A family from Canada went as balikbayan and fortunately the reunion fits their schedule. The parents bring their three sons, one of which is already Canadian citizen by birth. Since 1) It’s summer. 2) Tarlac’s a province. 3). They’re in the Philippines – what do kids expect? Yeah, operation tule (circumcision).

The rest seems to be the same. Monoblock chairs. Red table cloth covering rented tables. Videoke. Sand (but not meant for beach or swimming – Tarlac has a sandy soil.) Smell of Filipino dish being cooked. Mano. Bless. Lolo. Lola. Tito. Tita. Observing the kids, nieces, nephews and other younger cousins, it was like me years ago. They could be just waiting for this family gathering to finish and hoping to get back as soon as possible in urban happiness found in TV and in computer.

I’m not expecting something extravagant here. Since my time allows it (but if I’m still at the company where my brother’s working, I could be probably working at home) and meeting cousins is far exciting than DVD marathon, I attended the Punzalan reunion.

Unlike the past reunion, I’m now part of a group. I’m with the beer-gulping young adult seated next to the elderly. No one had figured out that I’m already at my quarter life (syempre, totoy pa rin ang itsura. Woohoo!) and drinking beer has been part of my assignments. Yeah, I’m used to be the geek, the quiet type. And now I’m mingling with them, listening to their views, tried-and-tested philosophies and life lessons.

Marriage has been the favorite topic. Kuya Ryan and I have been on the hot seat. I guess the ideal marrying age on our generation is 30 after Kuya Ryan answered the same number. It was a cool and kapupulutan-ng-aral discussion that it’s worth a separate post. One side is saying it’s okay to marry at young age while the other side is um, I don’t know if they’re regretting to abstain their singleness and gimmicks for life after they married their better halves.

Although the videoke as free and available as buffet, I have chosen the overflowing beer and laughter. My parents who are not used to seeing me in drinking warned me. But to everyone’s surprise, my alcohol tolerance level is above average now. I am trained. As for the resistance in videoke crooning, oh well, Punzalan clan members have a string of singing voice abilities written on the DNA. But not for me. Nahiya lang din ako.

Soon, Punzalan Reunion shall be organized by our generation. I’m thinking that since most of our batch earned degree in Information Technology or in Computer Science, we should add some technology on this. Facebook na ‘to! I’m thinking aloud lately. Online family tree?

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