Chapter 14

Ken Ubay had an accident the other day. He and Lanie were traveling to Tagbilaran City when another motorbike pulled out in front of him. Rather than hit the bike and force it into the path of a Jeep, Ken steered and slid away, with various acrobatic movements generally left to the teenagers. Lanie managed to perform a couple aerobatic movements herself, but not quite as damaging as Ken’s movements. Lanie called Marcy, who was in Tagbilaran with her daughter Rhoda. Marcy called her house, and told the housekeepers to run to the garden to tell Ken. As the garden is about a block away and there is no phone there, one of the housekeepers ran to tell him. Florida and I were in Jagna, just returning, when I saw Ken D walking along the road from their garden toward their home, which was totally unusual at that time of the morning. So, I walked to meet him and he told me what had happened, but he was unsure of how serious the accident was. We jumped into his truck and away we went. Fortunately Ken was not seriously injured, a couple stitches to his head and lots of bruises and cuts on his hands and arms.

However, he was injured seriously enough that he shouldn’t get back on that motorbike. We first took him for x-rays, and then brought him to my apartment. The next 3 days he stayed mostly in the apartment, with Lanie and Florida making sure he had proper food to eat. I then drove them back to Ubay for him to continue recuperating.

A few days later, the wounds began to swell, and a trip to his doctor and 5,000 pesos later he was informed that infection had set in. Fortunately it was caught in time before anything more serious happened.

A little history about water here. First, the water pressure provided by the city is typically gravity fed. As most Filipinos are early morning folks, there is little water pressure from about 6am until noon, as everyone is doing their laundry, etc. If you live on the second floor, chances are you will not have any water at all during those hours. You get used to it. As the water pressure is low, most homes have Filipino water fittings, which cannot withstand western type plumbing. My apartment is attached to the home in front of it near the city water piping system. When the owner built this apartment, he redid the plumbing in the front home as well, as both are connected, the front home being his in-laws. And, as he wanted warm showers and lots of water, he built in a hot water tank and used an American to build the system in both homes. So, we have high pressure piping. When he started building his castle about 2 miles away, he took the hot water tank with him. Instead of replacing the tank, we put in a tankless system. However, during the vacancy of the apartment, the in-laws changed the system to include the house next door, which belongs to the in-law’s sister. Now there are 3 homes on city water, gravity fed, with 2 houses with high pressure piping. In order to continue to accommodate the third home, the original 2 homes now only have low pressure, or the piping in the third home would blow up.

While there is a well, the water is not of the best quality. Having said that, the city water is not that much better. I think what happened is that Ken, after showering, did not dress his wounds properly, resulting in the infections. One of the drawbacks of being a foreigner is that you expect things to be the same as back home.

While the offending motorbiker did not flee, the police did not ticket him. Apparently they figured that as long as there was no contact, there was no offense.

Things are not the same as back home.

Even today, right now 86°, people are wearing sweaters and coats, similar to our late fall dressing. This is not for warmth necessarily during the day, but to keep from becoming browner in the sun. Later in the afternoon it is worn for warmth, it being a freezing 82°, sometimes dropping as low as 76° in the middle of the night, but only in January then.

The school had its Christmas Spectacular the Friday before Christmas. I was anxiously awaiting the Feliz Navidad special. Kindergarten performed first, a huge group of children. They performed to Feliz Navidad. First grade came next, with 2 groups each performing Feliz Navidad. Naturally, second grade was next, also with 2 groups, each performing Feliz Navidad.

You guessed it, grade 3, with 2 groups followed with Feliz Navidad.

Finally, grade 4, with 2 groups, followed. They performed to a song I have never heard before, not the Feliz Navidad I had come to hear.

Grades 5 and 6, each with 2 groups, followed with Feliz Navidad.

Seems grade 4 only performed Feliz Navidad for their classroom party only, not for public enjoyment. After all that practicing, I didn’t get to hear the final result.

So, Christmas began in earnest.

In preparation for Christmas, we decided to spend a little money. Florida’s property is on the ocean, but there is a fence between the house and the seawall.

What you see in the picture is the length of the property, from the haphazard bamboo slats on the right to the cross bamboo slats on the left. There is a roof visible on the left side, it is part of the salacote. The family house cannot be seen from the ocean because of the fence.

Almost every day I spend time watching the ocean. In my apartment, I sit on the porch that overlooks, but at Florida’s I sit on the seawall. Sometimes at night it is especially nice to watch, as the moonlight flickers across the waves. It is easy to imagine you are looking at the end of the world. I decided that a simple bench attached to the fence would be a nice addition, perhaps 4 or 5 feet in length, just enough for about 4 people.

We hired a local carpenter, who we sent to the family mountain property to cut down some bamboo for the structure. He cut 6 tall bamboo, which he then split down the middle. The Baranguay Captain, Rudy, spied us working and decided to join us, and brought along some pieces of wood he thought we might want to use. At the end of the day, we had a rather large bench, including a roof just in case the sun got too hot. Total cost for the labor and nails, 300 pesos, 6 bucks. This view is at low tide, the water generally is at the rock wall you see.

Obviously these were taken at low tide.

The following Sunday, the rest of Florida’s family appeared, having taken the ship from Mindanao. That increased the family to 21 members, including myself. Pia’s husband is a sailor, and won’t be home until March, and Cindy, Leonora and Elmer’s daughter, is working in Norway. From the time they arrived at 6pm until they left 2 weeks later, there was never a quiet moment in the house, or the neighborhood for that matter.

Absolute mass confusion existed with only the slightest guidance keeping it from mass hysteria.

It was incredibly wonderful.

It was decided that Christmas would be celebrated on Christmas Eve, and an agenda was developed having certain members performing various tasks, and also including parlor games. The back yard was decorated, and all kitchen functions were moved to the salacote, where virtually everyone collected irrespective of there being room for only 4 people to work comfortably. Having 21 people in there just added to the fun.

On Christmas Eve afternoon, almost every member sat on the bench to watch about 2 dozen turtles surface repeatedly for air (I guess that was what they were doing). Normally only the head would appear, but sometimes an arm would also surface. For less than 2 seconds the head would appear, and then quickly sink below the surface again. Some heads looked to be about 8 inches in diameter, with others being about 3 to 4 inches; I reckoned they were loggerheads. As they were near the coral reef, I assume they were there for their periodic cleaning. In case some of you are not familiar with this process, turtles collect bits and pieces of algae and other denizens of the sea, by mere attachment to its body. From time to time turtles will then move to the coral reef as there are fish there that will pick those bits and pieces off them. A nice meal for them, and dental type cleaning for the turtles.

The previous day Florida and I went to Tagbilaran, where I insisted we buy a present for Joshua. Florida did not want to do that, but finally gave in to my way of thinking.

We bought a watch for 150 pesos, 3 bucks.

That was the only present given in this family.

Small bags of candy were given for the parlor games, the only ‘present’. And, as the bag of candy was given, it was broken open and tossed in the air, so everyone had a chance at receiving even though they lost that particular game.

Laughing and joking, singing and dancing. We started about 5pm, and finally at 10pm we began to slow down.

These folks have little, sometimes only enough money to eat, but you have never seen such happiness. What they do have is shared with everyone that comes to their door. There must have been 16 or 17 groups of carolers that night, each of which was given coins until there was none left, then they were given food.

Goat stew. I highly recommend it. I had never tasted goat before, and if goat by itself tastes as good as goat stew, then don’t pass it by. In fact, I was so impressed I am thinking of investing in a small goat herd. Small goats can be purchased for as little as 5 dollars each. Keeping them is the next problem, as it becomes a bit difficult in the ‘city’ as you need to leash them and walk them somewhere for the day in order for them to eat the grass.

For many years, Florida’s family has owned a piece of land in the mountains; no one is sure how many years it has been in the family. Florida’s father’s family hid there during the Japanese invasion, in fact, her father and aunt both were born on that land before the war although the home no longer exists.

Florida’s home is on the ocean side, with the mountain, of course, being inland. Walking across the National Highway, slightly diagonal, you will find a small narrow path between two homes, one side of which is a masonry wall. Following that pathway you come to several other homes built behind the homes facing the highway. 3 or 4 homes back now revert to rice fields, and crossing them can be tricky as the mud pathways are very thin, approximately 4 inches wide in places. Another 5 or 6 minutes and you come to the change in terrain, the beginnings of the mountain. Following a series of waterways, you then see a stream beginning to run alongside the canals. Cross the stream, and using the tree branches you climb up the side until you reach the top. If you look closely you can find an almost visible path which then takes you to her land. I guess there is about 10 acres there, almost entirely useless as a garden, as only about 100 square feet of it is on level land. The land is in the shape of a bowl, with neighboring properties completing the bowl. Climbing up to the top is not easy, as it is overgrown. There are 7 mango trees; however one is the type that needs chemicals for fruit to arrive. Those types of mangoes are sent to America. The native mangoes do not need chemicals, however, they are not as sweet as the other. There are also about 15 mahogany trees.

I understand there is a further property at the edge of the baranguay, also in the mountains, but no one seems to know much about it, as it is considerably more mountainous than the other property.

Either property would be suitable for raising goats, except for the problem of needy people freeing them from their constraints. So, in order to go into the goat business one must hire someone to stay on the property, which might cost as much as 150 pesos a day, about 3 bucks, plus a shack to live in.

I’m considering it.

Back to Christmas Eve. These folks haven’t a pot, but they are exceedingly happy. Makes one a little humbler than before. Or maybe a lot humbler.

Mom, 6 sisters and the one brother. Standing from left: Atche, Pia, Tonette, Florida. Seated from left: Adel, Martin, Mom and Leonora.

During the games, at one point all the children had to get up and perform to Feliz Navidad. Then all the women had to perform to Feliz Navidad. You can guess what the men had to do. Once the men were finished dancing, we escaped to a table.

Standing from left: Billmark, Noel (with his daughter Erica), the grandsons. Seated from left: Elmer, Martin, R R, Me, and Gilbert.

The expert observer will notice a small bottle neck in the picture, which is filled with tuba. Tuba is a wine made from coconut oil, the coconut being hacked into pieces and then dried. Once dry, which takes almost a day, the coconut pieces are pressed, with the results an oil-like liquid. A food coloring is added, making it look almost like Coca Cola but tasting like vinegar. Tuba is a short-lived commodity, its shelf-life is 4 days maximum, if there is any left. An up-market variety is available, called Bahalina, which comes from another island, Leyte. Bahalina can have a shelf-life of 2 months, and tastes quite different, as it is fermented underground for a period of time. It costs almost $2 a gallon. I prefer tuba. One gallon is just $0.90. Like vinegar, it does amazing things to one. My blood sugar has amazingly under control since I started on tuba. 3 glasses of tuba at night and the blood sugar has been 101 at the highest and 92 at the average. Who needs medicines?

Christmas Day was a gorgeous day, almost cloudless, 84° with a gentle breeze. We spent several hours on the bench, watching flying fish on occasion. We even saw one that not just flew, but walked across the water on his tail. All one has to do is just sit down and watch for awhile.

I have tried my hardest to recognize the rhythm of the waves that poets spoke about so many times, but for the life of me, either I am completely un-graceful or the ocean actually is not rhythmic. There always seems to be a slight difference in time between waves crashing against the seawall.

Speaking of that, imagine this. You are in a space ship, just about at the edge of space, somewhere above the Pacific. In the east, Philippines for example, the waves are crashing against the beach. In the west, California for example, the waves are crashing against the beach. At the same time.

How does that happen? Where in the Pacific does the water separate itself, some going east and some going west? How does that happen? Is there a parting of the sea, similar to the biblical parting? I hope someone has the answer because I don’t. I reckon it works the same in the Atlantic, but no one has explained that to me either.

The rest of the holidays went smoothly, almost no tears from the children. Lots of fun, lots of laughs and lots of food. I have never seen so many people in the kitchen making a meal, somehow managing not to be in each other’s way. All the while laughing and joking and tending to the kids. And not necessarily their own child. Amazing how a child will cry, or even look like they will cry, and the nearest adult takes charge, coddling and cajoling until the crisis is past. And never is the parent involved unless they are the unfortunate one close to the child.

Joshua is slowly becoming accustomed to me and my foreign ways. He doesn’t speak too much to me yet, only good morning, good bye and things like that. But he is slowly gaining confidence and I expect that in a few short months we will be speaking freely without shyness. If I could just stop from thinking he is Yuhisen, a young fella I knew some years ago. I haven’t called him that yet, although I catch myself thinking of him with that name. I think I will soon be able to relate to him as Joshua without thinking, it is getting better every day.

Just before New Years we had a special treat. Sting ray boiled in coconut milk, with a couple green chilies thrown in for a really nice warm sauce. I had never had ray before, but I will never pass if I ever run into it again. Totally unlike fish, a rather stronger flesh, almost like chicken in texture. If you have a chance, try it.

New Year’s Eve. Preparation for the meal began early in the morning. It is tradition in the Philippines to have spaghetti for Christmas and New Years. We not only had that, but several different vegetable dishes, several different recipes of pork, several fish recipes and also another goat. While everything was basically finished before noon, we were not to eat until after the midnight celebration.

Florida and I were invited to Marcy’s sister’s for the evening meal, where we had spaghetti, of course, with lechon, beef, fish and pork. Highlight of the evening there was as typical, the video-oke. We left a little early however, as the pig in the back yard created havoc with Ken’s allergies. This was just as well, as we were getting quite tired by then.

A short nap ensued, with all kinds of alarms going off 15 minutes before midnight. Didn’t need my alarm, as the firecrackers got started early. Joining the rest of the family, and exhausting the meager supply of firecrackers, we then dug into the feast that was prepared more than 12 hours earlier.

No mind that the food is cold; it is a typical situation for Filipinos. When you are cooking by fire, nothing is ready at the same time.

It was fantastic.

The following Sunday the Mindanao group left for the boat back home. We took them to the harbor at 8pm, where they boarded the ship which was to leave at midnight. They needed the rest.

Just a side note. The other day I was traveling somewhere, and alongside the road was a sign with 3 men working on the shoulder -

NO PARKING BETWEEN SIGN

Not signs, but sign.

Sure enough, there was no other sign.

You see vehicles parked on the National Highway, not on the shoulder, but right on the highway. It is not always seen for a delivery truck to actually park in a parking spot. Much easier to stop in the middle of the highway for many minutes to unload, disregarding any safety laws that may exist, if any. Also disregarding any common sense whatsoever. Break downs obviously occur, but typically there is no attempt to move to the side of the road. Just stop anywhere, even on a blind curve. Sometimes you will see a branch in the road about 15 feet before the vehicle. That is to warn you of the vehicle ahead. Sometimes there is no branch before the vehicle, but one after the vehicle.

Go figure.

One of the more precious things seen – a formal invitation painstakingly handwritten –

Come eat my house, I die 2 chickens.