Holy Week--Bantayan Island!

We stood on the belcony and watched as hundreds, maybe thousands of people shuffled slowly along the darkened streets. Some were barefoot. All held candles. Some carried little children in bright biblical clothing, or angel costumes. They had promised God if He healed their children they would carry them the 7km in the procession every Holy week...

Bantayan, close to the tip of Cebu, is known for it's monumental celebrations of Holy Week. Thither we went, therefore, hosted by our lovely language teacher, Ate Anita, and her family, including Baby, Nami, and BJ (our room-mate!), and an unending supply of aunts and uncles and cousins. Their old family home is in a delightful little fishing villiage; there are no cars (at least that I could see), and the streets are clean and broad. Everywhere is close to the ocean, and we went on several occasions to swim or look for crabs or seashells. We ate a lot of seafood; crabs, fish, squid, even the very slimy and delicious insides of shells, which you suck on very hard to GET the squishy insides out. Every morning, Kuya Papaboy, Ate Anita's brother, went to the sea very early in the morning to collect all these things for us to eat. Every night there was a procession, and there were caros, (like floats in a parade) that told the story of the stations of the cross. Some of the caros had been handed down for generations. On the morning of Easter Sunday we got up before 4 (AM, just to add effect) and walked in the short procession which ended at the church where the caro of Jesus met the caro of Mary, and little angles standing in the arch sang songs and threw rose petals down. We heartily appreciated it, and then went back to bed to sleep. =)
On Easter Saturday, Kuya Papaboy taught us how to make flying birds out of palm leaves. It is quite an art and rediculously difficult. =) It's a kind of weaving/braiding process that leaves you cross-eyed and very proud of yourself, (if it works out). We also learned how to make balls, snakes (2 kinds), whistles, and just about anything else you can think of. It was great fun. That is the tradition they have, every year. It was cool to see the little kids learning how to do it too.
Ate Anita and her sister did all the cooking outside over a wood fire. Another brother plucked chickens and retrieved coconuts from the trees in their backyard. On Saturday, everyone fasted, but they do eat one thing, called bugnitgnit, (or something like that). It reminds me of hot halohalo, or porridege, or rice pudding, and has lots of coconut, bananas, squash, jackfruit, and some sort of small red ball things. Delicious! The water we hauled up from a well, and to shower, you don't, you "take a bath" and dump water over yourself and it's incredibly refreshing. =)
At night, Kuya Papaboy played choruses on his guitar and taught me how to tune one without a piano (thank GOODNESS). =)

We went home reluctantly, in a bit of a rainstorm. It was rather exciting getting home because there were so many people, it really was a rather good example of survival of the fittiest, just trying to get on a bus or boat. We made it though, happy and well, and very grateful for the warm hospitality of yet another wonderful Filippino family.

Love,

Amberkay