Welcome To My Life

San Jorge (San Hor-he)

I just had a blissful vacation in the hometown of my parents, San Jorge, Samar. It was nice to see the farms, the mountains, the falls, the beaches and the people in my hometown. The fresh and clean air and the billions of stars at night was a major plus. Whenever we go home to the province(which only happens every 3-4 years. Bummer!), my cousins there(which is like half the barangay hehehe) make sure that we would go on an adventure everyday to make our vacation unforgettable and fun!

This time though, the weather, although not bad as in Manila was (si Florita kasi eh), was not permitting us to have much fun. It was so windy when we got there. A few rains here and there plus the howling of the wind. My Uncle Nonoy said it was because of the Habagat season. Good thing after a few days, the sky cleared up and the bright sun was out.

Blanca Falls

First day, we went to Blanca Falls which is found in a nearby town. A 30 minute rough road drive or an hour Banca ride. I've been here a few times. The only difference now is I'm with my nieces and nephews from Manila and it's there first time to come here. I also jumped the ledge of the Falls which almost drowned me(thanks to my cousin who rescued me, I survived that encounter). The first time I had the courage to jump the Falls and I ended up almost drowning. Sheesh! Good thing the kids were there to entertain us and made me forget about that, although I'm a bit proud I did something extraordinary that day. hehehe

here I am about to jump

Kids love the water, even if it's freezing cold. The water here is so cold that my Uncle narrated that a decade ago they would just put the beer or drinks in the water and the water will cool it. That's how cold the water was then. Brrrrr It's a must visit when Balikbayans visit San Jorge. It's one of the beauties found in my province.

the kids enjoying the c-c-cold water

my nephew Pao and I enjoying the c-c-cold water

Second day, it was my Uncle's 70th Birthday. He's our favorite Uncle because he makes jokes a lot just like my Lolo did when we were little. It was a party from morning, night 'till the wee hours the next morning. hehehe The visitors just kept on coming. It's like the whole barangay went to party with us. The food and drinks were non-stop and some people brought plastic bags to get some extra food for their families at home. The lechon was sarap to the bones! Tsk tsk tsk

The Corrales Siblings

Oh BTW, a bit of trivia for you guys, on my Uncle's bday, there is a tradition that in the early hours of your birthday, the locals(with very very good singing voices) and your friends will organize a little choir that will "harana" you with songs until you are awaken by them, they call it "Manyanita". This is unexpected, a surprise of some sort. Only a limited of people will know that you will be given a Manyanita on your birthday so as not to spoil the surprise. What they do is while you're sleeping, these people will come up to your house and will sing songs (slow songs, birthday songs, fast songs) non-stop until you wake up and come out of your room to greet them and hear them sing some more. Nobody will wake you up. The songs they are singing will wake you up in your sleep. They will sing songs for you and even if you sleep like a log at night, they will go inside your room and sing fast and loud songs until you wake up. It's a privelege in the our town if you're given a Manyanita. It means that people around the town see you as a special person. After the songs, you treat them with breakfast. hehehe I didn't get to witness my Uncle's Manyanita, because I slept in another house where we can't hear the singing. Sayang talga! I wanted to witness this one so bad. I wish I can go back to the province during my birthday and be given a Manyanita. hehehe That would be Uber Duper Cool!

Third day, it was time for some of my cousins, nieces, nephew and brother to go back to Manila. They could only stay for a few days there. Work! Work! Work is waiting for them. hehehe Next time though they would ask for longer vacation days so they can enjoy the province more. After they left, all of us there were a bit sad. The kids were gone. Quietness prevailed. In waray, we called it "mamingaw". So instead of sulking, my Auntie suggested that we go to a nearby beach and enjoy our vacation! That's what we did. We immediately prepared food to bring to the beach and off we went. We went to Burabod Beach. It's an hour away from our place. When we got there, we were all laughing and getting a bit cold because it was soooo windy! The waves were a bit high, it's like we were going surfing instead of swimming. But instead of sulking again, we tried to enjoy the surroundings. It's still a beach anyway. We enjoyed the low tide because there were lots of shells near the beach. We went shell hunting and took lots of pictures na lang. The black sand was so fine it's like in Boracay. I wish they would develop this area, it would make a very nice resort.

let's go swimming!!! errr wag na lang pala hehehe

Fourth day, we went to Catbalogan a town that is an hour away from our place. This is where Tessie Tomas grew up and still has a house too. Our cousins, toured us around the town, we went to Imelda Park(which is being renovated), the town hall, the famous and yummy places to eat and the Pier (where my cousin said, the ship Donya Paz used to dock).

at the pier

To be Continued...

posted by tabel @ 7/17/2006 04:19:00 PM