donger need food.

Magandang Gabi Po

It’s now Thursday evening, leaving me only two more nights in the Philippines. The rain finally stopped the other day, letting in the sunshine (out here, sunblock is mandatory – the sun beats down on you like a little boy burning ants with his magnifying glass). It’s a particularly amazing evening tonight, the sun setting away from view off to the right. A strong cool breeze is blowing off Laguna de Bay, and in this dim light you can barely tell that the water is a dark murky brown; you can only make out the shadows of floating water-lilly patches, and the occasional passing boat. My youngest brother is trimming chicken in the kitchen, in preparation for his curry chicken dish. My Mom is sitting in the living room chit-chatting with her cousin, or aunt, or niece, or some kind of relative/friend. My Dad is off running around somewhere in the air-conditioned comfort of Megamall, and I’m standing out on the upstairs deck, soaking in the final days of my short stay here. The neighbors are blasting some Filipino rock song (I need to find out who that group is!) A tricycle fires up in the distance and the dog next door barks out in frustration at being tied up in the yard. There’s some kids standing by the water, hanging out, talking…

I’m definitely going to miss my stay here.

Despite the lack of hot water, despite the dirty clothes or the daily bug bites (I’m SO itchy right now – I gave up on my twice-daily DEET applications a few days ago), I’m glad I was able to finally return to the land of my parents after being away for 30 years. This has been one amazing trip; better than I could have ever imagined it to be…without an itinerary, thanks to my awesome cousins and relatives, I was able to see so many different sides of the Philippines.

And whenever I think back to all that’s happened over the past ten-plus-days, I sometimes find it hard to handle – there’s just so much that I’ve never experienced before. Heck…take today, for example… We took a boat ride out to Talim island to visit the town of one of my mom’s classmates. Get off the boat, and start walking. About two minutes into town, we turn the corner and witness preparations for lechon – in the middle of the street! (I won’t go into the gory details – my cousin started to break down in tears). We then went to the church and joined in the town fiesta, where they had a pagoda. It was literally an amazing spectacle of the entire town, gathered in front of the church, dancing with the patron saints, two marching bands playing music (I was only able to make out tinikling as one of the songs), and the people in the neighborhood dousing everyone with water. It was exhilarating to see so many people so happy and so carefree; in the heat; soaking wet; carrying patron saints; after marching what must’ve been several kilometers (we saw them coming from the distance). My mom tells me that the ritual is a celebration of the water around them, which is their way of life – fishing, bathing, commerce, etc…

I’m not sure what awaits tomorrow on our last day here (I hear talk about trying to get us into Wowowee) but whatever it is, I’m sure it’ll be NOTHING like the quiet, sanitized, hurried and stress-filled life that awaits me back home in San Mateo.

posted by VirtualErn @ 5:37 AM

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