Just Another Day

It was 9 pm and I was getting ready for bed when I heard my cell phone beeping. I knew then that it was either my supervisor or a group text since no one else would text that late. The message was from my supervisor and it said to meet him at 430 am at the Municipal Hall to attend Lakbay Aral (field trip) with the Department of Agriculture. I attended the same event last year and it went something like this: the agricultural technicians, my supervisor, a handful of farmers, and myself met at the Municipal Hall in the morning but not as early as 430. There were probably 12 of us total and we rode to the event in two separate vehicles which was about an hour and a half from our town. Upon arriving at the event we went on a tour of an operational vegetable farm, had a question and answer session, ate lunch which was provided to us and were home by mid-afternoon. So as I was walking to the Municipal Hall at 430 am I was expecting the same thing as the previous year. However that perception was quickly altered when I saw a chartered bus next to the Municipal Hall with a banner across the front of it reading LAKBAY ARAL 2008. I looked around and saw many familiar faces the municipal agricultural technicians, the town veterinarian, the Barangay Animal Health Care Workers, socially active community members and farmers. While there were many people there at 430 am it didn't include everyone so we waited until 530 am to leave. The trip was 4 hours long and the bus lacked a good air con system so we had stale, warm air for 3 hours of the trip. Once we arrived at the Municipal Hall in San Roque, Cavite we had a thirty minute briefing on our field trip and we were off to our first tour at an organic vegetable farm. The name of the farm was Harbest and it is run by a father-son team from Taiwan. The father immigrated with his family to Philippines almost 29 years ago and they have a successful operation with some innovative ideas. The father spoke Tagalog with a strong Taiwanese accent and his son spoke Tagalog which I could easily understand. The farm is known for it's dragonfruit but it isn't the season so we missed out on that treat. The next farm we went to was a small farm that mostly ferments vegetables and fruits into beverages but it wasn't that interesting to me. The next stop was for picnic style lunch and people left the bus carrying 5 gallon buckets of food literally. The buckets included drinks, cups, silverware, plates, rice, and an assortment of food from steamed vegetables to fried fish. After unpacking the food everybody started to eat in a buffet style going to other peoples tables to get food they hadn't prepared themselves. After lunch people discussed the different things they had seen and if they were going to try it on their own farms. After our lunch break we went to the last farm on the schedule which was an organic herb farm. The farm seemed to be growing almost every type of herb you find in your cupboard including basil, cilantro, rosemary, and mint. The farm had also grown citronella throughout the farm to keep the insects away. I think the large profit margin of the farm interested a lot of people because people asked a lot of questions and we spent a long time there. We might have been there longer but it started to rain so everyone made a dash for the bus. The last stop we made before going home was at a roadside stand selling fruit so people could buy pineapples for their families. The town we were in is covered in fields of pineapple and they cost half as much so people were buying 2-4 pineapples to bring home. Once the bus was full of pineapples and clippings of citronella, basil, and random tree limbs (for people to plant at home) we made our way back home. When I got off the bus I was immediately greeted by one of my co-workers on his way to get dinner and had a five minute conversation about where I had been and where I was going. Then I made my way down the dimly lit streets towards our apartment. Along my way home I had the random kid yell hi to me from their house followed by another five minute conversation with a Barangay Counselor that lives near us. She asked me where I had been and what I was doing all day. After I answered the questions and she got her kid to say hi to me I was on my way again. As I got closer to our apartment though I heard fireworks and karaoke which could only mean one thing, fiesta. I could see thirty guys sitting in front of a karaoke machine when I arrived on our street and the only way home was through them which was impossible. So once again I found myself having a conversation about where I had been and what I was doing. They gave me a chair and I found myself in the midst of unadulterated noise. The blare of the karaoke singing, the occasional explosion of a firework, and plenty of laughter. The party was for Octoberfest and by the looks of some of the guys it might have been an all day affair. I found myself flooded with questions that I could barely hear about America, when we are going home, are we coming back, how much is our rent, what is the word for pomello (giant grapefruit type thing) in English and so on. The street party also brought about some of the strongest political feelings I have heard with my own ears in the Philippines. I was surprised to hear their willingness to express their frustrations since being respectful is usually more important here than anything else but these are young guys, many of them younger than me and their generation might have a different opinion. After all the storytelling I was ready to call it a day and they were ready to keep partying so we parted ways. I walked into the apartment and closed the door hearing echos of someone karakoeing to the Eagles.