Blistered Home

When I hear the word “home”, the first thing that comes into my mind is a quiet, cozy place where I feel content. Although if someone were to ask me where my hometown is, I would say, “Angeles City,” because that is the only logical answer. I know and feel that this lively city with a hodgepodge of colorful people does not feel anything like my idea of home, but it is where I’ve lived for the entirety of my life and I will acknowledge that. Angeles City, commonly known as the “Entertainment Capital of the Philippines”, is not exactly that but it sure is close. If you know where to go and what to do, there’s never a dull moment when you’re here. I don’t think I’ve ever been to a more peculiar place.

If you’ve ever been to Angeles City, the first thing you’ll most likely notice is the haphazard smorgasbord of eatery scattered everywhere. This is because according to most people, this city serves only the best food. Growing up, I have been able to experience the cultural taste of Angeles and without realizing it, I inevitably became used to the overload of flavor present in our food; so much that whenever we eat someplace when we go on vacations, everything just seems bland in comparison.

It is not only our food that is queer, but the residents are as well. Because our food is well known, some people judge our way of living based on that but while our food is traditional, us residents are anything but. In fact, I would say we’re the opposite of everyone’s preconceived notions. For one, we are quite well-versed on gadgets and most of us follow the latest fads, excluding only a select few. This is not always a good thing though, because now most of the youth become too liberated. It was to be expected considering their influences which are American sitcoms, movies, and books. Although it is common for teens to act this way nowadays, some people are still surprised. I guess something about our city make people think we’re just simple folks, something I would prefer but there’s no turning back now.

Finally, one of the most controversial topics about Angeles City: the entertainment. If you’re thinking that this “entertainment” is most likely crude, then I’ve worded the last sentence properly. Now I don’t want to get too deep into this, so I’ll try to do it while maintaining subtlety. The kind of entertainment most prominent around here are the ones that are tasteless and quite frankly, vulgar. It’s common knowledge that a lot of foreigners come to live here and of course, since they help our economy, we have to adjust our culture to their tastes. Suffice to say, we’re almost like a colony.

So that is my hometown. As much as I would love to tell everyone about how great it is, I’d rather not sugarcoat my feelings towards it. But just because I don’t necessarily agree with some things doesn’t mean I hate it either. Everything has their pros and their cons; it’s just up to you which you’ll pay more attention to. Despite all my harsh criticisms, I choose to accept this city for what it is because even though any semblance of normalcy in this place left a long time ago, at least we aren’t ordinary people. In fact, I’m quite proud of the diversity of Angeles City. This is the kind of place where anybody can find someone who shares the same interests. And lastly, by pure serendipity my hometown is peaceful enough that I can curl up with a good book almost anywhere. That’s enough for me.