we have a land in Mindoro where me and my siblings used to grow up…. my siblings and I went to the town’s public elementary school(Pola Central School) which is on top of a hill in downtown….on Sunday afternoons.we used to go to downtown for a week’s stay /study and on friday afternoons used to come home to our ancestral home which was located in one of the Sitios in our barrio….we used to cry whenever we went downtown to study but very happy on fridays because we would see our mother who had a lot of fruits like atis,sinigwelas,makopa.indian mango,mangoes and not to forget our big lakatan…our childhood was really a nice one and i am never shy of it……because of it,we are where we are now…..on summer vacations,we used to play softball in our grandparents’ land.marami kaming magpipinsan…..we had flores de mayo in may……sometimes we had our contest……you know what kids are…..ang ginagamit naming pangkulot e yung tangkay ng madre cacao….maybe some of you who would read this post don’t know some vocabularies i am using……on summer days too,our grandfather used to assign us to sell mangoes during basketball tournament in our barrio.sometimes, i would sell inihaw na saba.hay ang sarap sarap kamo ng amoy…..
on saturdays when we were together we would go to our grandparents house to pray Orasyon altogether,at magmamano sa mga matatanda after that.then we would have a puppet show by my kuya nonoy.gamit e kumot na katsa…..o kaya naman e taguan sa labas na bahay pag maliwanag ang buwan….we would also play tumbang-lata or patintero…..
our house was never reached by electricity,so we used to use car batteries to watch TV .we used wonderlamp(Aladin) at night or gasera na parang may momo sa likod pag nakita mo anino, but our place was very peaceful…. no other people except my mother’s side…..at night. we would call our neighbor to get some gulay from our house if we feelt afraid to bring them some because of the dark….we would light our way to our lolo using dried coconut leaves tied together and lighted..wow…….grabe ang liwanag ng paligid… we got our water from the rain.we had this very big water tank built by cement and papa would just put some water purifier in it….when it rained heavily,we would play under the rain…..minsan pa sa ilalim ng mga niyog ,never thinking na baka malaglagan kami ng luos na niyog o kaya niyog na kinitkit ng daga sa taas…we used to wash clothes sa sapa..o kaya sa ilog when there were basketball tournaments……
during the christmas seasons,we would have some carolling,sige lang kahit maputik…..what do you expect from an unexploited barrio? of course there were no concrete roads,no electricity until 1996……it was fun…..of course hard at times.
my siblings were in the honor role in our public school, but i was the first one from a barrio who graduated valedictorian in Pola elementary school….naglitson sina papa noon to celebrate my graduation as well as my ate’s graduation,kasi pag graduate ko ng elementary,graduate naman siya ng high school……sa ibang bayan din kami nag high school,we used to see our parents only every 2 or 3 months…..especially papa who was very busy making money….ilan ba naman kaming magkakapatid e anim…. we went to college in manila….all of us 6,,,,,mama and papa would visit us once in a while,they were very busy farming …..they needed to hire people to help them…..
when we were younger,our lolo would always get angry with us,kasi kung ano ano ginagawa namin….nandyang we built bahay kubo…..pinuputol namin minsan yung madre cacao na bakod sa paligid ng bahay namin para may panghaligi kami,then akyat sa niyog,kuha ng dahon ng niyog,kasi we used coconut leaves as roof and dingding..minsan mamamalayan na lang namin,nagiba na ni tatay ang mga bahay bahayan namin,kasi daw baka magulungan kami ng niyog or mabagsakan ng niyog…there were instances pa na my kuyas would make padaus-usan sa taas ng bahay namin,they would used the head of the coconut leaves to make good slides…we never thought na baka matuod kami sa pwet ng mga naka usling tuod ..when you are a kid,you wouldn’t know the dangers but only excitement….pag tanghali pinapatulog kami nina tatay, kasi daw may bombay na may dalang sako at nanghuhuli ng mga bata na lakwatsero sa tanghali, acacording to him,the bombays cut the head of children to make the bridges stronger……malay ba namain kung totoo yun ano? pero umaakyat kami sa bintana at tumatakas just to climb mango trees or other fruit trees……i remember one time, my younger brother came crying.yun pala natusok ng tingting sa labi.naku lagos talaga,kasi umakyat sa avocado tree at nahulog……minsan pa dahil sa akin,muntik na sya maputulan ng kamay,that time,we were alone with our young aunt,umakyat kami ni rey sa makopa tree namin,dala ang halabas,pansungkit,e out of a sudden,sinalakay ako ng langgam,ayun ang halabas nabitiwan,kaya ang kawawang kapatid muntik ng maputulan ng kamay,buti na lang sumangga na sa lupa yung halabas…i will never forget that incident kasi yung kelloid niya sa braso e hindi naglalaho ..during summer vacation too,we would catch shrimps in the river/stream.kinakapa namin sa mga ilalim ng mga bato,minsan nasisipit pa nga kami.or minsan naman mangingilaw kami sa tabing dagat.
when i was 23, i started teaching koreans…..one time,six students came with me to mindoro during the christmas break…..tuwang tuwa sila mag-igib sa ilog….medyo malayo bahay namin sa ilog e,pagdating sa bahay kalahati na lang laman ng timba…..when they went back to manila,they told other koreans that in our house if you stretch your hand upward you could touch the sky…..when my sister who was a flight stewardess got married, her husband’s question when he first visited our ancestral home was "how could you find saudia? you live in a vaer remote place…."
our growing up years……our childhood memories….our family living together.our ancestral home.the untouched nature around us……our past…..i miss them…….now all of my siblings are married….all of us have our own families…….
nothing can equal our very innocent childhood in mindoro.the unexploited nature…our childhood experiences….
i am always proud of where i came from…….
