July 15, 2022
Thank God it's Friday Kababayans!
This current Hive PH Contest made me reminisce about the good old days back when I was still in the Philippines. It's more fun in the Philippines, as they said. Indeed it is because even traveling from home to the workplace or school needs not just one ride, but three rides. Amazing isn't it?
My hometown is the mabaysay (beautiful) Basey located in the western part of Samar Philippines. It's a humble town full of beautiful natural features that are waiting to be discovered. The nearest city to our place is Tacloban City, 43 kilometers away from our town which takes more than an hour drive (without traffic).
Tacloban City is the main big city of Leyte and is nearest to Samar. It is where big schools and universities are located and a place for shopping.
When I stepped out of high school, I ventured into this big city to study for college. For a country girl new in the city, it was tough for me to adjust to the new routes, especially waking up too early in the morning, just not to be stuck in the traffic.
Our village, on the other hand, is located outside our town's proper area. So I needed to travel from our village to our town terminus, from our town to Tacloban city bus terminus, lastly, from the bus terminus to our school area.
I needed to wake up as early as 4 or 5 in the morning as my class started at 8 and sometimes earlier than that. I would ride a pedicab (like shown in the photo) to our hometown, and sometimes during peak hours, I have no choice but to ride with a pile of students rushing for school since their classes started at 7 in the morning.
Image from Pixabay
In our hometown, students going to the city are rushing and squeezing themselves inside the jeepney just to be on time at their schools.
Image from Unsplash by Joshua Kyle
During those rush hours, I feel like time ran so fast that I needed to chase it, or else I'll end up missing the first part of our class discussions. There were times that I tried standing by the door or sitting on the jeepney floor as it seemed like there were no gentlemen from our hometown, lol. No, the gentlemen were on top of the jeepney, and some were hanging on the sides 🤣.
Along the way outside our town are more students waiting to be onboarded by the loaded jeepney. The driver would onboard and onboard and onboard more, until no more available space on top and inside the jeepney, to the point that we can't even breathe well anymore.
Traversing the inclining part of the San Juanico bridge was even harder as the jeepney would go slower and slower as it was fully loaded.
Image from Unsplash by Lance Lozano
I guess the bicycle was even faster than the loaded jeepney, lol.
As the jeepney reaches the Leyte area, more problems will arise. The road congestion for instance. It was stressful for students and workers because even if we woke up earlier, the circumstances along our journey were robbing our time.
Image from Unsplash by Alexander Popov
From the bus terminus, I would ride again another multicab vehicle that would pass by our school because the bus terminus is quite far from the main city area.
I would reach our school premises either late or just on time. Gladly, our teachers were considerate, especially for those living outside Leyte that still need to travel for a few hours just to be in school. It was my routine during the first two years in college, and I opted to rent a room in the city in the last two years as more time was needed to work with my group mates in Thesis, as well as attending On The Job Training or OJT.
It may be a toxic daily routine, but there were a lot of ways we did to make our journey worth it. Oftentimes, I would use those times to flip my notes and study. Some would just enjoy listening to the music played by the driver or chitchat with their friends. The sense of humor of my co-Filipinos is what I missed when riding a jeepney. Some would just make the scene into comedy, or throw jokes out of our funny situation inside the jeepney rather than stressing out ourselves. Everyone wants to reach their ideal destinations, we would endure difficulties because we Filipinos are resilient.
There were also moments when I spent Christmas and other special occasions on the bus, van, or jeepney traveling back to our hometown, especially when I started to work.
But the most unforgettable moment in biyaheng Pinoy is when I experienced riding on the top of a jeepney. I was already working when it happened and renting a room in Palo Leyte. One night, we watched fiesta events in Tacloban city. There were limited jeepneys going to Palo and mostly were fully loaded. It was getting late and almost midnight, I worried that I might end up sleeping somewhere in the street.
When one jeepney arrived, people immediately ran towards it and occupied the seats. I, on the other hand, was left outside the jeep because I was too slow, lol. My co-workers suggested just riding on the top of the jeepney. Others were already climbing up, and there might not be any available space anymore.
Without hesitation, I climbed up to the top with the help of my co-worker and then sat at the edge holding the handrail too tight. It was full of excitement, but in the back of my mind, I was cursing myself for doing a scary thing. "What if I fall?" That was my first question. As the jeepney started its engine, my heart pumped fast, and it became faster when the jeepney ran on the road.
I was nervous at first, but it turned into fun and excitement when a group of teens started to sing. And I tried one thing that I can only see in movies, and that's to raise my hands in the air, one hand only though as the other one was holding the handrail tightly 🤣.
So those were just some of my biyaheng pinoy experiences. There were a lot more and all I could say is, it's more fun in the Philippines 🇵🇭 😁.
