THE PARTY

I was introduced with the mainstays of the Thurston Barracks. Why it is called Thurston barracks? Well, in here lives the Filipino workers in the construction company of Mr. Thurston. They showed me warm camaraderie during that time. They know how I felt and how I probably reacted to Kosrae as a place to work in. They had only good words for this place that had become the source of their of their livelihood. Sooner, I will find out that a lot of things were true to what they are saying. And sooner too, that in the final analysis, I could also feel their longing for their families as they are afar and that if they take the chance to go home to the Philippines, they also take the probability of not coming back again to Kosrae.

I have met other Filipinos. The engineers, the acocuntants, the teachers and the like. They too have their stories to tell. But the common denominator is that they want to make your stay in Kosrae the best possible way. And what is a party without the usual drinking? Well, the San Miguel beer was conspicuously absent. It was not available here in Kosrae. They had to settle with the Budweiser. In my case I was offered red wine and of course the Budweiser. Then, just like any Filipino party for that matter, there is the singing through the videoke. The Filipinos never run out of things to make themselves happy despite the stinging pain of homesickness in a faraway land.

The picture that I got from the blogspot of the Kosrae Filipinos is not situated in the Thurston barracks. I do not pictures yet. But in the next few months, I would be posting you the authentic pictures that I got. I have yet to buy a digital camera you know. But this is the house of Engr. Gerry and Susan Protacio. I had dinner with them the Sunday thereafter. But the people in the picture are basically the people that I have met and interacted with during the first days of my life in Kosrae. (Thanks to Kosrae Aggie for the picture)