Simple pleasures.

I am so accustomed to the city life that moving back to the province was such a struggle for me. At the back of my mind, there was always doubt that I would come through.

We are lights out at 7pm, you can’t buy anything if it’s that late. Stores close for lunch which is 12 noon and open again at 1pm. It’s a 30 minute drive to go to a grocery store and a movie house. Last trip for public transportation is at 7pm, if you miss that then just pray someone passes by from your town so you can hitch a ride. There’s no fast food and no food delivery. The list goes on and on.

“What am I gonna do here?” That’s what I asked my husband when we moved back to Aloran, Misamis Occidental. He smiled at me and just told me to wait and see for myself. I was puzzled, but decided to give it a try, instead of focusing on what was NOT here, I better look at what IS here.

We woke up early and went for a swim in De la Paz beach before sunrise, about 5 minutes from where we live. The water was so calm and not at all cold as I expected. We brought bread and a pitcher of iced tea. It was just me, my husband and our two kids. It was such a simple activity yet I felt much joy.

When being cooped in the house the whole day was too much for me, we’d go to Oroquieta City and eat barbecue (grilled meat in skewers), halang-halang (spicy soup with beef bits) and puso (rice wrapped in coconut leaves). The whole meal would cost less than a hundred pesos.

At around 6am, women would shout “oy, isda!” which meant fish that was newly caught and really fresh, with bright eyes, stiff body and red gills. They sold it cheap since they didn’t pay for any stall rental, they would go around town on foot carrying the pail and a weighing scale.

Aloran is known for the “Pan Bisaya”. This bread is a bit toasted on the outside but really soft, chewy and sweet on the inside. Commonly eaten as is but would also be good with jams, cheese or butter.

Neighbors would send over fruits and other produce from their own backyard and would still invite you for lunch or dinner especially when there is an occasion and if you can’t make it they send food over. When you see them walking they would stop and chat with you. Of course, small town means small talk and the gossip mongrels are everywhere but then, you know they’ll be around if you need help.

Again, I could go on and on…but I realized I didn’t lose anything by moving back here, I am still in touch with the world via internet and cable. The best thing is I am with my family every waking moment enjoying the simple pleasures in life.

The wonder of sight vocabulary.

We were driving around the city yesterday and passed by the food chain Jollibee, my two year old son immediately stood up, pointed at the sign and said “BEE BEE BEE”. Imagine my surprise.

There was one night we were lying down, with the television turned on. A commercial for Nestle Ice cream came on and he said “Ice cream!” and then mimicked the sound of the ice cream cart when it went around the town which sounded to me like “tenene-tenene”.

I was so amazed at how a child’s brain develops over the years and how smart they get even if they can barely speak. How they can see one thing and associate it to another. I researched on sight vocabulary and found out that:

According to the workshop Teaching Reading K2, sight vocabulary consists of words that children can identify immediately without decoding. It is an important component of word study instruction since children with a strong sight vocabulary can read more fluently and comprehend text more effectively. Beginning sight vocabulary includes words from the child's own experiences, including names of family and friends. High frequency words -- words that children encounter in texts frequently -- are the focus of sight vocabulary instruction. Children develop sight vocabulary through daily opportunities to read, repeated readings of texts, and activities using word walls.

Based on the website www.education.com, the method of determining if a word is in a student’s sight vocabulary is to show the student the word for less than one second. The student is expected to say what the word is as soon as she sees it. This can be done by covering the word with a card, moving the card so the word is exposed for a brief moment and then covering the word again. This covering and uncovering of the word is known as flashing the word. When you are assessing sight words, it is important to expose the word to the student for a limited amount of time. A quick showing of the word for a second or less is desirable so that the reader is not using phonics or structural analysis to decode the word.

It may a be a few years before he goes to school but I am sure to follow this technique to teach him more significant sight vocabulary to enhance his future ability to read. I think all of us Moms should do this.

The birth of Ukay Ukay

Every Sunday in Oroquieta City, about 15 minutes from where we currently live is a local gathering called “tabo” (in the Visayan dialect it means “to meet”). This is where farmers are able to sell their produce at a low price. Consumers, usually after hearing mass, go straight to the place to buy their food for the week.

Ukay Ukay started out in a small street during “tabo”. When I went there last Sunday, I was surprised to see that what I saw before as a single strip had already evolved into this long and vast space of used clothing on tables. Everything from baby’s clothes, to adult’s clothes, to bed sheets, bags and shoes, caps, and yes even underwear! Prices differ based on the item, whether it’s a newly opened bundle or already chosen from that the seller would just like to dispose of. I looked around and what caught my attention was the variety of people rummaging through all the clothes; some well-dressed, some in their house clothes, some rode in cars and the others were just walking.

So I went and experienced for myself the pleasure of finding a good buy and amidst all the dust and a distinct smell of the medicine they put to disinfect the clothing, (so I’m told) I found my treasure. Among my purchases was a Benetton dress for my little girl that cost 80 pesos and a Mossimo shorts for my little boy that was only 10 pesos! A Liz Claiborne bag for myself that I bought for 100 pesos and Jockey boxer shorts for my husband that was priced at 35 pesos. I am told these items that I bought were even priced high because they were “branded”. As I looked around some more, clothes were being sold for as low as 5 pesos and to my amazement people would haggle their heads off until they were almost given for free!

Ukay Ukay started out as relief goods sent from other countries to the Philippines during calamities or for just giving out to the less fortunate. It turned into a lucrative business when they discovered a lot of branded items in the pack that people were eager to buy at a low cost than to buy it brand new at ten fold for the original price. Plus it was much cheaper than the new clothes being sold even in Divisoria or Baclaran!

There is a law however that prohibits this type of business which is Republic Act 4653. Under this law, the commercial importation of textile articles which is commonly known as used clothing and rags is prohibited. A law that is necessary because of sanitary and hygiene concerns, but these Ukay Ukay clothings are just everywhere! With the times being rough and the economy unpredictable, it’s no wonder why there is a growing market for this industry. What used to be a no-no activity for the socialites is now turning into a treasure hunt even for those who can afford to buy otherwise.

So you decide, would you rather go naked but save the dignity of our nation? Or be realistic, practical and fashionable? I know where I’ll be next Sunday. I’ll just show patriotism in another way.