Talaba (Oyster) Shells

All along the road from Dagupan to Lingayen we see piles and piles of oyster shells. We were curious as to what they did with them. This is the answer to our question--they put them in trucks and haul them to some destination. The Filipino people don't waste anything but I am not sure what they do with this.

You Got It--We Can Haul It!

These trykes never cease to amaze me!

I have come to realize there is nothing these trykes can't do!

This give a whole new meaning to standing room only!

You got it they haul it!! It's that simple!

Beach Front Property

This is a hut in the pond (on way to Lingayen). I think it is for resting but it could be an actual house.

These little huts I are there for resting out of the sun while they work on the ponds. The Filipino people take a rest from 12 noon till 2:00 p.m.

Haystacks and More Haystacks

Just some of the haystacks we see as we travel.

You can barely see the hind end of the cow behind the haystack.

Here you get the whole scene. Notice the haystack is being eaten about the height of the cow's mouth.

Mang Inasal

This is one of our very favorite places to eat. Inasal means barbeque, and this is a fast food resturant. Rick always gets the chicken and I always get the pork. We don't have one in our town (probably a good thing) so when we when we are in Manaoag (for mission business) a town about 25 minutes away, we usually stop in for lunch!

This is what I get, the pork. The green banana leaf has rice in it. The little green things are calamansi (like a very small lime-very popular here). The yellow drink is Pineapple juice.

This is the chicken and the things that look like french fries are some kind of root vegetable, I forget what it is called. Rick likes them. They are okay but I am not a fan. It is fairly inexpensive. Two pork strips are $2.oo in American money.

So Cute!

This is Jasper, our sweet Filipino neighbor Fe's youngest son! Isn't he just the cutest. she is trying to stay out of the picture! He is about 1 year old here. He can blow me kisses, he says "ma-ma" and "lola" (which is grandma). He was about 4 months old when we got here. He waves to me when he sees me in the car or on the street! When we moved here she was the first Filipino I met--she saw us the first day coming home from the landlords house down the street which is just passed her house and met us as we were coming back and welcomed us to the neighborhood. She has three children all together. (I will get pictures of them at a later date.)She got us the water man and the gas man to come to our house that very day!! She is such a sweet lady. We have been to the Palenke together (she helps me negotiate a good price (the Filipino price) for things I buy. The first time we went to the Palenke we road in a padyak (bike peddled side car) and when we came home we road in a tryke (a motorcycle side car). She runs a tindahan (small store with treats and commonly needed items, i.e. oil, eggs etc.) at her house. (Tindahans are very common here, there is one on almost every block--the snacks are very cheap so they do a lot of business but don't make a lot of pesos because you can't mark them too high or no one will buy them. This way the Filipinos don have to run to a regular store when they get the craving for a treat--they just walk down the street to the nearest tindahan!)

Everyday Life in the Philippines

This is a shot of a Jeepney from the back, many times there are as many, if not more, on top of the Jeepney as there are inside. If it gets crowded as they pick up people on their way to a destination they just climb up on top. I think it is cooler on top because at least they get a breeze from the speed--there is no air conditioning (they call it air con here) in any Jeepney. They have open windows on the sides but if it is raining they pull down a piece plastic to keep from getting wet inside as they ride (there are no windows per se and no seat belts).

A kaliglig (this is a machine that has a different aparatus for plowing rice fields in preparation for planting), when this is on the front they can haul something, and sometimes the wagon (which you can't see very good) is full of people. It is a very versatile vehicle and is allowed on all roads just like any other method of transportation. Sometimes this is the only transportation they own. The elders told us it is very hard to maneuver.

These workers are removing chalking from the outside of the Toyota Dealership (where we get our car serviced) in Dagupan so it can be replaced. You can't see very good but these workers are wearing head gear that they either make or design from an article of clothing that only exposes their eyes. They do this to protect themselves from the sun. I can't even imagine how hot it is under that! Many Filipinos, like these, wear long sleeves when they are out in the sun to keep from getting darker. The Filipino people are as obsessed about getting lighter (or not getting darker) as the Americans are about getting darker!! Just goes to show you--we are never satisfied with what we have--we always want something different!

Our Day With Elder K. and Magulpay

Our wonderful Elders K. (also known as Kurczodyna and Maglupay (new Baguio missionary) from San Fabian 2 branch. They were teaching some children of a part member family and wanted to teach the dad but he wanted to be taught by leaders so we volunteered to go with them when they were going to teach again. It was quite a ways out and we were again in a very rural area. Rice fields surrounded us and the roads left much to be desired. It is a great wonder we haven't had a lot of car repairs because the roads here have huge drop offs where the cement road ends and the dirt road begins (if we are lucky enough to have a cement road that is.). This day they were working on extending the road! Yippee!!

This was a house we passed by on our way to and from the teaching appointment. Many of the homes here resemble a hut, here they are called a "kubo". Many people construct there own with help from friends and neighbors but they are also manufactured and sold here. (see a previous post) They have no windows or doors as a rule, they really aren't needed, it never gets cold here.

We see hay stacks sometimes as we travel, they put a big stick in the middle and stack the hay on top of it--I think it is to keep it from falling over when it rains. They leave it like that for the cattle in the field to eat off of.

If you have read many of my posts you have guessed that I am fascinated with the carabao. They are a very tame creature, kids ride them and lead them to and from grazing pastures. (They are related to the water buffalo but are very tame). They like to cool off in the water--it is so hot here. The owner had a couple in this little creek along the road where we were driving. This one was so close I couldn't pass up the shot! Can't have too many carabao pictures!! He he!

What We See As We Travel

This is a sample of the many things we see being transported by a tryke. They don't look very sturdy but they can haul just about anything.

How about this for a windshield protector? Very ingenious wouldn't you say?

This is a very common method of mixing cement here. The ever present "danger sign" (the branch) alerting you! It is quite clever.

We saw this as we were going to one of our branches for Sacrament meeting. (The towel on the head of the boy was to protect him from getting darker.)

More of Urbiztondo

Here is a man at the edge of the river sitting on a bamboo dock doing something, I couldn't tell exactly what.

This is a bush, the colors are so vivid and I had never seen one before that day. I have seen more since-- they are so beautiful. I don't know what they are called but I love them.

I think this was the farthest we traveled that day. We went down a road I am sure few, if any, cars had been down. I know the people we passed as we went to this home couldn't believe a car was coming down this narrow road, we could tell it was unusual. This was a family that had been taught at one time and got dropped for some reason. We did teach them a short lesson, they have a family of 8 but because all the kids around were relatives and not use to seeing Americanos they all gathered around to be part of the action. I think there were about 20 people listening by the time we finished teaching them--mostly children.

Filipino children are always excited to see Americanos. They all wanted "high fives" and we were happy to accommodate. They are so cute aren't they? They also love to have their picture taken. As you can see from the picture it was dark by the time we left, we have to carry flashlights because there are no street lights even in towns and this was a very rural area! We had to have guidance while turning the car around, the roads here are very narrow--usually just wide enough for a tryke with a basket! Even though our car is small it is a lot wider than the road. Pres. Allred gets very frustrated trying to turn the car around when there is no "wide spot" in the road. It reminds me of the song "Give Me Forty Acres and I'll Turn This Rig Around"! He he!

More of our Day in Urbiztondo

This is some of the scenery as we went to different members and referrals homes. What beautiful country!!

The path we took to some less active members homes. There are lots of rivers and ponds here, fish are a main staple of the Filipino diet, there is plenty here for the taking.

Elder Eligio talking to the little boy at the edge of the river. He was a fairly new elder when we were with them but the Filipino elders have a great advantage--they know the language so they only stay in the MTC in Manila for 19 days before they arrive in the Mission.

This is the same area going back the way we had come. It is such a beautiful country! I never get tired of the scenery--it is so interesting and gorgeous!

Our Day with the Urbiztondo Elders

Well, just like the sign says, Welcome to Urbiztondo! (I think this is the farthest area in the Aguilar District) We arranged with the elders there, Elder Eligio and Elder Woodson to come pick them up and take them to places in their area they can't afford to get a Jeepney too and some are so far there is no transportation there at all, at any price.

First order of business is lunch! We don't usually by things off the street, we were told not to but Elder Woodson assured us it was safe they eat at this Big Mak stand all the time! We had a hot dog and a drink. That was a bold move for me because the hot dogs here are bright red--like the sign, but this one was actually the color of a hot dog in the states so I was a little more confident, just a little! It turned out to be good--that is weird when you are excited about eating a hot dog!! (only thing--no mustard)

This is the Branch Pres. of Urbiztondo who lives right across the street from the elders. His wife is very adamantly against the church. Elder Woodson said he had never seen her smile all the time he has been there till the day we went over and introduced ourselves. Her daughter is next to her and the grandchildren are in front (they want to join the church but the daughter and wife are against it.)

This is a hilarious sign we saw there, I asked the elders if the preacher was named Manna! He He He! They have lots of different named churches here, this just happens to be the funniest one I have every seen in my life!!

Unusual Shots!

Does this shot of the driveway at a chapel look a littlte odd to you? (This is in the town of San Carlos)! A basketball standard smack dab in the middle of the driveway! This does not pose a problem for most members because they either own a tryke, a motorcycle or hire a tryke or pad-yak. However, for a car, even our little car we take extreme care going in and out of this parking lot! I thought it was funny. BUT--you have to understand the Philippines--the Filipino people LOVE, I mean--REALLY LOVE basketball. If there is an empty space somewhere, they have erected a basketball hoop (it doesn't matter if it is dirt that they play on, as long as they can play. One place we have seen has been played on so long it has packed the dirt so hard it looks like cement and even stays that way with all the rain we get.) and there is always someone playing basketball there. Even at our chapels, most have a basketball standard in the parking lot--not many Filipinos own a car so there is always room for non-members and members to play a game. When the gates are not open (they keep them locked here when the chapel is not being used to prevent vandalism) non-members scale the fence and the game begins! They even have hoops along the side of the road and if a car comes along (on our street it is usually us) they just move out of the way till it passes and just keep right on playing! THEY LOVE THE GAME!! Pres. Allred always stops when we come across a street game that has to stop for us and asks: "Who is Michael Jordan?!" The Filipinos always get a big kick out of it and sometimes will point out one of their players! The elders have told him how to say that in Tagalog but he hasn't learned it yet!

This is a little girl (about 8 or 9) at the end of the street where the "Palenke" (market) is. (She is sorting through the pile of trash for things that can be sold at a recycling center. There are many people who go around town trying to find things to sell at these centers. Sometimes that is their only source of income.) The vendors all bring their trash to the front after mornings business here because the trash is picked up daily at this corner. Filipino towns all have a Palenke in the center of their towns. The Filipinos sell vegetables, fruit, dishes, and everything you would normally find in a store--they do the food along this street--it is the street where the Mangaldan elders live. It can be very smelly but it is packed with people selling a variety of items. You can NOT drive down the street at all during the day--you are lucky to be able to walk down it. This section where the food is sold closes around 12 noon. We were walking down this street at 4:00 a.m one morning recently to take some medicine to a sick elder and it was a beehive of activity at 4 a.m! Many people were already buying their food for the day, several children were with their parents at that hour. It was still dark! (Filipino people go to the market every day for their food, most have no refrigerator to keep things fresh. It is their way of life) The rest of the Palenke where clothes and staples are sold stays open almost around the clock, they have shifts. It is like one elder explained to us--The market almost never closes down!