iankananaman07: an awesome weekend at Sitio Malasa and Sitio Mabilog

Last November 20-21, 2010, I spent my weekend in Tarlac to be a part of the community development "Makipamuhay" prepared by SOCC and the Community Development Office together with the organization officers and leaders. Makipamuhay is basically, staying and living there (in Tarlac) for 2 days. Learn and adopting the way of living of the Aetas, appreciating what they have to offer and making them feel that somebody cares for them. We went to Tarlac, specifically in Sitio Mabilog and Sitio Malasa. I just brought 1 extra shirt, towel, toiletries, and pajamas. I reserved the spaces of my bag for the old clothes that I planned to give to my foster family. We reached there (at Sitio Malasa) at around 12 in the afternoon, then we ate lunch, little orientation and went to Sitio Mabilog which is 1 to 2 hours away.

Here are some of the pictures I took during my stay there:

We hiked for 1 hour and 30 minutes to get to Sitio Mabilog.

A tough road to take. Kids in Sitio Mabilog walked for 1-2 hours to Sitio Malasa to attend school.

Really tiring and exhausting but the sceneries were all worth it.

on the way to Sitio Mabilog. Slippery, unstable bridge.

Good thing I'm with my twin-best friend :)

I was supposed to go alone, but good thing, she was able to make it. I am most comfortable with her :)

After of almost 2 hours of hiking, we finally reached Sitio Mabilog. We stayed there for 5 hours, we just played with them, sang Christmas songs, and just enjoyed their company.

This is Jennylyn (Right) with her friend. She's my partner there. She's very shy but very sweet and she smiles a lot when I talk to her. She has the most amazing eyes. :) can you see?

The kids there were really energetic and full of life!

parents with their sons and daughters.

They prefer to be called "Kulots" at first, I was shocked. I thought they will be offended, but they said that that's better. Sometimes they talk like..."Kaming mga kulot at Kayong mga Unat"

Astig no? :)

It only shows na hindi sila takot kung anong meron sila, and how others will perceive them.

their past time, basketball :)

They remind me of two things in this picture: 1. Happiness can come in small things.

2. You look for your own happiness in small things.

As much as we still wanted to stay in Mabilog, we have to go back to Malasa because it's already getting dark and we still have to walk again for about 2 hours or so.

When we reached Malasa again, we were immediately, randomly distributed to the families who were going to adopt us.

I was the last one, among the girls who was called. Ma'am Abby said, "Diane, with blah blah, *forgot*

it turned out pala, the one who fetched me from the day care were my to-be siblings! 9, 8, and 6 years old. Wala pala akong parents. Then we walk already to our house that was 10 minutes away from the day care.

(Front)

This is where I stayed. On the left side of the picture, that's my bed.

No doors. and it was really really cold that I can't sleep.

Okay sige palusot ko lang ang lamig. hindi talaga ako nakatulog dahil feeling ko talaga may mananaggal na nasa paahan ko! nakakarinig ako ng mga creepy na sounds kahit na naka ipod nako! trying hard ako mag text sa kapatid ko and i was hoping that she's still up, pero wala na pala akong load! at ung sun phone ko wala ng batt! my gahd talaga, namamatay ako nong gabi! hahaha! but I survived! I was praying really really hard...like "Lord ayokoko pong mamatay sa ganitong paraan please, wag sa mananangal na nananatili paring mysterio sa akin kung paano nila na didigest ang mga taong kinakain nila ng nakahiwalay ang katawan."

and you know what happened next? I fell asleep, and soon I was dreaming.

I dreamt of my mother. weird.

(Back)

This is where they sleep. No doors, no CR, no electricity, and scarcity of water.

P.S. naligo ako! baka akala ninyo hindi! nambulabog ako ng kapit bahay ng 5am para lang makiligo! nag lakad ako ng 10 mins sa madilim na daan na may lecheng pusang itim na sumusunod! *hanggang ngayon minumura ko parin sa isip ko ang pusa na yon.

*siguro un ang manananaggal?? hmmn? :))

This is my foster family in Sitio Malasa. with my Lola Eliang.

with my siblings Jessica 9, Melanie 8 and Jayce 6.

They don't have their parents with them. only Lola Eliang. At this age, they already cook for themselves. they get leaves from trees and eat it for lunch or dinner. o diba. vegetarian! taaaaraaaay! :)

This is how they cook. *never mind my face*

I cooked and prepared dinner for them, just a simple dinner: Corned beef, Tuna, and Scrambled egg. It was their first time to eat corned beef and they were all excited! I was also thrilled for them! feeling ko naman ang galing galing ko magluto! dahil sa mata nila ako ay isang professional na cook! samantalang sa bahay, hanggang instant noodles lang ang kaya kong gawin hahaha!

Dinner time! kalaitlait man ang itsura ng corned beef ko, wala akong pake dahil inubos naman nila yon! haha at pinaghirapan kong hipanin ang apoy para lumakas! halos na ubos na ang tangke ng oxygen ko sa katawan ko!

We end the night with a beautiful program and prayed around the bonfire.

Day 2:

Everybody woke up early for the mass.

While waiting, I noticed a beautiful girl there who was about 9 or 10 years old. she was holding a baby. I asked her if she's the sister of the baby and she said yes. Then we just talked. I found out that she has 10 other siblings and only a mom to take care of them. She just went there because she wanted to see us and play with the other kids, so I took the baby from her and asked her to play for a while.

The cutest baby there :)

He's name is Aquino. nice huh? :)

After the mass, we all went home for lunch. I cooked noodles, corned beef again, tuyo, and eggs. After, I prepared my things bec. we have to leave already.