Beruflich Dokumente
Kultur Dokumente
Alejandro Roces
When the Americans recaptured the
Philippines, they built an air base a few
miles from our barrio. Yankee soldiers
became a very common sight. I met a lot of
GIs and made many friends. I could not
pronounce their names. I could not tell them
apart. All Americans looked alike to me.
They all looked white.
One afternoon I was plowing our rice field
with our carabao named Datu. I was
barefooted and stripped to the waist. My
pants that were made from abaca fibers and
woven on homemade looms were rolled to
my knees. My bolo was at my side.
An American soldier was walking on the
highway. When he saw me, he headed
toward me. I stopped plowing and waited for
him. I noticed he was carrying a half-pint
bottle of whiskey. Whiskey bottles seemed
part of the American uniform.
Hello, my little brown brother, he said,
patting me on the head.
Hello, Joe, I answered. All Americans are
called Joe in the Philippines.
I am sorry, Jose, I replied. There are no
bars in this barrio.
Oh, hell! You know where I could buy more
whiskey?
Here, have a swig. You have been working
hard, he said, offering me his half-filled
bottle.
No, thank you, Joe, I said. We Filipinos are
mild drinkers.
Well, dont you drink at all?
Yes, Joe, I drink, but not whiskey.
What the hell do you drink
I drink lambanog
Jungle juice, eh?
I guess that is what the GIs call it.
You know where I could buy some?
I have some you can have, but i do not
think you will like it.
What is it like?
Oh, it is tall and stately. It goes straight up
to the sky like a skyscraper. It symbolizes
America.
Well, I said, the coconut tree symbolizes
the Philippines. It starts up to the sky, but
then its leaves sway down the earth, as if
remembering the land that gave it birth. It
does not forget the soil that gave it life.
In a short while, we arrived in my nipa
house. I took the bamboo ladder and leaned
it against a tree. Then I climbed the ladder
and picked some calamansi.
Whats that? Joe asked.
Philippine lemon, I answered. We will
need this for our drinks.
Oh, chasers.
That is right, Joe. That is what the soldiers
call it.
I filled my pockets and then went down. I
went to the garden well and washed the
mud from my legs. Then we went up a
bamboo ladder to my hut. It was getting
dark, so I filled a coconut shell, dipped a
wick in the oil and lighted the wick. It
produced a flickering light. I unstrapped my
bolo and hung it on the wall.
Please sit down, Joe, I said.
Where? he asked, looking around.
Right there, I said, pointing to the floor.
Joe sat down on the floor. I sliced the
calamansi in halves, took some rough salt
and laid it on the foot high table. I went to
the kitchen and took the bamboo tube
where I kept my lambanog.
Lambanog is a drink extracted from the
coconut tree with pulverized mangrove bark
thrown
in
to
prevent
spontaneous
combustion. It has many uses. We use it as
a remedy for snake bites, as counteractive
said
Joe,
had
Hospitable
Vocabulary Words
Geisha N a Japanese hostess trained to
entertain men
Garrison
Respect
Humble
Contented
Sarcastic
Humorous
Diluted
Mire