A Friend of Mine Gave Me an iPhone

 

A friend of mine gave me an iPhone, and in return I gave my ...

Charootttt! Haha!

While writing the title of this story, I couldn't help but giggle. It sounds like the start of an SPG story, but I promise you it's not. We are very far from that kind of content.

Back in December last year, a great friend of mine contacted me, saying that she was coming back to the Philippines for vacation with her husband. I was incredibly elated about the news because I hadn't seen her in a long time. 

Then, she asked me what "pasalubong" I want from her. And because I'm a good friend who never turns down an opportunity, I immediately said, "I want a house and lot". She laughed, said no, and asked me to be serious. 

Well, I was dead serious. 

Upon thinking thoroughly, I said, "Bisa'g makakita lang kos' imong nawng, okay nako." 

Hala! Pabebe!

Honestly, I couldn't answer seriously because I didn't know what to ask for. In my family, our parents never instilled in our home the idea of "pasalubong", maybe because of the lack of money when I was growing up. 

It simply is not our thing.

However, when she insisted on thinking of something, I came up with this answer, "Kanang cute nga sandal lang, para pansimba." Kay naana man gud kos church girl era nako ato nga time. 

She said okay and promised to look for a pair of sandals next time she went shopping. 

Fast forward, January came with its hot but rainy weather, and they arrived in the Philippines. She texted me to come to the place they were staying. We hung out the whole afternoon and caught up on what was happening in our separate lives. 

When the evening came, I needed to come back to my boarding house because my regular students were waiting for me for our online classes. I told my friend about it, but she said, "Wait sa, kuhaon sa nako imong pasalubong." She went inside the room and asked me to come with her. 

Many words were said when we were inside, but I was zoning out. My feet were itching to go back to my place because I was literally about to be late.

Minutes later, she asked me to close my eyes and handed me a folded blanket. I was mentally annoyed because it was so obvious they were dragging things out. I took a deep breath and convinced myself that it's okay to get penalized at work for being tardy from time to time. 

When they told me to open my eyes, I was really confused. I had a folded blanket in my hands, but my friend and her husband were smiling ear-to-ear. I thought, WOW, this blanket must have been so expensive and great in Switzerland if that's their reaction to it, so I said, "Thank you! Unsa man ning habola?" But they said, "Open it up!" "Ablihi ba!" And to make the story short, inside the folded blanket was a cellphone box with an iPhone XR inside. 

I kid you not, I felt dizzy when it finally sank in to me that they gave me an iPhone. LIKE WHY? What kind of humans are they, just giving out iPhones? Did I even deserve it? I was really holding back my tears the whole time after the grand reveal. I was so thankful for the phone and also so touched by the gesture. 

I felt like I didn't deserve it. This friend of mine kept me sane throughout college. She was one of the reasons my college life became bearable. Frankly speaking, if there's someone who should give something to someone, it would have been me to her. 

When I had almost recovered from the shock, I asked her why not sandals but a phone, to which she just simply replied, "Winter man gud didto run, so ang mga baligya sa market kay boots, dili sandal nga pang-simba." 

Eh di ikaw na! 

Atay bayhana kalayo ra intawn sa sandal ug cellphone. Wala ko moreklamo ha, pero kuyaw jud sya'g utok. Haha!

To: Ate Mae Ann,

Baje, ayaw nag ang-anga sunod, house and lot na. Bitaw, seriously, thank you! Salamat kaayu! Amping mo duha kanunay!

Seryoso nga P.S.:

Seven months nakong nag-gamit sa iPhone pero makahilak japun ko maghuna-huna kung unsa ko ka thankful ni Te Mae Ann ug ni Marc, kay nganu? Akong Oppo six years na intawn to nakong gigamit, unya I got it second-hand for only 3,000 pesos from my Auntie Orat in 2019. Unya sa kadugay na atong cellphona dili na mudawat ug mga updated na apps like sa Gcash, Bank, Spotify, ug bisan unsa pa diha. Bisan gani Messenger katong karaan nga version ra kaya. Grabe pajung hinaya mo-load. Unya lagi tihik man ko nya wa pod koy kwarta (the deadliest combination), wa jud koy plano mupalit ug bag-o.

So mao to, thank you te Mae Ann, utang na loob ko ang buhay ko sayo. Charoooot. Hahaha!