Leaving the Philippines

Now I was ready to leave the Philippines, but this could be tricky. Two of the girl’s brothers were Manila police. Every time I went out around town, they accompanied me to keep me safe. There were many kidnappings of Americans in the Philippines at this time and I did appreciate their company. I had heard a few stories about what had happened to some foreigners while they were here. The country is very religious and takes sexual relations very seriously, although this girl was no virgin, but I had said I was going to marry her, which was my intention for going there in the first place. Now I was changing my mind and the family had a lot riding on me marring this girl. When I let it be known I had to go back to the states, I started getting visits from mom and her sisters regarding my in tensions. I perceived this situation could get complicated if I appeared to be leaving and caring about the relationship. I had met one of her sisters and her husband who was really good people and understood how I was feeling. They told me they thought the family was putting to much pressure on me for their own personal gain and said they would help me get to the airport without the rest of the family knowing when I was leaving, at least not the exact day. My last get together with mom and sister I told them the heat was making me very sick (it was) and I had to go home, but I would do the paper work and send for her daughter as soon as I could get immigration to approve the visa. They left me alone and then the next day the couple who befriended me provided transportation to the airport. Once inside the terminal I was safe, because of the security situation that existed at the time, unless you had a ticket you could not gain access to the terminal. I made my escape. A trip to Oregon and Washington State was next on the agenda.