This was the message I saw taped in Mike’s front door when I climbed the stairs to his cottage. I was surprised when I read this, I didn’t realize that he is this cordial person. I saw him twice, well this was the third time I saw him, the last time was in my birthday party that my uncle threw for me last year.
He called A First Nation in this country. The Indian people who were the very first souls that reached Canada. I only watched them in the movies, and now I even hibernated at his place together with my group for two days.
He loves to utter the words “This is my country” whenever we talk about what he can do (,and what he cannot), and then we will all be bursting into laugh.
I told him, “Well in my country, you could be the Aetas”, and I explained him who are the Aetas and where they came from. “But unlike you, who is proud to say that – this is my country – my Aetas would not probably voice that Philippines is their country.”
They are the minorities that the government already forget. They are coerced to leave the flatlands, and they’re land are sold to multinational companies. Oh well I didn’t say that, I don’t want to be sound broadcasting too much how wicked the Philippine Government is.
Anyway, if he can share the good times of being an Indian, he also said that there are also the hard times. But he is so comfortable with what he is as an Indian, how I wish the Aetas would enjoy the same feeling that he have.
And if you are going to ask me, I really had a good time this weekend. The 4 hours drive was really worth the travel.
His cottage is situated by the lake and it’s like I want to live there forever but it’s too cold there in the winter when the lake become ice and he said that you can hear the sounds of cracking ice while you are sleeping in the middle of the night.
No computer, no texting just my iPod when sleeping time and I hardly open the book I brought with me, only the relentless conversation with my ate’s and kuya’s (big brothers and sisters) about fishing and life took in my day.
What a life! But life is not always tasting good like the Greek Salad, the Greek guy served us last Saturday evening together with his Greek baked fish.
We all need to wake up one day that the long weekend is done and gone.
Now, we all need to go back to work.
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