The Tide of Philippine Life

I will be leaving for Oregon very soon and I have some mixed feelings about this. I am looking forward to being with my friend who has lost a loved one, to going back to work, and getting Vincent back into his routine. I don't look forward to leaving the warm weather, the visits with friends and relatives (I still haven't seen everybody I was hoping to see), and the feeling of being home. As much as I love Oregon and the people that surround me there, the Philippines is and always will be my home. I may never live here again, but it's the place my soul feels connected to.

LOW TIDE -- ACHES AND PAINS

This vacation has been quite grand and I've experienced so much during my stay here. It hasn't been without its down side, though. For the duration of my stay here, I've had one form of ailment or another. I got here with a slight pain on my right leg that was tolerable. After a run in the village with Katrina and Justin, it just got really bad. True to the Philippine style, this was made somewhat better through massage. We have a masehista (masseusse -- I just know I mangled that word!) who goes to my grandparent's house regularly. She's been by a couple of times to give my muscles (hehe...) a strong rub down and to get my right leg back to working form again. There were times when I would limp along and couldn't even carry Malina up a flight of stairs. As of now there's a slight pain when I make certain movements, so I just don't make those movements -- problem solved!

I've also had a constant cold or allergy. The pollution really does not help. To make things worse, the building next to us is being torn down by about 10 men. Yes, they are jackhammering and pounding their way down bit by bit. This building was a small one -- about 12 to 15 stories -- and it's now down to about 9 stories. So we have all sorts of debris flying as they make way for a four-star hotel.

Buildings around us here are a bit bigger then the ones in Corvallis. The building seen in this picture (the one that's not being torn down) is about 40 stories, the one next to it is about 60 stories high,... To the other side of us, they get even bigger and taller. I can't say I enjoy being in this concrete and glass jungle.

TIDE COMING IN -- BEACH AND WAVES

This is when the waters come crashing in and the tide is rising. So, it's not quite low and not quite high...

Before Katrina, Justin, and Malina left we were able to squeeze in an out-of-town trip to the beach with my Tita (aunt) Chary. We decided that we were going to Puerto Galera, which meant a two-hour ride to the Batangas City port and then an hour-and-a-half boat ride. Wow! Sounds heavenly! My stomach had been feeling a bit funny for a couple of days, but I thought it was nothing and would just go away. So off we went... We were so excited to see our "boat", which was actually a large-size banca (a Filipino outrigger used primarily by fishermen). This is much bigger than the ones used by fishermen, but was designed with seats running down the sides and they had rows of plastic seats down the middle facing forward. Choosing the lesser of two evils, we chose to stay on the sides. We didn't have much choice actually as the boat was quite full both ways. The waves were quite strong because of the time of the year and because there was a storm somewhere in the region. Let's just say that some of us came out lighter than when we got in the boat :) I was very thankful that I decided not to bring Vincent along because this kind of boat ride would have been too traumatic for him. From that point on I had major issues with my stomach that would last throughout our trip.

The beach itself, though, was wonderful! Our resort was right by the beach, the ocean was beautifully blue, and the sound of the waves would just lull you into relaxation. Katrina and I got massages on the beach, Malina loved playing on the sand and in the water, and we all got the much-needed time away from the city. Tita Chary bought a tuna from a fisherman who had just caught it not too long ago and she had a small restaurant next to our hotel prepare it for us. They grilled the head and tail of the tuna and made kinilaw (the Filipino version of ceviche) with the middle part of the fish. YUM! As you can tell, I didn't help my stomach situation any by indulging in this seafood fest. I wish I could have spent some time inside the water but my state of well-being kept me from taking part in any water activities.

HIGH TIDE -- FIESTA DE PADRE NUESTRO HESUS NAZARENO

This next portion actually deserves more than just a paragraph or two. On January 9th, I went along with Tita Chary (yes, she is our own official tour guide!) and her friend, Salve, to the Fiesta de Padre Nuestro Hesus Nazareno (we don't have the letter "J" in our alphabet, so we use the letter "H") or otherwise called Feast of the Black Nazarene. For any of you who plan on being in the Philippines on this day, you MUST take part in this celebration. This is the feast day in which they honor the Patron Saint of Forgiveness and Atonement. Men carry throughout the streets of the old part of Manila, or Quiapo (kiyapo), the image of the Black Nazarene. This life-size image of Jesus carrying His cross was brought over by the Spaniards in the 1600's (about the time they came to conquer the Philippines). The boat that was carrying this image caught on fire, thus blackening the face and hands of Christ. Every years millions of people take to the streets to honor this Patron Saint who is said to bring about forgiveness, peace to our nation, and peace to our families. Groups of devotees bring their own images of the Black Nazarene to this area. Some come from miles and miles away. They start their journey the day or night before and walk to Quiapo to take part in this procession. The most incredible part of this procession is all those who take part in this (all men) come barefoot. As any image of the Black Nazarene walk by, people reach out to touch His face and seek blessing. We were very fortunate to see the actual image as close as we did. My Tita says that this the closest she has ever seen it in all the years that she has been coming to this fiesta. As the actual image processes by, you hear this roar that could be heard from miles away. The roar comes from the people who are shouting and waving their handkerchiefs (which they use to wipe any image that walks by and they keep this as a sign of the blessings they've received) as the Black Nazarene comes before them. This year they say there were two million people -- that's almost the whole of Oregon in one small area of Manila!!!

It is such a profound and moving experience. The devotion that the people have to the Black Nazarene is so strong. It is hard not to feel a sense of hope and faith in the midst of the sea of people. People come here to ask for forgiveness and to seek hope for the future. As I wallow in my own personal woes, I realize that if these people -- most of whom are living in such poverty -- have hope that I must have hope as well. It may seem odd that so much hope is given through a statue (which I suppose why we Catholics are sometimes accused of worshiping idols), but I firmly believe it was a way of accepting the faith that was once forced upon the people by the Spaniards -- a fusion of sorts. When the Spaniards took over all these countries, the people were worshipping idols (animals, people, other forms of nature) -- images they could see. The people must have sought ways to carry out their faith in ways they knew how in order to be able to accept what the Spaniards were forcing them to do. I see the Filipino faith being based on rituals and celebrations. There is a growing number of people who will sit down and discuss their faith life, discuss the Bible, how they've grown into it, how they have made it their own -- but this seems to come from the influences of priests and missionaries from outside. Those who are more traditional honor the statues, celebrate feast days, go to Mass regularly, of course, and see God as the center of the people and not their own personal friend.

As it may seem obvious, I will have to devote some more time to this Feast day. This is quite lengthy as it is and I need to get moving for the next item on our agenda here. I will post another entry soon. For the meantime, I thank you for reading this far.