Except on every block, uniformed men with guns stand in the doorways of every bank, condo building, and coffee shop. I could be anywhere in the States where people need specialty shops for coffee, wine, running shoes, and organic food. Sometimes I forget I’m in the Philippines. The poor live on the other side of the wall where it’s difficult to see children hauling rocks and garbage during the school day unless you stand on tiptoe.
Overhead, cranes pierce the sky and there is a constant metallic noise of new buildings going up. The buildings are white gleaming teeth biting the clouds. In BGC, the sidewalks are wide and clean, connecting with crosswalks at every corner. Now I am back as a foreigner, an Amerikano, a returner, or balikbayan. I was born on this island, but left as a toddler. I live in Bonifacio Global City (BGC), a city within a city, Taguig, within the megalopolis of Metro Manila, population over 10 million, within the archipelago nation of the Philippines.
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