The Peace Valley Profiles, final installment: Gorgeous

Amy's Nickname: Gorgeous

Amy was my favorite habal-habal driver. I was the second passenger to hop on Princess Whitecloud, her trusty scooter, and we were almost hit by a car. But after that she quickly mastered driving – even with multiple passengers. She really could have started a business shuttling people through the traffic-jammed streets, so adept was she at squeezing between jeepneys and cars in her silver astronaut helmet.

While always friendly, I think Amy really became my friend on the night we went looking for mischief. She had seen an abandoned casino along the road to Tops, a mountainy area that edges Cebu City to the northwest, and we felt compelled to explore. In rugged clothes and close-toed shoes we set off on Princess Whitecloud, ready to overcome all obstacles in pursuit of excitement, adventure and discovery.

But before we had even reached JY Square, the shopping mall close to our house, a light rain swelled into a downpour and we were running for cover inside McDonald’s.

And there, accomplishing no mischief whatsoever, we instead discovered that we were friends.

Amy: Partner in Crime

Amy is a good friend to have. She’s excellent at planning trips, taking photos and being creative. She’ll be brutally honest with you, but never give up on you. Her stories are great.

We had other adventures after that first failed attempt. During our ‘ocular inspection’ of a resort outside the city, we were shocked and appalled to find a huge spherical monkey cage and a mysterious courtyard filled with ailing birds in cages. Yes, we explored the place thoroughly before running in the opposite direction.

There was a point in time when Amy misinterpreted everything she saw me eating. In the mornings before work, I would make espresso and heat milk for a latte. The milk heated faster if I used a frying pan, so one day Amy saw me pouring milk from a pan into a travel mug. Of course she assumed I was drinking grease.

Then there was the time when I was cutting raw chicken to marinate for the next day’s meal. After I finished cutting the chicken, I made myself a salad for dinner with chunks of feta cheese. Amy only saw me preparing the chicken and then devouring my dinner, and was convinced that I was eating the raw meat.

Amy was welcomed and loved wherever she went. I could not go to her favorite breakfast café without the waiter asking me where Amy was that day. A deeply compassionate person, she draws people to her and makes them welcome.

Plotting Mischief. Eating cookie dough with wine. Having deep conversations on rooftops.

We had a good year in Cebu. And now Amy has ventured off to Manila while I've moved to northern Uganda with the same NGO she once edited videos for. Small world, no? And I'm glad, because in such a small world there stands a pretty good chance that we will cross paths again.

Amy: World-class Traveler

Amy, if an 11’ caste-iron replica of the Eiffel Tower ever appears in your yard…

… I don’t know anything about it.