The Woman with the Yellow Ribbon
It was a bright morning in 2006 when I boarded a Cebu Pacific flight from Davao to Cebu City. It was only my second trip outside Davao since I arrived in the Philippines a year earlier for an international development assignment. My destination was Dumaguete City where a workshop at Silliman University awaited. The prospect of reconnecting with fellow development workers some of whom I had not seen in months filled me with genuine excitement. The flight itself felt special. The crew greeted us with warm smiles and soon we were soaring above Mindanao’s lush hills and winding rivers. From my window seat I watched long stretches of white sand and caught sight of Bohol’s Chocolate Hills in the distance. In that quiet moment I felt completely present. When I landed in Cebu, I chose a scenic countryside bus ride to Dumaguete rather than a boat. The journey was long, so I drifted in and out of sleep until a gentle tap on my shoulder stirred me. A soft voice then asked “Hey you look new he...