My late Tiyo (my father's brother), had some vivid memories of his father, Paulino Barcos, Sr. who was my Lolo (grandfather). He once mentioned that Paulino and his...
Lyn was referring to Shirley*, whom she has employed as a part-time domestic helper for years already. Shirley came to Austria as a tourist in early 2000 and her three months visa has since expired. She left her village in the Bicol region in the hope of finding a better job in a foreign land no matter what it took.
The Cambridge Dictionary explains mutation as 'the way in which genes change and produce permanent differences; the permanent change of an organism or the changed organism itself'.
My wife and I continued this beloved practice of my culture with my son. When I first held him in my arms when he was two days old, I whispered in his ears his pet name Badodoy. It felt really good. We made it a rule in our home in Vienna that our son from his infancy would call his mother “Nanay” and me, “Tatay,” names that felt closest to our hearts. They remind us of our grandmothers and grandfathers who were saop (land tenant) probinsyanos. We did not consider “Papa/Mama“ or “Daddy/Mommy“ suitable for our status; they are alien words.
Meanwhile, a family friend who married an Irishman invited me to come over and live with them. As it turned out, they 'adopted' me. The family took me in as they knew me since birth. I became 'Kuya' to two beautiful mestizas and semi-owner to a Persian tomcat I called 'Ming'. I even got to drive their red sleek Chrysler sometimes.
It all sounded exciting and promising. The dream of finally meeting roos and koalas or any odd-looking marsupial face-to-face in dreamland Terra Australis was to fulfill at last. And perhaps, I might fall in love with Victoria and settle on her shores permanently or so I thought. It was a chilly cold wet April morning on the southern hemisphere, when a huge bloke named Craig, a farmer of Scottish descent, approached and asked if I were 'Balcos' -- I was muddled up with uncertain emotions as he wasn't sympathetic at all. But I was sleepy-eyed from the tumultuous journey so tarrying along was the best thing I can do. We had to drive about 3 hours northwestwards to a tiny town called Minyip.
