Bacolod Day 1

This marks the first trip to nthe Philippines without me staying in Manila other than to transfer planes. Usually, when I go to the Philippines, Manila is the final destination. That is the way it has always been. This trip, Jovi and I bypassed Manila entirely and went to Negros island to the town of Bacolod, where she was raised. Now I am in a Villa in Capitolville subdivision writing about my first trip to Negros. Bacolod was the sugar bowl of the Philippines during its heyday up until the 1980s. Sugarland produced quite a bit of wealth for the people of Bacolod, and the island of Negros, but that has all for the most part stopped. I read of times when Negros experienced the kind of lifestyle reminiscent of the Great Gatsby; huge palatial grounds, fancy cars, lavish parties, and such. And in part I can see remnants of that, mostly in the way people dress here. We are here to bury my father' in laws, wife Chita, who died Nov. 7 of cancer. And Chita has a lot of friends. I met the ex governor of Negros, Lito Coscolluela, and his wife Betsy, one of Chita's best friends from childhood, who was chosen by Chita to help arrange her burial and wake, and most all of Jovi's siblings and cousins. Now I know why Joshua is so tall! It is in Jovi's Spanish Rodriguez blood. Joshua's first cousin, Luigi, is 6ft 3 and around 215 lbs or so and he is only fourth year high school His other first cousin Nico is around 6ft 1 and second year high school, and Nico's brother Anton is 5ft9. Joshua hovers right around the middle at 6ft.
The Negrenses are different from the Pilipinos in Manila. Their dialect, Illongo, has a non confrontational intonation to it. If there resemblance to another language in terms of tone, it would have to be French. Almost every time, the sound comes out like that of a question, even though it is not. Its hard to explain, but the tone is like a singsong. Very pretty.

Capitolville
The house we are staying at is in the Capitolville subdivision in Bacolod, one of Jovi's relatives is selling the house so we have pretty much free reign of it. It is a custom home that is made of pretty much all foreign materials. The tiles that line the dinig area and the huge sala in the backyard are 17 inch Italian tiles (I thought that we had installed some big stuff in our home at 13 inches but I guess not). The wood floors are made of exotics, probably a Koa wood or perhaps mango, I am not sure. There are two huge French doors that lead to the lanai in the back, of which there is a blue pool, of which I am going to swim. The backyard features square slate pavers and huge Vigan jars accenting the mini palms and Sago Palms, those $600 plus palms that Californians have to have in their yards. The roof's fascia is also made of exotic wood. The cinder blocks that make up a lot of the walls are also of high quality, I want to say marble, but I am not positive. The second floor is wood throughout, as is the staircase. The bathroom fixtures are American Standard ( I had no idea what Philippine Standard was when it was one of my jeepney stops in Manila until I saw all the toilet bowls. It took time to equate the two) The owner spared to expense. I want to buy this place. All I'd have to do is sell my house in California, move here and join the jobless.

The people of Bacolod
So far so good. The folks that I've met so far are very nice. All Jovi's cousins are accomodating and I am truly grateful for all of it. One thing I am not quite used to is the greeting. It is done not so much with a handshake but a kiss on the cheek. In Manila, I think that this is also done with relatives, but I am not sure if they do it with friends. Perhaps it is more a family thing than anything, but I am getting used to doing it with all the relatives I am meeting.

I haven't really had a chance to get to taste some of the food that Negrenses are known for, but I will have my chance today. Bacolod is known for its chicken, and since I am privy to most all foods, as long as its chicken, that is what we'll go for today.