trip to bicol: day one. sipocot.

at the time i arrived (and during the first few days of my stay), the whole of bicol has had frequent power outages. electricity would be available only for a few hours before it'll be cut, and there won't be power for some hours. the day after i arrived, i woke up by mid-morning because the power went off half an hour earlier. the electric fan wasn't functioning so it was the heat of the day that eventually woke me up.

my aunt was busy preparing items that  will be brought to cabusao for the wedding. she asked me if i wanted to join the jeep that was about to leave but i declined; i haven't had breakfast yet and i can't shower in cabusao, either. after my aunt left, i was left all alone in her house for a few hours.

it's been three or four years since i last visited my relatives in bicol. the place hasn't changed much from how i remembered it. i went to the nearest store to buy breakfast and hair conditioner. it turned out the store owner is one of the godmothers for the wedding; she was doing her nails when i came to the store and bought my stuff. she asked me if i was the cousin from manila who came for the wedding; i said i was.

(i could understand bicolano; my mom, her sister and my now-deceased lolo would always converse in bicolano. the last time i was here, i tried speaking in bicolano. i failed. i did not attempt speaking in bicolano during this latest trip.)

my aunt came back around lunch with some food from the caterers. by that time i already showered and was wearing the slacks i will be wearing for the wedding. i had a long-sleeved white shirt to be worn under my barong tagalog. (i decided i'll wear that later; it was a really warm day and the electricity hasn't come back yet.) before she came back, i whiled my time taking photos of some nooks and crannies of her house, while waiting for the electricity so i could recharge my phone.

it was mid-afternoon when the remaining wedding guests packed off and went to cabusao. we crammed ourselves in a jeepney, with the wedding cake. one of the mothers had her little boy with her, sitting next to me. at one point during the jeepney ride, the little boy wanted to pee. his mother lowered his shorts, hoisted him and had him sit by the jeep's window. the kid peed from the window while the jeep was travelling. i was half-worried the slipstream would blow the kid's pee to my direction, but it didn't.