Exploring Dumaguete

Saturday, May 31, 2008--Dumaguete (Continued)

I went back out of my hotel around 17:00 since it was shady and cooling down. As I walked by the cathedral, there was a huge crowd on the streets and they were setting up for a processional similar to what I had seen in Cebu last week. They had arched metal frames with wheels on the bottom. The frames had been decorated with flowers, ribbons, etc. Each had a banner to represent some character or concept from the Bible: Justice, Mary Magdalene, etc. Guys wearing Barong Tagalogs, the dress shirts like what are called guayaberas in South Texas but made from pineapple leaf fibers, were wheeling the arches into place on the street while a service continued in the Cathedral. I waited about 30 minutes thinking I would see the processional get started and could take photos, but I gave up. I knew it would wind its way through the streets later anyway, and it was getting too dark to try to take pictures anyway.

I walked around the plaza in the center of town and over to the waterfront. The latter was filled with people who had been watching the sunset and were visiting while enjoying the cool breezes off the water.

I was hungry, but had trouble finding a place I liked. All the places along the waterfront seemed to be more bars than they were restaurants. I wandered around the university, but every time I looked inside a restaurant to see what they had, it just did not appeal to me. I finally decided to eat at a place that had a cold buffet (almost all restaurants here have their food pre-cooked and serve it cold from pots setting on a counter) with an all-you-can-eat policy. At least that way, I could try a variety of items. I had eggplant slices in oil with some kind of dried fish paste, barbecued chicken, a ground pork mixture, rice, and 3-4 kinds of vegetable dishes. It was all okay, but it would have been better if warmed up. Some of the items seemed a bit salty. They also had two desserts--a gelatin dessert with grated coconut to go over it and a mixture of cooked roots in a sweetened coconut sauce. I had some of each. Then I had a banana, too. Even with all that eating, my portions were small and I stayed on my diet.

I met Jay, a student at Silliman University and visited with him for a while. He is a nursing student there who has finished 3 of his 4 years of study. His story is interesting, I think. He didn't want to major in nursing, but his aunt from the U.S. is paying for his education and insisted that it be nursing. He hopes to go overseas for a job when he finishes his program, but he said that fewer and fewer Filipino nurses are getting permits to go to the U.S. I told him that I had read that Denmark has been brining in nurses from here, so he said he would check it out. He was a nice boy--only 19 years old, but turning 20 tomorrow. His English was great, he had a good sense of humor, and he was bright and quick. I hope he can get a job after finishing his program.

Sunday, June 1, 2008-Dumaguete

I was surprised to see that it was already 10:00 in the morning when I awoke this morning. I must have still be tired from all the traveling and the stress of getting a room. I had worn ear plugs, so the morning noises didn't disturb me the way they might normally do so.

Still feeling lazy, I stayed in bed and watched the Amenpour report from North Korea on CNN followed by the news on BBC. I finally left the hotel around noon and walked to a park I had seen on the map. I thought there would be people there, but I was the only one when I arrived. I found a bench in the shade and relaxed. I studied my map. I read in my novel. A couple of other people arrived and sat in another area of the park, but it was dead in general. It is a beautiful green space, however, and it was pleasant to be in the shade and feel the breezes.