Tacloban , Philippines ( CNN ) -- In 17 years working at CNN I 've worked on countless breaking news stories , from earthquakes and hurricanes to the 2011 tsunami that devastated Japan . But nothing prepared me for what I 've seen in the past few days in my own country -- the Philippines . As Super Typhoon Haiyan weaved its destructive path across the east of the country more than a week ago , I was drafted in to help with our coverage as the network scrambled into action . It had only been nine months since I 'd left my newsroom job in the United States to join our corporate offices in Hong Kong , but I quickly found myself in the city of Tacloban , one of the hardest hit areas , with my CNN colleagues . I am not used to being in the field , so to deal with this difficult assignment in my own backyard , I had to shut down . Offering all they have . We wasted no time . We walked to a village nearby where we met Juanito Martinez . He was gathered with two of his friends in a shack , not far from the city 's battered airport . Juanito looked at me with a smile and asked , `` Have you eaten yet ? Come eat ! '' I was astonished that his first words to me were to find out if I was hungry -- despite all that was happening around us . Juanito and his friends were squatting under a few pieces of overlapping corrugated metal sheets reinforced only by broken tree trunks and pieces of wood . They had little to offer as they 'd lost everything . A bowl of rice and a pot of boiled noodles was all they could muster on their makeshift table . But that 's Filipino hospitality . Even at our lowest moments we offer all that we have . Juanito proceeded to tell us his story . He was very matter of fact . `` My wife and daughter died in the storm , '' he said . He pointed behind to where their remains still lay . In a gentle tone he added , `` I just want to know where their bodies will be taken so I can light a candle for them . '' That was it . That was his only request . Juanito looked at me again and smiled . He repeated his invitation , `` Come eat ! '' When it started to rain again I looked around me . There was not a single house left standing . There was nowhere to seek shelter . The entire area was completely flattened and littered with debris and the occasional body of another tragic victim . I could n't imagine how people managed to survive day after day , night after night . People lined up in droves at the airport to get out of typhoon-ravaged Tacloban . One woman told me , `` I have nothing left here . There is nothing left here . So we are leaving . '' But others chose to stay behind . Some did not have a choice . 'Tsunami ' shock . Many of those we talked to said they thought it was just another storm -- the usual heavy rainfall and strong winds they were so used to . So they stayed home . But it was the unexpected storm surge that destroyed and killed . Some called it a tsunami . One woman told us the water went as high as a five-meter tree . Whispering in short phrases , she described how the water rose quickly and swept her four-month-old baby and her three-year-old from her arms . I 'm a mother too and thought about my own children . I could not wait to hold them in my arms . Everyone had a story to tell : the little girl who waited patiently with her mother at the airport , the young mother who lost her husband , six children , mother and siblings . And then there was the man who wanted to end his life because his beloved wife and two daughters died in the storm . Courage . But amid the widespread grief and despair , it was the extraordinary courage of my fellow Filipinos in Tacloban that struck me most . On our final day in Tacloban , I saw a group of people walking back to town . A man looked up to the sky and asked out loud , `` How much longer ? How much longer ? '' I wished I had an answer for him . There was little I could do , little that I could give . I only had some cereal bars and crackers in my backpack that I gave away to people at the airport before I got on a plane back to Manila . I eventually arrived back in the capital to numerous emails , texts , and messages on my cellphone and on my Facebook page from family and friends . I was overwhelmed by the outpouring of support , their willingness to help . I was seeing first-hand how my fellow Filipinos were coming together before my eyes -- organizing and volunteering . I have lived overseas for almost two decades but my return to the Philippines allowed me to witness Filipinos at their worst and best . The Filipino spirit is alive among us . Mom 's desperate bid to find family . Amphibious ships join relief effort . Golfer Jason Day loses eight relatives .
An expat Filipino , Armie Jarin-Bennett returned to her native land after Typhoon Haiyan . `` To deal with this difficult assignment in my own backyard , I had to shut down . '' She was struck by the resilience of her countrymen despite the challenges . The Philippines is a country that has been battered and bruised by natural disasters for decades - from earthquakes to typhoons - but it also remains one of Asia's most resilient nations when it comes to dealing