{"id":2603,"date":"2020-05-19T11:33:21","date_gmt":"2020-05-19T11:33:21","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.southsidebelle.com\/?p=2603"},"modified":"2023-05-31T10:07:07","modified_gmt":"2023-05-31T10:07:07","slug":"what-i-miss-about-living-in-the-province-tuburan","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.southsidebelle.com\/2020\/05\/19\/what-i-miss-about-living-in-the-province-tuburan\/","title":{"rendered":"What I Miss About Living in the Province"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

It was 2009. It was the year I finally flew the coop, leaving behind the provincial life in the hopes of earning my bachelor\u2019s degree far away in the city. I was a big dreamer back then, and I still am to this day.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Who I am today is not far from who I was before 2009. That person yearned to escape, to find herself among a throng of big dreamers and believers, and to chase the fantasies her young mind envisioned in her then-quiet hometown of Tuburan, Cebu.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The city, for me, was always the dream.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Since becoming a city girl, all the actions I had once imagined came true. I enjoyed the hustle and bustle of the city life and I thrived in a fast-paced environment where breaks meant guzzling liters of coffee to stay alert and drawing smoke into my lungs to ease the stress. The latter is something I no longer do.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

I used to glorify being stressed. It meant I was productive. It meant I was earning my stripes. It became an addiction that was hard to quit.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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The city, for me, was always the dream.<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n\n\n\n

Fast forward to ten years, and the accumulated stress became random panic attacks in crowded places and breathing difficulties even on normal non-stressful days. Indeed, your anxiety is the product of your environment. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

And so, there are times when I yearn for the slower pace of the province life. It\u2019s the only place where my brain wasn\u2019t overstimulated and I particularly enjoyed the idyllic view in between sips of coffee. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Here are some of the things I miss living in the province:<\/p>\n\n\n\n

1. Taking Bike Rides on Quieter Roads and Lush Greener<\/strong>y<\/h2>\n\n\n\n
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Oh, how I miss rising up early before the sun does and taking a bike ride as my morning exercise. My father and I used to do that on weekends a long time ago. We\u2019d pedal our way around town, into the edge of the decrepit wharf, and as far as the roadside green fields past the Langoyon bridge. And when it\u2019s time for us to go home, we\u2019d stop by the local bakeshop to buy the hottest pandesal (the quintessential bread roll of the Philippines) to pair with a cup of hot sikwate (a beverage made from roasted cacao beans) waiting for us at home.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Nowadays, I only jog in and out of our subdivision, which I don\u2019t particularly enjoy given most of our neighbors have dogs and cars I have to avoid.<\/p>\n\n\n