Spent my weekend at Barangay Ilog in Infanta, Quezon with friends I climb with and Gabriela peeps - G.net ("babae ka, may sey ka"). It was my first time to see with my own eyes what devestations the typhoon last November had brought. Our task for the weekend was to help out a family in pairs. My partner was my SO, and we helped out Ate Tess and Kuya Efren! =) They had lets see.. uh.. 6+ kids, last I counted. As my SO and I helped shell peanuts to be used for planting, both Tess and Efren told us about their experiences during that november nightmare.
Some of the stories I remember from them include stories about an old couple who got buried in their house and was found the next day. How they were lucky that all their family members had survivied although they had lost everything. She mentioned how her two youngest daughters held on to each other when they were separated from her, and how her husband swam to save his kids - he stuffed two of his little ones inside his shirt while he swam to safety. One Of kuya Efren's stories include that this was the second time his house was washed away and how they were just preparing to move into their new house when the flood happend.
We also helped plant peanuts, but since we were far from any water source, we were'nt able to water them! the work of the others included digging mud from inside a house, watering and cleaning plots and lending ears to all the stories being told! :D
Oh yeah, my infanta family also had a pet dog named Pulot, when i asked why it was named so, Ate Tess laughed and said "kasi napulot ko lang, at ayaw na umalis saamin" hehehe..
I felt like I had pitched my tent on the beach, but without the sound of waves around me! anyway, there was a bon fire and little presentations by groups being called that evening.
Spent my sunday morning taking breakfast to my Infanta family, then joined arlene and her pasaway na nanay together with my SO over at a youth center and seminary to get relief goods. Why pasaway? because, she said we would only take 30 minutes! we told the people in-charge our plans and off we went, left at 9 and got back 11:30!! now that's pasaway. whenere we mentioned it to arlene she'd go "sinungaling si nanay!!" Hehe
So much happened during the weekend, I won't be able to blog everything, but I hope I'll be able to go back. I did tell a kid I would! :)
