From Where I Came From

From  where  I came from, backyards still exist.  Our  house  sits  at  the bottom of mountain ranges  mostly  along the car-line, some even built atop. The wind brushes the trees before it sweep you and we love it when it rains, we bathe on it.

We still got plenty of thick forests, unscathed caves and hidden waterfalls. These are generally concealed from the public’s eyes with the belief that they are being protected by some invisible mysterious charm. No one would dare go without the proper rites beforehand. But recently, some strong-willed nature advocates made its way to take the first glance of these seemingly enchanted beauties. Thanks to these brave fellows, now we know some and have seen it at still.

Extreme Caving | It's More Fun In Samar

Tarangban Falls | Photo Courtesy of Trexplore

Blanca Aurora Falls | closer to my place

Because we have such a vast of the countryside, the produce is our lifeline and the earth is our playground. I do recall one time when me, my sister and two other friends, we were about 8 or 9 years old, we paddled using our slippers against the current of the river in a stolen boat to get to a farm at the other side of the community to catch the babies of a blue jay bird for pet. Just as we seized a couple of the cute creatures from a bunker at the foot of a coconut tree, a bigger bird (mommy blue jay I think) who sounded mad came flying towards us so we ran as fast as we could until we lost mommy blue jay. We boarded back to our boat and rowed hard and quickly with the fear that mommy blue jay might track us. As we were inching away and into the rapids, our boat flipped. On our young age, I can say we were skilled swimmers so it didn't bother us much. We hold unto the overturned boat, swam along the flow and pushed the boat back to the port. We let go of the bananas and pomelo that we also grab from the farm but we managed to keep baby blue jays alive.  The chased-by-angry-bird thing scared me the most.

A Curacha

The tapped portions of the mountains and lands were also converted into farms. You’ll reach there either by foot, by carabao or by boat if a river runs through it. At harvest time, part of the community gathered there for an evening of toast and the same people would turn in at the start of planting season to help out. Yet, the grandest feast would come mid-May celebrated for three consecutive days with activities like a concert, a parade, a beauty contest and a gala night where VIPs dance the curacha to accumulate funds when families and friends of the dancing couple make their ‘gala’ into a basket or handkerchief positioned at the middle of  the showground. It is a fun to watch especially when the partners are making funny gestures at each other while dancing. 

Food during fiesta is an unlimited open buffet. Take-homes are allowed too. It is also during this time that a household can be observed to have bought new appliances or have newly painted fence or made some home repairs. For most, it is a simple time of thanksgiving and families coming together. I personally look forward to this event, not to mention the ‘perya’ galore, after missing it for a decade now.

I am from Samar where bad politics is highlighted but I am not going to dwell on it. I am and will always be a child of its true sense. The Sunday beach, picnic in a falls, fruit-picking and reaching the end of the river (which I never thought existed then) are some things I will not get tired of doing all over again.

Well, from where I came from is my perfect comfort, my home.