Open Arms in Bacolod

I wrote to my Aunt who lives in the Philippines, telling her of my Mom's decision to stay with my Aunt , so she could live out the rest of her retirement years life in Bacolod with my Aunt and I would be accompnaying my mom so she wouldn't get lost. Since there have been a lot of changes in my status, gender and physical growth as a woman, I decided to write to my Aunt telling here of the recent (2000) change from the darling nephew whom she met for the first time in 1973 (pre-Martial Law).

At the time I didn't know, if that was a smart move on my part, but if I was going to return home to the Philippines as the woman I am now with my Mom who's 88 y/o but pushing 500 years, I decided to write and just tell her about the big changes since 2000 and take my chances. So not knowing how my Aunt would feel to have a niece instead of a nephew I spilled the beans to here. That was the longest 23 page letter I have ever written to my Aunt.

Besides if we returned, it would give me a good excuse to spend a few weeks with the family in Bacolod. Do the typical returning home family bit, take the pictures, visit all of the sights and get diarrhea from all of the strange Filipino dishes that relatives cook for large events. We would see all of my cousins, aunts and any older family member and then afterwards, after making sure mom was safe and in her own house with the typical maids, house-girls/boys and driver,

I would leave my mom with my Aunt and her other sisters, return to the Manila area to visit some new found Transsisters and maybe a cousin who lives in Quezon City, spend a few days with the group in Manila before returning home to California. Now how cool could that be? Be out in Manila as a woman with the other girls in the support group, do a lot of shopping, a little partying, eating out and just visiting as a single woman tourist, then leave for good old California.

Well, between letters, my Aunt's grandson emailed me and told me my Aunt had received the letter and a current photograph of me. So, I figured the "Hagis is in the fire" and all of those fears and not know how my Aunt would react, to know and see her somewhat bland looking 6-0 tall nephew who she remembered in 1973 and would now be returning back to the Philippines in 2005 as her tall dark-haired niece with warm soft brown eyes, soft-brown skin, dressed as your typical stylish soccer-mom.

Well the day finally arrived, I got a rather fat, pregnant envelope with the usual Philippine Stamps. But when I opened the letter, my Aunt wrote "Dear Cam & XXXX, instead of my usual nick-name. Boy was that an earth shaking salutation. The body of the letter was like a waterfall of freedom and a lot of emotions on my part, for I found out that I'm not the only male in the family to have transitioned into a woman, but I come as my Aunt put it, "I come from a "Long heritage of Transgendered Women" in the Delfin Clan (Mom's side of the family).

Now the quest in returning home to the Philippines is not so much as visiting, doing all of those tourist things we do as Filipinos, eat the food; but of exploration and discovery to learn more about my Transgendered heritage.

So Philippines, Delfin Clan, whether you're ready or not, here comes the American side ready to dig and explore this interesting side of my Filipina heritage.