home sweet boondocks

American soldiers, fed up with struggling through hostile jungle in the Philippine highlands, coined the term boondocks in the dawn of the 20th century to denote a backward rural area with 'connotations of bewilderment and confusion', according to Wikipedia. The English word comes from the Tagalog word bundok, or mountain - a word with very different meanings to the wonder | wander | women.

To us, the word means not just a place but a very specific silhouette - the humped crocodile backs of the volcanic range that bisects our home island of Negros. The picture above is every Philippine child's drawing of what our country looks like.

One of the things we miss most, living in urban areas as we do, is the big sky. The sky at home was never static, home to towering lightning storms and fast-moving scud clouds.

There's never a dull moment in a tropical sky! Every time we looked up the clouds put on a different face. Our sky was alive with air currents, moisture and colour.

Not to mention giant fruit bats and birds that ranged from the tiny mayang pula to the Brahminy kite and even white owls.

We love the pastel blossoms of temperate zones, but think fondly of the bright, tropical greens and neon colours of the plants at home.

And the food! Fresh fruit and savoury seafood, deliciously fulfilling and frankly heaven to eat.

Two words: Dwarf papayas.

And when sun blazes in the city, most of all we miss the ocean: warm turquoise waves filled with energy and hidden life.

Photo courtesy of Paupau Alvarez

wonder | wander | women practically grew up in the water. We love our tiny island homes, surrounded by water so clear that when diving on sunny days we could see for miles.

One time on holiday we missed the tide and had to push the boat by its outriggers over a sandbar, and then swim back to the boat when the motor got going. To us the ocean was our backyard, the way the woods were to many of our friends: we moved in it with caution and respect, but it was our home.

Photo courtesy of Cat Regalado

The sun shines on our adopted homes and the smell of summer, coming weeks too early, triggers memories of our roots. We aren't homesick, but we enjoy remembering the sound of foxtail palms in the breeze that arrived at dusk, and the colour of the sunset over our garden. This yearning is a creative force; it turns us inward and fires up our imaginations. When we get into this mood, something beautiful is bound to come out.

It's our way of paying it forward for growing up surrounded by beauty: we want to share it with the world. Watch this space!