A Country Visit by Bus, Tricycle and Jeepney to Dangcagan, Bukidnon, Mindanao

By: Bob Boyer

My nephew Ted recently experienced a country visit to the farmland and house of Clara, his Filipino girlfriend. It is a trip that I will probably never attempt at my age. I envy Ted his youth and stamina. What follows is my reply to his email describing the country visit. It is a story of country travel, of family ties, and how differently Filipinos view time. Dear Ted, it took me quite some time to locate the Province of Bukidnon in north-central Mindanao, and then to find Dancagan, near where Clara’s house and land are located. I’m afraid I had never heard of either the province or the town. The town is near the very bottom (south central part) of the province. You have traveled pretty close to the geographic heart of the island of Mindanao, which is perhaps close to Clara’s heart as well. I could relate to a couple of your travel experiences, which are pretty much the same elsewhere in the country. You had to wait “for a long time for the ‘right’ bus,” meaning an air-conditioned one. I’ve done that, but I haven’t used the waiting time as well as you did in observing the impoverished elderly man in the bus station. You refer to as “the stick man.” Your imagined story of him is very compassionate and moving. I found it interesting how the bus conductor operated. “A conductor would come over to us, ask our destination, calculate the distance, and give us punched pieces of paper that was our bill. We would then pay the conductor.” Also interesting are the “bus inspectors” who got on and off the bus (when another bus came from the opposite direction) to check the bills and make sure about the correct payment. Pretty clever and much like how our trains and light rails work. Speaking of sophisticated, I was impressed that you and Clara were required to make a special stop where you had to get off the bus and “step on a mat to clean our shoes to prevent the spread of contaminants.” We are just now in the U.S. becoming aware of the importance of “growing/eating local” and not bringing produce from afar that might have elements that are hazards to different crops or even the same crops but in different places. The next leg of your journey is truly memorable. My whole body started aching as I read about it. You had reached the town of Dangcagan but now needed to get to the country to Clara’s land and farm house. You wondered why no transportation was available, even for the offering of extra money. You finally got your answer when a motorized tricycle driver gave you a ride. “It had been raining in the region and the roads were covered in mud and huge pot holes. The majority of the ride we were hanging on so we would not fall out . . . . The few miles journey was a 20-minute vehicle and back-punishing ordeal.” I’ve been jostled and jolted but never to such an extent or on a tricycle. And then you actually couldn’t get to Clara’s land but did make it to her sister’s place where you were able to drop off what you had brought for Clara’s sister. Clara deserves the best-sister of the year award. Now comes one of the most amazing parts of your story. You were due to have arrived at Clara’s friend’s house hours ago. When you got there, “it was late, it was dark and there were not many public transports heading to the area of her friend’s house.” You “waited and waited,” and finally enough passengers had collected for the jeepney to set out. I know jeepneys are several steps up from the tricycle, but I still have sores from the lack of anything like springs on that type of vehicle. But here’s the amazing part, but really the truly typical Filipino part. “When we finally arrived we were greeted warmly and welcomed as though we were family. They had a huge meal waiting for us and we all sat down to eat.” Clara and her friend then spent much of the night catching up (lots of “tsismus” I bet). You speak of meeting “many different members” of Clara’s friend’s family and not quite knowing how everyone was related. Your conclusion that family relationships among Filipinos are different from ours in the U.S. may not necessarily be correct. The big difference is that in the Philippines everyone is together in the same place at the same time. What a great trip, Ted. Send more stories. Bob Boyer welcomes comments: Robert.boyer@snc.edu or <anamericaninmanila.com>.