Video – https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=b75h3CJMglA





I actually had no idea what mountain or what are we going to do once we get there to be quite honest. All I know is that (1) I was asked to wake up at 5AM (2) we’re going to Rizal and (3) church stuff. The feelings I had were an between of excited, giddy, and a bit scared. Scared for: my life and accidentally cussing in front of the TNB people because I haven’t been to church in a looooong time and I don’t want to leave an impression of someone I’m actually not hahaha weird no?

We first dropped off at Mabolo, which is already a beautiful place to begin with, to see “itay” but to no avail so we headed on walking to Sitio Kabuuan whilst eating our ice cream. Of course I wanted to throw my trash but I couldn’t because I love nature that I didn’t bother bringing any of my vices anymore (look at the commitment tho)
Things we did when we finally arrived Sitio Kabuuan:

• Settle our bags & selves & other things like food for the kids
• Eat chicken pastel I think??? (was it pastel idk)
• Sleep 
• Eat more chicken and biko
• Be amazed at how their water is so fresh it doesn’t need filtering so I drank it without thinking twice
• Eat some more

After how many times of turning this down, I finally gave this trip a go. The amount of laziness I had was too much I didn’t know what I was sleeping on. The reason why I said yes to this trip was that I wanted to get away from Manila and the things that still don’t make sense to me. Manila’s traffic is as congested as my mind and I feel that I needed a break from it.

I went there bringing a few clothes and my camera because I wanted to document the people and life there but I actually had more than what I initially planned. All along I thought that I was “g na g” for real life but my god was I wrong, I’m actually the conyo who doesn’t even know shit about provincial living because I’m too urban for the rural life; I had a bit of a hard time climbing up and down steep parts of the mountain. I also learned that the simple words for us such as “sanggol” and “matabok” are offensive for the indigenous people. Since I was the curious, I asked what the first term meant then they laughed hysterically because apparently it’s very perverted. Way to go, self!

Now that I think about it, these people have lesser things compared to me yet they’re very happy with what they have. Their way of living is very much simple, not wanting anything more, that’s why small gestures of kindness are enough for them. As much as I missed Manila I also wanted to stay a bit longer baka sakali I’ll learn to appreciate the small things in life and learn how to be contented with that I have. I’m probably always losing things because I’ve never actually knew what contentment felt like. Being content is good and wanting a better option is also good but the between is what makes it difficult. I also thought about me feeling the need to defend myself from everything that could potentially bring me hurt because I know that there’ll be no one to come to my aid and really, really understand my pains. Because truth is, no person ever needs other people to adjust for them especially if they never asked them to. What a troubled soul needs is understanding and to get away from the negativity that’s already eating them alive. Perpetually sad people are often misunderstood are mistaken as masama ang ugali but truth is, they no longer know what to do with their lives.

When the 2016 came, a saw a post that had “Say ‘Yes’ to new adventures” and made it my wallpaper. The road to my new adventure is as bumpy as the roads leading to Sitio Kabuuan but I have hopes that it will be worth it, too.
What a classic way to vent out. But to summarize the whole experience, I had a wonderful time with everyone I was with especially the Sitio kids. The food was great and so were the natives who were beyond hospitable. Would I consider going on more trips like this, probably. If the schedule lets me.