Gepher is from the island of Mindanao. This island is located south of Cebu. Its a beautiful island filled with trees, rice fields, mountains, and of course the sea. Its also an island that is not visited much by Americans. Every day in the Philippines is an adventure. I knew this trip would be no different, especially knowing that Gepher and I were going to stand out in the crowd as we made our way to his parent's home.
Gepher was a true gentleman before we ever left. He wanted to make sure I was comfortable the entire trip. We decided to fly there and take the boat back. I insisted that whatever he decided would be fine with me because he knew best. We booked our tickets and were ready to go!
We arrived at the airport in Cebu and boarded the propeller jet bound for Dipolog. Our adventure had begun! When we landed in Dipolog we walked across the tarmac and through the airport to find a "taxi" to take us to the city where we could catch the bus. Immediately we were swarmed with every tricycle driver wanting to take our bags and us wherever we wanted to go. I'm pretty sure Gepher has never experienced service like that...but this is what happens when you are traveling with the American in a place where she is in the minority. Did I mention this level of service comes with a price??? Well...let's just say my being with Gepher in the tricycle made the price much more than a normal tricycle ride.
As we arrive at the bus terminal, we begin looking around for the air conditioned bus his mother told us to take. A gentleman approached us and told Gepher there are no buses going to Ipil (the place his parents live) and we will need to take an air conditioned van. He looks at me and says, "What do you think we should do?” I give the same answer I will come to give the entire trip, "You are the expert here so whatever you think is fine with me.” In the back of my head I can't help but think, "we are about to be taken advantage of. I mean we are at a bus terminal and he's telling us there are no buses." That just doesn't make sense to me...but I am in the Philippines and things don't work like they do at home, so we'll just go with it.
We get to the van and I climb in next to the window with Gepher sitting next to me.. This van is by no means what I'd call air conditioned. The vents were ripped out and it was obvious the air hadn't run in a long time. The only air conditioning this van had was 4-60 (4 windows rolled down going 60 miles per hour). The gentleman selling tickets for the van is the same man who told us there were no buses. I immediately look at Gepher and say "we just got bamboozled"! He just smiled and said, "I think you may be right"! As we wait for the van to fill up so we can leave, I think to myself this is going to be an interesting 3.5 hour ride.
An older gentleman comes to the van and climbs in the driver's seat. His hair is everywhere; he's wearing really thick glasses and looks as if he just got out of bed. He says something that I cannot understand. Gepher whispers to me that he just said he was going to “test the accelerator”. We both begin thinking why are you testing the accelerator and is this truly a good idea??? The van is finally full and we take off. And for those of you wondering, the old man who was going to test the accelerator is our driver. (I guess he figured he would test it while driving with a van full of passengers.)
We begin driving down the road and there is a little boy and his mother sitting behind us. I begin to notice she is quickly rummaging through her purse. And then I heard a noise. I knew exactly what it was…the little boy was getting sick and throwing up in a bag directly behind Gepher’s head. It’s all I can do to keep it together. I focus on looking out the window and trying to ignore what was happening just to make sure I wasn’t next! The van stops and the mom and child get out. Thank goodness!!
We continue down the road to the half way mark of the trip. The van stops at another bus terminal to drop off and pick up passengers. Every street vendor within a 5 block radius begin coming over to our van. I notice they aren’t trying to sell us anything but instead just looking in. I knew immediately we were drawing a crowd! They were amazed by my blue eyes, curly hair, and my being with Gepher. The kept asking how we were related. In order to keep the questions at a minimum Gepher told them we were married. When he told me what he had told them, I couldn’t help but laugh at the thought of our “wedding” happening on this crazy van ride!!
We finally pull out of the bus stop and head on down the road. We stop along the way and pick up two passengers. When we stop I look towards the back of the van and notice it is completely full. I’m wondering where these two people are going to sit. Well when they get in my question is quickly answered. They sit next to Gepher and Gepher is now almost in my lap. And the best part is these passengers must have been the town drunks and bathed in nothing but Jack Daniel’s. They smelled like a terrible brewery and the more the talked the louder they got.
After a few more miles, the two town drunks got out and another man got in. By this point it is raining. The smell of dead fish begins to permeate the van. I assume its coming from the sea outside. With the rain blowing in and the smell of fish in the air, I decide to close the window. All of a sudden I feel an elbow in my ribs. That elbow is Gepher’s and he’s telling me to open the window back. I tell him it smells out there and I’m getting wet. With a straight face he tells me the smell is coming from the van! The last man that got on brought his freshly caught dinner with him on a hook!! I quickly opened up the window and bit my tongue not to laugh or draw any more attention to us.
After 5 hours, we finally make it to Ipil!! I was never so glad to see two people I’d never met in all my life. Talk about one crazy way to start our trip. We climb in his parent’s van and I immediately felt welcomed. It didn’t matter that my hair was curly and eyes were blue. They welcomed me into their family for just who I was. Their excitement for us was evident.
We spent the first night at the school where his mother is an English professor. The next morning we explored the campus. Gepher, JR (his 8 year old brother), and I hiked back to the school’s water falls. His little brother was very quiet with me around; however, he did not want to miss anything with his big brother. The waterfall was absolutely gorgeous sitting back amongst all the trees. It was totally peaceful.
We left the school heading for his aunt’s house, where we were going to stay. His mother was so excited to introduce me to every family member she could think of. We stopped at the rice farm to meet family, met family we passed along the street, and even visited family in the hospital. I guess you can tell it was more than “meet the parents”. It was more like “meet the clan”. By the time we reached his aunt’s house, it was lunch time. His mother and aunt were so sweet as they wanted to make sure they had foods I liked. They asked would I be willing to cook spaghetti for the family for lunch. So Gepher and I got in the kitchen together and cooked American spaghetti. American spaghetti is very different from Filipino spaghetti; however, everyone enjoyed it. JR had it all over his face so I’m pretty sure that said it all.
That night we had dinner at his parent’s house. His sister had cooked up quite the feast for everyone. Then it was picture time. We had pictures made with everyone and everyone was laughing and having a great time. Gepher later told me that he can only remember two other times in his life when they made pictures as a family. I guess my coming was quite an event in the Lopina family.
The next morning his parents arrive to pick us up and take us to meet his grandparents. We walk out to get in the van and to our surprise it will not start. Mr. Lopina asks Gepher and JR to help him push it back and forth and back and forth to get it started. In the back of my mind, I’m thinking is this really going to work? All of a sudden Mr. Lopina asks me to come over and says “you know how to drive, right?” I tell him of course and he asks me to climb in and start the car as they are pushing it back and forth and back and forth. Well the family van is a manual and all I can drive is an automatice. I ask him, “I’m suppose to push the clutch in when I try to start it, right?” Immediately his dad has a look on his face as if to say I thought you knew how to drive. You can tell he doesn’t think this is a good idea but he has to go with it now that he’s asked me. They begin to push the car and I begin to start it; however, Gepher yells and says not now! I’m thinking to myself, “you told me to start it when you push the car and you are pushing it so I thought I was to start it.” They quickly decide I obviously don’t know the Filipino way of jumping a car off so I get out and JR (the 8 year old) gets into the driver’s seat. His mother and I are sitting off to the side just laughing at the entire situation as the 3 Lopina men attempt to start the car. As Gepher and his dad continue pushing the car back and forth, JR is able to get it started!! I guess I’m not as smart as an 8 year old after all.
That day we had a lovely time playing with the kids in the front yard, playing cards, and just enjoying getting to know everyone better. His sisters were planning dinner. Everyone wanted to make sure they were cooking foods I liked. They knew that American’s eat potatoes almost as much as Filipinos eat rice. So because of this, they decided they needed to go to the market to get potatoes. They asked Gepher and I to go along so we did. (Don’t worry the car started this trip.) We head to the market but to our surprise when we arrived they would not let us get out of the car. So instead we sat in the car. We both just laughed!! We thought it was pretty funny that they asked us to go to the market but we never really went to the market. We only got to see the market. In the end we got the potatoes and I cooked mashed potatoes for everyone to go along with the fabulous dinner his sisters fixed.
The next morning his parents came to pick us up. They were taking us to the bus terminal to head back to Cebu. We climb in the car only for it not to start again! This time as I’m sitting with his mom she is quickly telling his dad that it’s not funny this time. I couldn’t help but laugh to myself as I thought this was the perfect way to end a crazy adventure. We decide it best for us to just take a tricycle back to the bus terminal since the van won’t start. So we climb into the tricycle and just as Gepher is getting in he notices it has a flat tire. We climb back out and they get the van started; however, it too has a flat tire. With all the craziness, his parents have decided they will just drive us to Dipolog to catch the boat. We get the tire fixed and stop at his uncle’s house to see if they might have a spare. They do not have a spare; therefore, his parents taking us to Dipolog is no longer an option.
His uncle offers for us to stay the night at his house and we can catch the bus in the morning. Gepher asks what I’d like to do. I tell him my infamous answer. He walks up to the street and begins looking down the road. I realize he’s watching for the bus. The bus begins to approach and he franticly flags it down. I grab our things and chase after him and the bus. We climb on the bus and our only good bye is a wave from the window.
The trip back to Diplog was very uneventful and easy. We make it back and head to the port to catch the boat. Gepher thinks there is a 4:00 and 7:00 boat. As we reach the port at 4:15 we see the boat sailing off in the distance. To our surprise not only did we miss the boat but it’s the only one for the night!! Looks like we are either spending the night in Dipolog or swimming back to Cebu. We chose the first option and found a nice Inn to spend the night. The ladies at the Inn were also very curious about us so we stuck with our story...we are married. If she only knew we got married on the "van".
The next morning we made our way back to the pier bright and early. Since we weren’t sure when the boat left we figured we’d rather be safe than sorry. As we arrive, the security guard tells us the boat will not leave until noon. We decide to just wait and walk into the terminal. There is a boat parked at the pier and I ask Gepher where that boat is going. He isn’t sure so he asks the gentleman mopping the floors of the terminal. The gentleman tells us the boat is heading for Cebu and for us to hurry and get on it. So he unlocks the door. (The lock was a piece of rope wound around the doors.) We run out of the terminal and onto the boat. The boat begins to sail off and I look at Gepher and say, “we just took travel advice from the janitor and never once asked anyone on this boat where its going.” We both laugh at the thought we could end up anywhere in the Philippines and we don’t even have a ticket for it. Luckily they announce over the intercom that the boat is going to Cebu and we bought our tickets on board. We finally made it back to Cebu.
To say meeting his parents for the first time was memorable is an understatement. I’m not sure if the van ride or the car not starting or missing the boat was more memorable. I do know that the warmth, love, and acceptance I felt was something I will never forget.
Gepher has a wonderful family and I am blessed to become a part of it. If this is any indication as to how our life will be together...I'm sure we are in for one BIG ADVENTURE!
No comments:
Post a Comment