A WEDDING AND A FALL

I am back in Luzon. (In Mindanao, they don't refer to me as "TAGA-NUEVA VIZCAYA" instead they say, TAGA-LUZON. The first few times that I heard it, it doesn't sound like they are talking about me. It sounds strange, then I got used to it:) [If you know what I mean.]

May 10th Wedding Day: Many people came to the house and the wedding feast started. Walang katinigilang supply ng lechon at kung anu-anong pagkain. There were so much food that I lost my appetite so I did not eat at breakfast and lunch. The wedding of my sister in law was scheduled at 4PM at a resort nearby. Although the colors were too bright for my taste, they were cute: Fuschia for the the maids and the table and chair clothes accented with a sayote green banners. Oh, why am I making it hard on myself trying to describe it, just look at the pictures!





Do you like the green-pink combi on the cake?

Now, the picture to your right is the main entrance. I think it is really pretty. The maid of honor (my other sis in law) is the mistress of all the decorating. She has a real gift.









The Bride, her two sisters, and two others, probably friends.



May 12th, Saturday The whole family packed a few things to go some place called Lakewood in Zamboanga del Sur. By that day, I am pretty bored because I spent the whole day of May 11th in bed watching movies from a single DVD while the rest of the people in the hauz went swimming at a pool nearby. I didn't go because, nothing... I just didn't feel like going.

Anyway, so off we went. We traveled by jeep the first hour then hired 5 motorbikes the rest of the way. All four bikes have two passenger each but they put me alone in one bike because... you guessed it... I'm a big girl! The first few kms of the road was not that bad, some parts are paved, some only have tire paths, some just gravel. The last 1km was tough. It was uphill, a bit muddy and there were practically 'boulders' in the middle of the road. It's supposed to be gravel but I don't know, maybe the driver of the truck who worked on that part of the road was visually challenged kaya maliliit ang tingin niya dun sa pagkalalaking batong ibinuhos dun.

The last thing I knew was that I wasn't holding on to something solid anymore. I found myself lying in a prone position on some stony edge of something. I would have said 'cliff' for dramatic effect but it is not a cliff; just the edge of the road carved at one side of a hill that if I totally roll down, I'd end up splashing in a shallow stream probably scaring off the resident frog or snake!

I got up as soon as the first wave of shock vanished! I looked around and saw the motorbike just a few inches away from where my head was when I fell. Then I felt a dreadful pain on my right knee. I checked it out and saw my jeans torn. There was a gash and a few terrible scratches around it. I tried to walk to see if I injured other parts. I thought, Thank God, it's only the knee and the corresponding right elbow plus an awful feeling of nausea. I tried to locate the driver, he was thrown off farther down the edge of the road. I asked him if he's OK (he doesn't speak Tagalog) he murmured a few unintelligible words but I saw his hands and ankles bleeding. He went to his bike and positioned it upright, gave it a few kicks here and there and ordered me to ride again. (I was trying to look behind me hoping that my husband's motorbike would come before we ride off again.) After a few minutes of waiting, I obeyed.

We arrived at our destination and the others caught up with me and so I told them the story. I was informed that two other bikes had an accident too; my husband's, and the newlywed's and my sis-in-laws new husband sustained a burn from the exhaust pipe. So they joked about what a welcome that was, for me and the new bro-in-law, into their family. It was like an initiation to join a brotherhood or something. As for the driver, he left as soon as he deposited me in front of a house somewhere there. He did not even collect my fare. (But I think my father-in-law gave something for him to the other drivers. I hope it reached him. His scrapes sure needed some cleaning and bandaging. I would have offered to do it for him (it's good I always remember that I am a nurse when I see blood.. hehe) had he not fled too fast.

I tried not to limp in front of the people cuz they are so worried and kept asking if I am OK. I am one person who doesn't like anyone fussing over me. So I walked normally in front of everybody. Somebody said that the more you think about the pain, the more it aches so to forget my injury, I befriended some little boys and asked them to take me to see the lake. Yes, there's a scenic lake in that place (well, that's why it's called Lakewood. It is so beautiful it deserves a blog entry of its own so you might want to look forward to that.) The boys called my husband and we went there, took some pictures and then I saw some lanzones peelings on the ground and I insisted that I be taken to see a real lanzones grove. So we went and harvested a few kilograms of the sweet fruit. I ate right on the ground as my husband (who climbed the tree) throw the fruits at me. I was supposed to collect them to a plastic bag but goodness, that was my first time to see a lanzones tree with real ripe fruits hanging on its branches. "There were so many of them I wanted to burn them down." (That's an expression in Kalanguya. It's a bit negative but it's just a way of expressing delight over something you can't totally have!) So I ate lanzones until my gums and tongue bled. It's ok, it diverted my mind from the pain in my lower extremity.

But now that I am back home, I gave myself the luxury to feel and get real with the pain in my kneecap so I resumed my limping now, here in Nueva Vizcaya.

In my younger years, I used to ride horses, and I had my share of falling off their backs but I have never been injured in those falls. Now, I am not sure if I would like to ride a motorbike again. Maybe if I drive.

So as I have said before, I wanted to go to Mindanao to catch my breath. I did and more. Thank you to you UB&AJ, B&E who helped me go there and even to you Ate Lerma and Family for taking me to the airport in Pagadian ( so I don't have to endure those leeches of a tricycle dispatchers you have there :) and Big thanks also to you Ninang A and Ninong F for fetching me at the airport when I flew back to Manila and for the lunch and supper and then for taking me to the bus terminal in the middle of the night. Thank you Best for forever trying to make everything comfortable and hassle-free for me. Thank you Mamang for spoiling me. To the rest of the family: Dad, and Jo, thank you for the last Marang, Be & Ta2, thanks for a warm inclusion in your wedding, Mor, & Mae, thank you for sacrificing your room for me. I feel bad that everytime I go there for a visit, I have to dislodge someone else, sorry. And the rest of the clan, thank you for trying to talk to me even if we have a hard time understanding each other.


VERY IMPORTANT

Dear Praying Friends,

For the next two weeks, we will be having the 4th Agta/Ayta Mother Tongue Bible Translators' Training again. Jean, Dalmas, and I are here in Bagabag now preparing our teaching modules. We will be teaching Exegesis to these dear people. I therefore beseech you to be part of this work and cover us with your prayers for the whole duration of this workshop (May 15-June1). You can specifically pray for the following:

1. Focused minds and wisdom in preparing and then eventually teaching our modules for Jean, Dalmas, Margie, Maricel and May Ann. (Maricel and Mary Ann will come on the 21st.
2. Right Tagalog translations and explnations for the technical words that we need to impart.
3. Focus, a teachable attitude and mindset for the participants.
4. Good health for both teaching staff and participants.
5. Safe travel and enough finance for the participants from Ayta Mag-Indi and Ayta Abellen of Tarlac and Pampanga as well as Agta Palanan and Agta Casiguran of Isabela.

Thank you and May God richly bless you,
M

(I need to get back to work 'noh! Or else Ninong Dalmas and Jean will fire me!)