Three hours in Rizal

In a few weeks' time, I'll be celebrating my 7th year working in the same company. And if there's one piece of advice that I could give fresh graduates who are about to enter the real world, it is to foster a great working relationship with the people around you.

As you may already know, I'm based in Cebu. But prior to the pandemic, I've been traveling a lot. I have shared a few of my work adventures all around my country here and here.

One time we were in Manila to do a quick check-up on our stores and our Sales Team and conduct a refresher course on a certain Sales process. Back then meeting online wasn't considered doing real work. If you need to talk with people from a certain area, you need to travel and meet them in person. I never complained about flying to other places, I love traveling and staying in hotels all by myself. I love that I could get a Subway sandwich for breakfast, too! 😅 There's no Subway in Cebu until now.

It was our last day in Manila when Nicco invited us over to his grandfather's house near Rizal for a quick breakfast. Nicco grew up in the country's capital but his grandfather was originally from Bohol, a neighboring Province of Cebu. He speaks a few Bisaya words. And that became a common ground. Even with a different office, him in Manila and us in Cebu, the distance never became a hindrance to foster great working relationship with him and the rest of our team in Manila.

It was kind of him to fetch us in our hotel before seven (7) AM and brought us to Rizal where he and his grandfather lives. When we arrived, I was astonished to see the huge orchid farm surrounding their main house. They export orchids of different kinds. Unfortunately, when we came only a few had flowers. We entered their house and at their round wooden table, a sumptuous meal awaits. His grandfather speaks Bisaya every now and then which makes the entire experience relaxing. They were very friendly to us.

The breakfast being a quick one didn't last long then Nicco toured us around their garden full of orchids. Later on our way back to Pasig, he told us we should drop by this famous tourist spot in Antipolo, Rizal. Rizal has a lot to offer from waterfalls to reserves to river trekking but we didn't have time for that. Nicco being a hospitable guy (an unwavering trait of Filipinos) wanted us to experience his Province even in a short span of time. He pulled over Cloud 9 and off we explored the place as quickly as we could. There's a hanging bridge which I noticed became the highlight of the place. It's a 100-150 meter hanging bridge that connects the entrance of the place to a tower with an amazing view of Metro Manila and Rizal's vast mountain ranges. He told us that it's best to visit at night to see a glimpse of Manila's city lights. But a refreshing morning view wasn't too bad at all. We had so much fun passing through that hanging bridge. It swayed with every step and we were very cautious as we made our way to the top. It was a fantastic experience!

I always feel like I have a family to come home to everywhere in the country I go. Whether it's Davao or Cagayan or Butuan or Manila, I'll always hear from my workmates "Tara, tour kita saglit lang!" (I'll give you a quick tour of the area!) And each time I hear them say those words, I know I've been true to the advice I just said earlier. I've fostered a relationship beyond work, a friendship if you will.