An Encounter

Yesterday, my sister went to town. While she was waiting for the green light for her to be able to cross the street, there were two young ladies stood before her. They were talking, and the language they’re using was a bit strange to my sister. Janine, my sister, may not understand well the language they were using, but she had the idea of their conversation. Some of the words used by the girls while talking to each other were Tagalog terms. The girls were talking about her lipstick color, her hairstyle and her eyes. Their hand gestures also helped my sister to understand what they’re discussing. Janine was so sure that the girls were talking about her because they were looking at her while conversing. The girls are members of an ethnic group, “Badjao”. Upon looking at them, you can really say that they are Badjaos. They wore shabby clothes just like the other street children with bare feet; one of them was carrying a baby. Since my sister really thought that the girls were talking about her, she tried chatting to them. She talked to them inTagalog, for she didn’t know how to speak their language. She also used tagalog for the reason that they might understand it. Well, luckily, they knew how to speak in Tagalog.

So, the conversation went like this…

Janine: Anak mo?

Girl1: Hindi, ate. Sa kapatid ko.

Janine: Ahh. Magkapatid kayo?

Gir2: Oo, ate. Mag artista ka man, ate. panoorin ka namin

Janine: *giggles. bakit may tv kayo?

Girl1: ayy wala. nood kami sa silingan, ate. 

Girl2: Sige na ate mag-artista ka man. panoorin ka namin lagi.

Janine: hindi man ako pwd mag-artista. Nahihiya rin ako. hehe

Girl2: ayy sige na ate. mag artista ka man. panoorin ka talaga namin

Janine: sige, pag may makadiscover sa akin (kidding) *laughs

Girl1: sige, ate. nood ka talaga namin. ganda mo kasi

Janine: *flattered. San pala kayo nakatira? San mama nyo?

Girl1: sa Tambacan, ate.  Andon sa Manila, nagburikat. Iniwan nya kami.

Janine: nag burikat?? Sino kasama nyo?

Girl1: Lola namin. andun bahay, higa lang sya. Hina man katawan nya, eto limos lang kami para may pangkain.

Janine: *suddenly felt sad about what she just heard. Paano kaayo uuwi nyan?

Girl1: Lakad lang kami, ate. wala man kami pamasahe. pangkain lang man namin yung kuha namin sa limos, ate.

*A traffic officer approached the young ladies and said to stay away from my sister, for he thought they’re asking money or something. Well, in fact, the girls didn’t asked even a single coin to my sister. They’re just having a good conversation. Janine then told the officer that it’s okay and the two girls were not doing anything that disturbed nor annoyed her.

The conversation didn’t end there. They continued talking albeit the other people giving them a what-are-you-doing-or-talking-beside-the-traffic-light-post look.

Janine: Sino nag-aalaga sa lola nyo sa bahay?

Girl1: Wala, ate. kailangan man namin manglimos para may pagkain si Lola.

Janine: *felt pity for them. Uwi kayo maaga mamaya ha para mabantayan nyo lola nyo.

Girl2: Oo nga, ate. kawawa si lola walang kasama sa bahay

Janine: Mag business nalang kayo para may kita kayo.

Girl: ano yun, ate? business??

Janine: Oo. magbusiness kayo. Yung nakukuha nyo sa paglilimos nyo, ibili nyo ng mga gamit na pwede nyong ibenta para may kita kayo. kahit maliit lang para di kayo palagi nanglilimos.

Girl: Sige, ate. subukan namin yan pag laki kuha namin pera. ano tawag dun, ate?

Janine: business. sige ha para di kayo mahirapan maghanap ng pangkain nyo.

Girl: ahh business. oo nga, ate. hirap hanap pangkain namin. hirap man ang manglimos, ate.

The glimpse of the struggles and unfortunate fact of life of the Badjao siblings broke my sister’s heart, so as mine. When Janine was sharing to me about her encounter with the girls, the only words that I can utter was “aynawww” and “naowww”. The Badjao sibs made me realize lots of things. They were like an instrument for me to be reminded that I should always be thankful for the life that I have, to be humble and to share my blessings to other people. The girls lack many things that they need and want in life; but they are rich in courage and abilities to face the awful side of life. Everyday is a challenging day for them, yet they can still afford to smile. I admire the goodness that fills their hearts albeit they have been roughly squeezed while living in this unjust world. How I wish I could meet them in town so I can give them a hug. nawww