When I was 5 years old my father brought me to Davao Oriental with my two older brothers to meet our grandmother, uncles, aunties and cousins. Davao Oriental was the birthplace of my father. It took us 5 long hours before we reached the capital of Davao Oriental, and that is Mati, now Mati City. During that time, the road was not yet as good as it is now.
When we got there, we immediately went straight to the house of our grandmother. There, all our relatives and cousins, from the first to the last degree, waited and greeted us welcome. It was our school vacation that time and it was scheduled that we would stay there for a week before we go back to Davao City.
Our stay there was really a memory cherished within me. I could still remember the things we did and the places we went to, accompanied by our uncles and cousins. Our grandmother’s house was just by the sea. Every morning you could smell the freshness of the air from the sea to the shore. The freshly caught fishes were not for sale. It was handed or given to those who would pass by in the shore area. You would see many people pulling this huge net. When the entire net is at shore, fishes of all sizes were inside the huge net. The Filipino word “bayanihan” was very visible and felt by the community. In the noontime, when the water is shallow, you would see many folks walking in search of seashells in the shore. Since it is near the beach, it was a bathing frenzy. It was an unlimited beach party for the three of us. We even took a bath at a stream just at the back of the house of my grandmother.
During that time, our uncles introduced us to a hobby of theirs and became our hobby too later on. My uncle Alex brought us to his chicken farm at the back of his humble house. There I saw many chickens, roosters and hens with chicks. We where advised to select any chicken that we liked and it will be given to us. Ryan, our eldest, took a tiger colored rooster. As they would call it “bayong-bayong” it means a male chicken on its adolescent stage and ready for breeding. My other brother, Richard, took a hen. It was called “dumalaga” meaning a female chicken ready to lay eggs. Me, the youngest, took a little chick, until now I never knew the gender of it. I called it chick-chick.
When we were leaving Mati, we where given many fruits, vegetables and other souvenir items. It was a gift and "pasalubong" from Davao Oriental. We were carrying so many items from the including our chickens that were given to us by our uncle Alex. My brother named his chicken “bolit”, derived from the tiger colored rooster. My other brother named his chicken “chona” and me, “chick-chick”- my little chick.
It was an experience that I will never forget. My first visit to the land where my roots originated. It has been 22 years since my first visit and I could still remember that vacation worth remembering.
