I am going to write about the everyday
stuff where we are right now. I might not cover everything but
hopefully this should give you an insight of what it's like to live
here. I grew up in this little town, my beloved Hinunangan, went to
school here until I moved to Manila in 1977 to pursue my college
education. I've been gone since then, seldom coming home for a
visit, I moved to the US after Michael and I got married in 1987. I
came home for my parents' 50th Wedding Anniversary in 1999
with our two sons in tow, and in 2005 when my dad passed on. During
those brief visits my longing to stay home keeps gnawing
at me. And who wouldn't want to? I keep asking myself, “What
would I give up to enjoy all these breathtaking scenery and beauty that God has
blessed the Philippines with?”
I decided I'd give up anything...I'd give up
covenience, a big house, lots of “stuff”, I'd leave behind the
rat race and the constant stress and worries that haunts day in and
day out. And yes, I'd give up the washer and dryer, . Here we are
doing our laundry at the back of the beach house one day. The
constant breeze from the Pacific is our dryer.
“I WANT MY MAYTAG”
This is our clothes washing “station”
at the back of the house we are staying. Our dryer is the line you
see in the background. Michael and I do the laundry together
everyday so it isn't too overwhelming. We spend about P7.50 in
detergent every week. We figured we will be busy once we settled in
our new place so Michael thinks we will buy a washer then. I believe he just want his Maytag back :)
There is a nipa and bamboo hut behind
the property we are staying complete with a kitchen and a loft.
There's a wood stove in the kitchen that Michael decided we will use
to cook our food. Two weeks of doing that he decided he is tired of
trying to start a fire. His scouting and camping expertise didn't
pan out here :) so we end up cooking our food in the big house with
the gas stove. “It was worth the try,” I told him.
My cousin's house has a big yard. In
the front are two mango trees, several lanzones tress, chico trees
and to the back are santol trees, more lanzones and a sunkist tree.
Every morning I sweep the leaves into piles and burn them. While I'm
at it I also burn our trash. There are no trash collectors here in
the smaller villages or barangays, you take care of your trash. And,
no street sweepers either, you take care of the street in front of
your house or property.
Most of the people here buy and cook
just enough for each meal everyday as most do not have refrigerators.
We still go to the market and groceries once a week for a week's
worth of groceries. The reason why I stated “groceries” and not
“grocery” is because you have to go to at least three different
ones to get everything on your list which is so frustrating. But I
keep telling myself I'm not in America anymore.
There are chicken to be fed every
morning and evening and that became JJ's responsibility. We need to
get used to eating home-grown, free range native chicken. Michael
thinks they are a little tough (because they are so lean) but they
are excellent for chicken soup. We tried cooking oven fried chicken
in the dutch oven that we brought with us and it tasted good. Here's
JJ feeding the chicken.
We now have established a “suki”
for our morning pan de sal which is a roll that most Filipinos have
for breakfast with their coffee. A vendor riding a bicycle with a
box full of pan de sal at the back sells them early morning, as early
as 4am (which at that time, the rolls are still hot, just off the
oven). They are P10 for a dozen. They are small rolls, though. We
love them paired with sliced processed cheese.
I promise I will be updating this
article as there are lots to write about the nitty gritty and
everyday stuff. Until then, thanks for following and God bless.
We miss you so much!
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