A Memorable Connection in Bohol
July 6th. Today, I'm on a bit of a special mission: gift shopping for a friend.
The recipient? A local girl I met back in Bohol. We talked a lotāprobably more than anyone else I've met on this trip so far.
"I've Never Celebrated My Birthday"
During one of our chats, she casually mentioned something that stuck with me:
"I've never had a birthday party or been given a birthday present by anyone."
Whether that's 100% true or not doesn't really matter to me. It just made me genuinely want to do something nice for her.
Come to think of it, it's been a minute since I've bought a birthday present for someone. I found myself actually getting pretty excited about the whole process.
Gift Hunting at Ayala Mall
I headed over to Ayala Mall in Cebu to hunt for the perfect gift.
Honestly, it was so fun! Wondering, "Will she like this?" while wandering the aisles... it felt really fresh. I had almost forgotten what this specific kind of anticipation feels like. It's a good feeling. After browsing around and overthinking it a bit, I ended up picking out some nice hand cream.
Shipping Directly to Bohol
Gift secured! Next up, getting it to her. I headed up to the 4th floor of the mall, where they can apparently pack and ship things directly to Bohol.
I thought shipping a package locally in the Philippines might be a huge hassle, but it was surprisingly smooth and easy. Barely took any effort at all.
And that was basically the highlight of my day. Mission accomplished, package sent, and I'm feeling pretty good about it!