Warm Days – Cool Nights

The past six months have been a very difficult experience.

The typhoons that visited the Philippines this year were extremely cruel in nature. It seems that  these yearly storms are becoming stronger and many experts blame global climate change. So many people lost their lives and many hundreds of thousands  lost their homes and possessions. Many will never be able to restore their former lives.

When it seemed that we could take no more; the weather changed. During the past week the changes  have become quite noticeable.

During the past three days, the skies have turned a beautiful deep blue with puffy white clouds that move in a slow and lazy path across the sky. There is a gentle breeze unlike the cruel and destructive winds of the typhoon. This gentle breeze seems to play with the leaves on the trees saying, “I am not going to hurt you anymore – let us enjoy one another.” The breeze continues on its path through the remaining rice fields behind my house. Watching the interaction of the two seems like a giant hand running its fingers through the golden strands of rice.

The coming months are my favorite time of the year. This is winter in the Philippines. The days will stay warm but not overly hot and humid. The nights will become cold…cold in our definition of what cold is.

The early mornings will beckon one to take that early morning stroll. A stroll where the air is clean and crisp and where one takes it in like a a favorite spoonful of ice cream.

This is the calm and beautiful time of the year. It is the time to forget about our pain and suffering and prepare for the coming holidays.

Christmas is a time of reflection and  renewal. A time for remembering the birth of Christ. A time to re-unite with family and friends. A time to slow down and enjoy the very essence of what life is about – sharing our love with the people that matter most in our lives.

This is, also, the best time for visitors to come to the Philippines. Enjoy the cold and snow of your winter until the holidays are past, then come visit our beautiful land. You will be able to, not only, renew your body but, more importantly, your soul. I have traveled most of my life and I can say for a fact, you will not find a more friendlier people than the Filipino people.Come and enjoy a slower way of life where making new friends and learning new things is a happy experience that will never be forgotten.

Come and share the Mabuhay Experience!

Technorati Tags: , , , , ,

Climate Change

Thoughts

Living in the Philippines, we understand that our seasons are different than in the United States and Europe.

Our seasons are rainy and dry. We do have a “winter” during the dry season where temperatures are somewhat lower in most parts of the country. We, also, have our summer during the dry period. Rainy season breaks the heat but it is still a hot and muggy time of the year.

This year something happened that I have not seen in the 15 years I have lived here. Our dry season usually breaks the middle of May with the beginning of rainy season. This year our rainy season started the middle of April – a whole month early.

We had record breaking rain levels during April which is traditionally a dry month.

Yesterday, I got an email letter from a dear and long-time friend (we started kindergarten together and attended school together for the next 9 years ). In her letter, she told me that her local cold weather ended very abruptly and in a matter of days went to 88F. She, also, told me that the trees have not had a enough time to bud and blossom in the normal fashion. She lives about 2 hours north of New York City.

Are we really in climate change?

I have always believed that there was a global climate change taking place for years. What I didn’t know was it man-make or just Mother Nature doing her thing. I, now, believe that Mother Nature is doing her thing but is, also, being pushed along by man’s disregard for the planet. I don’t believe there is any turn back point anymore. We may be able to slow it down a little bit or correct some of the changes but I believe that we are going to get major changes over the coming years.

This whole scenario makes me think of the movie The Day After Tomorrow a few years back. Maybe we should be re-watching that movie as its seems more real than fiction.

Are you experiencing climate change where you live?

Technorati Tags: , , , , ,