Chapter 13

The start of the fiesta on the 8^th began the previous Thursday, with the elementary school teachers. They put on a show of dancing and singing. And quite a show it was. There were 10 schools involved, each of which had their own costumes. The dancing was a little bit of artistic dance, but mostly modern dance moves.

Florida’s sister Adele is a teacher, and she told us we needed to be at the show by 7pm sharp, as it was a rather long show and they wanted to begin promptly.

Promptly at 8:15pm the show began. Filipino time, you see.

As I am a foreigner, I stand out like a Martian to these folks. Most children will smile as they pass by, and the occasional one will say ‘give me money’. But most are shy, except for these 4 above, who decided they were my best friends for the evening.

The first group, about 10 couples, put on a show that had the kids screaming at the moves. Some moves were not quite the moves you would expect elementary school teachers to know, but, apparently ‘shake your booty’ is not unknown here. As each group got up and did their piece, a mental image began to form, one I could not shake. Try as I might, I could not picture Mildred McCracken doing these sorts of dance moves.

The last group brought on the screams again. This time there was the Terminator, which everyone knows, so everyone was joining in on the singing, and even some 3 year olds were dancing along with the teachers.

What a nice way to bond with the students. Seeing your teacher having some ‘kid’ fun made the kids next to me quite proud of them.

On Friday, I looked at the unused room in Florida’s house. She lives in a Tri-level, the bottom floor (room) of which is only used for storage. Having seen the devastation the 2 children create in the living room and dining room, I suggested we make a Klubhouse in this spare room. So, off to the hardware store where I bought a gallon of Dutch Boy masonry paint, $11.34.

Unfortunately that did not even cover one wall, so the project was abandoned for the day.

Saturday, and 2 gallons further, the basic room was painted with the exception of one wall. We decided not to paint that wall as we are not sure what needs to be done to the structure, should an addition be added on. At one point during the painting, Florida was called upstairs, so I continued on. After a few minutes, I happened to glance at her paint brush thinking I should make sure it wouldn’t dry out, and I found Joshua concentrating on painting the cement block wall next to me. I was quite surprised, so I put my brush down and went to tell Florida to take a look. When we returned, Stefanny had picked up my brush and started in as well!

We let them continue. After a couple hours, they started to lose a bit of interest, so I went to my apartment and got some pens, pencils and highlighters. On one wall I drew (or actually traced) a picture of Jupiter. The kids immediately got the idea, and spent the rest of the day designing the ‘wallpaper’ for the Klubhouse. Soon there were adults adding to the design, although adults (except me) are not allowed in the Klubhouse. Actually, there are no girls allowed either, except for Stefanny.

Much to my dismay however, the toys in the Klubhouse remain neatly on their shelves. The disarray in the living room and kitchen remains the same. The kids do return some of the toys, in order to bring others out, but at least that one discipline has been installed.

Discipline. Not a big thing here in the Philippines. Children here are quite the Lords and Ladies of the manor. They rule the roost, and sometimes with an iron fist. Almost nothing is denied them, which makes some of them just a hair short of being gangsters. Others are quite cavalier, and accept the spoiling while remaining quite human. Joshua is one of those, while Stefanny tends to be leaning towards gangsterism. Having said that, she is a bit afraid of me, and when I call her by name, she stops whatever she is doing. Her mother, Atchi, is visiting (from Manila) for a couple weeks, and is amazed that she actually tries to behave. At times. Atchi is her nickname, her real name being Arcelin. She has finished her contract in Manila, and is waiting for a notice to go to Norway to work. Filipinos tend to send at least one member of a family abroad for work, in order to supplement their income.

Sunday lunch at Lydia’s. Lydia is a Filipino who was married to a foreigner, who unfortunately is not with us anymore. Maybe I mentioned that Pedro was pursuing Lydia, but if I did not, well, you have heard it first here. She is going to Italy in the next week or so, unless Pedro accomplishes a most difficult task. I am not sure if his attraction to her is matched, but perhaps he can put on a significant show by the 10^th to convince her not to leave.

To my amazement, I already knew Lydia; although I had met her at the last party, I did not recognize her, nor did she. She lives in a small neighborhood outside Guindelman, where I had a flat tire last March. An old gentleman tried to help me, and ushered me to Lydia’s house, who had an air compressor. Unfortunately it didn’t work, so we enlisted the help of another neighbor who removed the tire and wheel and then took me to a vulcanizer (a tire repairer). Cost me $1.

Anyway, having established our acquaintance, the party began. Many of the same people as the last party, only 2 people missing that I can account for, but many other people that I had never seen before. Lydia’s home is on a bluff overlooking the sea, a beautiful view. Rick lives next door to her and has the same view. The only thing wrong with that view is it takes a mountain goat to get down to the beach. I suppose if you don’t like the water, this would be perfect.

Lydia’s husband was Italian, and their home has a dining room that is L shaped. There are 2 long tables sitting 10 people each, and a circular table sitting 8. Some people ate outside overlooking the sea, where there is sitting for 8. Others just stood.

This is Lydia on the left, and Lanie on the right.

Always a video-oke!

Lechon (purchased from the lechon maker), lasagna (Lydia’s), potato salad (Ken U), rice cakes (Florida), some sort of beef, lots of different vegetable dishes, tempura, meatballs and spaghetti just to name some of the eats. One table was outfitted with desserts, which I didn’t get to, so I can’t describe what was there other than the rice cakes. Beer, red wine and daiquiris were the order of the day.

These parties all seem to start at 12, but I don’t know how long they last, as we tend to leave after 3 hours or so. Ken U drives an hour or so to get here, and he wants to get back to feed the pig, and as I feel, to keep from driving here in the dark. Ken D also leaves about that same time, as he feels 3 hours is an adequate time to see old friends but still keep away from serious political and religious discussions. Fits right in with my feelings.

Driving in the dark here is a traumatic experience. For the most part you will not encounter street lights, even in the most populated areas. However, you will run across unlighted motorbikes, tricycles, buses and cars. Quite often you will see people sitting in the road. This is the National Highway. People have a habit of looking only one way before crossing the road, which as you can imagine creates serious problems in the dark, let alone during the daylight hours. Speed being the order of the day, you are a definite traffic hazard if you travel 60 mph.

The next day was a normal day, up at 4am, walking at 4:30, stopping at the bakery for fresh pandisol, which is nothing other than a small roll, a basic staple for Filipino breakfasts.

At 7:45 Joshua and Stefanny are taken to school, which begins at 8am. This is Joshua, below.

Between then and 11:30, every sort of imaginable household activity is performed, sometimes by a group of 5 or 6 women. Laundry is hand-washed, as machines can never replace the deft hands of a Filipino woman. If the machine is used, the items are then hand-washed to ensure cleanliness.

And speaking of cleanliness, it is amazing how clean some Filipino homes are, even if all they have is a dirt floor. Each morning the entire outside of the home is brushed. Not swept, but brushed with a stiff broom. I think I mentioned before these brooms are very short, causing one to stoop over in order to perform the task. The kitchen (clean and dirty kitchen) is scoured each day, as is the comfort room. The floors are swept at least 3 times a day. Most homes do not have windows, so there are insects that feel welcome to join in the lunch. Lunch is an affair where one must keep one hand available to wave at the insects, primarily flies. Lunch is a constant waving of hands at times, especially if we eat in the salacote. Should a fly land on the rice, for example, that bit of rice is scooped away from the table. The thought of eating where a fly has landed causes shivers to run down the back, so it just isn’t done.

At lunchtime, Joshua has to change clothes, as he wants to play, and returning to school with sweat-stained clothes just isn’t done. As a matter of fact, Noel was here yesterday, as was his mother. He was busy doing odd jobs around the house, and his mother was helping in the dirty kitchen. Within the space of 90 minutes, Noel was sent home 3 times to change his t-shirt, which unfortunately had soaked up some beads of perspiration. It just simply won’t do to have even the slightest indication one has perspired.

Lunchtime over, and Joshua suited up again, he is taken back to school, but only after his backpack has a complete change of books. It is normal to have 6 books for the morning sessions and 6 different books for the afternoon. He is in 2^nd grade. On the surface this might be construed as a significant accomplishment. However, by all reports, one must not be lead by the volume of books, but by the actual use of those books.

Another thing that never ceases to amaze me is the methods the Filipinos use to keep cool. Mind you, temperatures here range from 82° to 86°, winter to summer. As t-shirts are the normal wear, you quite often will see the men with the bottom of the t-shirt rolled up to the chest. I originally thought that was a macho thing, but it actually isn’t. It is amazing how much cooler you can be. A simple Turkish hand towel is placed on the back, with the top of the towel reaching out from the t-shirt a couple inches. Seemed to me that would add extra heat, but it doesn’t. It soaks up the perspiration and keeps you dry (and if your mom is around it means you don’t have to change shirts so often).

Other things that are different include the exact opposite of American desires for a nice tan. Even on the hottest days it is common to see people wearing jackets, especially the women. Their desire is to have white skin, so no matter how hot, it is better to wear a jacket to keep from becoming ‘black’. Actually, they do not become black, but an intense brown, but as far as they are concerned, that is extremely unwanted. Just check out the local pharmacy to see how many products are there labeled ‘whitening’. An amazing industry, even more products than the American sun tanning industry. Unfortunately, if the whitening product is not put on smoothly and evenly, a patchwork quilt design appears quickly.

Tuesday brought on the Duero Fiesta Day. And what a day it was. I went to Tagbilaran early that morning to fetch my passport (with the new visa) and when I returned I was told that Marcy had come by 3 times during my absence to invite me to their fiesta. It is customary for some families to put on a fiesta each Fiesta Day, so friends and other family members can attend. As soon as I changed, off to Marcy’s bonsai garden to join the fun. John was there, as was Neville and Pedro. John’s wife Shirley, Neville’s wife Naomi, and Lydia was there as well, and a new face, Jim from Ireland. A beer was immediately shoved into my hand, and a plate of food. What a spread! Lots of stories told, some new, some old. One story told on the side, was that although Lydia was leaving the next day for Italy, Pedro would be vacating his apartment at the end of 6 months and taking up residence at Lydia’s place, when Lydia returns. Seems love conquered!

The next day Ken and Lanie appeared, and we all went to Tagbilaran with Ken and Marcy. Nothing special to do, just to be with friends. Ken and Lanie spent the night at my apartment, and then the next day they left at 6am to go back to Tagbilaran to do business that they had scheduled for the day. That evening they returned, and we had a nice easy supper by the seaside. The next morning they left again at 6am, and returned at lunch to pick up their things and return to Ubay. They intend on coming back next week, so I suspect that one day they will be searching for a place of their own.

The other day John wanted to see my apartment, as I will be giving it up sometime in the future, and he is interested in moving. Especially moving after 6 months as once Pedro moves out, he will be the lone foreigner there, and he has grown accustomed to having other ‘long-noses’ around him. We are known as the ‘long nose’ people by the Filipinos. And said in the nicest possible way, mind you.

Unfortunately, the apartment is too small for John, but, he has a French friend who has been looking for a nice quiet place to continue writing a book, and he told John he is very interested in my apartment but will not return from France until mid-January. His name, believe it or not, is Doudou.

I have been using Atchi’s camera, so I am able to send a couple pictures with this issue. The picture of the apartment was taken from the low tide position, which is actually extended now as the last typhoon brought in a shelf-like peninsula extending out into the sea.

For the past 2 weeks, Stefanny and her friends have been practicing their school spectacular dance special every evening. This is while Feliz Navidad is played at full blast on the stereo. In order to keep time, the kids sing along while dancing, with Navidad ranging from Natiodad to Naughtydad. The average plays of this song each night is 43. Every night.

I’m Dreaming Of A White Christmas will not be on my mind this year.

That’s about it for this time, more coming!