Once Upon Saray; II. It was a remembered Thursday.

Being a dayo, is not a reason for a gap; because there’s really none.

When I was on Saray, it is really lovely to have this act of greeting every villagers we bumped up to while walking around/going somewhere with ´…magandang umaga/tanghali/hapon/gabi po’, as an act of respect and humble, and express that really it was a beautiful morning/noon/afternoon/evening for us – which is not often done by some people here in lungsod. The warm accommodation, invitations of sit-for-a-while-and-have-a-hot-coffee for the dayos to shrug off the weather’s coldness, the slow pace of life yet making sure that every tick tack is use to worth, and the refreshing green scenery, which made us felt more that we are welcomed and home.

It was Thursday – gentle breeze rolls onto the trees, such a soaking comfort,

Clouds refrained from bringing up heavy rains but slightly bring drizzle from an hour or two after another that made us see more the purity of the blinding green mountains and patags for the globules added a sort of shinny and bright effects; which added to the awestruck of our journey for the second day. Brgy. Saray sits on a portion of Sierra Madre, that starts in the north, Cagayan, and ends in the south, in the province of Quezon.

It was our second day; we met people around like these four (4) young guys which are magkakaibigan: Marko –enthusiastic, who answered a lot and talk around, which is good–, Ronel –silent but still listen and remain on our sphere of conversation–, Bobby –the one who cooked the kamoteng baging*, who’s on verge of shyness when we talk to him– , and Junell –I think he is the wing-man of magkakaibigan, he is the one who often do second reaction on his buddies’ answer, and sometimes brings up his friend’s embarrassing yet funny doings; 3 of them live on houses that are about 1 hour of walk away from the school, they told us that sometimes they came to situations that they decided not to go to school for a day or two for they don’t have any baon/binalot to bring –for it is worse to study and participate on school when you are starving, plus they also need to be home, walk for an hour, when they have been dismissed–, yet no one can defy the passionate virtues of these young ones towards learning, progressions, and being educated; offering it to their families and community –the beneficiaries of their future achievements and goals.

It was Thursday – and no one feels home sick, and everything is a fine serene spectacle. 

Few hours before we met Marko, Ronel, Bobby and Junell, we’ve met and talked first with Ma’am Loyda –head teacher of the Saray Elementary School, who finished her teaching degree from a known University in Manila; have been teaching in Saray Elementary School for more than a decade now, teaching Preparatory 1 to Grade 2–, Ma’am Daisy–a teacher who bornland is Saray, and chose her bornland’s elementary school, and now a teacher of Grade 5 to 6 for a few years now–, and Ma’am Danica –lives in Kabulusan (one of barangays of Pakil, Laguna), teach the students from Grade 3 to 4, who only been there for nearly four weeks when we met her.–, who are currently the three (3) teachers who devoted themselves on teaching the children of Saray.

The three teachers happily conversed with us, joking around and telling some humorous rants about being a teacher in that kind of remote area but they said that it is more worth it inside; as the conversation goes on, we had this sudden turn of topic for a much more serious ones, like as to how they brought up their concerns about electricity, lack of classrooms, leaking kisame whenever it rains, and the malnourishment of their pupils –that’s why they've came up with a solution, just to lessen the occurrence of malnutrition, of setting every Thursday as pakain/handaan/feeding. 

And luckily it was Thursday; children peek out their heads on the sangkalan/lutuan, located on the hut on the school’s playground, everyone is quite baffled whether they will focus on the day’s discussion, or linger to what they smell outside, and sink into, maybe, a mind-set saying to themselves:

'...kaunting tiis na lang,

Huwebes, itong araw na ito ang laging naming hinihintay; 

pagkaraan ng buong linggo, ang meryenda ngayon ay...'

Spaghetti, arozcaldo,and champorado are the recipe often cooked by them – teachers together with volunteer parents from Saray. And Spaghetti being the most requested by the children, said by Ma’am Loyda; that’s why they always make sure that every month, they will prepare a festive of spaghetti – hoping that from this small ways they can motivate their students, add something they can look up to, prevent the possible occurring of malnutrition among their students, and in some ways adopt the metaphor hiding on their barangay’s name.

Sar-ay – Sarap at Aray, as what our head facilitator, Sir Van, had told me with a brief history that some of the people of Saray have an ancestral lineage from the Remontado Dumagats of Quezon.

As the day goes, I have met more, talked with, and interacted with families not minding that in just a short-span of time I will be leaving the place, with only a memory of them packed for my writing and own longing. 

It was Thursday – with ardor that brought us a peace and contentment; for a while, 

hoping that we can prolong the departure; but never forgetting.

Boys of Saray Elementary School, laughing and rambling around as
some of them want to be included on photos and videos too.

Innocent, intimate, and lovely smiles of children as a response when I pointed to them my camera,
after they greeted us with their synchronized, sweet, and loud 'good morning visitors!'

(right to left) : Junell, Ronel, Bobby, and Marko, chatting around with us
after the pakain/handaan/feeding activity of the school.

(left to right): Ma'am Loyda, Ma'am Daisy together with her daughter, and Ma'am Danica;
three passionate and devoted teachers of Saray Elementary School.

Villager's children peeking out from the silong of bahay kubo, as we roam around meeting some of the families.

co-volunteer students, together with our head facilitators talking to the kapitan of the barangay
while we are waiting for the drizzle to pause up.