"New York City."

She remains friendly but apparently less impressed than most of our classmates, who usually promise their first born in return for taking them back to the Big Apple. "So you're a transferee?"

I nod, glad that I've found someone who'll treat me like a real person, instead of some celebrity.

"From what school?"

"Brooklyn College."

Her eyes grow wide with enthusiasm so that I think they'll bulge right out of their sockets and pop her glasses off her head. "They say that Brooklyn is the next Manhattan!" she squeals. "Is that true?"

"Sure it is," I say, suddenly uneasily. "I'm just surprised that you know it, all the way in the Philippines."

"Well, of course," she huffs as she adjusts her glasses in a dignified manner. "I watch Sex and the City."

Maria Elizabeth Rubio