BEBE

Hmmp!

Sumugod ako sa bumubuhos na ulan para bumili ng barbecue at ice cream na pamares sa Red Ribbon cake na isang oras binitbit habang nakatayo sa siksikang bus mula Cabanatuan.

"Yun pala e walang bisitang darating dahil ipinamigay na ang ihahanda habang hinahalughog ko ang binabahang kabayanan ng mabibiling barbecue at ice cream.

Pero hapi bertdey na din.

Hmmp!

SELF INTERVIEW HABANG KUMAKAIN NG LITSON SA REUNION NG CEd BATCH '93

Bakit ka nag-enrol sa College of Education?

Actually, business administration sana ang kukunin ko dahil 'yun ang course ng crush ko (at ng isa pang naging ex ko). Pero nakumbinsi ako ni Joey Gamboa na noo'y News Editor ng CLSU Collegian na mag-educ. Bagay daw sa writing career ko. Madaling ipasa.

Pasaway ka daw sa College noon?

Hindi naman. Ayaw ko lang talaga ang nagsusuot ng uniform. Una dahil hindi ko type magsuot ng anumang may kuwelyo. Pangalawa dahil dalawang paris ng maong na kupas lamang ang aking pantalon. Pangatlo dahil wala akong pambili (o mahiraman) ng sapatos na balat. 

Ano ang kuwento mo sa educ?

Hindi ako type ng dean noon kaya pinalabanan ako ng tiga BEEd sa college council election. Siyempre talo siya. Tapos, tinarantado ako sa university student council election kaya isinumpa kong iboboykot ng college ang lahat ng activity nila. Kaya sinuhulan ako ng 100 bangko para sa college.

Kumusta ang love life?

Isa lang naging jowa ko na tiga-educ. Barnacles ang tawag sa kanya ng mga kaibigan ko. Meron din isang unofficial girlfriend, isang crush (si 18-3), isang gusto sanang maging girlfriend (kumare ko na siya ngayon sa bunso niya), at ilang may crush sa akin (nalaman ko sa bulong). Hanggang d'un lang. Mahirap kasing tumae sa sariling bakuran.

Anong lugar sa college na pinaka-memorable sa iyo?

'Yung Room 305 kung saan kami inabutan ng 1990 killer earthquake, at yung dating opis ni Dr. Monica Quilantang kung saan niya ako ginamot sa high blood sa pamamagitan ng dasal at pag-inom ng madaming tubig.  

Proud moments?

'Nung maging dean 'yung kaibigan at kumare ko (ninang siya ni Bulan), 'yung pagiging semi-cum laude ko (1.78 GPA kahit mas madaming absent kaysa pasok), at yung hindi inaasahang masama ako sa top performers ng CLSU sa PBET (kahit hindi ako nagreview dahil kinupit ko yung pangrebyu ko sana).   

TALABABA: Ang larawan sa pinaka-itaas ay kuha ni Dr. Regidor Gaboy na ninong ni Bulan. Lahat ng larawan ay kuha sa reunion ng College of Education Batch '93. Masaya ang reunion kahit konti lang ang nakadalo. For the record, ang suwerteng nakabihag ng puso ko ay isang BSEd Filipino major na CEd Batch '93 din. Makikita siya sa pinakaitaas na larawan habang buong kagalakang idinidisplay ako sa mga kaklase niya. :-P

GOTAD AD KIANGAN

Keisha Uy in "PH Travel Book" has the following to say about Gotad ad Kiangan:

• that Gotad is part of the three Ifugao prestige rites of Balihong, Uya-uy, and Hagabi;
• that Gotad is celebrated with a lot of drinking, singing, chanting, and dancing;
• that a gottadan means an ethnic parade. 

I thought Gotad is the Ifugao equivalent of the fiesta. Whatever it is, we are fortunate to shoot our first one in Kiangan as we wind up 3 days of exploring the magnificent terraces of Ifugao. Kuya Egay Carrasco is one very happy photographer and I a very tired middle-aged guy.

FOOTNOTE: Photo immediately above shows (clockwise from left) Gov. Eugene Balitang, Cong. Teddy Baguilat, and who I presume is Kiangan Mayor Joselito Guyguyon.

BATAD, 12 YEARS AFTER

The rice terraces of Batad has been listed as a UNESCO World Heritage Site.

I fell in love with the massive amphitheater-like terraces carved straight out of a mountain side the first time I saw it in 1999.

I'm back 12 years older, the 1-hour bumpy ride from Banaue to the Saddle more strenuous, the hike down to the village and back more laborious.

But we came, we saw, and we shoot.

And that includes 3 hours of a scrambling trek to the Tappiya Falls and back with Kuya Egay Carrasco while Kuya Maning Francisco waits in the village to tell us that our lunch of inlagim got away.

FOOTNOTE: The original village of Batad has 2 churches: the big building with the red roof and an older green one as shown in the photo above. The church below we passed by on the way to Batad.

HAPAO

Hungduan finally.

Shooting the fabled rice terraces of Huangduan has been an itch for some time now but its been either the roads are closed or our vehicle won't make it through the sticky unstable road.

Then the gods smiled, the rains held, the roads opened, and Kuya Egay Carrasco's Mitsubishi Montero ably took us to Hapao.

Hapao is a barangay of Hungduan and its magnificent stone-walled rice terraces dating back to 650 AD is part of the the extensive Hungduan rice terraces network which has been listed by UNESCO as a World Heritage Site.

Now, only the itch for Mayaoyao needs to to be scratched.

FOOTNOTE: For the record, the building with the yellow paint and green roof seen on the right side of the photo is a church.