Mahal Kita
September 30, 2006 by haziamyperspective
Artist: Apo Hiking Society
Mahal kita, mahal kita, hindi ito bola
Ngumiti ka man lang sana ako’y nasa langit na
Mahal kita, mahal kita, hindi ito bola
Sumagot ka naman ‘wag lang … ewan …
Sana naman itigil mo na ‘yang
Kakasabi ng ewan at anong bola na naman ‘yan
Bakit ba ganyan, binata’y di alam
Na ang ewan ay katulad na rin ng oong inaasam …
I first heard this Phillipino song during an AIESEC undergraduates conference in Manila in 1995. The Philippino guys claimed that they were a romatic bunch of people, hence the enchanting melody.
Interestingly, our Scottish leader’s name was Ewan (very different pronounciation though). The Australian guys pushed him into the pool once during ‘Change Overnight’ - this was when we dressed like the opposite sex. He happened to be wearing a very expensive piece of terno, Philippine’s traditional dress. This consisted of an intricate laced and embroidered white top with distinct butterfly sleeves. It was worn over a simple black, sleveless dress or with a colourful bright skirt.
You could just imagine the screaming as he fell into the clorine water, both from him and the owner of the clothes. They had to send the delicate costume for dry cleaning immediately after:)
After the official conference, the local delegates graciously offered their homes to us. We could stay on for a few days longer. Of course, most of the members there came from wealthy families and lived in Makati, where the rich resided.
Rodney, the AIESECer who took the the 3 of us Malaysian delegates in, lived in a 3-storey bungalow. We had the whole attic to ourselves, it was a cute place. His dad was a pilot and his mum was a terrific cook. Despite having 2 maids, she basically prepared all the meals herself.
Rodney was nice enough to take us around. Our most memorable stop was Tagaytay, high up on the hillside. The air was cool. The magnificent picnic area on top of the hills were beautiful with green, green, grass. You could see a breathtaking view of the Taal lake and volcano.
What brought back my memory? Well, someone buzzed me from Manilla. He’ll be there till Sunday for a business trip and apparently he knew the above song too. Naturally, he was familiar with the lyric but all I could recall was ‘Mahal kita, mahal kita’ (I love you, I love you), hehe…
