Coming home to SM: A balikbayan’s story

My mother is a balikbayan who’s been living in the United States for the past 20 years. She visits us here on a yearly basis, usually in the summer so she can spend time with her grandchildren — my children.

Mom’s homecoming is never complete without several trips to SM. It’s funny because sometimes she’d tell me, “Don’t forget I have to pick some stuff up from K-Mart, okay?” I’d give her a funny look and she’d correct herself, “I mean Shoe Mart.” She always refers to SM as Shoe Mart, I guess it’s because that was how it was more popularly known when she was still living in Manila.  Whenever she thinks of something she wants to check out, she’d always ask, “Do they have that in Shoe Mart?” and the answer would most often be a resounding “Yes, they do!”

SM Megamall is Mom’s favorite branch. She claims that everything she needs, she can get there and nowhere else. Aside from being easily accessible from where we live, SM Megamall has one of the most well-stocked Filipiniana sections we‘ve seen. We troop to the ground floor of department store where barongs, souvenir shirts, native home décor, hankies, table linens, and little things made of wood, capiz, and seashells abound.  Mom insists these native knick-knacks make the best gifts for her friends and acquaintances in the US. She has this thing for Filipino home décor and accessories such as tablecloths, placemats and the like made of jusi or piña. She’d also get Pinoy treats like dried mangoes, polvoron, and pastillas from Snack Exchange.

It’s almost as if she’s taking back bits of the Philippines with her through these things.  I call this our “native shopping trip,” and usually it’s just the two of us because the kids get bored after a while and insist on going to Toy Kingdom instead. It’s one of our major bonding times since we usually end up spending a whole afternoon at SM Megamall.

Since Toy Kingdom is my children’s most favorite place in the world, Mom sets aside a separate day at SM just for them.  It’s like Christmas Day when Mom would tell them to pick whatever they liked and Grandma would buy it for them. The kids scamper about, trying to decide which toy to buy…their excited squeals bringing a smile to Mom’s lips. After shopping we’d usually find ourselves walking around the food court getting a little bit of everything from the food stalls — Razon’s halo-halo, an assortment of delicious pastries from Bread Talk, sushi from Bubble Tea… all the things that she loves to eat here and can’t buy in the States.

Just recently Mom discovered the outdoor paluto area at SM Mall of Asia and she couldn’t get enough of it. We’d pick out fresh seafood, meats and veggies, and have them cooked the way we want them on the spot. Unlike other similar places, SM Mall of Asia’s paluto area is spacious, clean, and well-maintained. There’s never a doubt that we’re getting the good stuff here, so we can really relax and enjoy ourselves. We’ve since brought several other relatives and friends from the US there and they’ve all gotten hooked! It’s really a big hit with the balikbayan crowd.

I remember that, when I was a little girl, Mom would take me and my younger sister to SM to buy school shoes. I feel a sense of déjà vu whenever Mom and I go to the shoe section with my children, this time to pick out their shoes and other things for school. 

Shoe Mart is not just a place to shop for us, it is also a repository of memories. While my sister and I were growing up, we would run to SM for all our needs. We were so happy every time we would come home from SM with new things in tow. Now that I have my own family, it’s still SM whenever we need something, and SM with Mom whenever she’s around.

There really is no place like home.