For Filipino families who live out in the province, life is quite different than for those who live in the city, or even from those in small towns.  Out in the province, life is still very unchanged from back in the days of yesteryear.  As Feyma reported in her article yesterday, our niece, Sahara (her nickname is Rai Rai, that is what we call her) is a teacher in the far reaches of Sarangani Province.  I have not been out to the school where she teaches, but I would love to go out there and visit the students.  I am not really sure, but I think her students are young, elementary aged kids.  I don’t get to talk to Rai Rai much anymore, since she is assigned for her work in such a remote area.  There was a time, when Rai was in school that she and I would text each other, chat on Facebook and she would come and visit us in Davao on a fairly regular basis.  Rai would even come and spend her Christmas here with us.  Now, though, it is a rare day that I hear from Rai Rai, because there is not even cellular phone coverage anywhere near where she is living.

Yes, the life in the province is way different from living in Davao City!  And, deep in the Province where Rai Rai is teaching, it is even way different from living where she is from, in Barangay Patag, Sarangani Province.  That is near enough that in 30 minutes or an hour you can be in General Santos City where there are conveniences and life is much different.  For somebody in the deep reaches of the province, like where Rai is living, it takes many hours, much of it walking, to get to where the City is even accessible, or you can even get a ride on some type of vehicle.  It’s a different life. What I really started out writing about with this article was about the Carabao.  Carabao is the local name of the Water Buffalo.  Actually, in Bisaya it is called “Kabaw”.  I really love the Carabao, it is a very majestic animal to me.  I just think they are cool.  If you are a family that lives out in the Province, having a carabao, or a few of them is a real blessing for the family.  A carabao can provide transportation, because you can ride them.  They can help provide food, because they are farm workers.  For farmers in the province, in most cases, they have no farming machinery, they have carabaos or other animals who can help accomplish the hard labor, things like plowing and such. From what I have observed, the people living in the provinces treat their carabao really as part of the family.  They take really good care of the animals, basically in return for the work and help that the carabao provides for them.  What about hauling?  I have seen many carabao loaded down with many different things, carrying stuff from one place to another.  The Carabao is a real workhorse for the Filipino family. Like Feyma said in yesterday’s article, when Rai Rai recently took some of her students with her to the city, they were in awe.  They had never seen or visited a city in their lives, so it was a real eye opener for them.  But, what about city kids?  I bet there are plenty of city kids these days who have never really been deep in the province either!  So many Filipino kids who can’t live without their cellphone (adults too), their other gadgets and such.  I wonder how they would feel if you took them in a helicopter far out in the province and dropped them off there to fend for themselves?  I bet many could not make it! Anyway, I have a collection of pictures that I wanted to share with you guys today.  These pictures are from another niece of ours, Glenda.  Glenda used to live with us too, but she decided to go back to the Province, and also spends time in Kidapawan City, south of Davao.  Glenda’s nickname is Buday, but I have never called her that, I have always known her just as Glenda.  Anyway, a few years back, Glenda went home for a few days or a week or so, and our son, Chris went along with her and they stayed at the farm in Patag.  They have maybe around 4 or 5 carabao there for farm work, transportation and just generally part of the family like I said.  At the time they went there was even a baby carabao or two, which you can see in the pictures below.  I could really see from her talk that Glenda also loved the carabao that the family owned, and they took good care of their animals.  Here are some family carabao pictures which even show Glenda caring for and riding the carabao.  Some pictures of the carabao bathing in the river and such.  Have a look: Life in the province, as I said, is sure a lot different than city life.  Traffic?  Oh, I guess if 2 or 3 neighbors all take their carabao down the trail at the same time.  But, normal life would not even know or see traffic?  No air pollution.  Mostly, from what I see, when you get out in the province you see a lot of happy people.  They don’t long for the city life, they are happy with what they already have.