Itlog with Calamansi ( a traditional Pinoy breakfast of a soup with rice and hard boiled egg and Calamansi juice). We also finished Kit's Birthday cake ( we had one made for his 19th Birthday in December but he was unable to get to the hotel due to Typhoon Odette so I ordered cakes for Grecil's 21st and Kit's 19th! ( special thanks to Chef Arnell and the team at Senordamla for looking after us so well)
The British Kabayan's office starts to take shape- I put TJ in charge of pictures
During the day we had a constant supply of food and refreshments to keep the "worker bees" motivated. Jhoanna took all the towels ,clothes, and bedding back to her boarding house to wash, dry and iron ( helped by Danica). Eventually Grecil and John headed back to Brookes Point in the south of Palawan by motorbike in the rain and Kit and Chalsee decided to stay for a couple of days ( sleeping on the sofa/ floor, bless them!) to help unpack.
Now with pictures- Zainab your beautiful retirement gift has pride of place
So after the kitchen the second requirement for my new home was a big office and lounge area. The idea was to have 3 desks, one for me and two for hot desking by my scholars when they are in Puerto ( Grecil is doing teacher training practice at Brookes Point now and Kit was studying at home in Barutaan during Cov 19 but will be back after the Election on 9 May. ). We will have a networked printer and 3 laptops ( eventually) for them to share for their course work. My visitors will also be able to use this facility. So bring your laptops!
My bedroom with a photo I took of the sunset at El Nido in 2014
Finally I wanted a nice bedroom as my plan is to have lots of long lie in's one day! My bedroom has A/c ( which finally worked when TJ put the new batteries I bought in the correct way!) We had the second wardrobe with the mirrored door, opposite the bed!, built today ! So now there is room for all my clothes! With no A/c downstairs and 32 degrees I am getting through 3 sets of clothes a day so a washing machine is high on my list of things to buy. Thanks to the Microtel, Jhoanna , Danica and TJ for arranging my laundry for the last few weeks!
The wonderful carpenters who came round to help once they finished work at 7pm!
You will have seen some of the photos on the walls of the Blue House from my world travels over the last 61 years and my final requirement was plenty of walls to hang my memories on , and to display them " gallery style" for my visitors over the next year or so. The Blue House certainly has lots of space and with the help of TJ and 3 carpenters from the landlady's latest house next door we finally got all 50 pictures and gifts from my grateful delegates in Bahrain hung/ displayed!
One of the many mementoes if my life in Bahrain I bought with me
Well as usual we are up against it time wise, it's 18.18 here in Palawan and I need to eat wit TJ and get to sleep as I was up at 5 am as usual! Chester has kindly agreed to work through the night ( again) to edit the rest of the videos and photos that TJ took into a Vlog for you all.
Thanks to Nitin, Alma and the TBK OJT fans on reception ( who asked for a photo with me) at the Microtel for allowing me to use their fast WIFI ( my new home Wi-Fi works at snails pace and keeps cutting out). Thanks to Chester for editing the Vlog, but most of all thanks to all my anaks and helpers for helping me make my new house a home in record time.
Jhoanna , Danica and Chalsee tuck into their seafood treat at Badjio
So , this is The British Kabayan signing out for one last time , Inshallah , from the Microtel in Puerto Princessa.
Kita Kits and Ingat Palagi
Hello, I am The British Kabayan! Feel free to read my stories. 
No comments:
Post a Comment