PNoy’s Boston memories: First snowfall, a craving for kutsinta

President Benigno Aquino III couldn't help but be nostalgic during his "homecoming" in Boston, where his father, the late Senator Benigno "Ninoy" Aquino Jr., was exiled during the Martial Law years.

In a speech before the Filipino community in Boston on Sunday (Monday, Manila time), Aquino shared amusing anecdotes about his years in the quaint American town, including the first time he experienced snowfall.

The Aquino family lived in Boston from 1980 to 1983, after Marcos allowed Ninoy to be released from prison and to undergo a heart operation in the United States.

The President, who was 20 in 1980, recalled how difficult it was to adjust to the cold weather, coming from the Philippines' tropical climate.

"For someone whose idea of cold was limited to the comfortable temperatures of Baguio, my first Boston winter coincided with one of the coldest conditions and the heaviest snowfall in decades. I remember that I had to sleep in thermal underwear," Aquino said, eliciting laughter from the audience.

He remembered being forced to take quick baths using ice-cold water because his family's guests used up all the hot water.
 
"It was bad enough shivering in the bath, shivering as I emerged and toweled off, and shivering as I waited for the sheets to warm. Worst of all were the times when all my shivering would be met with advertisements on TV inviting me to visit sunny Florida, with its warm breeze and palm trees," he said.

The President also recalled how "deprived" he was of kutsinta during Christmas time in Boston, that he developed a craving for the Filipino rice treat.

"I have to tell you, and it’s a confession: That up to now, whenever I see kutsinta regardless of where I am in the Philippines or elsewhere, I have to imbibe it," he said.

Aquino said these experiences helped him "empathize with our overseas workers."

"I acquired the ability to adapt to a changing environment, which, as you can imagine, is very valuable when handling crises. I learned to cope with uncertainty, having had to constantly wonder when and if we can go back to our beloved homeland," he said.

'Haven from persecution'

Turning serious, Aquino said Boston served as his family's "haven from the persecution of the dictatorship."

"It was here where we were given a sense of normalcy in what can only be described as again, very abnormal times back home," he said.

The President said the Filipino community in Boston helped his family "ease entry into a new life."

"For me, the time my family spent in Boston will always be linked to the revolution that reclaimed democracy and our national dignity... It is, indeed, an understatement to say that Boston is close to my family’s heart," Aquino said.

Former Senator Aquino was gunned down at the tarmac of the Manila International Airport on Aug. 21, 1983. The MIA now bears his name.
 
Ninoy's assassination triggered a series of protests that led to the EDSA People Power Revolution in 1986. The 1986 revolt catapulted his widow, Corazon, to the presidency.

US visit

Aquino is scheduled to meet Rep. Joseph Kennedy in Boston later in the day. He is also set to deliver a policy speech a policy speech at the Kennedy School of Government on Monday afternoon (Tuesday early morning, Manila time).

On September 23, the President will attend a high-level United Nations Climate Change Summit in New York. He is expected to to showcase during the summit what the Philippines has done in terms of legislation to address climate change.

He is scheduled to return to the Philippines on Friday (Manila time) after a brief stop in San Francisco for business meetings.

The government has earmarked P14.8 million for Aquino's US visit. — BM, GMA News