Time in the House of Cajoe, Mindanao

Filipino time is different. I am in my hotel and I have visitors; I am also very tired, I want to rest and be alone. This is delicate, so I take aside the one who speaks the best English, and I explain to her, in painstaking detail that the plan is for her to say *after five minutes*, "Oh, John, are you tired, do you want to rest?" This gives me the perfect out. We rehearse this at least three times and I know she understands this perfectly. We return to the group and she *immediately* announces something in Visayan and everyone troops out, apologizing for disturbing me. HIYA!

The funny thing is, the next day no one mentions it and we have a great time, and the one who made the announcement apologizes.

I visit the home of Cajoe, who is Toto's boss, at least he owns his taxi car. He is in arrears from the Bureau of Receipts and has to work off the meter. We travel down many roads and I am astounded there are no collisions. There is no thought of seat belts. Finally we pull onto the side of the road and get out. We walk down a mud path about 3 feet wide, I see cats, they are called Ming-Mings I am told. Everyone wants me to learn Visayan. The Ming-Mings are not friendly or they are afraid of me. I am told this is because I am too handsome with my long nose, to much laughter. Every 10 feet or so along the path there is a doorway, children stare at me like someone from another dimension or planet. Finally, fifty yards down we turn right and I am told to mind the lintel after entering. It is about 5'9" tall and very solid wood. It is small and dark, cooled with a fan and full of faces, all smiling at me. Cajoe and his wife Lina are seated in two chairs, there is a small loveseat that I am told to sit on. I meet Cajoe's daughter Meloy, her uncle Benjie, the sister, the other sister, the brothers in law, the son, and the other daughter. They are all perched on a staircase that runs upstairs. I later discover they sleep on mats up there. They do not have beds. There is a surprisingly large kitchen, with a refrigerator. The place is remarkably clean and one of the sisters holds up a baby with the largest eyes I have ever seen. The baby does not blink for at least 45 seconds and just stares at me. I am offered a drink of root beer and we talk for a bit. They all come from Bislig originally, but that town is too small to have taxis. Cajoe drove a "tricycle" there, which is a bike with a sidecar for hire, 4 pesos for a ride, which is about 8 cents. Cajoe has about two teeth and a pot belly attached to his skinny frame but he is a beautiful man. As I am about to depart I happen to glance out the window and see my t-shirt on a clothesline, along with my shorts. They insisted on washing all of this by hand for me. It is all very humbling. And I forget and hit my head on the lintel on the way out of course. Toto and I laugh a lot on the way back to his quasi legal car. There will be good times tonight, despite what the Bureau of Receipts has to say about it. He calls me Mong-Mong. I call him Restauraunt King.

I notice before I leave that Cajoe's clock is 37 minutes slow. I do not mention it. The children play with blocks of wood and stones on the ground.

What state to you live in?
Why are you staying such a short time here?
I want your long nose!
I am chocolate, you are milk.
I am too shy, he is too shy, she is too shy.
That lady lives under the bridge, avoid her.
Please take another picture of us!
You can't take a picture of three of us at once, it is very bad luck.
You have a red mole, that is good luck did you know that?

I don't know, but I do feel pretty lucky just to have shared the company of these people.