Katrina's P.O.V

Our first week of classes went smoothly to the point that I didn't even noticed I've survived a week of classes here in the Philippines. Don't get me wrong, I like the atmosphere, foods, and scenery of this country but, there's just one thing I can't stand about it; its people.

I can't even walk past street without someone looking at me weirdly. I don't know the deal with me being a foreigner who moved out of my hometown to migrate here. Everywhere I go, I get weird stares and a couple of people gossiping about me. I let them be, as long as they're not attacking me personally, then I shouldn't be too concerned.

Anyways, I'm at my room right now, waiting for Jeo for our weekly Filipino classes. If you're wondering, yes, her mother let me have her as my Filipino language teacher. Jeo's mother really is a nice and sweet lady. No wonder why she's also like that. They're the embodiment of the saying 'Like mother, Like daughter.'

I told Ms. Bae that instead of having daily Filipino classes with Jeo, we would just do it every weekends, so Jeo wouldn't be too tired. She agreed and told mom and dad after it.

I can even recall that Jeo's Mother arranged a meeting for us the next day my parents called them after Ms. Bae and I talked about getting Jeo as my Filipino teacher. Lucky for me, Jeo's mother was kind enough to accept our request and she even refuse to let us pay in exchange of her daughter's teaching services. Of course, my parents insisted on paying them, saying that it was because we're taking Jeo's time and energy just to teach me Filipino language, which is true. I also said that It was our way of saying thank you and that we appreciated Jeo's efforts for me to become familiarized of the culture and language of this country.

*flashback to their meeting with Jeo's parents*

We're already here outside Jeo's house. Well, there's one thing I can say: It looks so cozy. Their house screams a lot about her personality.

Outside, there's a lot of small pots for their plants and all of them looks cute, especially the hibiscus plant. It displays a bright red color that is perfect for today's weather; warm and breezy. I would love to live in this kind of environment.

Dad went to press the doorbell to let them know that we're already here. It didn't take long when I heard someone inside shout, "Jeyjey, ang pinto, pakibukas. Nandiyan na ata ang maganda mong kaibigan, nak." 

Jeyjey? Who's that? I don't understand everything the voice has said. We just stood here, waiting for someone to open the door for us. Not too long after, I saw Jeo opening the door to unlock their gate and let us in.

She greeted my parents, "Good Afternoon po. Pasok po kayo, ay este make yourselves home po." what does she even said? Mom chuckled and I heard her answer, "Ayos lang, hija. Marunong ako mag-tagalog. I'm Filipino." that made Jeo scratch her nape. What a cutie. Maybe Mom informed her that she also knows how to speak Filipino language? I'm not sure. The only thing I'm sure is that Jeo called me something I would never forget.

"Good afternoon, ganda." she greeted.

I don't even understand what 'ganda' means but I felt a lot of butterflies when she called me that. Whether it was a compliment or some sort, I greeted her back,

"Good afternoon to you, too, ganda." 

That's when I saw her smile with her cheeks turning red. Pretty.

When we stepped inside their house, Jeo's childhood and graduation photos displayed on the walls welcomed us. I looked at each of them and I can say that she's still as cute as the baby Jeo that I saw on the pictures. Squishy cheeks and bambi eyes.

A minute after, I saw a woman who seems to be in her 40's walk towards our direction. I am certain that it is Jeo's mom. They look identical to each other.

"Good afternoon, Mr. and Ms. Yu. Welcome to our house. I am Asuncion Suarez, Jeyjey's mother." I heard her spoke.

Ooh. So Jeo is Jeyjey. Makes sense.

She then went to shake hands with my parents and they returned the gesture with dad saying, "Good afternoon, Ms. Suarez. I am Richard Yu, Katrina's father and she's Kathryn Yu, Katrina's mom. Thank you for making time to meet us. We appreciate it."

"Maraming salamat po talaga at pumayag kayong maging Filipino teacher ni Kat si Jeo. Hirap na hirap kasi kaming humanap ng teacher na makakasundo niya, buti na lang talaga ay classmates sila!" As soon as mom said those words, Mrs. Suarez smiled at answered, "Naku! wala po 'yun. Tsyaka wala naman masyadong ginagawa 'yan si Jeyjey dito sa bahay, madalas nga ay mag-isa lang siya rito dahil nasa trabaho pa ako. Mabuti na rin at may bagong kaibigan 'tong mahiyain kong anak."

"Ito nga pala si Jeyjey. Ang cute kong anak. 'Wag kayong mag-alala, hindi naman malikot 'yan. Paniguradong maraming matututuhan