Wednesday, July 15, 2009

I Know What You Did Last Summer

Raft3r’s job has taken him all over the Philippines, the US and even the remote Marshall Islands.

Next week, I am off to Clark Air Base. Pretty exotic, huh? (Of course, Raft3r is being sarcastic.)

Mom is from Pampanga. So this trip is a chance to bond with relatives I haven’t seen in ages. I spent most of my childhood summers there.

Prior to Pinatubo, mom and her siblings had a farm.

We had livestock and fruit bearing trees. We swam in a swamp with carabaos. We were paid by the elders to help harvest sugar canes.

Kids were forbidden in the dirty kitchen since snakes were often found there. To say it was Raft3r’s favorite hiding place would be an understatement.

It’s hard to imagine Raft3r as a rural kid but he did enjoy roughing it with his cousins.

Thirty years later, my idea of roughing it is getting stuck in a hotel room with no cable TV.

44 comments:

Wendy said...

Sabi ko na nga ba. Isa kang haciendero. Hehehe. Have fun in Clark!

Raft3r said...

wendy, Nyahaha. Naku. Hindi.

Jerick said...

pareho pala tayong kapampangan. pero i can't speak the language.
we're from betis guagua.

Liza said...

My dad is from Pampanga too. Enjpy your trip! Uwian mo ko ng tibok-tibok! :)

gillboard said...

anong job ba meron ka... makaapply nga... hehehe

Raft3r said...

jerick, Murit lang ang alam ko. Hehe

liza, Moche gusto mo?

gillboard, Hehe. Apply na!

escape said...

hahaha... what's nice with pampanga is its just minutes from manila today because of nlex.

there's much to explore there.

hmmm... i think i need to check your marshall isalnds visit.

Visual Velocity said...

Oo nga, badtrip ma-stuck sa hotel room na walang cable TV, lalo na pag Arirang channel lang yung available. Ehehe.

Raft3r said...

the dong, Hehe. Wala hot air balloon ngayon. May bagyo. Hehe

andy, Paborito ng pinsan ko yan. Hehe

len said...

Work hard, play harder. hehe

Raft3r said...

len, Tagal mo nawala. Namiss kita. Hehe

mitzi said...

i love your childhood summers!!! may palayan sa tabi ng bahay namin dati (pero hindi amin) and there were carabaos & goats roamin the streets! pero we never got to harvest anything really... provincial childhood summer vacations memories are sweet! :)

Raft3r said...

mitzi, Sana ako din sweet. Kaso hindi, eh. Nyahaha

Beth said...

sarap nman ng job na yn, gala ng gala! laki din pala ng effect ng Pinatubo eruption sa inyo no? Pati fruit bearing trees natabunan? sayang! di bale, as Wendy said, haciendero ka naman e, me plantasyon ng sugarcane?! wow! :)

Raft3r said...

beth, Naku. Maniwala ka naman dyan ke Wendy. Hehe

Unknown said...

fernando jose? hahahahah!!! ay tama ba? oh well.. yeah i love the province... super! bisaya man ako dong! ;)

Raft3r said...

paulette, Rosalinda? Ikaw ba yan? Nyahaha

bestfriend said...

enjoy the trip bestfriend...im sure it will be fun...change of atmosphere din yan

bena said...

haciendero oh! hehehe.. mas masaya talaga ang buhay probinsya.. simple life tulad ni ate nicole and paris.. nyahaha..

happy weekend! vi-a-v! =p

Raft3r said...

bestfriend, One week din ire. Hehe

bena, Nyahaha. A Simple Life series. Natatatawa talaga yun Season 1. Hehe

eden said...

this reminds me of my childhood life. bahay namin noon was surrounded by rice fields. summers days were not pretty exciting coz we spent all day in the field, taking care of the rice not to be eaten by the rice-eating birds.

have a safe and wonderful trip then..

Raft3r said...

eden, Salamat! Dami kong dalang Claritin. Hehe

pete said...

sama ko!

Raft3r said...

pete, Pwede! Pwede! Hehe

hitokirihoshi_kawaii said...

wow ganda ng memory! yung mga simple naman talaga kapag in-appreciate ang cool-cool talaga.

dati mayroon kaming maisan, kamotehan (sic), at babuyan sa likod bahay namin. ni wala akong ginawa kundi kulitin ang lolo ko na ipagihaw ako ng mais at bigyan ako ng bayabas.

sumasama rin ako sa pagtutulak niya ng kariton pag pumupunta ng palengke.

ngayon 'di ko na rin naalagaan ang farm ko na marami na rin naglipanang hayop. busy na kasi ako sa restaurant ko eh. hay facebook!

Raft3r said...

hitokirihoshi_kawaii, Nyahaha. Lakas ng tama mo. Sobra. Hehe

mitzi said...

Went to Clark & Subic lang pala this weekend. We ate at C! and spend almost an hour looking for Cold Spoon! it was a rainy but fun weekend with friends... ala lang... Yesterday lang ako nakadaan sa Friendship road... kakaiba, kahit tanghaling tapat!

Raft3r said...

mitzi, Wow. Joyride with friends at Friendship Road. How cool is that. =)

len said...

Daan kang Bulacan! :p

Raft3r said...

len, Dumaan kami bago Clark. Dami ko nga bili chicharon, eh. Hehe

Chubskulit Rose said...

ikaw ba yang nas pic?

john said...

So how did the visit go?

ryliej said...

Oh wow, pwede bang bu,misita dyan sa hacienda?

Raft3r said...

chubskulit, Oo. Ako yon. Hehe

john, I sill have to meet up with them. Work comes first. Hehe

ryliej, Pwede. Para makita nyong hindi sya hacienda. Hehe

Unknown said...

why not fernando?!? ahhaahah!

Raft3r said...

paulette, Nyahaha. Nanonood. Ako din, eh. Hehe. I think she's HOT.

Anonymous said...

bakit isang linggo sa clark? all work or may kasamang bakasyon ire? have fun@----babe

Raft3r said...

babe, All work and no play. Hehe

hitokirihoshi_kawaii said...

huwahhh huwahhh may tama raw ako sabi ni raft3r huwahhh huwahhh

ok lang...

balik restaurant lang ako. hehehe

huwahhh huwahhh may tama raw ako sabi ni raft3r huwahhh huwahhh

Raft3r said...

hitokirihoshi_kawaii, Hindi. Hindi. Wala ka ngang katama-tama, eh. Hehe

abie said...

parang di totoo to? ikaw mag enjoy sa probinsya?...hehehe

Raft3r said...

abie, May kontrapelo pa. Hehe

Unknown said...

oo HOT nga... she's better than marian r. and wayyyyy smarter!

Raft3r said...

paulette, Hehe. Ikaw talaga. Smart din naman si Marian.