Market Day in Pacuan
One thing I missed most about being a community doctor is the market day. It is the one day of the week where people from the neighboring sitios go to Pacuan to sell their produce and buy provisions.
A large crowd often gathers in the hospital to seek consultation and/or hide from the often scorching mid-day sun. The conversations are always interesting and provocative because of the diversed background of the crowd. It's the one day of the week when you can keep abreast of the latest news in the neighboring areas like how many piglets were born from Nang Nita's swine, who married who, or who was recently caught cheating and chased with a bolo. The conversation pieces ranged from comedy, action, drama, suspense to horror. Definitely, it is my most favorite day of the week!!!
Early in the morning, one can already hear the mangled engine of the only 10 wheeeler ascending to Pacuan from the town of La Libertad. It carries with it a variety of goods like rice, livestocks, fish, canned goods and other items ordered by the businessmen in Pacuan. Along the way, the drivers pick up passengers and charge them between 10-20 pesos. The passengers and the goods are all cramped at the back of the rickety truck which seemed to lose a screw every time it encountered a hump ( and there were a lot of humps). Nevertheless, you can see the passengers looking all excited in their best sunday clothes. It seemed that within the rusty, dirty, smelly confines of the back of the truck and amidst the animals, is a world of friendship. Definitely, it is my favorite day of the week!!!
By seven am, you can see half naked men running barefooted with baskets on their heads full of bread from the only bakery in Pacuan. I call them "generic" breads because they come in different forms, are called by different names but tasted the same. Agile in barefoot, they can adeptly evade the protruding rocks and maintain the baskets on their heads while waving to the ladies or casually throwing an invitation to a lady or two to the local dance. Indeed, these local Adonises run with confidence and pride as though they were carrying the olympic torch. The oblation run occurs only once every year in UP but in Pacuan, it is every sunday. Definitely, it is my favorite day of the week!!!
Turning towards the distant mountains, moving dots slowly transform into people and livestock. To get the best deal, one has to learn the art of "mata-mata" as a weighing scale is rarely used. To bargain for a chicken for example, first, you have to learn how to hold the chicken well so as not to inadvertedly lose or choke it, then learn to feel your way through the feathers to its keel and assess if it has enough meat. After wrestling with the poor animal, you must learn to declare your price as confidently as you could even if you have no idea what you're talking about. If the trader accepts your bid, then you become the proud owner of a chicken "bisaya". Almost every sunday at lunch, my gut is treated to a delicious, satisfying and scrumptious "tinolang manok bisaya"! Definitely, it is my favorite day of the week!!!
The marketplace by noon becomes saturated with people and animals. In one corner are the ladies selling bagoong(shrimp paste) stored in "taros". Using their bare hands, they scoop the bagoong into a coffee glass which they use as measuring cup and using the same hands, they wipe off sweat, scratch an itch and make hi-fi when they see me. Public health officials might cringe at this but hey, this is Pacuan. As I was told by one vendor, " Doc ang kagaw naa ra na sa libro" ( Germs only exist in books). Now, who can argue with that when you have boiled unripe banana begging for bagoong!
At another corner, one can see ladies selling supposedly "relief" goods...secondhand clothes from abroad. I cant help but smile whenever I see men and women wearing wool jackets as if they are ready to scale Mount Everest! Or a lola in a sexy, backless cocktail dress that was probably once worn by Paris Hilton!
But my personal favorite are the sugar coated peanuts called "Pinyatos". It is a challenge on how many pieces you can eat before all the sugar will make you crave for water. I enjoy breaking them into little pieces, extracting the peanut and leaving the caramelized sugar for the ants. Certainly, market day must be the favorite day of the members of the entomology kingdom.
Late in the afternoon, the market slowly becomes quiet. Pacuan slowly returns to it's somber state with the stillness of the night occasionally interrupted by the howling of dogs. Market day is always exhausting but I always retire looking forward to the next market day.
Oh the good old days...
A large crowd often gathers in the hospital to seek consultation and/or hide from the often scorching mid-day sun. The conversations are always interesting and provocative because of the diversed background of the crowd. It's the one day of the week when you can keep abreast of the latest news in the neighboring areas like how many piglets were born from Nang Nita's swine, who married who, or who was recently caught cheating and chased with a bolo. The conversation pieces ranged from comedy, action, drama, suspense to horror. Definitely, it is my most favorite day of the week!!!
Early in the morning, one can already hear the mangled engine of the only 10 wheeeler ascending to Pacuan from the town of La Libertad. It carries with it a variety of goods like rice, livestocks, fish, canned goods and other items ordered by the businessmen in Pacuan. Along the way, the drivers pick up passengers and charge them between 10-20 pesos. The passengers and the goods are all cramped at the back of the rickety truck which seemed to lose a screw every time it encountered a hump ( and there were a lot of humps). Nevertheless, you can see the passengers looking all excited in their best sunday clothes. It seemed that within the rusty, dirty, smelly confines of the back of the truck and amidst the animals, is a world of friendship. Definitely, it is my favorite day of the week!!!
By seven am, you can see half naked men running barefooted with baskets on their heads full of bread from the only bakery in Pacuan. I call them "generic" breads because they come in different forms, are called by different names but tasted the same. Agile in barefoot, they can adeptly evade the protruding rocks and maintain the baskets on their heads while waving to the ladies or casually throwing an invitation to a lady or two to the local dance. Indeed, these local Adonises run with confidence and pride as though they were carrying the olympic torch. The oblation run occurs only once every year in UP but in Pacuan, it is every sunday. Definitely, it is my favorite day of the week!!!
Turning towards the distant mountains, moving dots slowly transform into people and livestock. To get the best deal, one has to learn the art of "mata-mata" as a weighing scale is rarely used. To bargain for a chicken for example, first, you have to learn how to hold the chicken well so as not to inadvertedly lose or choke it, then learn to feel your way through the feathers to its keel and assess if it has enough meat. After wrestling with the poor animal, you must learn to declare your price as confidently as you could even if you have no idea what you're talking about. If the trader accepts your bid, then you become the proud owner of a chicken "bisaya". Almost every sunday at lunch, my gut is treated to a delicious, satisfying and scrumptious "tinolang manok bisaya"! Definitely, it is my favorite day of the week!!!
The marketplace by noon becomes saturated with people and animals. In one corner are the ladies selling bagoong(shrimp paste) stored in "taros". Using their bare hands, they scoop the bagoong into a coffee glass which they use as measuring cup and using the same hands, they wipe off sweat, scratch an itch and make hi-fi when they see me. Public health officials might cringe at this but hey, this is Pacuan. As I was told by one vendor, " Doc ang kagaw naa ra na sa libro" ( Germs only exist in books). Now, who can argue with that when you have boiled unripe banana begging for bagoong!
At another corner, one can see ladies selling supposedly "relief" goods...secondhand clothes from abroad. I cant help but smile whenever I see men and women wearing wool jackets as if they are ready to scale Mount Everest! Or a lola in a sexy, backless cocktail dress that was probably once worn by Paris Hilton!
But my personal favorite are the sugar coated peanuts called "Pinyatos". It is a challenge on how many pieces you can eat before all the sugar will make you crave for water. I enjoy breaking them into little pieces, extracting the peanut and leaving the caramelized sugar for the ants. Certainly, market day must be the favorite day of the members of the entomology kingdom.
Late in the afternoon, the market slowly becomes quiet. Pacuan slowly returns to it's somber state with the stillness of the night occasionally interrupted by the howling of dogs. Market day is always exhausting but I always retire looking forward to the next market day.
Oh the good old days...
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