Is Erik Ugly?

By: Tyra ‘nell E. Pille

The sun was almost high in the morning sky, signaling the fast movement of the clock’s hands towards 10:50.

“They should be here by now,” Erik Tuban impatiently said to himself as he tapped the public cemented bench in the V-hire (Shuttle) terminal in Ayala where he was sitting at. For a self-professed impatient man, waiting for more than thirty minutes surely pisses him off. His excitement for their well-planned activity was slowly fading away as boredom slowly took over his senses.

The Jobless Society (JS) members were supposed to meet at 10:00 in the morning to catch a van heading 73 kilometers away from the city, towards the northeastern part of the province. However, Erik couldn’t spot another JS member around the area yet, but it’s a good thing, the shuttle was still empty, as if waiting for them to get in first.

Thursday, July 23, 2009, the JS members who are committed as ever to share their blessings to their community, especially to the youth, were off for a Feeding and Gift-Packs distribution activity to Langub Elementary School (LES) in Langub, Asturias.

Amidst his deep thoughts, a group of voices with a chorus of big and boisterous laughter stopped him from wandering in space and put him back into his senses. When he looked up, he saw his friends carrying big bags of goodies and other stuff to be given away to their young beneficiaries. His boredom eased away as he got into a cheerful conversation with Joel Hayag also known as Wowwajoelie, Marjohn Presbitero, Ruby Kareen Basilla and Darwin Jayme, the other JS members who committed themselves to help in the day’s feeding activity.

When everybody calmed down from their chitchats and excited laughter, they slowly got inside the white 18-passenger shuttle van, now almost filled with passengers. Erik sat himself beside Joel in the passenger seats where they both started talking about stuff that only they could relate to.

In less than an hour, the van started to accelerate on its way towards the central highway, while the JS were cheerfully chit chatting in the first hour of the travel, while some titled their heads slowly from left to right, going with the rhythm of the moving vehicle as they trance into a light slumber in the following hours of their travel.

As the van travelled along the green pastures and zigzagged along the deep ravines, a kaleidoscope of thoughts escaped his mind. Erik never felt such fulfillment before. Being member of the JS surely led him into a deep realization of how much lucky he is. As he saw the different faces of poverty in children they’ve helped in their previous feeding programs, he felt an overwhelming surge of joy inside him, knowing that God used him as one of the instruments to help these lesser fortunate people. For him, being a part of the JS is such a great honor and thus, it’s a commitment he will never let go of.

His thoughts were interrupted when the van came to a halt in front of a school with beautiful and green surroundings. When he peered his head out of the van, he could see tiny heads from the classroom windows peering at them expectantly; their eyes bulging with excitement as they glitter in an innocent grimace.

As soon as the JS members entered the venue of their feeding program, they were able to begin their activity immediately as teachers played a big role in helping out promote a smooth flow of the program. They started with a prayer that was led by Debbie Mae. This was followed with a three-set game – Lumba Taghoy (Whistle Contest) after eating Polvoron, Joel’s Version of Hep Hep Hooray and Message Relay, which was the most unforgettable of all the games they had.

Teachers, students and the JS members all became hysterical when a participant of the Message Relay contest innocently said “Bati’g Nawng Si Erik (Erik is Ugly),” when asked what was the message relayed to her. Her answer was not even close to the exact message relayed to their team by Joel, the game master. Unaware of the amusement she brought to everybody, she turned bright red as the entire room rang with deafening sounds of laughter. The exact message, which was “Gigutom na ko (I’m already hungry)” was supposed to give a good segue for the next portion of the program, which was the feeding proper. Instead, the little girl took the crowd away with her innocent humor, and it’s something Erik couldn’t forget, especially that it involved him.

The feeding proper was also good, considering the children’s huge appetite that proved the food to be very delectable for all of them. The children couldn’t stop themselves from coming back and asking for more. Eating wasn’t so much of a stultifying moment at all since some of the students rendered nice songs to everybody while some were busy gulping and slurping on their Pospas and Arrozcaldo with chicken meat strips, courtesy of Debbie Mae Jayme, her mom, Elpedia and Alen Bordaje, their assitant.

A Bring-Me Game was also played while everybody is eating their lunches with so much gusto, and while Erik and Darwin were busy capturing the innocent and undaunted smiles of these children together with their teachers and other members of the JS.

July is recognized by the Department of Education and Commission on Higher Education as the Nutrition Month; so, all schools are celebrating such month with a campaign to all students to exercise daily and take nutritious food for a healthy lifestyle. Thus, Debbie, a member of the Catechist in Action for Reformation and Empowerment, together with the grade one teachers of LES and the JS members organized the program in relation with the Nutrition Month. The fun-filled activity ended at 4:45PM with the distribution of gift packages while the beneficiaries, coordinators and organizers posed for the camera. The 86 grade one students were happy to take home a gift pack of school supplies and powdered milk each.

Erik may experienced an embarrassing and yet a funny moment during one of the games in the program. He may find it quite an insulting situation, yet he knew in his heart that such a red-faced moment for him means a lot to these graders. The thought of how the “Bati’g Nawong si Erik”-moment made all these children happy, also brought gladness to his heart. After all, for some people, he may be “Bati’g Nawong,” but inside of him is where real beauty lies.

ABOUT THE AUTHOR:

Her weird and at times tactless choices of words, yet in a more abstract manner and extremely aesthetic style in writing made it more interesting and attractive to the readers who tends to be more appreciative with literature. Born with an iron fist, an out-of-this-world creativity, and an odd sense of artistry, Tyra, tough on the outside but soft on the inside, proved to be a visual artist and a writer at the same time who finds happiness and sanctuary in playing with words in her self-composed songs, quotations and poetry among others, and in mixing the shades in her undaunted canvass, which she calls “her life.” For her, imagination is simply a kaleidoscope, simply unlimited and free.

You may check more about the writer and her writings in her blogs: Kaleidoscope of Image and Teaching Life