San Gabriel

I grew up in San Gabriel Village, Tuguegarao City with my Lolo and Lola, as I can remember this is one of the best places I have been in my entire life. Taking me back in my childhood days, I lived in a house made of woods (bahay kubo) a spacious front and backyard with a lot of dogs, cats, paloma (kalapati), ducks and chickens all of these are my pets.

I can still smell the green trees and grass around that place it looked like a forest and I usually play there catch more birds, climb trees, pick the best fruits and eat them fresh.

My playmates and me usually play in the “forest” and catch animals such as birds, spiders, chickens and yeah during high tide we catch fishes too. And I can still remember waking up each day going out in our balcony smelling the fogs, fresh air as if everyday is another lovely day for me.

I have created a swing underneath the mango tree and that became my favorite spot there back in days where I can see everything in the green lands, I love to observe the carabaos eating grasses, the birds singing, my playmates, my pets, every view I see is so rustic and I so much love it and it is also my favorite place in writing my poems. My first poem was entitled “the trees” I don’t have the copy right now but I’m sure it’s still in that place.

Our neighbors maybe too few but what I loved most is that every family knew each other, it’s like the town is one great big family with all those familiar faces. It’s like the lifestyle is so perfect if I had a choice I’d never leave that place. When I turned 12, I moved to Las Pinas City to stay with my family on my father’s side.

My early years of visit there in San Gabriel were still ok and there was a time I became too busy and never had a chance to visit for a long time that during my last visit there, to my surprise… I couldn’t see the forest we used to play anymore the land was covered with households and a lot of people lives there now, those familiar faces was gone and I can see new faces it’s like everything I used to know became blur and I was bamboozled by it. It’s not a new thing anymore it’s just a matter of change and that place simply attest that. But still, I am thankful that I had a glimpse of an experience of the best memories at that place… and it’s the memory of my childhood days…