the latebloomer

I may have had one of my best weekends last all saints day. after three years, nakauwi ulit ako sa Ilocos Sur. i made it a point to visit my relatives sa Sta.Cruz this year para naman makabawi ako sa kanila and makita nila ako uli at makita ko uli sila.

My Aunt Dalen and Uncle Upeng are in their 80s na so hindi na luxury ang time when it comes to seeing them, i may not see them again before i reach 30 (pero God forbid), so malaking bagay sa akin ang makita at makasama sila uli along with my other relatives.

i don’t know why i didn’t grow up close to my relatives. nung bata ako, i remember going home sa Ilocos kapag bakasyon, kasi piyesta sa may amin. kung hindi duon sa Abra, where my nanay grew up and where my lolo and lola lived before they migrated to the US noong early 1990s.

i still remember the old Ilocos, yung wala po yung tulay tapos tumatawid sa sapa yung dyip na sinasakyan namin. naaalala ko pa yung mga nipa huts, the pigs under the house (my Aunt used to raise pigs), tapos pag naliligo kami sa may batalan, syempre umaagos ang tubig pababa sa may pigpen and we were so happy seeing the pigs getting washed along with us, hehe.

now, its different, gone are the pigs, but enter the concrete, the aircon, and the shower. yes, katas ng mga pinaghirapan nina Auntie at ng mga anak niya, one of which is now a nurse sa Houston.

syempre mas masarap nang umuwi kasi de-aircon ang guest room nila, at may shower na ang CR, yung tubig galing pa raw sa bukal sa bundok.

though di ako marunong mag-Ilocano (which I am ashamed of), i enjoyed every minute na andun ako. yung sariwang hangin, yung sariwang isda, yung carefree pero genuine attitude ng mga Ilocano.

it’s good to see yung mga pamangkin mong lumalaki na, yung mga pinsan mo na ngayon mo lang nakita, yung kwentuhan at balitaan.

we left manila last Friday and drove for about eight to nine hours, by the time na nasa sta.cruz na kami, dumaan muna kami sa bahay ng pinsan kong si Kuya Leo para mababa yung mga boxes ng gamot para sa Auntie Uring ko.

from there, nag-detour muna kami dun sa resthouse malapit sa beach na we were able to enter free kasi yung may-ari nun, kliyente ng pinsan kong si Atty.Jun Abaya. dun ko nakilala mga pinsan ko sa side ni Tatay. tapos nun dumiretso na kami sa San Jose, where i would stare at the mountainsides, saka mga sapa at mga kakahuyan. i spent my first night kina Auntie Dalen, at nakita ko uli mga pamangkin kong makukulit, including one si Kevin, na parang armalite ang bibig sa kadaldalan pero wala akong maintindihan sa sinasabi niya kasi nga pure Ilocano sya.

by the second day, bumalik uli kami sa beach before being invited by my Ate Loi, Atty.Jun’s wife, to spend the night sa kanila sa Candon. i’ve already seen yung mga anak nilang dalaga, nieces of mine na yung panganay ay nursing student sa St.Louis sa Baguio.

their house was very pleasant, i stayed in one of my nieces’ rooms — which smelled so feminine na parang ayoko tulugan kasi baka tuluan ko ng laway ang unan — and read some of the books there. i saw a copy of The Da Vinci Code and was eager to talk with my niece about Angels and Demons the following day, kaso mejo iniiwasan nila ako, baka nahihiya pa sila.

Ate Loi has a wonderful front lawn, where she keeps pots of desert plants and flowers na talagang maganda tingnan.

By the third night, i was back kina Auntie Dalen where I ate dinner with them, while my tatay is drinking with my cousins sa kabilang bahay. We were up early the following morning, at syempre ako ang pinakahuling nagising at ako rin ang reason kaya mejo past 9pm na kami nakaalis (ang bagal ko kasi maligo).

the trip back to Manila was the most tiring. we were stranded almost two hours sa Tarlac kasi nga undas and people were almost in the streets going to the cemeteries. kasama namin si Ate Loi coz she’s gonna take the Licensure Exams for Library Science sa MLQU this Nov. 3 and Nov. 4, sana makapasa siya.

well, all in all, it was a well-spent vacation, i’m already looking forward of coming back home again, to my second home.