Childhood Summer- Part 1

Spending summer nowadays maybe different from how some of us have spent in the early 70s or 80s. Television was just for the privileged; local air travels were expensive, and sea travels would take days to and from.


Growing up in the Philippines, my encounters with nature were few but lingered on with me. During summer (usually from March to May, and school is out), I've spent my days with my grandparents just  barely 6 kilometres of the eastern part of the city. It is not that far yet we call it the "farm" or "bukid". To us, anything outside the city is a farm.


We will spend the whole day either helping minor household chores such as sweeping the yard, cleaning the house, or washing dishes. I was a sickly child and washing the dishes was often assigned to me since it was not considered a task too exhausting. Usually with my youngest uncle Arvin, we washed the dishes at a nearby common pumping well. It was a meeting place for everybody who needs water; we washed our dishes, some did their laundry, and others cover themselves with a "malong" or big  traditional tube skirt made of cotton, just stationed themselves few metres away to bathe. 


We shared simple food cooked by our grandmother. We clean ourselves before heading to bed, of course, we call it "papag". For the little ones like me, we settle on the bamboo floor lined with fresh linens and a soft pillow, underneath a mosquito net. Settling down to sleep, we listened to our grandparent's favorite radio night drama (or opera on air). Until we doze off to a peaceful sleep. It was simple life.


In the mornings, we wake up just before the sun will burst its light. Sounds of crickets and chirping birds will greet us. On some days, my cousins and other siblings would tag along with our uncles and head out to the "forest" to gather branches, twigs, fallen palm leaves, some "uyo" and coconut husks as cooking fuel. It was expensive to use bottled gas back then.


My grandparent home has a small running creek behind it. It was clear and shallow. During humid and warm days, we will just sit in there and cool ourselves with the flowing water. Stacking stones to a level, swinging on tree branches; it was a big event.


Itay and Inay had a small pigpen at the backyard, with 2-3 growing pigs. At times, the mother pig or inahen would give birth to 6-7 suckling pigs. During mother pig's birthing, we were all awake watching the arrival of each cute piglets. Itay had fighting cocks and some laying chickens too. There was a pet dog named Fields (after a popular PBA import Andrew Fields).


My favorite was the 10 feet tall "Kamias" tree (or Camias ginger lilly). The fruit stood proud with all its greenish fruits usually 2-3 inches long. On days, I would chomp on this sour fruits filled with oxalic acid. I just fancy it dipped in salt! My Inay would gather the fruits and cooked heavily in sugar as kamias candies.


During the summer vacations, adults and teenagers would gather a league of basketball players and play in a makeshift basketball court at the heart of the forest. Goals were nailed on coconut trunks, the soil was painted with white to resemble a court, and scores were written down the earth. Later on, they got a blackboard as a scoreboard. 


My grandma had her own table of refreshment. She sold a drink consisting of gulaman cubles and/or sago (tapioca pearls) suspended either in milk, fruit juice or brown-sugar water flavored with pandan leaves. A tray lined with "turon", or Banana Lumpia, which is deep-friend crispy thinly-sliced bananas and jackfruit strips, cooked and dusted with brown sugar, rolled in spring roll wrapper. Sometimes, a mini-stove was set to cook Banana Que, which is deep-fried Cardaba (saba) banana, coated with caramelised brown sugar in bamboo skewer. Another version , grilled banana in bamboo skewer was a popular choice.


Everyone has his or her own favorite team to cheer on. The crowd was electrifying with energy. Teams beating teams after teams until the best was hailed at the Basketball summer league champion. Everyone was ecstatic. At the end of the day,  whether you're rejoicing with the winning team or licking the wounds of losing, we all gather and clean the area before we leave. Then it will start again next summer.