Thursday, June 29, 2006

Mother and Daughter Chronicles
Days 6-8: “Dumaguete and Siquijor”

(Picture: Deding's kitchen. Beside this cooking space is a stack of firewood that Deding uses for building the fires on which she cooks. There is a picture below of her cooking us dinner while one of her grandchildren watches.)

The following is my discussion with Mom while we were at the Cebu airport waiting for our flight to Bacolod. We had just spent three days in Dumaguete (a college town where my uncle Morrie lives with his wife and son) and the neighboring island of Siquijor (where my grandma lives with her caregiver, Jinky) . My uncle Morris is building a house on Siquijor on a plot of land where his wife and Jinky were raised. My grandma's house is also located on this land...

AM: Let’s start from when we got to Dumaguete.
H: Okay, it was a long, six-hour boat ride from Cebu to Dumaguete. The last half hour was the worst. I “fed” the fish.

AM: What does that mean Mom?
H: The fish got my dinner... [Pauses] When we got to Dumaguete, we went to a very nice hotel with a religious atmosphere.

AM: Really?
H: Yeah, because there was a no-drinking and no-smoking policy; it felt like something (Jerry) Falwell would run. And there were several fellows who seemed to be disciples of the Mormon Church staying there.

AM: Really, I thought those guys were just visitors. They didn’t belong to the hotel.
H: Yeah, but that shows that the hotel is used mostly by religious groups.

AM: Okay.
H: Let’s see, what did we do? Morris’ son and wife joined us for dinner. We had a good night’s sleep and then the next day we enjoyed the main boulevard of Dumaguete. We rented a van, and we saw the sisters.

AM: What?
H: You didn’t see it? It (the statue of the sisters) was in front of the hotel. We saw those five nuns who came to educate people in Dumaguete. Five sisters struggling in a boat.

AM: What else?
H: The cab driver took us to various places. He took us to a local place where we could buy coconut pie. And then he took us to a restaurant where we had coffee, then he took us to the pier to go to Siquijor.

AM: How was the boat ride to Siquijor?
H: There was a preacher there who preached and preached and preached. He must have preached for a whole hour while we were waiting to go. (Later on the boat) I heard some chicks peeping. The man in front of me had a box full of chicks. Don’t know what he’s going to do with all those chicks.

AM: You didn’t talk to him.
H: Nun-uh. I guess when we got off the boat there were so many porters.


AM: That was in the Dumaguete wasn’t it?
H: It was in Siquijor also. I didn’t recognize Darling (Jinky’s sister and Morrie’s sister-in-law), who kept telling me to go with her. But I said “No,” because I thought she was one of the porters. Until she said Morris’ name, and then I knew, and I followed her. Then we saw Mom’s unusual yellow truck.

AM: Then what?
H: Well, then I saw the lift, to lift Mom into the truck.
AM: Can you describe the lift?
H: The lift is like and elevator. It goes all the way down to the ground, then Mom is rolled into it. And then the lift goes up to the same level as the truck. Then someone who is riding with mom rolls her into the back of the truck. In the truck, there were a bunch of chairs where the rest of us sat. [Pause] So Darling drove us to the resort. We couldn’t get two units, so we just got one unit that would sleep four, and so Jinky and Mom had to go home (to sleep there). [Another pause] So, let’s see. After a little rest, Darling picked us up so that we could visit a couple of relatives. We visited Edgar.

AM: Tell me how Edgar is related to us.
H: Edgar Varian. A cousin. He had a nice house with… He raises cocks for cock fights. I think his house has a Mexican flavor to it. Don’t you think?

AM: Why is that?
H: Because it is so colorful. What did you think of all those cocks?
AM: I thought it was really interesting to see all of their little shelters in the front yard. Since then I have seen a lot of those little shelters where cocks can go if it rains. But none of the others are painted so colorfully as the ones at Edgar’s place were. I asked one of the kids if it ever got too noisy. Those cocks were really loud.

H: They were probably used to it. Then we visited another house. Daisy and G-boy's. I’ve never seen a house with so many varieties of collections from dolls, to shoes, to souvenirs, to what?
AM: Hundreds of plastic gremlin-like creatures.
H: To whisky bottles…

AM: Then what?
H: Shirley, the sister of G-boy showed us Daisy’s bedroom. In there, there were even more collections. Shoes! She was competing with Imelda (Marcos)! I don’t think she had as many shoes as Imelda, but it was a competition. [Pause] I think after that we went to Morris’ house. We had a dinner again. Morris’s mother-in-law cooked us a nice meal. And I started my big load of wash.

AM: Tell me what you thought about Uncle Morrie’s house… and Grandma’s house.
H: Grandma’s house was a separate house. It had two rooms, with two beds in the bedroom in the back. There was a living room in front right?

AM: I think it was a kitchen, really.
H: So let’s see. Morris’s house was not yet finished. We went to his second floor which has the master bedroom and Dan’s room (Morris’s son). Neither of the rooms was quite finished yet. The lower level had the room where Jimmy (my youngest brother) slept when he visited Morris’. Jinky claims that part of the house – she put in nice tiles into that room all by herself because she knows it will eventually be her room.
The family, the mother, and the father, slept in the back portion of this compound [AM’s editorial note: this “compound” consisted of a plot of land with several different houses on it. One was Grandma’s, one was Morrie’s, and one belonged to Jinky and Ippai, Morrie’s wife, since their childhood.] On the side, there were two outdoor kitchens where cooking is done with firewood. So Deding, Morris’ mother-in-law, prepared a nice meal for us (there).

AM: So what did we do the next day?
H: The night was horrible – the stormy winds. Bernie and I thought the wind would blow the heavy porch furniture (away). We brought everyone’s shoes inside the house thinking everyone’s shoes might be blown away. It was noisy.

AM: This is while Aunt Terri and I were asleep, in the middle of the night.
H: The next day we had a nice breakfast on the porch, and the tide was rolling in. We thought the tide would come up to the building. After breakfast, Morris picked us up; we all took a drive to that resort beach. What was its name?

AM: I don’t remember already. I’ll have to look it up.
H: Dad might remember. It was a long ride (to get there). Ann Marie rode there on the motorcycle with Jinky. So Jinky’s little boy, Anuk, had a good time swimming and playing in the sea. Then we had lunch. After lunch we climbed up the hill to see the new pension hotel being built. They expect it to be finished at the end of July.

AM: What did you think of that?
H: The units have balconies which have a good view of the sea and the park. Then we went back to Siquijor. (This time) Dad rode with Jinky on the motorcycle. He had a good time.

AM: Yeah, I was mad because he stole my ride home!
H: You volunteered it to him.
AM: Yeah, you’re right. I made a mistake! [Note: I was just kidding. Later Dad said that this was one of the most fun things he has done in the Philippines so far. So, although I regretted not being able to ride any more (#*#*#!!), I’m really glad Dad got a chance to ride back instead of me.]

H: Jinky said Dad rocked a lot so she didn’t go as fast with Dad (as she did with you). She was afraid that he would tip over the motorcycle. [Pause] We thought we were late for Teri and Ann Marie’s massage, but the masseurs were not there yet. Write down here what you thought about the massage.

AM: Okay. I thought the massage was excellent. It was the first time I had ever gotten a full body massage in my life. It was supposed to be a 75 minute massage, but I’m pretty sure that lady massaged me for about an hour and forty minutes. She took so much time that Aunt Terri almost gave up her time because she thought we would be late for dinner. Anyway, the massage was excellent – I fell asleep for about 5 minutes during the massage because I was so relaxed. Aunty Terri paid for me, and I paid for the tip. It was great!

H: Terri didn’t think they gave a good facial though. What do you think?
AM: Well I didn’t expect it to be all that great because I was pretty sure that that island would never have all the fancy equipment that people use back home for giving facials. So I’m not surprised that it was different from what Aunty Terri is normally used to.

H: So then we had dinner. Jinky brought our washed clothes from her house. Jinky’s mom had finished it up for us.
AM: Yeah, that was really nice of her. She folded it up and everything.

H: Yeah, she got my soap though! [AM’s note later: Mom started ranting here about how much the soap cost and how long it will last. I asked her if she really wanted me to include that part in here, and she said “no, never mind.”] (Anyway), we all had dinner and then the kids went swimming.

AM: Tell me about the kids.
H: Jinky’s two boys and Darling’s three – one girl and two sons. It was dark but they had a good time. They knew how to dive. I don’t know where they learned how to do that. They did a beautiful job – they dove in parallel. I don’t think Morris could do that.
  The good time was (then) marred by the owners (of the resort) who demanded that we pay a fee for the kids to use the pool. [AM’s note later: They didn’t tell us about this fee, which was really expensive, until about four hours later - after we had asked them and gotten their permission to have guests use their swimming pool.] We were not happy with the situation. So Terry took back her tip…and then paid the difference. The poor waiters.

AM: Yeah, the servers ended up suffering from the owners’ stinginess.
H: So we packed our clothes because we knew we had to get up at 4 am to go back to Dumaguete the next day.


AM: So how did we spend our day in Dumaguete?
H: We came in real early.
AM: Well we had to leave the hotel early, but then we had to wait at the docks a long time for the boat.
H: Oh, that’s right. So (after we got to the docks) we bought some bread, snacks and coffee. After the hour ferry ride, we unloaded our things at Teri’s hotel, and then hired a van to take a day tour of Dumaguete. Where did we go first? We didn’t go to the park first did we? (AM: Yeah, we did)

H: Yeah, it took us time to cash our travelers’ checks and Teri changed her dollars (before we went) [Mom looks aside at Dad as he walks by, passing our seats where we are sitting in the airport.] He (your Dad) makes me dizzy going round and round. [Pause] Then we went to the orphanage. Some cute babies. We want to adopt them. But apparently the parents are not allowed to pick their own child out. We talked to the director.

AM: Why aren’t they allowed to pick the child out?
H: Because it (the request) has to go through an agency in the United States. Then the US agency gets a hold of the agency in the Philippines. That is why it costs so much.

AM: [Looking up at the check-in counter.] Oh, it looks like the counter is open and people are lining up now.
H: Oh! Well, we should go get in line now.

Monday, June 26, 2006

Dad's front pocket


My Dad's pocket
Originally uploaded by annmerry.

As the "chronicle" entries below might indicate, we've seen lots of pretty interesting stuff in the past few days since travelling in the Philippines. But, despite all the fascinating sites to take in, I have to say that one of the most comment-worthy of them all has been travelling along right beside me, under my nose since the day we got started: my dad's front pocket!


My dad, a retired engineer, has always carried a handy repertoire of goodies in his pocket since as far back as I can remember. While growing up, without fail, the family could always rely on Dad for his convenient stash of notecards, a mechanical pencil, a comb, and often his eyeglasses case, which he faithfully kept on hand for all emergency situations.

Over the years, the contents of his pocket seem to have expanded and evolved. Yesterday, when I happened to look down and take a gander at his new collection of carry-alongs, I was surprised to find that one of his newest additions is a white, plastic spoon! (See it there, pointing off diagonally, parallel to his pen?!) My dad absolutely loves icecream, so I suppose he just wants to make sure that he will always have the proper eating utensil on hand in preparation for that next delicious bite. (Dad was, by the way, an eagle scout as a teenager. So, it seems he is continuing to model the time-honored motto - "always be prepared" - right into his silver years.)

Also, among other interesting miscellanea in that front poche of his, Dad still keeps his notecards, glasses case, comb, and writing apparatus. Apparently he has also decided to add to his stash his left-over boarding stubs, his passport, and a convenient see-through ziploc baggy with which to carry local currency. Looks handy, to be sure, I told him. But I should have added that he'd better be careful. I imagine any pickpocket would find his front pocket an even more enticing and noteworthy attraction than I do.

Mother and Daughter Chronicles
Days 4-5: “Meeting relatives in Cebu”

Today we are on a freight boat making our way from Cebu City to Dumaguete on Negros Island, where my grandmother has been living for the past year. As Mom and I reflect on things that have happened in the last day, my auntie, Teri (“T”), my mother’s younger sister joined our conversation. It was nice to have her in our discussion because she was able to recall different things than we were regarding what we have done and people whom we have met so far:

H: Okay, let’s see. Where did we leave off? We were on our way to Cebu. (When we got there) my brother Morris met us at the airport. Our luggage went into a different vehicle while we went in a car to the hotel. We got one room with three beds at the Cebu Midtown Hotel. While Bernie slept, Ann Marie, Terri (my sister), and I went to the grocery store to buy snacks and drinks. Then we went to the department store to buy a hairclip for Ann Marie and a pair of shoes for Terri.

AM: Okay, then what?
H: Then we rested in the room before going to dinner in Guadalupe.
AM: Okay.
H. Uhhh. The dinner at the restaurant was very informative. We learned some genealogical information about the Labra side.

AM: Do you remember anything in particular?
H: We learned that the Labra family is a biiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiigg family. We took pictures of each group of families while we waited for our meal. (pause) What can you say more?

AM: Describe the setting.
T: It was a brand new chain in Guadalupe – a franchise – a barbecue. Recommended by Judge Jenny. Tables were set for about 20, and then about 50 showed up.

H: I think there were about 100.
T: At least 60. And that restaurant did a good job accommodating us. Most restaurants would have had a hard time handling that type of crowd unexpectedly. But anyway I think it turned out right.
H: We should have had a game – an icebreaker
T: If we had known how many would turn up.

AM: Aunty Teri, what were your impressions of the dinner?
T: I thought it came out well… considering. Considering how many people showed up…
H: The food was good, and there was a lot. But you didn’t get to eat that much.
They had the soup the barbecue and the noodles. They had the calamari, clam soup.
T: I never had any. Some people really liked the clam soup. I was so busy making sure that everyone had something to eat, that’s what I spent my time on. And two people were helping me. James, the cute little guy, and Rulfo.
We fed over 60 people for about $115. It was about 7000 pesos including the tip.
So, we could have had name tags. Everyone could have filled them out … and then we could have had them write down who their ancestor is.
H: At least we got to feed everyone.

T: But today!!! It was something else, wasn’t it? Paradise in all those shambles. I wonder if there isn’t a little bit of jealousy. Some people appeared so poor.
H: I couldn’t tell who was wealthy and who was poor.

AM: Why was this "paradise on earth”?
T: To get there it was really amazing. It was a bamboo bridge. What do they call those… hanging bridges? Anyway, up high! I’ve never seen anything like that since I was really small. Then going up and down trails and then up some steps up through the mountains, and then all of the sudden comes this magnificent house. And what looked like a flower plantation!
H: Yeah, she sells the flowers, she has four different people to help her work the flowers.

T: What was her name? Gosh, we should have taken notes.
H: We got lots of pictures though.

T: But the houses on the drive going up to this place looked like shacks. But this house was made of cement. Beautifully done and… oh my goodness! Wow!

AM: What about the breakfast at George’s house?
H: We had mango!! It was so good.
T: And rice sticks wrapped in banana leaves. I couldn’t bring myself to eat some of the other stuff though. Ann Marie had some!

AM: Yeah! It was good! I liked it.
T: You had the chicken and the adobo!
AM: Yeah, Dad did too. He liked the adobo.

T: Yes, it was very nice, and they were so generous.
H: And we got a family tree from George who owned the house. I think we learned that the Labra family was a pioneer family in Guadalupe. I think they were the ones that founded that district.

AM: Anything to sum up with?
T: Then we had to meet our ship! They were really generous, providing their cars to provide transportation for us.

H: What was that guy’s name? Rufo? He was so helpful.
T: And his wife, Aurora. She was so lovely.
H: Which one was she?

T: She is judge Jenny’s sister. Then… we ended up on this freight ship! I couldn’t get my upgrade!
H: Terri wanted a cruise ship, but we got a freight ship!
(laughter)

AM: Where are we headed now?
T: To Dumaguete. And it looks like a calm ocean. You know, this could be very rough. And this is going to be something like a 6 hour trip. We are scheduled to land at 6 pm.

Saturday, June 24, 2006

The Mother Daughter Chronicles
Days 1-3: "Getting to Manila"

My mom, Helen (aka "H") and I ("AM") have decided that we are going to chronicle our travels in the Philippines this summer so that people like my big brother, Eric D, can read about our travels from abroad. Right now we are sitting in the Manila domestic airport waiting to board our plane to Cebu City, the city where Mom was born and lived the first six or so year of her life. According to Mom, already - even though we've only been on the road for a couple of days yet - this trip has been one of the most challenging that she has ever experienced in her life. The following is Mom's and my conversation about why she feels she has had such a rough time of it so far.

(By the way, the picture here up top has, from left to right, on the top row: Danny, Bing, Helen, and Emma. And in the bottom row: Nena and Bernie. Next a little lower, there is a picture of me with Josann (Bing and Emma's youngest daughter) in Manila. And finally, the last picture has my grandma Maria, her caregiver Jinky, my Uncle Morry, and Auntie Terri. It was taken at the big dinner party on Saturday night in Cebu City.)

H: Our trip started with our drive to Raleigh in the truck with four heavy suitcases and two carry-ons. We stayed over night in Raleigh in order to give ourselves plenty of time the next day. We got on the airplane. Just as the airplane was ready to take off, the pilot was told that we needed to wait on the tarmac because of a tornado sighting in the Chicago area, where we were headed for our first lay-over. After three hours of waiting on the tarmac, we finally made it to Chicago. The pilot was very apologetic about keeping us out there waiting, but thought it was better than having everyone go back.
We finally arrived in Chicago, but we were too late. We had missed our connecting flight to Tokyo. We met a nice young man from North Carolina who had just come back from Thailand to see his son graduate from high school near Raleigh. This young man's name was Reggie Jackson! He had worked in Baghdad, Iraq for a year or two as a truck driver. Now that he had retired from trucking, he was contemplating what to do next. This is why he had gone to Thailand for a long vacation. He said that he wanted to travel in the Asian countries to find a place where he could be happy. We hope we see Reggie again.

AM: Why are yout talking about Reggie so much, Mom?
H: I like him.

AM: But you haven't explained how he spent the night with you.
H: Oh, well we ended up having to spend the night in Chicago. We finally found a hotel with reasonable rates, especially if Reggie chipped in with us and we stayed as a group. He took the sofa, and we took the king size bed. Reggie had a very good wireless computer. We were able to write to Ann Marie telling her about our situation.

AM: And what was that situation?
H: That we had missed our flight and would come a day later. So instead of spending the night (with her) in Tokyo, we spent the night in Chicago.

AM: Okay, what next?
H: So Eric (our son) called us at the hotel. I wanted to go to his place (in Milwaukee, WI) for the overnight stay, but Bernie (my husband) said that it would take too long to get there.

AM: Okay, let's sum this up faster.
H: Okay, we were finally able to leave Chicago for Narita (Japan), where we met Ann Marie. Narita airport was very confusing though. We got lost trying to find Northwest (for the connecting flight) and re-checking our luggage. Ann Marie finally found us. But she could not check in with us because she had forgotten her passport. She had to wait until her girlfriend brought the passport to her.

AM: loud embarassed laughter.
H: We also had to repack all of our bags because new weight restrictions were being applied to our luggage for the leg from Tokyo to Manila. But we were not expecting this. We sent one big suitcase to Ann Marie's apartment in Japan. So that allowed us a little more... what?

AM: (Trying to explain for her mom) Well the lady at the check in still gave us some leeway. Even after getting rid of one big suitcase, your bags were still way over the limit. So, how much time did all this take?
H: We thought we had plenty of time at check in, but because of all of these luggage problems, we barely made the boarding.
We finally made it to Manila where my cousins Bing and Emma Atilano met us. They had waited three hours outside the airport for us while we located our luggage, went through customs and then exchanged our money for pesos.

AM: So we spent the night at Bing and Emma's. Then what happened this morning?
H: Danny and Nena Delgado visited us at Emma's house.

AM: Who are they?
H: The Delgados are relatives on my maternal side.

AM: Can you be more specific?
H: Nena Delgado is my mother's first cousin. I don't know how we're related but my mother and Nena are first cousins on the Labra side (Labra is mom's mother's maiden name). I don't know. We never did get that straightened out.

AM: What happened after breakfast?
H: Bing took us to the airport. We decided to leave two boxes containig gifts for my brother, Morris, and his family at Bing and Emma's house.

AM: Why?
H: Because we were still way over weight. Even after leaving these boxes behind, we were still over weight.

AM: To sum up, where are we headed now?
H: We're headed for Cebu? We're going to meet Morris, my brother, who has planned a dinner for my mother's relatives in Guadalupe (a barrio in Cebu).

AM: Anything else?
H: Morris plans a big, big dinner get-together.

AM: That's all for today?
H: That's all for today.

Thursday, June 22, 2006

Boracay Island, Philippines


Boracay Island, Philippines
Originally uploaded by Bernard Siao.
Hello Beach. Here I come!

Wednesday, June 21, 2006

Self-Expression

Expression is                        表現に
my way out of                       私は私の
the impression I get           出口を探す
It cannot stay                       印した象は
inside me unsaid                 表わさずにはおられない

This is a five-line poem (五行歌) written by my new friend Takao Nakanishi of Shonan Kokusai Village. I think it expresses nicely why some people keep (apparently meaningless) blogs (i.e. like me!), take pictures, paint, sing, or participate voluntarily in practically any humanistic endeavor. I think Nakanishi-san captures the human need for self-expression quite elegantly - both in Japanese and English.

Mom and Dad's Crazy Summer Itinerary

Unbelievable! When I first read this schedule my jaw dropped. From North Carolina to the Philippines, Japan, Korea, then back to Virginia, to Russia then, finally to Austria. My parents are travelling like mad dogs this summer. Check out their schedule below:

Overall itinerary:
June 20 -- Drive to Raleigh, N.C. to stay overnight in motel. Leave our truck there.
June 21 -- Fly from Raleigh, with plane change in Chicago, to Tokyo/Narita airport. Arrive June 22.
June 22, 23 -- Layover at Holiday Inn near the Narita airport. Our daughter, Ann Marie, will join us in the evening June 22. Ann Marie will go to the Philippine Islands with us. June 23 our Japanese friend form Tokyo, Mrs. Keiko Sugiura, will come out to Narita and have brunch with us.
June 23 -- Fly to Manila to be met by and stay overnight with Bing and Emma Atilano. Emma is a paternal cousin of Helen's.
June 23 till July 9 -- In the Philippine Islands. (See detailed itinerary below.)

July 9 -- Fly to Tokyo/Narita airport and travel by train to Hayama where Ann Marie lives.
July 9-10-- Stay at Sokendai (international center)
July 11-- Go to Fuji (stay in Ohtsuki hostel),
Bernie hopes to hike up Mt. Fuji (elevation 12,385 feet) with Ann Marie and maybe one or two of her friends on the 12th
July 12-- Spend night in Sokendai. See Kamakura on the 13th
July 13-15-- Spend nights at Suzuki-san’s. On July 15 morning, go to Nikko (tentative)
July 16--Spend night in Nikko at the Daiyagawa Youth Hostel
July 17-18--Spend nights at Sokendai
July 19 -- Fly from Tokyo to Seoul, Korea.

July 19 till July 23 -- In South Korea, in and near Seoul. Staying in two different homes of English teacher friends. Expecting to see many English teacher friends in one or two restaurant dinners. Bernie hopes to take one or two dayhikes in the mountains with English teacher friends.
July 23 -- Fly to Raleigh, N.C., arriving July 23. Stay overnight in motel.
July 24 -- Drive to Lynchburg.

July 24, 25, 26, 27, 28 -- At home.

July 29 -- Drive to Washington, D.C. area. Leave our car with relatives, the Francos, in Reston, VA. Board plane at Dulles Airport for Russia.
July 29 or 30 -- Arrive in Moscow.
July 30 till August 13 -- In Russia. With Elderhostel tour organization. First visit Moscow (a few days). Then inland riverboat cruise on rivers, canals, and lakes to St. Petersburg with stops in half a dozen towns along the way (about a week). Then visit St. Petersburg (a few days).
August 13 -- Fly to Vienna, Austria (east end of Austria). We will be met by Marlies Schmuck, a very-long-time friend, and her son Philip.
August 13 -- Take train to Brigenz, Austria (extreme west end of Austria).
August 13-18 -- Visit the extended Schmuck family, very long-time friends, in and near Brigenz. Take one-day day trip with borrowed car to visit Hans and Rosie Krapf, very long-time friends, in nearby St. Gallen, Switzerland.
August 18 -- Take train back to Vienna. Stay overnight with Marlies and Philip.
August 19 -- Fly from Vienna to Dulles Airport.


Detailed itinerary for the Philippine Islands:
June 23 -- Fly to Manila.
June 24 -- Fly to Cebu City, Island of Cebu. Overnight on Cebu. Visit relatives on Helen's mother's side (from her mother's side).
June 25 -- Take boat to Siquijor, an island so small that even many Filipinos don't know it. Helen's mother, Maria, lives there.
June 26, 27, 28 -- On Siquijor and in Dumaguete, a city across the "bay" on the south end of the island of Negros. Helen's brother, Morris, lives in Dumaguete.
June 28 -- Take the midnight boat from Dumaguete to Cebu, arrive 6 AM June 29.
June 29 -- Fly from Cebu to Bacolod, a city near the north end of the island of Negros. Other relatives of Helen's mother, Maria, live in Bacolod. These are Maria's half siblings (the Francos) and their descendants. (From Maria's father's side.) One of them is Santiago Franco, Maria's half-brother and the father of Joe Franco of Reston, VA.
June 29 till July 2 -- in Bacolod.
July 2 -- Fly from Bacolod to Manila.
July 2,3,4 -- Travel overland (same island of Luzon) with a tour group to Baguio. This is sight-seeing. We will see some of the famous rice terrace hills.
July 5 -- Commercial tour of Baguio. This is a mountain resort city Helen fondly remembers from her childhood. We have no relatives in Baguio.
July 6 -- Fly from Baguio to Mania.
July 6, 7, 8 -- In Manila with the Atilanos. Commercial tour(s) of Manila.
July 9 -- Fly to Tokyo/Narita Airport.

Tuesday, June 20, 2006

What in the Hell? It's a Jizo.

They seem to be whereever you go in Japan - especially around the countryside. Although their Japanese name "Ji-zo" (written with the two kanji "地" [ji,for "earth"] and "蔵" [zo, for "safe, storage place"]) seems to allude to that which is terrestrial, these petite, seemingly harmless statues actually serve as guardians of souls in hell. To quote one web site (referred to me by my erudite Buddhist buddy, Bill Dunbar) on Shinto and Buddhism in Japan, the jizo represent "saviors from the torments of hell."

The site also says that the jizo is one of the most beloved of all Japanese divinities - ah! So maybe that explains why these little stone critters seem to crop up all over the place: in random street allies, near bus stops, on the side of rice paddies, and in public parks - not to mention all those jizo in the temples and shrines. Maybe that explains why they're often clad in homemade bibs, crocheted shawls, and little red hats.

The Jizo apparently ease suffering and shorten sentences of those serving time in hell. Given their names and their prevalence in public, earthly milieu, one is led to wonder if these guys are also called on to alleviate suffering from hell on earth - the this-wordly, hellish lifestyles of Japanese salary men; the housebound, bento-making tedia of housewifery, or suffering in the notorious "exam hells" of lost, Japanese childhoods.

Don't get me wrong - I actually think life in Japan is pretty blissful. (It just suddenly overcame me - how easy it is to parrot off all those terrible, threadbare stereotypes.) In fact, my interest in Jizo comes from a practice in Japan that might surprise some people, and has yet to make its way into the hall of fame of Japanese cliches. Worshipping unborn fetuses.

Yes, you heard me right: My interest in Jizo has to do with their relevance to aborted, miscarried, and stillborn babies. They are called Mizuko Jizo, or "Water Baby Jizo," little cute statues, dressed in homemade costumes, worshipped for their ability to serve as guardians to lives which have ended early. They are an appeal to unborn beings who float in a "watery world awaiting birth." Apparently, the practice of bereaved parents who buy jizo statues for their prematurely dead children is not a tradition adapted from mainland Buddhism in Asia. Instead it constitutes a "native" practice adapted to assuage contemporary issues in modern Japanese life.

Saturday, June 17, 2006

Searching for My Honey Bee
Quote - No, Compliment - of the Month

My hallmate, Bejon, age 27, from Bangladesh, and getting his PhD in genetics, wrote the following to me in an e-mail today.

"Oh En Marry, I forgot to say that you looked very pretty this morning. I think you need a handsome Japanese boy friend for time pass. Because, flower has no value if honey bee does not know this."

How flattering - and charming. Thank you Bejon. And thank you for giving me permission to publish your classy advice in my blog... I'll get right to work on finding my honey bee!

Thursday, June 15, 2006

Cover Girl!


Cover Girl!
Originally uploaded by annmerry.
Cover Girl!

My little friend, Maria, age 5, just made the cover of a Japanese magazine called "Aka Sugu Kizzu." Isn't she great? I like the gun in her pocket. The magazine just came out today. Her mother reports that she likes to see the cashier's faces when she sends her daughter to buy up copies of the monthly mag. To see the Aka Sugu Kizzu web site: akasugu.net/kids/. For more pictures of Maria and her big sista, Karen, please visit "my favorite stuff" on my flickr page.