I grew up in Metro Manila. My parents and my grandparents grew up in the city as well so we did not have a native province to come home to every summer. What I remember about Manila though was the traffic, the floods, the streets and the street foods, the overcrowded malls, the jeepneys, the noise ---- I guess some of us who have moved to a different country would agree on me saying that we all MISS THE CHAOS!!!
Manila, Manila --- the things that I thought I hate about this city are the very same reasons why I love it so much. I was immersed so much in the chaos growing up taking public transport and living in the most congested area in
When I was a kid, our Sundays were usually spent like this: We would leave the house early, walk or catch a tricycle (a form of public transport) to go to the church as a family. Along the street we would pass by a number of sari-sari stores (variety stores) and different stalls selling pineapples, cigarettes, tabloids, ihaw-ihaw (all types of barbequed meat) – you name it! There would still be vendors outside the church selling small guitars, balloons, chicks of different colours and cotton candy. We would usually be standing for the church was always packed.
Then just outside church, we would hail a cab going to my grandmother’s house, about forty minutes away. It would usually take us more than one hour if the traffic was terrible which would usually be all the time. I used to enjoy looking at massive painted billboards of Filipino movies --- they were not posters but hand-painted movie ads as wide as the building walls. Jeepneys would be all over the place – they used to be so colourful and fully-decorated with sound systems and everything. I find the stickers all over them very poetic and pretty much reflected the harsh living of the common people – the masses. Humour of course was a huge part of their appeal.
We would arrive at my grandmother’s house just before 12noon. Lunch would be a home-cooked meal to be shared by the rest of the clan with all of my cousins sitting at the long “kids’ table”. SM or Shoemart was just five minutes away so the rest of the afternoon, after all the playing and the cartoon marathons would be spend cooling down in the mall. “Merienda” or snacks would be a treat to Mcdonalds, or what most of the other kids would prefer, Jollibee – a famous Filipino fast food.
My family would catch a cab again to go back home. The streets would be filled with a mix of candles, gas lamp, electric lights from stores and restaurants that would still be open til late. If it rained, for sure some streets would be flooded --- sometimes the water would go into the houses and subside the next day.
The streets seemed a lot smaller when I went back home last year but everything else were exactly the same – just the way I like it!
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I grew up in a small province in Laguna where Easter was as solemn as a funeral but as festive as Christmas and New Year. I guess that pretty much covers the Easter journey anyway.
For me, as a young girl, it started a week before during Palm Sunday. Several of us little girls and boys dressed up as angels and wore a native flower called sampaguita around our necks. We joined one of the many parades around the town throwing rose petals and the like all over the streets. Adults would wave palms and sing hosanna on the side streets while the parade of small angels, soldiers and statues would pass through.
The next few days are spent going to the church often and making sure statues, flowers and food for the easter feast would be ready. Each family owned a statue that they took care of, which told a story in the life of Jesus. My mum's family owned the scariest one. I often avoided passing the place where it was kept for it told the story when the devil was tempting Jesus.
I remember Easter morning where my sister and I would get up at the break of dawn and dress up as angels again. This was for another ceremony where a huge statue of Mary and met a huge statue of Jesus at the end of yet another procession. My sister would sing and we would have to climb to the top of a narrow and high set of stairs to reach the top of Mary's statue and unveil her face so it could see Jesus had risen.
After the all the rituals and ceremonies were over, we would eat. I use to love the smell of warm bread called pan de sal and look out for the street vendors who would sell all different types of yummy food. It almost made up for having to wake up so early.
i grew up in kalookan. life was pretty simple there. pretty basic. no excesses, esecially with money. growing up surrounded by poverty and the REALITY of life in the philippines really taught me a lot of about what is really important in life. family, faith and education. Even though i had to put up with constant flooding growing up...getting sick and that...i would never trade it for an easier or richer life...the simple life is a happy life, and i've had it all my life.
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