Patrick Tan

It's Tuesday morning, I'm in front of the beach, reflecting, meditating on God's Word. It's been already five days since we came to the Badjao village. Though they want to be called Good-jaos because they are already made alive in Christ.

I can only hear the calm waves of the sea, the birds, the playing of Badjao kids in the sand. The gentle wind kisses my cheeks. It's warm. All the fishing boats were already out to sea anticipating a great catch. For days we have been feasting on the fruits of the sea: large groupers, tangs, rays, octopuses which would cost much in the city.

The Badjao people is one of the eight muslim groups in the Philippines. They are the poorest and deemed lowest of the groups. They would leave their Islamic faith for a foreign one.

Here in the village, the tribe is headed by Nany Kesha, a chubby lady. People here are good natured. They have beautiful eyes and great smiles amidst their sun-scorched skin. They are divers of the sea. Divers of pearls. They bathe in the sea. And their culture is passed on from generation to generation.

Every night since we came here, we would have pakiring', it's like he nightlife of the urban. We would dress in their traditional clothes called malong and learn how to dance the 'igal' or eagle dance which reflects an eagle in flight. Men here are most graceful dancers of the igal. Btw, this place is called Bataraza, after a datu or tribe chief.

Across the sea, are the Balabac Islands, the southernmost tip of Palawan... As of now kids have been watching me write this - Toto, Janel & Aries. Our group is 20 in all made up of teams from Pangasinan and Binondo. In the morning my group is assigned in fetching water in the poso which is two minutes away from the village. We would carry it by twos on a bamboo shaft with the water jugs in the middle. It's hard waking up early to fetch water. I like pumping the water though. It's my only way of exercise which works the upper body. We cook lunch in the afternoon and wash the dishes in the evening. In the afternoon we would bathe in the sea. There was once a night when I slept not having washed the saltwater in my body because it's already too dark to fetch water. There is no electricity her, everything needs to be unlearned. I have learned a couple of phrases and greetings...