I'm quite excited about getting old.

Fieldwork!

My initial reaction before going to the school was we would get tired from painting. When we arrived there, I felt relieved in seeing that we were only painting a small portion of the school. However, I felt sad too because I wanted to give the people in the community the best that I could and lack of resources (specifically, paint) stopped me and my classmates from helping these people to the fullest.

We painted the ceiling of a small classroom. There was no unity between the groups which could be evident in the finished product of our work. The ceiling was not completely painted and the painted parts were scattered. I felt sad that we didn’t finish painting the ceiling of the room since there were many students who could render labor to finish the entire thing. Our group, despite the disunity of the class, were united during the fieldwork. We were well prepared with the materials to be used.
After painting the ceiling, we had our lunch together as a group. Then our professor instructed that we would be having a community mapping activity. We were to interview 2 households regarding their “mga yaman”. Unfortunately, we were only able to visit one household. But even if we interviewed only one household we were very fortunate since our interviewee was the pioneer in that area.
We interviewed Nanay Bebeng. We asked her implicitly about their ‘mga yaman’. Nanay Bebeng and her husband is a farmer. They have been occupying their house and tilling the land since 1960’s. (I cannot remember the exact year.) Nanay Bebeng was not a native of Bataan. They migrated there when she was young. She told us that the land they are using to plant crops was a forest before. I was shocked and awed to hear that their family, together with some other farmers, were the ones who developed the land. This made me feel more makabayan, proud to know that my fellow countrymen are very hardworking and enduring. It made me respect more FIlipino people, especially those who are in the rural areas.
Nanay Bebeng’s story made me realize that the bayanihan of the community was very effective. This was very evident in the land where they are now. A former land filled with trees and shrubs is now a land who bears food for many people. Nanay Bebeng also told us a little information about her children. She shared with us that they did everything they could just so their children would finish college. She mentioned their hardships in sustaining their children’s studies.
I hope that by sharing this story, I could also make other people realize how important education is, that even people in the rural areas are spending money for it, even when they barely have money.