lundi, octobre 24, 2005
alienation
every after activity, there will always be some sort of reflection. so the next thing you will be reading is a composition by yours truly and des, my immersion partner.
we're from mars
by yayam and des
Sometimes you have to swallow your pride and take a plunge into a world you can never imagine. The journey began last Friday at 1:00 pm. We had to take a long, bumpy, dusty, hot and not-so-joy ride before we arrived in Pagalungan, Lumbia. As soon as we reached the area, our much-awaited doom came dancing in our very eyes but little did we know that this so-called doom would be our lives' greatest lesson.
When our foster parent fetched us at the covered courts, we had expected our temporary homes to be normal, but instead, before our very eyes, was a shabby, little hut – much like a box. Only scrapes of wood were separating the minute rooms. There was a living room, which contained of only a calendar and four aged chairs. Despite the unwelcoming appearance of their house, the Nafarrete family welcomed us with a very good smile. They showed us the room where we would be sleeping. The room was quite small, scarcely a quarter of a classroom but we were still relieved that we wouldn't be sleeping in the living room. We were a little taken aback when we found out that we would be sleeping on the same bed and imagine it this way – the bed was so small and there were actually two of us sleeping there. We were touched, nevertheless, when we found out that they took time to wash the beds and clean the house painstakingly.
Real work began at day 2. Although what we did for them wasn't heavy as it should be, we experienced the hardships of a common Pagalungan family. We insisted on doing the dishes and other household chores but our nanay, as hospitable as she is, wouldn't let us. To add to her kindness, she even gave us snacks during the day and also midnight snacks when we couldn’t sleep the night before because we were just adjusting to the place. They went with us to explore the place and we, as intelligent as we are, didn’t bring our slippers. So we ended up walking barefoot on a grassy, thorny and torturous ground. We both took a dip at the river, which all my classmates did for it was scorching hot.
Although with little, the Nafarrete family was satisfied on what they had. They even bragged about never running out food. Only a simple, sincere smile can make their day extra-special. The bond between their family and friends is priceless. A simple amusement can make their day wonderful. They even taught us games that we never knew about. It proved that simple things could give you little joys. Life is hard there but they’ve got their loved ones that give them reason to live.
Even taking a bath is hard in Pagalungan. We're not used to take a bath at open spaces and people staring at us like we’re aliens coming from Mars who landed in their planet. When we had nothing else to do in the afternoon and after the light lunch by our nanay, we cleaned our “rooms” because it was muddy from our adventure. And when we finally retired to our rooms because of exhaustion, our nanay gave us salted bananas, which tasted very unusual. Not wanting to embarrass them, we each ate a piece of it. Time flies fast. Nighttime came and we had to put insect repellent on each pore of our skin to ward off the killer mosquitoes.
Before we knew it, morning came and it was time to say goodbye to our foster families. While preparing to leave, we gave our tokens and letter of gratitude to the family but before we had to end our alienation, we took a last look at Pagalungan, taking pictures that filled up our cameras. We took another long, bumpy, dusty, hot and not so joy ride all the way back to XUHS. Finally having the chance to eat real food, we savor each bite at our pandesals and every sip of our Pepsi. Going home never felt like heaven before. Lest, the immersion was a truly wonderful experience that made us realize how we are blessed with good families and friends.
We had survived the challenge! The tragedy-turned-ecstasy activity, the immersion, felt like a one-million-peso challenge. And right now, we feel like millionaires. The mosquitoes, the river, the salted bananas and the mud-covered shoes will never be forgotten. It served as a lifetime lesson we're sure we'll never forget.
**pictures will follow later.
yayam parked her beetle at 7:19 PM
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