Blue Pittman safari hat? Check.
Light Green Surplus Shop jacket? Check.
Dark Green quick-dry Habagat convertible pants? Check.
Dark Gray socks with toes? Check.
Silver-gray Tribu criss-crossed rubber sandals? Check.
Light brown tinted UV400 LV imitation glasses? Check.
Any shirt of choice? Check.
In full battle gear, I was ready for my trip to Kulaman in Soutth Cotabato. Along with Giovanni, Sonny and Kuya Chris, we paired up and got motorcycles for Kulaman where we had a Human Security Program and community school projects.
Going there was more exciting than our objective. The motorcycle ride was for two hours (Lord, have mercy on our fannies!), since we had to traverse up and down hills and mountain through muddy roads, and cross rickety make-shift bridges.
We left Isulan around 10:30 a.m. I would have thought the sun would beat us with its heat. Instead, midway our trip, it was foggy! We were riding through clouds! Visibility was up to 20 feet at most. It was both ethereal and surreal seeing children coming out of the mist.
With beaten up butts and grumbling stomachs, we finally made it to Kulaman. After we were fed, we had meetings regarding our programs. I was hoping I could go home the next day, but I had to attend a teachers’ meeting that Friday so I decided to visit the community of Blangas (one of the sitios we sponsor a teacher in the school) instead.
BLANGAS
The previous evening’s cold air kept nudging me awake every so often. Cold like that often settles comfortably on water, especially spring water so I dreaded taking a bath. Fearful, but resolute, I poured the dipper on my head and it felt… “oooohhh!” It was like a refreshing drink of water after the body has been thirsty the whole day! It was more soothing cool than punishing cold. Definitely woke me up from my sleepy stupor.
(Breakfast: dried fish. Yummm!)
My ride arrived 9AM. I wasn’t sure what to expect of the trip to Blangas. Fr. Raffy and Eizel kept saying the river would be flooded and uncrossably since it has been raining the past days. We’ll never know if I don’t go myself, won’t we?
We did cross rivers. Initially they were pretty shallow so I remained on the motorbike. The splish-splash of the river clashed with the whirr-whirr of the motor’s engine. It was a fun ride as we sped through cornfields and ricefields.
My favorite part was loading the motor on a raft since the river was too deep for the bike to cross. It was pure genius! With the simple science of pulleys and buoyancy, the Lumads were able to create a device to transport people and goods between river banks.
We came to a point where we had to cross the river and walk the rest of the way. Once I dipped my feet in the water, I wanted to bring along the rest of my body with it and just spend the rest of the morning swimming. But 1) it would be no fun doing it on my own and 2) it would be such a scandal visiting the community school dripping wet. So, I resisted the urge and just enjoyed that short moment of intimacy with the water.
After a 15-minute walk, we got to the skill and the kids were practicing for nutrition month. It was hilarious how the teacher was able to convert novelty pop songs into valuable lessons on nutrition.
Check out these snippets:
(to the tune of Sexbomb’s “Spaghetti”)
Umappear tayo
Sumakit ulo ko
Sumakit dibdib ko
Sumakit tuhod ko
Kulang sa pagkain
(repeat stanza except last)
Kulang sa carbohydrates.
I loved the kulang sa carbohydrates bit!
And another one to the tune of Viva Hot Babe’s “Bulaklak”
Ang bango-bango,
Ang bango-bango ng gulay…
Ang sarap-sarap
Ang sarap-sarap ng gulay…
They were also able to turn dance-frenzied youth Totoy Bibo into Totoy Bibo the vegetable-loving youth.
It was so much fun. There was even this young boy who danced like a boneless epileptic grandfather. No kidding! He was really into the dance, gyrating like he had no bones except his moves reminded me of DOMs in bailehans in the provinces. Ang saya! The songs and that boy just made my day!
(this picture... wala lang. kids playing while we were walking back home)
And so that was that, we returned to the mission station where I spent the entire afternoon taking a three-hour siesta. Three hours. Gave me a headache, but heck… you never get that much sleep in the city.
Now, here I am, back in the city dressed like a ten-year old girl with an aching back and feet screaming for a foot scrub (not for vanity but my heels can hardly breathe from the callous), enjoying the memories of the trip and looking forward to the beach tomorrow for sugba (inihaw) and salt water!
My favorite part was loading the motor on a raft since the river was too deep for the bike to cross. It was pure genius! With the simple science of pulleys and buoyancy, the Lumads were able to create a device to transport people and goods between river banks.
We came to a point where we had to cross the river and walk the rest of the way. Once I dipped my feet in the water, I wanted to bring along the rest of my body with it and just spend the rest of the morning swimming. But 1) it would be no fun doing it on my own and 2) it would be such a scandal visiting the community school dripping wet. So, I resisted the urge and just enjoyed that short moment of intimacy with the water. 
And so that was that, we returned to the mission station where I spent the entire afternoon taking a three-hour siesta. Three hours. Gave me a headache, but heck… you never get that much sleep in the city.
1 comment:
Ang dami mo talagang adventures girl!
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