My Vacation in Asingan…
It really surprised me because one of my daily routine in L.A. that I also can do here, -gym. Yeah! I can do my daily exercise here at Manang Poly Bautista’s Country side recreation. That’s the place, located in Baro, walking distance from where I live about 5 residential houses away. One of my cousin’s husband is also on the same routine. He is always in the gym too the same Place. Wow! He is buffed. Well, he is my partner good we can help each other although there‘s free trainer in the gym. This place is big and complete with commodities; there are 5 or 6 swimming pools and hotel or cottage rooms for rent for the guest until 4th floor that can view the big houses in Domaquette City. It’s busy and packed all the time. Asinganians, I’ll tell you just try it when you come home.
There are two Asinganian Fil-American I knew who had been successful doing business in Asingan for coming back home. They are both nice to me and treat me as a friend, I’d been invited several times to their party, picnics and travels: likes Bagiuo, La Union and Ilocos. I really enjoyed their company. Manong Joe Del Mendo and Poly Bautista are both Asingan entrepreneur.
Joe Del Mendo is the founder and owner of the Cable Company in Eastern Pangasinan covering Sta.Maria, San Manuel, Tayug, San Nicolas, San Quentin, and Natividad. His Company employs closed to hundred employees all from Asingan. He owned 170 Hectares of fish ponds and also cattle in Moncada, Tarlac. Under construction are recreation with fishing areas in the Junction of Pungto ti Macalong.
Poly Bautista is the founder and owner of the Baro Country Club recreation and Distilled and Filtering Drinking Water in Asingan. Her company has more than 20 employees all from Asingan.
These two Asinganian Phil-American entrepreneurs would be our inspiration to come back home and do whatever could help to our home town. I heard from the grapevine that Doctor Cornelio Manzano will do the same thing: retire and come back home. "My fellow Asinganian what would you think? Come back home and do the same… Asingan is Booming!"
Our Public Market now. I will compare our Public Market today from the old Urdaneta Public Market. Our Market is all week round, and Friday is the biggest Market day that still the same as before.
I went around inside the Market alone but I made sure nothing in my pockets and no Bling Bling with me. I thought nobody can recognize me, there’s a guy walking towards me and smiling and he said, "Manong Archie kumusta ngay?" I gave my hand while I tried to recall his face. It’s a shame to my self if I can’t remember him. I really can’t remember him since he offered me taho, he is Karding Taho. He warned me about pick pockets and I said, "don’t worry I don’t carry anything."
I can’t bear in mind and I can’t pin point the places I knew then. The store of Lua Chua still there but every time I passed by there I am not sure where the buildings are: maybe it’s also dwarfed or overshadowed by the neighbor's new building.
The Place I grew up.
I went around in Cabingcolan, everything were different. I can't see neighbors anymore cause fences are too high. When I was young I could run to the neighbors backyards through under the houses and sometimes I stepped on the pig pooh. Yeah, everybody own piggy bank and leashed under the house and tight into the post foundation of the house then. Well, it will help the household though that’s their watcher and motion detector since the hogs grunt it’s for sure that there is something or somebody under the house. Sometimes hogs are better than dogs as a watcher. Hogs always grunt; the dog can’t or don’t bark at you if you throw food at them. I remember then during night sometimes my dad roamed with his flash light every time our hogs grunted. Particularly Cabingcolan were full of bushes and had no fences unlike today.--#
1 comment:
I really miss the old house my father made back in the province. A wooden and bamboo house, wooden all except for the balcon which was shiny bamboo. It was stilted up about 3 feet high.
The space resulting below was used for keeping the goats at night; it was a one bedroom house. There was a mattress in the bedroom, and a place next to it where we would lay the banig.
the kitchen was the main part; the sala was nothing more than a thouroughfare from the front door to the kitchen; The sink goes all the way outside into a dug hole which we covered with rusty GI sheet. It was a deep hole, and somtimes our yellow ducklings would fall there.
There were papaya trees, guavas, duhat, banana and almost all the climbing vegetables; I sometimes wonder why the soil that used to grow those vegetables is now sandy; it was black and rich when I was young. And now I dont see anymore frogs, nor snails. They were abundant before.
And it had the aura of a barrio, the other lots and lands as well. now it looks like a city street. Many people with their shirts out tambay in corners. What used to be a calm, silent siesta hour, when you could hear the winds rustling the coconut trees and the camachile and mangoes, now you can hear kids and motors 24/7.
So I got a land farther and farther from the poblacion; but i dont want to sell the land where I spent my childhood. But there might be hope. They are building the public market away from the poblacion; for sure all the businesses would follow, and this busy place would die down, initially it would look forlorn, but slowly it will go back to what it was once-a residential, relaxing and quiet part of town.
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