Good Morning

Friday, February 9, 2018

Reading this article, I smile a bit about how I used to be very candid about my observations and opinions, as well as how I inserted interjections in my writing and some mild humor.


Waking up in the bukid or countryside of the Philippines is a unique and pleasant experience.  The distant crowing of roosters as the sun starts to rise.  The dew rising from the lush green fields, creating a blanket of cool mist that slowly lifts as rays of light begin to peek through.  Gradually this fog dissipates, and there is this bright clarity all around.  There is a warmth and energy that beams through even the cavernous of homes and is soon pulsating through our veins, as a light sweat breaks from our skin, beckoning us to rise and come outside to kiss the breeze and welcome the day.

I like the first picture below, of me gazing at a bahay kubo from a distance.  The picture to me has some symbolism in play.  Everything was new, and seemingly uncomplicated, perhaps a representation of simpler times.  There is a relative innocence about the scene and perhaps a naivety in my view of everything, almost completely oblivious to what may lie around or was approaching.  Purity also present -- simple clothing, a clean white shirt, a youthful kind of health in me, and surroundings that were mostly still green and untouched.  But a bahay kubo being formed, a concrete wall encroaching, and a gloomy sky above with troubled clouds enshrouding the land I am mesmerized by; perhaps a foreshadowing of what was to come.

As far as that mountain I referenced in my writing below, interestingly I never did climb that mountain.  I ended up climbing several mountains in the next couple of years, but never that one in particular; yet ironically, it was the closest one to where I was living.

Original post below:

Thursday, February 23, 2006

It was a good morning watching the sun rise and being outside in a provincial environment.

Oh yes, I'd like to tell everyone who have been e-mailing me that I really do enjoy receiving your e-mails and comments. However, since I'm rushing most of the time at the internet cafe trying to save money, it's taking a while to reply. So please don't get upset if I have not replied to you yet.

So, this morning I went outside and decided to check out a couple of carabaos. If you look at the picture where I'm sort of looking down, well that's because I suddenly heard water running and splashing. Yeah, the animal was taking a pee. Anyways, so I moved on to other things. I was told that the rice field I was walking on, even though already harvested, had a few fallen rice stalks. So I spent some time picking whole grain rice called palay. I'm curious to see how the grain is separated. And so after getting urinated on by a carabao and getting itchy from the rice stalks, I decided to relax for a bit before heading out to the market. I really liked the nipa hut or bahay kubo on that field. In the picture of me and the rice stalks over my shoulders, I want to note that the peak you see right above my head is a mountain I am going to climb in the next week or so. There is a cross there on that peak that I would like to visit. Local stories tell that everyone who visits the cross lose their sanity. So that really struck my curiosity. Not only are the stories interesting, but I'd like to see what happens when I go up there since it seems that I've obviously lost my sanity already. hahaha, just joking... but I'm not joking about climbing that mountain.

Friday, February 24, 2006
2nd Day & All is Well
Well, the second day has begun. I'm sick from something I caught on the flight, but other than that I feel better than yesterday. Got up this morning at 5:00 AM and was able to watch the sunrise. It felt good. But then on my way here to the internet cafe I had to wait outside for them to open in a packed wet market for about an hour. Breathing gasoline, diesel, and second-hand smoke really irritates me. Guess you can never get the good without the bad. You can't get the comfort of the US without the social qualities of the Philippines. You can't enjoy the beauty of the Philippines without going through financial hardship. And you can't get the full Philippine social experience without having to tread through polluted areas. Or can you? There's still more of the Philippines I want to see...