The thoughts and jokes of the
doctors during our sojourn in Cavite are still fresh in my mind. It was an
unplanned trip which started when we had our sudden visit at Dr. Rodney’s
residence in Penaplata, Island Garden City of Samal, Philippines.
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| The green green grass in Penaplata, Island Garden of Samal gives a sense of contentment to the people here. |
Dr. Rodney, head of the Filipino
Studies Program at the University of Hawaii in Hilo, invited us to have a dinner at his home before
he would go back to his new home : University of Hawaii in Hilo, United States
of America. While Cocoy was serenading
the group ( We were with the cousins of Dr. Rodney) at Moonstar Mountain Resort
in Penaplata, Dr. Rodney told me that his flight to Manila would be on August
14, 2013, Wednesday, 11:40 a.m. via Philippine Airlines. “Sir, August 16 is a
local holiday here in Davao.”, I replied. “Oh! Why not join us in our talk at
De La Salle Dasmarinas, Cavite. Then, we will go to Tagaytay and Manila.” , Dr.
Rodney suggested. Oh, it sounds inviting!
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| Wandering at Moonstar Mountain Resort. |
“Kapatid, let us join them in
Manila.”
“Huh? How about my work?”, Cocoy
responded.
“ Unsay work? Holiday man sa
Friday. Sige raka work. Relax-relax pud”.
“Wala koy kwrta kapatid.”
Instantly, we got tickets. Thanks
to the online purchase of tickets!
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Waiting for the fight bound to Manila.
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While everyone was busy
celebrating the Kadayawan Festival, Cocoy and I went to Manila last August 16,
2013 and we went directly to the place of Dr. Francis Dumanig at Tierra Nevada,
General Trias, Cavite. Dr. Francis is a Senior Lecturer at the University of
Malaya in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia.
From the Ninoy Aquino International
Airport, Dr. Francis rented a taxi for Php 1,200. “Sosyal talaga itong si
Francis.”, Dr. Rodney commented as we entered the subdivision owned by
politician Manuel Villar. “Alam niyo yung mga pinamimigay ni Willie Revillame
sa kanyang programa, andito yung mga bahay. Andun o. Tingnan niyo.”, Dr.
Francis said as he toured us in his place. “ Magkano ba ang bahay dito Frans?
Bibili ako. Masarap ang hangin dito.” , Dr. Rodney asked.
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Feel at home at Tierra Nevada, Gen. Trias, Cavite.
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After having our dinner at around
10 p.m., Dr. Rodney wanted to walk around the subdivision. “I need to burn
calories.” As we walked, we ate a penoy
( duck egg which is not fully developed similar to hard-boiled egg). That was
my first time to eat it. “Ayos man diay ang Cavite Sir. Lami kaayo ang hangin
diri ba.”, Cocoy shared. “ Kuha diri Saj.”
The two professors shared their
pieces of advice while we were having our midnight snacks in a convenience
store inside the Tierra Nevada. “You are still young. Work abroad lah. Once you
are there, you can travel the world. “, Dr. Rodney enlightened us. “Eat healthy
foods. Do not abuse yourself.” Though we slept around 3 a.m., I and Cocoy did
not regret because we got brilliant words from these two professors.
On August 17, Saturday, we went
to De La Salle University Dasmarinas, Cavite and it was a blast because we had
a chance to talk to the faculty of the College of Liberal Arts and
Communication during our lunch and attended a seminar on Language, Culture, and
Identity.
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The National Book Store inside DLSU Dasma.
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“Ayos kaayo ilang school Saj. Mas ayos pa sa
USEP. Naa silay National Bookstore sa sulod, museum, dako kaayo ang library,
luag ang oval, daghan mini-hotels. Then ang architecture sa ilang building
panahon pa ng mga Kastila. Naa pay Aklatang Emilio Aguinaldo o! “, Cocoy realized. “Siyempre Cavite eto kapatid. Very historical.”,I
answered.
The Tourism students of DLSU
Dasma toured us in the museum. “Sir eto po yung mga kababaihan noon. Sabi po
nila kapag di po nakangiti, ibig sabihin noon mga birhen pa.”, a male tourist
guide described the picture on the wall. “ Aba si Lola nakangiti, ibig sabihin
di na siya birhen.”, Dr. Rodney commented as he laughed out loud. “Sir huwag
ninyo pong tawanan yung mga larawan diyan na nakasabit.Magagalit po sila.” “Mayroon
din po talagang nagpapakita dito sa museum na ito. Totoo po yun. “
“Akala ko hindi ganito ang DLSU
Dasma. Mas maganda pa sa DLSU Manila, sa totoo lang.”, Dr. Francis said during
our tour in the campus. Dr. Francis spent some years for his Ph.D. in Applied
Linguistics in DLSU Manila. Thanks to the young and active Dean Christian C. Francisco of the
College of Liberal Arts and Communication for driving us.
After listening to the talk of
the professors who are connected with the different universities outside the
Philippines, we stayed for a while at SM Dasma and had bibingka for our snacks.
“Dili man diay ni made of rice Sir. Harina man diay. Mas lami pa ang bingka sa
Comval.”, I uttered these words as I tasted the bibingka in Cavite. “Mas lami
pa ang bingka sa Digos Sir.”, Cocoy continued. We then proceeded to Robinsons
and we saw there the church of Cocoy. “Uy, naa man diay diri ang simbahan sa
mga sosyal, Ang Victory. “ , Dr. Rodney commented. “ Mao ni ang relihiyon nina
Piolo Pascual ug Sam Milby. Alive, alive jud.”
On August 18, Sunday, Dr. Francis
brought us to Tagaytay and we were with Dr. Daisy Orcullo, a professor in
Malaysia, her husband Billy, and her nephew Ibrahim, who are all Balik Islam or
Muslim converts. Allahu Akbar!
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Ibrahim, Billy, and Dr. Daisy bought some items in Memory Lane.
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Actually, this is my second time to visit Tagaytay. I first
admired the sceneries way back in November 2010 with my fellow Language
teachers at USEP. This time, the admiration still remains as I visited the
Memory Lane, a store owned by Filipina actress Jolina Magdangal. “Wow.Ang
ganda..parang castle…Ito talag yung nakikita ko sa tv at nababasa sa magazine.”,
Dr. Daisy praised the establishment of Ate Jolina.
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At Jolina Magdangal's store "Memory Lane".
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It sells memorabilia that Jolina bought during
her travel around the world. “Mao ra ni? Wa may wi-fi diri kay Jolina. Kapobre.”,
Dr. Rodney commented.
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| The newly constructed Skyranch for leisure . |
And it was so cold in Tagaytay because it was
raining but still, we enjoyed the place as we were enchanted by the Skyranch.
“It looks like Genting Highlands in Malaysia. Malamig talaga. Maganda pa ito
kaysa sa Baguio.”, Dr. Daisy appreciated the place. “This is my first time
here. Maganda talaga dito kami nagcelebrate ng anniversary namin.” Dr. Orcullo
treated us a coffee since it was raining. We had a good dine at Max’s
Restaurant and thanks to Dr. Rodney for treating us. “I just talked for 30
minutes and DLSU Dasma gave me Php 5, 000. Let us celebrate!”
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The active Taal volcano.
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| Enjoying the fresh air in Tagaytay City. |
“ Mubuto lagi ng Taal Volcano
lagi diri. Sige rata katawa.” We were so
happy during our stay in Tagaytay. “Tigbason” is the big word. Dr. Rodney
shared that when his brother went to Marawi City in the Philippines, he was
forced to buy 12 pairs of slippers. “ Ang akong igsoon nagpili-pili ug tsinelas
didto sa tindahan sa Maranao sa Marawi. Sige man ug sukud-sukud sa tsinelas ug
giingnan sa Maranao, “Kung dili ka mupalit sa tsinelas, TIGBASON!” . We all laughed. Muslims are known to be harsh
but Ibrahim, whose parents are Boholono who are now Balik Islam, said, “Di
naman po siguru ganun Sir.”
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| Dr. Francis, Dr. Daisy, and Dr. Rodney are relaxing in Tagaytay. |
The foods that we had for our
lunch were all halal, because if someone orders a non-halal food, tigbason!
When we were going back to
Cavite, a truck with loads of pigs passed by, “Hala naay baboy!”, Dr. Rodney
noticed, and Dr. Orcullo said, “Hala Tigbason!”. And we all laughed again inside the private
car rented by Dr. Francis.
Danny sent us from Cavite to
Ermita, Manila. “Danny, ihatid mo kami sa Maynila kasi kung hindi, tigbason!”.
Danny now knows the meaning of the Cebuano term , “tigbason”.
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| Cocoy, my college barkada, my travel buddy. |
We stayed in a hotel in Ermita.
We had a coffee session and dinner in the hotel since it was raining because of
typhoon Maring. “Kuy, naa mi Ermita”, my text to a friend who is staying near
UP Diliman. “Nah. Party2 diay inyo tirada diha Kuy.”, he replied. That was my
first time to visit Ermita and I heard a lot of stories about this place. “Manila:
Gates of Hell”. This was the comment of Dan Brown in his intriguing novel,
Inferno. “Why kapatid?”, I asked my friend Cocoy. “Look at those prosti. They
are few of the reasons why Manila is tagged like that. “, he pointed his mouth
to the prosti inside and outside the hotel. “Sana magdamit naman ng maayos
itong mga prosti nato para hindi nakakahiya.”, my remark after witnessing an
Arab who ignored two prosti. “I don’t like. Sorry.”, an Arab strongly said.
“Kapatid, hindi yun chicks. Bayot to.”, Cocoy discovered. “Tan-awa ang totoy.
Fake mana.” While staying in the hotel, I witnessed also other international
tourists like Japanese, Koreans, and Chinese along the street of Ermita.
“Hadluka diri uy. Tan awa to Saj o murag kanang hudas gani kanang sindikato sa
pelikula. Nakaalahas. Opaw. Naa mga bodyguard.”
If you want to have sex, just
visit this place. I was just shocked because these foreigners were with prosti
who were not that pretty. In my view, these foreigners were only after of sex
or maybe because our perspective really varies. Though it was raining, still the negotiation
continued. Business as usual. “Pero wa
japun makapildi sa Silom sa Thailand. Grabe ang boom-boom didto.”
“Tara na! Manguli nata sa
Davao!”. We arrived safely in Davao just this morning at around 10:05 amidst
the typhoon Maring.
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