Hectic Monday with My Friend K: Buying Vegetables for Lumpiang Shanghai Ingredients at Libertad Market and Banana Chips

Another day, another chapter of travel and life to tell. Even through the hardest moments, I’ll never get tired of choosing to keep going.

I had planned something ahead of time with my friends K and J. I woke up early because we had agreed to meet at 7:00 A.M. Of course I headed out early because I didn’t want to be late.

I arrived at the terminal on time, but my friends hadn’t arrived yet. I messaged them. K said she was on her way, but J didn’t respond. I found J’s number and messaged her. She replied later to say she had just woken up and couldn’t join us. I offered to wait, but I assumed her mom didn’t give her money, so I didn’t insist.

After waiting over an hour, I messaged K again because she still wasn’t there. She was having trouble getting a tricycle. I stayed patient. Bus after bus came by and they were all packed because it was Monday. When K finally arrived, we squeezed into a bus but had to stand because there were no seats left.

We’d been standing for a while, but when some passengers got off, a gentleman gave up his seat to me. K was still standing, though.

Then I glanced at the person next to me and recognized him — he was from my high school. We spent the ride catching up. He told me about his family, job, and love life, and I’m grateful because he made the trip go by faster. I still felt bad leaving K standing.

Eventually more people got off, even my seatmate, so there were empty seats. I moved and sat next to K.

We weren’t sure where exactly my destination was, so we pulled up the map and asked a local. When a jeepney came, we asked the driver if he knew the place, and I sat up front beside him so we wouldn’t miss it.

We got to our destination safe and sound, and the processing started immediately. We took it slow with all the requirements, but luckily it didn’t take long — we were done by 3:00 PM.

It was still early, so I thought I’d buy ingredients for Lumpiang Shanghai. K said she had to go a different way and couldn’t make it home with me.

I did the grocery run by myself, but I was actually excited to see all the fresh vegetables — and at cheaper prices too! 🥰

I bought sayote, carrots, Baguio beans, potatoes, sweet potatoes, and cabbage for ₱180.00. I was still picking up my groceries when the rain suddenly poured, so I had to hurry. Thankfully, getting to the terminal wasn’t a problem — a bus came by and I caught it right away.

The bags were pretty heavy, but luckily my brother was waiting for me and I let him take over.

The weather looked gloomy, but it didn’t rain hard.

When I got home, I gave the vegetables to my mom and told her about my grocery run. Turns out she’d also bought ingredients, so we ended up with quite a lot. She was making chips too — my little brother will sell them at school. Hopefully that helps with their allowance.

This ends my blog. See you again on my next life stories. Lovelots 😘

_Emmin◉⁠‿⁠◉msss