Sekder Ka Tan Dayew Mi, 5

BACK IN DAGUPAN. REPAST.

I got back to Dagupan a little before nightfall. I resolved to eat at places other than Galvan, but with the night creeping, I relented. I ate at the same place I ate that morning. I was served 1/4 kilo of pigar-pigar, but this time with no cabbage, just onions.

I had time to talk with the waitress. It was then she told me that kaleskes was made from beef also, though it was unclear if it was cow innards. When I said that I thought it was made from fish, she said, "Oh - that's kaliskis." I laughed: of course, what was I thinking?

-0-

EPILOGUE


I got on a bus that evening, bound for Manila. It was the best single-day trip I had ever made (with the possible exceptions of Gumaca, whose beach is accessible from the town center, and Atimonan, whose Lavides Bridge had me thinking about an earthly paradise for the eyes). It was truly worth going to Pangasinan, and especially as an unguided tourist. Every place is accessible from every other place, at least in old Pangasinan, the towns where I've been to. Of course, the west is a different story: the only real populated place there is Alaminos City, and the west is mountainous, kinda like Batangas. But central Pangasinan is steeped in civilization. It is right to be proud of its old buildings.

However, I would like to stress that Pangasinan must develop further. The city of Dagupan can develop its own metro region very fast, and it's good that the call center industry has started noticing it. But more entrepreneurs are needed in Dagupan. It cannot be forever known as the Bangus Capital; it must develop its own food chains, supermarket chains, etc. The CSI Malls and the Magic Malls are good starting points.

Lingayen, too, must develop its self-promotion as a historical and, well, recreational tourist destination. Above all, the old Casa Real must be restored. Spanish Lingayen and American Lingayen taken together provide a history lesson not only to Pangasinenses, but also to other Filipinos, not merely as a favorite invasion spot, but also as two different town layouts with different architectures and different auras.

And then, the province's historical connections with La Union and Benguet must be promoted as well, and expanded. As I've said, the Pangasinenses are cousins of the Ibaloi and other Southern Cordillerans, the most economically (and politically) successful of these Cordillerans. They have also worked with the hardy Ilocanos from the north. These connections situate Pangasinan where it really is. We need not imagine a Pangasinan polity - it is there, and such are its neighbors and influences.

-0-

I have yet to talk about my journey into Abra and Apayao, two very different provinces of the Cordillera Administrative region. That might be about mid-December already, because I've other topics to talk about. :D Stay sharp, y'all!

Sekder Ka Tan Dayew Mi, 4

BINMALEY

Binmaley, sandwiched between Dagupan and Lingayen, is small, but remarkable enough to be mentioned in any travel account regarding Pangasinan. It has a museum at the town center, the triangle which was being refurbished when I visited. 

Binmaley town center.

Near the city center, I noticed two old houses belonging to the Ynzon family (their professional plaques were displayed on the front of the houses). Aside from that, the church, and the water tower, I did not find any other old structures. Not that I ventured far, because I had to return to Dagupan and lunch there before going up to Agoo, La Union, which I had wanted to explore as part of this trip. Agoo was much a part of old Pangasinan - in fact, most of La Union (up to Bacnotan) was, until the 19th century when La Union was created as a province. 

In any case, to note in Binmaley are the fishponds stretching for kilometers, like lakes. Imagine flooded rice fields - that's how the Binmaley countryside looked like. I could see old houses in the horizon, near some of the fishponds. 

I got to Dagupan by noon and ate at a 7-Eleven. 

Back in Dagupan at noon.

Then I boarded a bus bound for San Fernando, La Union, intending to get off at the Agoo town center. I got there in one hour. I passed the towns of Mangaldan, San Fabian, and Rosario. In Rosario, I saw the former Damortis train station from the bus. I planned to drop by and take pictures on the way back to Dagupan.

AGOO, DAMORTIS, SAN FABIAN

There were two things I really wanted to see in Agoo: 1) the town center and 2) the murals of the church, of which Cristina Pantoja Hidalgo writes that one depicted Imelda Marcos as the Virgin Mary and the wife of Jose Aspiras as one of the angels. I looked around the church, and decided that the Queenship of Mary colored-glass panel was that one, especially as the Virgin and the angels had weird faces, and all the angels had one facial feature. 

Is this the one?

No, I did not read about this on the net before I went on the trip. I wanted to come unprepared. Hm.

I also saw at least one old house near the town center. Again, I did not wander so far.

I was thinking of Damortis station, because in my view it is a jewel among Philippine industrial structures, a reminder of how the Philippines was this close to modernization during that time these structures were built. Fortunately, it was just off the Pangasinan-La Union road, so I had no trouble getting off. 

Of course, I was not the only person to see the ruins of the station. Many people have dropped off here, apparently. 

What remains of the Damortis station.

The lakay residing at the ruins, one of the residents there, told me so. Of course, I asked him if he remembered the train, the station, etc. He said he did, and that the offices were air-conditioned in the past. He also "remembered" that buses were waiting here to take people to Baguio back then - something I had read in an Inquirer report on the station. The lakay expressed doubt that the Northrail plan would succeed. So that was it; I took photos, and left. 

I crossed back into Pangasinan and entered San Fabian. The church is old, but the facade looks to me like a cake with white-and-gray icing, which turned me off -

Don't get me wrong: I WANT cake. 

until I saw the unpainted, un-stucco-ed brick walls of the sides. 

This is an architectural cake. Nom nom. 

But no, I did not change my mind regarding the icing-y facade. Again, I did not wander far, so I did not see so many old houses. But I did have tupig, the kind being grilled before your eyes, and coconut juice for snacks.

MANGALDAN AND SAN JACINTO  

Mangaldan is much bigger than Binmaley, but like it is one of the old settlements of Pangasinan. St. Thomas Aquinas Church is relatively new (1960s), but this is only because (as the marker of the church reads) the old church collapsed in the 1892 earthquake. 

A tale of woe:
built in 1715, damaged in 1880, collapsed in 1892,
burned in 1898, and rebuilt in 1941.

But Mangaldan is one of the oldest bases of the Order of Preachers in this province, along with San Jacinto (Cauili). I also saw three old houses, though again I did not wander far. 

San Jacinto is only a few kilometers away, and I rode the jeep bound for Manaoag to get to it. The church was also new, for the same reasons that Mangaldan's church was also new. I had to recall the 1990 earthquake that damaged Baguio, Dagupan and Cabanatuan, and satisfied myself that these things do happen around here. 

San Jacinto center. 

I did find a beautiful old house (20th century; see above) in the town center, and another one near the center. But it was getting late, and I still had to return to Dagupan to catch my evening ride home. I had resolved to make a day trip to save money. 

It is getting late as I write this, but the next entry is the end of my story.

Comeback

Hey. I have come back from two weeks of hiatus. I just visited Abra and Apayao during the long All Saint's weekend. I do have to finish writing about Pangasinan first, though, and then I will tell my Abra and Apayao stories.

I'm better now. My depression lifted when my aunt showed her support in my plans. I already chose to go with the non-thesis option. I don't think I have to over-explain to everyone; it should just suffice to say that the thesis is not my path for now. I was too emotional about it - not good - so I was forced to part from it. I expected it to be the end of my research career, even as an industry person. But I had not expected otherwise.

I had a talk with another Ph.D. regarding his research. Against all odds, I had decided to talk to him about the position he was offering for research. The work that had to be done was multidisciplinary; microbiology and materials science. I never expected to run into this delicious combination of work. I hope that I can be accepted, but then already he expects me to be in his lab next week. Commuting home, I just thought of pursuing a Ph.D. in materials science, with the focus on that project. Just a vision, maybe it was God speaking.

Thus opens a door, unworthy as I am to enter it. I hope it is THE way to go. An opportunity opened. So be it.