Well to answer questions in a sweeping fashion, I reply in blog.

Yes, we are going home, to a place we've always called home. In fact, I'm looking forward to a teaching position in a local university (no, not Los Banos) and already wondering about how *bad* traffic really has become.

To add to all that suspense, there's reason for me to get more anxious: there are so many things here in Philly that I take for granted that will be very different in Manila. For one, safe and punctual public transport. I can't imagine commuting in Manila, but by the looks of it, I will be (it actually *is* much easier compared to driving, at least for my prospective teaching appointment).

Another is mass media. Okay, that's shallow, but to wean me off Sportscenter, House (the best hour in television) and The Gilmore Girls (yes, I watch) is a very difficult thing to do. Then there's magazine subscriptions (New Yorker and Macworld) and all the other junk in cable (Best Week Ever, The Real World) that I won't have easy access to.

Finally, believe it or not, I'm going to miss "ghetto". Now, that's not a derogatory term, and you know this if you're from Philly. "Ghetto" is not just a style, although it arguably is, but it's a lifestyle. You talk "ghetto" (insert expletive here), you dress "ghetto" (big earrings with whole first names stenciled), you walk ghetto (one pant leg up, coats three sizes too large, white tank top fondly called "wifebeaters"), you drive "ghetto" (30" rims) and you, well, eat "ghetto" (fried chicken, donuts).

I say all this with a lot of fondness for this subculture, but I'm no anthropologist, so I can't really make useful observations. Besides, I'm a 32 year old Asian, so I'd look like a poser with all that bling and a big Carmelo Anthony jersey on my back. What I do know is that I'll miss being surrounded by it, fascinated by it, and it's as much a part of my Philly experience as transit strikes and the Parkway.