We All Get Older, We Don't All Get Grown.

On the 19th, I went to the Palengke(town market) with Joy, my Grandma, and my Dad. There are seriously, way too many tricycles here! Right outside of the market is their main terminal and they just make it so difficult to walk around. So what I learned is that my family goes to the market every day, this way they can make sure they always have fresh food. We also got some grain for the ducks in the farm. Did I mention there is a little mini farm in the backyard? They have ducks, chickens, and a bunch of fruit trees and vegetables. My Dad has a duck that has 8 eggs waiting to hatch. At the market there are a bunch of poor kids running around begging. It is sad to see, but I have to admit it gets pretty annoying when they are so persistent and even grab my arm to get my attention. My Dad is more giving then me though, he usually gives a little to everyone that comes up to us. Other then the constant attention from the poor kids, it seems like here more than anywhere else, I catch people looking at me and watching me. I overheard some of the conversations my Grandma and Dad were having with different people and I kept hearing them call me "Guapo" which like Spanish, means handsome...so I guess that I am considered pretty good looking here, haha. So anyways, today I started to get a little more used to the living situation. I can handle the heat just fine, the bugs seem to be less attracted to me, and the toads jumping around and lizards scurrying around all over the place seem to startle me way less. At this point though, as long as it didn't offend my family, I would still leave as soon as I could.

May 20th- Today there was what they call a "Brownout". It's basically a Blackout but they turn off the water too. I guess they do this so they can update the system or something, but all I know is that according to my Grandpa, it happens all too often. Because of the Brownout, today we decided to go to the beach and have a picnic. We decided to go to Hundred Islands National Park, which is about 2 or 3 hours north in the province of Pangasinan. I was actually pretty excited about the trip because I read about it in Lonely Planet, and I was hoping to go there or to Baguio with the family. It was also cool because none of my family has been there either. On the way we stopped somewhere in Camiling, which my Grandma said is where Dr. Jose Rizal is originally from, but I don't think that is true. We got out and bought some Lechon Kawali(deep fried roasted pig) for the picnic later.

It amazes me how they know where to go to get street food. We finally got to Hundred Islands and found out we needed to take a tricycle to access the park. This is a problem because Aunt Gigi is in a wheelchair. She told me that back when she was in high school, she had to have heart surgery, and because of a problem with the anaesthesia she can no longer walk. I had no idea at the time why we turned around, but all I knew was that Grandpa turned around and started heading back the way we came. I fell asleep and then woke up an hour or so later as we arrived at Lingayen Beach. There were a bunch of mini-palapa tables and the music was bumping throughout the entire beach. We had lunch, went swimming for a little bit, and then just relaxed for the rest of the day. It was a nice day minus all of the driving...my motion sickness has really been tested this month. On the way home we stopped at a place famous for their "Puto", which is a little steamed rice cake. I have to start being careful about what I say I like in front of my Grandma, because if she hears me she makes it her mission to get me or make me the best. In this case with the puto, it was a bit of a misunderstanding because I like the, but they really aren't my favorite, I just mistook them for something else.

Today I really started feeling comfortable with my family here. The loss of the luxuries I'm used to aren't really a factor any more. The fact that there isn't any hot water is OK, because the cold water feels good anyways. The unfinished house is mainly just a topic of conversation over beers and Pulutan...what they want to do to it, how long it will take, planning it out, saving the right amount of money, etc. And i've started to understand Tagalog much better. My grandma's brother, Lolo Boy, came to visit for the night as well. He is a taxi driver in Manila and used to watch after my Dad when he was a kid. It was cool to listen to some of the story he shared with me. The time at night, drinking over pulutan, with the guys in the family has become the best part of my time here. The guys in my family are lightweights, haha! I barely have a buzz by the time Uncle Bog is drunk and Grandpa and Dad are ready for bed. It's funny though because everyone starts opening up. For instance, my Tito Bog doesn't speak English too well, but he is a very nice guy. He told me about a picture he has of my brothers and I, and wanted to explain to me how we are family to him and that he cares about us a lot, even though he hasn't met my brothers and has barely just met me. My Dad starts to be open more about his remorse over screwing up his life while he was in the States. We also had a talk about how he is upset that I'm leaving again soon and he doesn't know when he will see me or my brothers again. I let him know that Nick, Philip, and I will all be back here within 2 years. And my Grandpa, is just a crazy, old man and I can't express how much I love that. He makes all different types of Pulutan: Fried Pusit(squid), Torta(omelet), Sashimi, fried tokwa(tofu), kambing(lamb), and i even tried a "century Egg" or Hundred Year Old Egg. This is another treat worthy of Fear Factor, that i've seen on Bizarre Foods, but thought I would never try. It's basically a black, hard boiled egg with dark green yolk. Not horrible, but I have no desire to try it again. Grandpa also talks to me a lot about how and when they'll finish the house. He wants to build a home where the whole family can live after he is gone. He said, "It's no fun if it is just one family." I really love this guy.

May 21st- Today we went to a "Mission" that was being held for a compadra of my grandma. A mission in the catholic church is basically a party for someone, whether it be a birthday, baby shower, or whatever. We all sit down to eat and then they spend the rest of the day praying and having a service. When we first got there my grandma introduced me to everyone. The attendees were basically like 50+ Lola's(grandma's). Some thought Quentin, my little brother, was my son. And they we're shocked to hear I came without a companion and that i'm single. People start families young here. My Grandma seemed to be one of the most popular women there and I could tell she kept telling everyone the same story over and over. I really couldn't understand what she was saying but after a while I picked up on it. It went something like this: "This is my Apo(grandson)...he is American....visited Boracay...and is leaving us again to visit Puerto Princesa." She doesn't want me to go because she says its part of Mindanao, which due to the high concentration of Muslims, is home to a lot of terrorist activity, and isn't safe. I have to keep telling her that it is safe and I will be fine, but I can tell she doesn't believe me.

In the middle of the Mission all of us left except my Grandparents, to go buy crabs at the local market for my Despedida (Farewell Party) tomorrow. When we got back we waited for hours for my grandparents. So I caught up on world news during that time. The place that we were on actually happened to be a fruit farm, which was really fun for me because I think deep down inside I am a vegetarian...at least I was for 3 months, a few years back. So after awhile of waiting, I got curious and got my Dad to join in on a little fruit gathering adventure. I got some big fruit that looked like a grapefruit but ended up being a pummelo. There were these green scaly looking fruits called Atis. There was a fruit I never had called Santol which is a fruit with big seeds inside, covered with the white flesh of the fruit. You don't eat the seeds, you just kind of suck on them, They are super sour and the texture is slimy, but they are pretty good. There was also a red fruit that I remembered eating during my childhood. Back when I was a kid, they're were these little red berries with a starchy, white inside on some bushes in Serra Mesa. I had no idea if they were poisonous or not but I still picked and ate them anyways. Here they had the same thing, called Tambis, but they are much bigger here, kind of like mini apples. Those were really cool to see and taste because of the memories they brought back. The most fun part of the adventure was the coconut trees though. After showing my dad I could climb the trees if I really wanted to, we found a long bamboo stick with a hooked knife attached. I took it and cut down a mature coconut. Opening it was much more trying for me than I've seen on tv. Finally after way too much time peeling off the husk and cracking the shell, I got to drink fresh coconut juice fresh from the tree. I was still curious, so I decided to cut down a young coconut(buko) because the flesh is sweeter and softer, and the juice tastes better. I drew a little crowd this time cause of the effort that I had to put in to cut it down. My shirt was off, I had a full on sweat going, and must've looked pretty funny with that huge bamboo/knife contraption. They were all probably thinking, "what's this crazy Philam up to?!" I also got to drive one of those tricycle bikes with Joy and Jampong as passengers...not very comfortable at all. This is exactly the stuff I was hoping to get to do while I was here. It was a fun day and I got to spend some good, quality time with my Dad while cutting down coconuts.

May 22- Today was my last full day here in Tarlac. We just relaxed at home for the most part until my grandma wanted me to go shopping with her for a present for my mom. We went to 3 different malls and spent a good amount of time doing it. My lola cracks me up. cause she is so mean to people sometimes. She'll ask someone a question and then get mad at them if they didn't know the answer or if it isn't what she wants to hear. I guess you have to be there, but when she catches me laughing, she smiles as well. Love that.

At night we had a great meal for my Despedida with the highlight being blue crabs cooked in coconut milk. So good, but it's a lot of work to get the meat. We had another great night of fellowship and I got a chance to tell my Dad that I was proud of him for turning things around. I really am going to miss it here in Paniqui. I wish I had spent more time here, which is a long way from when we first pulled up a few days ago. I'll miss the stubby little puppy, Pandok, the meals, my little brother who just started to get familiar with me, my family, and probably most of all my Lolo. Not having a Dad around for a lot of my childhood sucks, but I also feel like I missed out on a lot of time with my Lolo. He seriously cracks me up and I feel closest to him for some reason. I think I would've spent a lot of time with him back home.