Pangasinan: Lola Reminisces

This weekend Tita Josie, Tito Danny (Tita Josie's husband), Josielle (their daughter), Lola, and I went on a trip to Pangasinan- the province where our families are from. I'm afraid to admit that I can't describe what the scenery was like on the drive because I slept the whole way down...surprise. The plan was for us to eat lunch and dinner on Sunday in Dagupan, the city in Pangasinan where my mom grew up, with Uncle Ramon (my papa/grandpa's brother) and his family. I'd stay in a hotel with everyone I came down with and we'd make our way back to Manila on Monday morning.

We got to Pangasinan around 11 AMish and went straight to the house where Lola grew up in Kibaol. Upon relocating to Manila, Lola Fannie left the house to her cousin, Nora. Nora and her husband, along with assistance from their servants (don't get too excited, everyone here seems to have them), were left with the responsibility to maintain the house, the fishpond, and the rice field.

As soon as we walked into the house we were greeted with open arms by everyone there. One of the employees says to Lola, "It's so nice to see you." Want to know how Lola replies? "We'll talk later." Great. Drama already. So after she sits down like the queen she is, she begins to reminisce. She tells us about how she used to play over there and that she walked down those stairs on her wedding day. Pretty soon the fun is over and she turns to the lady who she promised to talk to "later." Apparently, this woman and her family were left to tend the fishpond. The agreement was for them to be able to take 10% of whatever is caught from the ponds. (This is their form of payment for caring for the fish.) Lola, on the orders of her sister, accuses the lady of stealing the fish and not giving our family the share agreed upon. The scolding lasts quite a while and was interrupted by a phone call from Uncle Ramon.

By this time it's past noon and he's wondering where we are...except Lola doesn't remember telling him we'd arrive around 10 AM at his place. And now we're caught: lunch has been prepared for us in Kibaol and Uncle Ramon's family is waiting for us to eat in Dagupan. Food food food. That is the #1 thing I will not forget about the Philippines. You will never be hungry anywhere you go. Anyways, we resolved to meet him at 2:00, eat small in Kibaol, then eat big in Dagupan. So after eating in Kibaol, Lola wanted me to see the fishpond. Keep in mind that it's easily around the lower 90s so I'm not exactly jumping for joy at the idea of walking around to see a fishpond. But I'm glad I went.

Inbetween the fishponds are small walkways like this
that allow the caretakers to get from pond to pond.

The fishpond caretaker's home.