My recent trip back to the Philippines gave me the best chance to experience the blending of my two worlds. My kids and I went home for my mom's 75th birthday and it was such a blessing to be able to see my two brothers, Paul and George and their families, our mom and get to visit my dad's resting place at Rolling Hills. It was also great to be reunited with a lot of my good friends from way, way back in Bacolod and see my old school, St. John's Institute and see my old teachers. Best of all, I had a chance to explore with my three kids the beauty of the Philippines.

My two girls have not been back since they left 12 years ago so they pretty much have grown up embracing the American culture. But like me, they have not forgotten where they came from. As I got them ready for the trip back to the "islands", I have to remind them on a few things. Foremost was the heat.

See where we live, we get to experience the Philippine-like weather or a semblance of it around this time through July and late August. This is when the temperature peaks to over 90 degrees Fahrenheit which is the equivalent of about 32 degrees Celsius there. Most folks around the Chicago area, which is the Midwest region of the United States, cannot take this kind of heat. After all, we live in an area where the temperature could go down to as low as -10 degrees Fahrenheit, the equivalent of -22 degrees Celsius in the wintertime.

Telling them is one thing but experiencing the reality of the Philippine heat is another. Boy, as soon as you get out of the airport in Manila, it hits you like a jolt of caffeine after you gulped down a cup of espresso in two seconds. Walking out into the pavement as we looked for my brother, my mom and my son who has been staying in the Philippines since November of last year, I remembered my two girls turning to me simultaneously and mouthing off the words "Oh my God mom, it's really hot". All I could tell them was "welcome back".

The days after we arrived became a whirlwind of wonderful travels and rediscoveries. The trip to Montemar Beach Resort in Bataan allowed my kids to experience the ethereal beauty of the motherland. The trip to the different shopping malls in Manila and their introduction to Tiangge in Greenhills became a trance-like experience. The sight of the guy selling sorbetes at Tiendesitas in Pasig transported them back to their childhood.

It was such a treat for me to be able to watch the three of them appreciate every minute of our trip. In a second, they forgot about the heat, they did not even fret about the way their hair looked and did not even mind their sweaty and sticky bodies as they maneuvered one stall after another. In just 24 hours, my kids mastered the art of joining English, Tagalog and Ilonggo words into sentences.

The best part was watching them gobble the food at Jollibee, counting the number of mango shakes they consumed and the number of times my youngest kid went to get fries from Potato Corner. It was also exhilarating to watch them eat talaba or oysters for the first time after so long.

The highlight of the whole thing of course was our trip back to Bacolod. It was a poignant moment for me to see the city again through my children's eyes. We really went down memory lane as we navigated our way around the city with my brother George, his friend Kenneth Kho and my good friends Joie Famini and Gina Lo Jison.

In such a short time, we were able to see all the places that Negros should really be proud of. Thanks to Kenneth, we traveled to Lakawon Beach Resort in style. He was so gracious in bringing us there in his speedboat. We also got a chance to visit Mambukal, Buenos Aires and the Quiet Place. But what's a trip without paying homage to the shopping malls! There's more than one now. I was so happy to shop at the new SM supermarket where it gave me a feeling that I was back in the States for it so reminded me of what I usually do on Saturday afternoons.

I was so happy to take in all the progress that has quietly seeped into my old city - good roads, coffee shops everywhere, trendy-looking people, subdivisions like The Palisades and a sense that finally, Bacolod has opened up to a more progressive way of living. Although a lot of what I saw has remained the same, it is so encouraging to see a lot of strides have been done to make Bacolod shine.

But like the cliché goes, all things must come to an end. It was time to leave. It was such a bittersweet feeling to be able to experience pure joy in so short a time.

The saying, "You can take the girl out of the island but not the island out of the girl" is so true. Nothing is more spellbinding than the feel of sand on your feet as you gaze out into the Pacific Ocean or hear the rustle of the palm trees on a hot afternoon.

Our trip may now just be part of a wonderful memory but the truth remains that nothing beats the feeling of pride when a native daughter goes back to work on the other side of the ocean and shares the beauty of the whole experience. Above all, nothing beats the look on my American friends' faces as I tell them the story of how I cracked open oysters after oysters and slurped the insides without hesitation. Like I told them, they tasted a lot better than the American version of oysters dunked in butter or lemon!

The writer, a broadcast journalist and media specialist is based in Chicago, Illinois, where she has been living with her family for the past 18 years. She will write regularly for StarLif , focusing on people, events and concerns that offer a look-see occasion into the American culture through the eyes of someone who is proud of her ethnicity. Her items will will "try to capture the best of my two worlds, my life in two cultures… and seve arena for progressive thinking and open mindedness on issues pertaining to life in general… a stage for the yin and yang of what matters the most."