beyond tuna & manny pacquioa: a journal of many firsts & various discoveries

the wanderlust in me have always, always wanted to go to Mindanao, well, to finally claim that I've travelled the Philippines (thanks to upcym for bringing me to bohol!). finally, it was granted this year when I was given not only a chance to finally set foot in Gen. Santos City but also with a boyfriend to tag along and to provide lodging. well, this is not exactly the trip i always had in mind, definitely not the adventure-seeking barkada fun full of beach hoppings and nightlife. aside from the Tuna Festival, the real purpose of my visit is yes, to finally meet the Joses. i always believed that my slender frame has been housing a huge confidence (read: kapalmuks ako) but the idea of meeting my boyfriend's clan is really chickening the sh*t out of me. every girl put in my shoes would surely understand where i was coming from. a picture of a court hearing was getting more and more vivid in my dreams as the calendar approaches our departure date. "People of General Santos City vs. Leslie Tayao". yeah right, so much of a home court advantage here.

my inner circle, aware of the reason for my travel, was very supportive. my office buddies had been a great rah-rah team. two of my favorite girls, belle and katre, had been feeding me instructions on how to dress, to smile, to react, what are the things to say and the things to never ever (ever!)say. my mom, although nervous about this travel reminded me to be a good girl and asked Alfred to really take care of me. michelle, my dearest sister, was.. uhmm, well, overly excited is an understatement. and my boyfriend, when he's not busy bombarding me with abu sayyaf threats much to his satisfaction, had been cooperative when i did my little research of the things to expect from his family (how they are like, their likes and dislikes, etc.)... with all these packed in my luggage, i'd say i was ready to go and meet these people:

MOTHER
Plus factor: already met her at a dinner during her last trip to Manila. if my assumptions are right, we got along well.
Fear factor: As they always say, "never assume." and try imagining this - once in gensan, the air i would breath, the grounds i would walk on, the food i would eat are all part of her household. if the idea of your existence being in the hands of one person does not scare you, i dunno what does. and haller?! who never gets afraid of the mother?!?

FATHER
Plus factor: okay, the gameplan here is to use the same charm i used on the son.
Fear factor: if it does not work, i need Divine Intervention to find a contingency.

BROTHER
Plus factor: hopefully, the Divisoria trip with Alfred to search for the brother's wedding souvenir set for December 2006 was an investment for a good impression.
Fear factor: Siblings, they say, are the ones who do most of the interrogations.. nyay..

SISTER
Plus factor: she's in new york! yahoo...
Fear factor: actually, the thought of meeting her is the one giving me the coldest feet but at least i do not have to deal with her now.

RELATIVES/FRIENDS/NEIGHBORS
Plus factor: just smile, smile, smile. at least i will not stay in the same house with them.
Fear factor:They are usually the ones with more comments and can notice the littlest details.

DAY 1:Saturday, 02 September, 2 am
Our flight is at 8am. that would mean we have to leave the house by 6 am. that would mean we have to start fixing ourselves by 5 am. that would mean i have to wake up at 430 to prepare breakfast. the butterflies in my stomach are already in their full force and i swear they are driving me nuts. and so the anxiety of an empty stomach is definitely not an option. and so does the dizziness due to lack of sleep. e bakit ba kasi naman di ako makatulog!?!! arghh.. nakakaiyak na itoh...alfred, gumising ka dyan, uy!tulungan mo ako..

0730am
Alfred: "Okay, baby, this is the Ninoy Aquino International Airport!!"
Eh kung sapakin ko kaya itong lalaking ito?! At inassume pa ang trabaho ng pagiging tour guide ko.. Haler! ok, this is my first time to set foot in a plane but i have been to the airport no! FYI, im a tourism kiddo and travelling the ins and outs of the airport was part of my curriculum. 30 minutes from now, i'll be in that Boeing 737...waah!!! sooo excited! okay, time for some picture taking, plane watching and some airplane lessons with Alfred. His passion and knowledge of the airplanes are really impressive, i must say.



0933am
""Sa ilang sandali po lamang ang ating eroplano ay lalapag na sa paliparan ng Cebu."...
my first time in Cebu! woohoo! keber na kung hanggang airport lang naman ako. at hindi pa bumaba ng eroplano..at least if someone asks if i have been to Cebu, i can say :
LESLIE: yeah, i've been there once.. ( wink!)
SOMEONE (amazed): really?! have you seen the Magellan's Cross?
LESLIE: no e. that's far from where i was. i was not able to really roam around e. but i have travelled gensan. nice pala the place.. ( o di ba, change topic na agad..hehe..)

my first plane landing. I'd say, i wasn't really satisfied. well, contrary to the other passengers, Alfred included, i'm really hoping for a turbulence-filled ride but i know, Captain Pilot would not give me the satisfaction. before this flight, the highest place i've been above ground is EK's space shuttle or condor (whichever is higher). both really satisfied the adventure seeker in me to the point of almost vommiting my stomach out of my mouth. but not this flight. so disappointed..

12:10 pm
yellow gate. tall flowers at the sides. the sun directly above my head. boyfriend knocking at the gate. Mrs. Jose running towards the gate. gosh,THIS IS IT!!after a 30-minute taxi ride from the airport (fyi: may taxi sa gensan), im finally here in front of their home. "Lord help! Bigyan niyo po ako ng lakas." The last thing I would need is to faint right here, right now, on this ground. Cannot be, im wearing white.

02:45 pm
one of the longest lunch i had. and one of the most sumptuous..i'm so busog! who can say no to sugpo, crabs, inihaw na pusit, kinilaw na tuna, manggang hinog, macaroni salad and super laughter-filled kwentos. (hopefully this is not another case of death row wherein the person in line is given the priviledge of eating a feast-like meal.)

well, i finally met the family. tita geline, tito fredo, kuya jun, ate jing (the cousin), kuya raymond (ate jing's hubby). Tita, has been her usual funny, full of kwento, maasikaso mother. Kuya Jun, is the ever kulit, always smiling, easy-to-please brother. Ang kulit nito, promise! haha.. Tito Fredo, contary to my first impression of a tahimik dad, gave me the history of General Santos City when we were left with each other in the sala.

Short history: Alfred's lolo, Mr. Castor Jose, was a colleague of Gen. Santos himself and was part of the group from Batangas who travelled all the way to Gen. Santos during the war (of course, it wasn't called Gen Santos City then). According to Tito Fredo, the place was all trees and bushes and the group didn't know exactly how to make a living. because of this, some people went back to Luzon. but some, including Mr. Castor Jose, opted to stay. together, they cleared up the place, and formed a living (farm, fishing, etc..). and the rest is history. this decision of Mr. Jose got himself one of Gensan's street to his name and made Alfred part of the First Sons and Daughters of Gen Santos City.

DAY 2:Sunday, 03 September, 2 am
finally, i'll be able to sleep. the big day was over. The previous night was fun, another wonderful dinner. This time, it was more intimate with just me, Bhoyet (Alfred's nickname), Tito Fredo and Tita Geline. Another FYI, "tinola" in Gensan is not the same chicken in soup with papaya we are accustomed with in Luzon. it's fish in soup with cabbage and tomatoes. it tasted good and watching Alfred consumed it told me he really missed tinola, Gensan's version. Well, this was quite expected of him by his parents as he was the "tagalinis ng mesa". That is, he is the official taga-ubos ng ulam.

While watching Philippine Idol, i dug into the pile of photo albums. i swear, this family has a lot of pictures carefully put together by Tita Geline. And much to my satisfaction, I've seen so many pictures of Alfred when he was all skin and bones. nonetheless, he got himself a Mr. United Nations crown representing India!! (he would kill me for this..hehe)

We had more bonding just before bed time when Tita Geline gave me and Alfred the story behind each and every jewelry piece she has. Long after Alfred has gone to bed at the next room, ( yes, i'll be sleeping with his mom! ( nyay).. while Tito stayed at the far end room...nyay), Tita and I are still up until wee hours doing our own version of a girl talk.

0550 am
after just 3 hours of sleep, I am here in my first tricycle ride in Gensan with only Tita Geline. Alfred was extremely sick with a headache and a very bad stomach. maybe the tinola or the kinilaw did it. He still managed though to remind his mom to not take her usual Sunday stopovers aka chikahans with churchmates/kumares/neighbors.

0700 am
When i was younger, my mom always scolded me whenever i would not listen to the priest's sermon. so i always do. and for this service, i'd say im all ears but never understood a word. It's a Cebuano mass, for crying out loud! i have been well-Exposed to Bisaya friends and i really understood them whenever they would do the alien talk but when this priest left the pulpit, the people were laughing and i was like "what exactly happened?"

10:00 am
Tita Geline and I are two hard-headed girls. Despite Alfred's reminder to skip all the after-service chikas, we went home past 9am (Note: church is a 10-minute walk from their house). I met all the kumares, and we had our all-girls strolling on the way home carrying the bags of kakanin we bought outside the church. It was an almost nice morning if only Alfred is better. but he is still sick and can't get out of bed. This is the first time i've seen him like this. okay, second. first time was in Bohol and it was horrible. seeing him in pain is a scene i could not bear because i do not have any idea on how to help. hindi puwedeng masahihin ang ulo kasi slightest touch is masakit. di puwedeng pakainin kasi isusuka. at parang walang epekto ang gamot! Gosh, ano ba ang gagawin ko sa taong ito? good thing, his mother, who had seen him worse than this, was more composed than me. hope he gets better...

0700 pm
Another purpose of this trip is for Alfred to be present in his kuya's pamamanhikan. good thing the siesta we had did a little better for Bhoyet. not for me. my head is really starting to get heavy but i really don't wanna miss this event. so here we are, all packed in kuya raymond's adventure with food bought from KCC, one of Gensan's malls. (may mall pala sa gensan? haha.. and i really thought i was inside sm). off we go now to the house of ate chris, kuya jun's soon-to-be better-half.

0900 pm
a surprise discovery i had from this trip is the knowledge that my boyfriend has his own fans' club here in Gensan. There are ladies working for Kuya Jun who used to be so into Sam Milby but when they saw Alfred in one of his previous visits, dumped Sam Milby and went gaga over the "kaguwapo gyud" Kuya Bhoyet. As per Kuya Jun, they would always tell him, "Sige na Kuya Jun, paagtoha dinhi si Kuya Bhoyet pero dili iuban si Lisli." (Sige na Kuya Jun, papuntahin mo na dito si Kuya Boyet pero wag isama si Leslie.) haha.. nice one, girls..in fairness, kulang na lang ay banner. they were really so kilig just as Bhoyet entered the door. wow, lucky me. im actually with a hearthrob.. what can i say? it seems i'm not the only one mesmerized..

DAY 3: Monday, 04 September 2006 0200 pm
Today is a more relaxed day than the first two. Finally, I was able to sleep for at least more than 4 hours. actually, we all woke up a little late. Not much activities for today. everyone has hyped down from the pamamanhikan jitters. and yes, i have my own sigh of relief from the load i have been carrying since the day alfred bought our plane tickets in april. Thank God, at least I am luckier than Sarah Jessica Parker in the movie The Family Stone. her only consolation is she had hunky Luke Wilson with her..

i am comfortably alone here in the sala doing one of the things i dare not miss in this Gensan trip - watch Alfred's copy of Faces 2002!! this is so much fun and so nostalgic. I even saw myself in the video singing with the Himig Yakal, serenading the candidates. Their dogs, Sam (the more loving and friendly) and KC (finally, she is not barking at my every move) have been watching me as I enjoy every bit of the video.. i could not get any more proud!

1130 pm
We got to roam around the city. Tita Geline, Bhoyet and I went back to KCC to do some malling, went to the plaza and windowshop at the stalls, bought durian, walis tambo and orchids, and watched the fireworks. Bhoyet is finally completely okay and is back to his kulit mode! uy congratulations nga pala baby, may traffic light na pala kayo sa gensan.. haha..that we discovered on our way back to KCC for Alfred's traditon of a big-time grocery for his family..

we really need to sleep now. everything is already prepared for tomorrow. We'll be going to the beach!!! yahoo.. im so excited to get some tan!

DAY 4: Tuesday, 05 September 2006, whole day
Glan, Sarangani. BEACH day! so fun..



DAY 5: Wednesday, 06 September 2006, 0500 pm

im in the comfort of my own bed, in my own room, in my own apartment, reminiscing the 5 days i just had in that place so many miles away from me now.. i hate moments like this when i am feeling so melodramatic. i swear the cheesy part of me just sucks big time. im just so mushy now but i cant't help it. i hate goodbyes. just like this day which has its share of happy and heartbreaking moments. it gave me some time to savor my remaining moments in Gensan and at the same time, it will forever bear memories of unwanted riddance.

The 3 "I Will Miss You The Most" Awardees


SAM (aka Sam-Sam, MuyMuy)
He is sooo adorable.. before we've met, I always wonder what is it about this dog why Alfred is just so into him. Now I know. Grabe, sama agad siya nung unang dating ko palang sa bahay! at kung saan ang tsismis, andun siya!.. haha.. of course, we had our own bonding moments - early morning jogging, watching tv together and our photo shoot. ( in fairness, artista o!)


TITA GELINE
Well, I can only say all good things about her. She made it a point to never make me feel alienated. She really took great care of me. I just can't thank her enough, and Tito Fredo as well, for the duration of my stay, they didn't just offer me their house but their home.


BHOYET
the five days of being together 24/7 is over... aaww...
i learned here that despite being friends for years, there's still so much to know about Alfred. im just amazed of what i know now and so excited of the things i yet to discover. for me, this trip is like opening an old chest. and yes, inside i found a treasure...