Wednesday was a fairly uneventful day, I did not go to any center meetings and I did a lot of work, but I did aid in the completion of dinner! I was in charge of cooking the fish (fish is called “isda”, but the name of the fish was Lapu Lapu, the famous guy that killed Magellan)! It was very good and the girl that was in charge of making dinner made it into sweet and sour fish. It was very good and I have pictures to prove that I did something. Other than that, there was not a whole lot going on during my Wednesday… we ate and talked.
It was a very good dinner, but, unfortunately, Julian was still feeling the effects of not sleeping for two days and he retired early. At dinner, the Lavezares Branch Staff continued to probe me with questions and ask me about various parts regarding my culture, including if we had anything that was similar to a “fiesta” in the United States. Here, a Fiesta is a gathering of the entire municipality to celebrate for a week. The timing of the Fiesta is the same week as their respective municipality’s patron saint (which I am not sure how this is determined). There are 24 provinces in Northern Samar, so there are quite a few parties that happen in a year! Just to give you an idea of the structure of the country and the similarities to the U.S.
Philippines United States
Country Country
Province State
Municipality County
Barangay City/Town/Village
So, Fiesta Time equals Party Time, no doubt about it. The most equivalent event I could think of was that of a County Fair (at least in the Midwest). The more notable differences between a Fiesta and a Country Fair is that EVERYONE attends a Fiesta and only a select amount of the population attends County Fairs. Since the distance is much greater for the areas between towns in the U.S. it is much less likely for someone to make a trip to a County Fair.
The staff told me of the various aspects of a Fiesta, which is a weeklong event to celebrate their patron saint. There are many mini-fiestas within the Fiesta that are parties at familial houses. This can include lechon (roasted pig), fish, fruits, baked goods and much song and dance, but more importantly, catching up with family and friends (which seems to happen frequently here). There are parades and the streets are full of people and excitement. Since fiesta-time is such a big deal, there is much preparation and expense involved with the festivities.
Every family in the municipality feels obligated to throw a mini-fiesta for their family. This can come as a great burden for the family and can be a cause of concern for FGP/NSCAP and clients. In order to properly mitigate the use of funds for fiestas (much against the 10 decisions), NSCAP does not loan to persons in that district for a few weeks prior to and after the respective Fiesta date. In addition, there are many other concerns for staff including: trying to collect payments during fiesta (they try to collect the week before or after), invitations to fiestas (up to the staff member to accept or not, but typically don’t), safety during fiesta time (bank workers mush be back to the Branch by no later than 12), etc. The staff workers spoke very highly of the Fiestas and they told me to be careful about attending one (if I did), as I am obviously not part of the barangay and people are very protective of their traditions, but if you are good friends with a person that invited you, then it would be okay and you should have a great time.
It was a great cultural lesson and I look forward to learning much more! In addition, one of the Loan Officers (Kristel) proceeded to beat me handily again at that card game she taught me the previous night, not very nice of her, but it was fun. Julian and I are off to Victoria Branch tomorrow morning and I am looking forward to another Branch visit, but have had a great time in Lavazares. I wish I could spend a week at each Branch, but time does not allow.
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