Travels

On Sunday, I awoke at around 3:30a and decided that I wanted to take a trip.  So, I made myself a breakfast of eggs and rice and then headed off for the bus station that is down the road.  I jumped on a  bus headed for the town of Naga.   I needed to go to a mall because there were things I was looking to buy that I can't seem to get in Goa - namely a kerosene lamp.  I am also on the hunt for a cheap radio and some spices.  I am surprised that Ive been unable to find any real spices out here, beyond fish sauce, salt or ginger.  Im sure that other spices are staring me right in the face, I have no idea how to cook with them.

The trip was amazing.  No air con, so all the windows of the bus were open and this allowed me to watch the sun rise over the rice paddies as we drove.  The air was cool and the scenery was dramatic with farmers in their chinese straw hats working the fields with their oxen - nice!  Anyway, I got to Naga around 7a and of course, nothing was open so I did a bit of walking.  As best I can tell, Naga has 3 or maybe even 4 Universities, so there are a lot of young people and a lot of commerce.  I found a mall but the mall didn't open until 10a so I had to sit and wait awhile. It wasn't long before I fell into a conversation with a nice guy named Emerson.  Emerson was probably 25, and about 5'2" - a very slight guy.  The only reason that is important is in how he makes his living.  It seems Emerson is a paid mercenary.  His job is to travel to Syria for 6 months at a time and work to keep peace.  Then, he comes back to Naga and spends 6 months with his family.   Now, THAT is a different sort of job, eh? When the mall opened, Emerson fell into step with me and soon he became my Kasama.  Luckily, Naga has an Ace store (!) so I got my kerosene lamp and I found my spices (green curry paste and chili powder) at a supermarket.  I bought Emerson a coffee and pastry and then we parted ways at the bus station, before my 2 hour trip back to Lagonoy.  Success!!  Now, I have a friend in Naga who I can call on the next time I am in that town!

Yesterday, I did more travelog. Like I said in a previous post, Monday was the day picked for me to be received by officials in Legazpi City.  Well, what I didn't recognize was that the trip coincided with an event being sponsored by Legazpi City - a 5k run/walk to honor Civil Servants!  My entourage consisted of around 20 people all traveling for the event!  The Mayor of Lagonoy himself attending!

Legazpi City is even larger than Naga and as Ive said, but is dwarfed by the majestic Mt Mayon, a perfect conal volcano that currently erupting!  There is actually steam coming from the top of the cone - I have never seen that before!  Anyway, the trip itself took around 3 hours. We travelled via a short cut that took us along the coast of Lagonoy Bay... lots of hair pin turns and mountain scenery.  Very beautiful.  Once in the town, Carlos and I split with the group and headed for the govt office for my introduction.  After a brief wait, we were met by a very nice lady who proceeded to give me  a powerpoint presentation on the Bicol area relative to important economic demographic data. I was impressed!  The Bicol area has a high level of overall education relative to the rest of the Philippines but suffers from underemployment.  Women and men equally hold positions of professional responsibility but, of course, men still make more money than women. Malnutrition remains a problem as well.

Anyway, after the presentation Carlos and I headed back to find the group and we quickly found ourselves at the site of the 5K event!!!  There were over 1000 people and everyone wore event tshirts (Carlos and I didn't have one).  The event site was on the blacksand beach overlooking Mt Mayon.      I was amazed to watch the following event unfold:

First, there was an opening ceremony that began with prayer.  Then, the skies opened up and rain began to pelt down on everyone.  Very few ran for cover however!  A lady jumped on stage and announced that prior to the 5k what we needed was something to get us all in the spirit!  So, as the rain fell, she asked for some volunteers to come on stage for a Zumba demonstration!  The music starts pumping and before you know it, 1000+ people are doing Zumba in the pouring rain - I mean to tell you EVERYONE joined in!!!  I was stunned!! And, as if this weren't enough - the Zumba kept going for well over 30 minutes!!!!!  Im no Zumba expert, but I don't think this was newbie Zumba either!   This Zumba got your heart pumping!

Ok, so Im watching this... sweating and dripping with rain, thinking, surely they have decided that the Zumba should replace the 5k due to the rain - but NO - after the music died down, they lined everyone up and the 5k officially began... by now the rain is falling in buckets.  My party decided that it might be best to skip the 5k (after all, we were rather Zumba'd out!) and head for the vans.  Which we did. Given the pelting rain, I thought the party was over.  Everyone piled in the two vans and then..... we sat.  By this time, it was around 4p and, with a 3 hour drive back to Lagonoy, I was expecting that we would be back by 7.  But, the vans did not go!!  And I didn't understand!!! And no one seemed to care that the the temp in the van was about 300 and it was pouring rain and everyone was sweaty from Zumba!!!  And the gay guy who weighs about 250 decides to take his shirt off as he just flames away!!   What a flippin' scene!  I tell you no exaggeration, that the rain continued on and we sat in those vans for 2 HOURS - I was so confused!  I mean, everyone else seemed to be having a nice time laughing and talking..... but it was really quite uncomfortable (for me at least) since the language is not english and the heat and humidity was over the top.

So, just like that - 6:00 hits and this must have been the time, because both vans move into gear and we begin our journey back home.  Wow, what a day!!!  I have to say, it was the first time since my arrival that I really started to feel some irritation.  I felt as if I was a cultural hostage because I couldn't just ASK - "Yo, why the hell aren't we going home?"

Here's the thing... these 20 people in the vans... yes, they work together... but in another way, it is obvious to observe that they are close knit... like a family!  I am sure that the whole event was like one big picnic for them... a paid day away from the office that allowed them to bond and tell stories and laugh etc., etc!  And, I was allowed a window into that very personal, cultural event - and I am grateful!  Namaste'