27 Years Later - Intro

It’s been 27 years since I left the Philippines to live in the US with my mom and step dad. So blessed to be able to finally make the trip back home in February 2024 to see my family who I missed dearly after all these years.

Reconnecting with my dad who raised me during the first 11 integral years of my life and to finally see my sister Mia (who was only two years old when I left) has been a dream of mine for the longest time and it finally happened.

Kept my gear light for this trip and shot mostly while I was on the road while my Dad was driving my sister and I around.

Body: Canon 5D Mark IV

Lens: Canon 24-70mm 2.8, Canon 50mm 1.8

Malate Catholic School

Visiting Malate Catholic School (MCS) was one of the highlights from my trip. It was ultra nostalgic. It was the Elementary (Grade) School I attended in Manila from first through fifth grade before I migrated to the US in 1997.

One of my core memories growing up in Philippines is commuting to MCS with my Dad during my last 2-3 years of living there. The bus ride to MCS was about one hour from Las Piñas where we used to live. I always took the opportunity to nap on the bus since we had to be up so early at 5am everyday. Class started at 7:30am so we had to be out of the house by 6am. My dad was an admin at a law office in Remedios, 5-15 minutes from the school. He would take the taxi or jeepney to work after our bus ride and from there I would go to school.

My dad just told me recently that he used to get upset because my unform would be so dirty when he picked me up. That's because I would play an intense game of tag on the campus halls with my classmates during lunch break. I mean what else do you expect from a 9 year old?