Holy Week 2007 (part 1)

March 31 – Picked up my relatives (composed of my Mom, my maternal grandparents, my maternal grandmother’s elder sister, my Aunt – Mommy Ton (Miton), her daughter – Bianca and my 8 year old cousin Ella) around 330PM. They’re flight was a bit delayed. Thanks to Kuya Marlon (my JVP batchmate and kababayan from Davao) my transportation problems were solved.

Manila is so different already, that in the eyes of my grandparents. Flyovers didn’t exist yet the last time they were here. Well, my grandfather came here in the early 90s but he went straight to Pangasinan to attend a wedding he can’t remember Manila so much. Huge malls and buildings abound the metro, Manila wasn’t like that before. Mama (maternal grandmother) pointed to a some huge buildings along EDSA and asked – “Yan ba yung condo nak?” And I answered some of them, some are offices. I pointed her to a building along EDSA which is a condo where PDA winner YENG lives (my family are huge Kapamilyas!) and Mama can’t imagine why people would want to live in a condo. She kept asking if my ate’s condo is that tall and I assured her it wasn’t, hers looks more like a townhouse.

Palm Sunday – I was the resident cook the whole duration of my relatives’ stay here in Manila. And since my grandparents are already up at 4AM, I was kinda forced to wake up at around the same time or an hour later. The first thing they do in the morning is pray, and they pray for about 40mins so it gave me ample time to sleep. They’re early church goers as well so the scheduled Palm Sunday mass at 1030 wasn’t followed. My mom, aunt & cousins heard the anticipated mass at 730PM, I (without the need to be asked) was to accompany my grandfolks for 730AM Palm Sunday mass. Suddenly flashes of JVP morning praise came back to me.

Holy Tuesday and Wednesday - Tuesday was BULACAN day, where a lot of Mama’s relatives reside. Literally, a hot day the van’s aircon barely worked. It didn’t help that I was seated at the back most to accommodate some of our other relatives who reside here in Manila and were to join us in Bulacan. Incidentally, Papa’s (paternal grandfather) younger sister who’s now based in California has a house in San Jose del Monte. So we went there first for Papa to see the house himself. He wanted to visit his nieces and nephews there.

Afterwards we hit Malolos to visit Mama’s older sister who’s actually showing early signs of second childhood. It was a bit of a search as we didn’t know where she was exactly, if she was with this kid of hers or in her own house. We ended up waiting for her in the house of her daughter who was actually my “tita-yaya” when I was a baby. She gave me my nickname. She was studying in Davao when I was born and she would take care of me while she does her assignment. Very “Maalala Mo Kaya” story if you ask me. I’ve only seen her in pictures until last Tuesday so that was nice.

Anyway, my Lola Dely (the one we were waiting for) truly wasn’t in the mood that we almost left without seeing her. My grandmothers were already on the way to the van and decided that if in 30 minutes she still doesn’t come (Lola Dely was coming from a nearby house, a padyak away) we would go home. It didn’t matter if they didn’t see her but they won’t budge and give in to her request for us to go to her. Afterall her elder sister was with us (Lola Auntie- that’s what we call Mama’s elder sister) and if she does respect her ate, she’d know better and go to her. And she did. And it was like a scene out of a tele-novela as tears were exchanged, etc.etc. Miton and mom were teasing that it felt like a movie was being shot as people were staring at us and I was holding my SLR camera stealing pictures. It was indeed a “family moment” and a bit funny too.

WEDNESDAY was lighter. We scheduled a mini-reunion with Papa’s relatives this time, just in Project 8 in the house of one of his nieces. It was actually so near my dad’s house. I pitied Papa a bit as he caught colds and coughs from the Bulacan trip so he wasn’t really feeling well. It was the heat I guess and the bad air here in Manila. We got to Tita Amy’s (daughter of Papa’s younger sister) house around 340PM, earlier than the scheduled 4PM Merienda-Reunion but it’s ok because atleast Lola Tisit (Papa’s younger sister) was already there. We were already beginning to eat our Spaghetti when Lolo Pitis and Lola Eto arrived. It was an amazing experience. Miton, Mama and Papa were running toward them and so were them toward us. Tears of joy were exchanged and we were mere spectators of the great event. Mama didn’t cry seeing Lola Dely but she cried seeing Papa’s brother and sisters.

It was a light, fun afternoon. I didn’t know I had an aunt in WWF until last Holy Wednesday. And Tita Cora has been in a couple of NGOs before WWF too. So my NGO/Social Development leaning can’t just be attributed to Jesuit Education, it actually runs in the blood. And I ought to visit Pangasinan soon, Lolo Pitis resides there together with his wife Lola Connie and 3 labradors. I haven’t really been there except the number of times we passed by on the way to Baguio.

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I admit, I’m Papa’s girl and his favorite (I’m Karen, the paboritong apo in the McDo commercial around 6 years ago), but I know the reunion with his family is sweeter. Because atleast with mama, lola auntie is also in Davao so she has a sibling with her, Papa doesn’t.