Remy Narvaez: Montessori Memories

Remy on the left with the author

Last month, I googled my friend with whom I taught with in a Montessori School in the Philippines in the early '80s. This was in Maria Montessori Cooperative School in Williams St., Pasay- near the ADB (Asian Development Bank).With my telepathy guiding me, I decided to write her name in GOOGLE SEARCH. Surprisingly, GOOGLE led me to her latest home address and phone number in Virginia. Tee-ha! Excited, I called her up, left a voice message then realized that the time difference we have was 3 hours, ah- well. She is ahead by 3 hours. Never mind, all was done in the spirit of friendship! Anyhow, the next day she called back and true to my instinct, she was the person I was looking for! However, when I heard her voice greetings the day before, it sounded like her but I was kind of skeptical but took chances just the same. Et voila, it worked! Mid part last week, she sent me a short email regarding her forthcoming visit to Sta. Rosa, California. Wow, that triggered my adrenalin! Sta. Rosa is close by and it is 2 1/2 hours drive from San Francisco. She said she was arriving via Oakland International Airport. Hm, that was cool! When I heard all these things coming up to be so fast like a strike of lightning, I was sooooo thrilled!!!

At the airport in Virginia, she called several times and asked how I was, and what time do we meet. Moreover, she added that when she touches down in Northern CA, she'd call back again. And she did. And that call was enough to make me hyper active, mamamia!

What came next was the prep time. All at once, I was busy as a bee! I cooked, baked, cleaned, disinfected every nook in our flat and prepared for her arrival. Finally I was done but I was terribly, teribly exhausted, tired, wobbly, cranky, stressed, dying and was about ready to collapse infintely in my bed! But alas, I couldn't afford to do it as every minute counted! Despite my aching legs hammering me like bolts of torture, I tried to withstand it as I was due to run to the nearest butcher in Chinatown to purchase some pounds of pork! She said she wanted to eat "ADOBO." Ayayay! But a friend is a friend! She wants ADOBO!!! So I bought the pork and cooked ADOBO!

In the evening at around half past eight, husband and I heard their car engine roared as it entered our alley. Prior to this, she called and mentioned that they were in the area but got lost. Husband directed them on the phone. Soon enough, they were coming over. Right then and there, I advised husband to go downstairs and to escort them at our monthly parking space, two blocks from where we live. Parking is always a bummer in NORTH BEACH, we had them to park in our old parking space (we already advance the payment of parking for our guests). Then, off my friend went upstairs! Soon enough, in a breeze, she was with me! She was in front of me- so cute and petite, she in her flesh, face to face- ayayay!!! Years ago and months back this encounter was just unimaginable. But with the emergence of internet, all is possible! We had lost track when I moved to differnt countries, and she- when she sold her house and moved elsewhere. But God is good! We got re-connected for a good cause!

In our homeplace, we had snippets of our life encapsulated over a span of 26 years. We were rushing and fastforwarding from 1982 to 2008! We were chatting fast because we were catching up with time! While chatting, I learned from her right at that point that her spouse couldn't walk with ease and couldn't get by walking the flight of stairs we have here in the city. By improv, husband decided to take them at a nearby restaurant so he need not deal with stairs and they waited for us there.

Whereas on my part, I packed the food stuff I cooked and baked in ziploc bags per item and finally packed them together in a medium sized plastic canvas bag. Then, I handed it to her. We had a good laugh thinking about this resolution we had about how and where to eat! While doing so, she had a small feast of LUMPIA in the midst of me packing the food. She asked for a bottled water.

"NO, WE DON'T HAVE. WE DRINK FROM THE TAP."

She asked if we had soda?

"NO, WE DON'T DRINK SODA. WE DRINK WINE. WANNA HAVE SOME?"

She had a staccato laugh. She said she doesn't want any wine and was good enough to have the water from the tap. Great. She added that she was starved having just gone out of the airport then drove straight to our place in NORTH BEACH. Later, she had to go to the loo. Then after a while, off we walked downstairs where we headed to Union Street where TUKTUK THAI CAFE is. There, we met her better half, moi Little Boy Blue and my friend's niece in-law. Together, we had a Thai dinner. It was good. We had some photo shoots for a souvenir. True. We didn't get to eat a lot because we were talking most of the time. Nevertheless, we all realized that the company was more delicious than the Thai food we had!

Well, having been there at TUK TUK THAI CAFE for our party of five was the shortest way to have us all together as one. We couldn't afford to make her spouse suffer walking up and down the flight of stairs when he couldn't do it. He is weak and is going for a dialysis thrice a week. It was touching that he came by to meet her at the airport in person and told me later that he wanted to see me, too, she said.

I was one of the bridesmaids when they got married. Our last connection was in TAGAYTAY CITY, PHILIPPINES in 1982 and together with our friend ESSIE, we stayed in their house for a short breather before my friend migrated here in VIRGINIA and he followed later.

Our reunion was short and sweet.

REMY, thanks for the thought! Thanks for the bag. You didn't have to give me anything at all- but that was awesome. Salamat po!