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Monday, April 04, 2005
Hower: Wowed by Philippines
By Prima Guipo Hower
Your Roving Guide
APRIL. Spring in America officially sprung on March 20. In Florida, everyone has spring fever.
In some parts of New York, Massachusetts, Rhode Island it is still snowing. In the Philippines, it's summer time.
I recall those childhood summers in General Santos City in the 1960s.
Back then, my friends talked incessantly about leaving Barrio Lagao to travel the world and see other places. Now, we couldn't wait to return to enjoy again those endless carefree days of childhood, of home.
I recall the summers spent in leisure pursuits like searching for that perfect gagamba for the spider fight tournament, helping my brothers make tirador to hunt for mayas and snakes, fishing at our backyard tilapia ponds, or making paper dolls with my friends Josie Ferrariz Tizon and Celia Parica Esma.
And oh there was that one special summer after third grade. We had just discovered the wonders of letter writing in English Class under Mrs. Balanza.
So Josie, Celia and I established a three-household post office in our Lagao neighborhood.
We made mailboxes out of shoeboxes, mounted them on ipil-ipil posts and pretended we were living in the United States. We spent our waking hours writing letters under Americanesque pen names-something like Cherry Pink, Apple Blossoms and Robin White.
It makes me wonder now if the kids back home still do the same things like we used to, play games that we used to play or spend their summer vacations the way we did.
I remember the summer nights too. Group games played with the neighbors-the Galicias, the Osorios and the Raymundos when the moon was full. Tumba-lata, bulan-bulan, hide and seek-how we played well into the night.
Those were the summer days before the advent of television, play stations and cell phones in General Santos.
Those were the days when children were kids for sixteen summers. And the whole family went on excursions.
There were the quiet walks from sparsely populated Third Barrio Lagao to Alunan Beach for a picnic.
On foot, we'd take a short cut through the meadow where the Royal East Asia Hotel and the Anchor Driving Range now stand, past the Saint Elizabeth Hospital, the Veneracion ice plant, past the Palengke and the slaughter house.
Then there was the blue water of Sarangani Bay. The stretch of white sands from Bula to Silway was our playground then.We'd frolic in the water and learn how to swim. We'd bury my father up to his neck under a mound of sand.
My mother would eagerly wait for a spear fisherman so she could buy tulay or burot. Then we'd grill them on open fire.
There were vines with purple flowers and waxy leaves crawling all over the water's edge.We'd trudge over them and gleefully listen to the popping sound as we stepped on the pods.
Before the fireflies came out for their nocturnal dance we'd retrace our morning route, singing our way home.
That was my favorite summer activity. Simple pleasures of summer were there for all of us to savor. They are still there waiting.
And one does not have to look much farther than the shadows of Mount Matutum or beyond the shores of Sarangani Bay.
One does not have to spend a fortune either. One need only open his senses to all possibilities and allow himself to be wowed by the simple delights that South Cotabato has to offer.
Durian farm
Along the National Highway en route to Marbel is a patch of land enriched by Mount Matutum where durians abound.
Aptly called Durian Farm, there is something for everyone here even those who do not like durian fruit like me.
I could spend a whole day just following the path that meanders around the durian plantation. A stroll around the garden is educational as well as pleasurable.
Trees and exotic flowers are painstakingly labeled with their exotic names-rubella tuberosa, bromeliads, hydrangea (million flowers), pentas (we call them butterfly flowers in Florida because they attract butterflies), etc.
For ice cream lovers, the specialty of the house (durian of course) completes the day. I heard the food at the restaurant is also good.
Tourists frequently make a stop here out of curiosity about the durian said to be a "fruit that smells like hell but tastes like heaven".
Durian Farm has also become one of the favorite places for locals to visit on family day and as venue for seminars. There are cottages for rent for overnight visitors.
A day in the museum
Notre Dame of Dadiangas College is the home of the General Paulino Santos Museum. Spearheaded by Brother Willy Lubrico and the Santos Family, the museum is a must for the children and their parents this summer.
Here one can learn about the evolution of the city, the life of the man after whom it was named and the trials and triumphs of the pioneers who came from different parts of the archipelago to help build the settlement into the boomtown that it is today.
Of special interest to me were the diaries and letters that General Paulino Santos left behind, among his many important legacies.
The possibility for a fun-filled summer is endless. Just keep looking and stay tuned.
Prima Guipo Hower resides in Tampa, Florida. She would love to hear from you.Email her at primah@juno.com or visit www.booksbyprima.com.
For Bisaya stories from General Santos. Click here. (This section is updated every Monday)
(April 4, 2005 issue)
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