Gypsies of the Sea

We took an overnight boat from Cebu to Caygayan de Oro. I've learned to have little to NO lodging expectations, so that I am excited when they are surpassed and not thrown for a loop when they are not met. For instance, I simply expect that there will be a place for me to use the bathroom, I no longer EXPECT for there to be a toilet seat, or even a toilet for that matter, (although I will tell you that I still get a bit frustrated when there IS a toilet, but NO toilet SEAT, I just don't understand the logic!) I carry my own toilet paper. I always have shower shoes, although I do not always have a shower, hot water is a luxury and almost NEVER found, I've grown almost fond of cold showers, I mean it's pretty much ALWAYS summer in my life, I'm pretty excited when there's a shower head and not just a barrel of water with a bucket, but I'm grateful for both equally, as being clean is one of the best feelings in the world. Oh my, where was I? Boarding the boat! Carrying more luggage than the other hundreds of passengers combined might I add. A slight panic came over me as we walked up to the first deck where there were hundreds of bunk beds strewn about and the chaos of claiming them had already ensued. Our porters continued forward with our large bounty of baggage. He took us threw another deck of bunks, still he didn't stop, (I'm breathing a sigh of relief just remembering this!) We passed a long row of bunks that were enclosed behind glass, better than the main deck but you could still see in there and it was still sharing space with several dozen strangers (and still a community bathroom area YIKES!) Finally, we rounded an area where AC began to blow and were taken to the top floor of the inside of the ship where our quarters awaited us, A/C, tv, NO bunk beds, personal twin beds with a curtain to keep our neighbor from watching us sleep, our own bathroom, and best of all a door with a key! I jumped on the bed like a small child entering a Disney hotel room, talk about surpassing my expectations, this was good doings! We dined on the deck, grilled chicken on a stick and rice alongside many Filipinos enjoying lots of beer and Whitney Houston Karaoke (Fact: The Pinoy people LOVE them some karaoke! and as a team we have mastered our performance of Garth Brooks' I've Got Friends in Low Places) Our 12 hour sail of the sea was fairly restful and uneventful until we were nearly docked at Caygayan de Oro. Alisha was peering out the dirty, but large windows to our room, a little too early for my taste, and I heard her say, "There's a baby in a bowl out here in the water!" But she's Alisha, she says lots of strange things. As I roused from my Benedryl + Dramamine coma a bit later, I peered out the window for myself! "Oh my gosh guys! There's a baby in a bowl out here!" There really was!! I kid you not!

Alongside several small canoes with naked little boys in them, there was an older boy with a naked baby curled inside a large silver mixing bowl! "Why?!" As the ship docked, people began to throw coins down to the children in the water, the deep, fairly dark water, and as the coin would hit the water a small, naked child would dive in and retrieve it. I never saw a boy miss a coin, they would keep them in their jaws while they awaited the next. Passengers began to lower packaged food over the side as well. I wondered if they were really hungry or if they were just really smart. Unfortunately, they were really hungry, one older brother slipped a couple of styrofoam meal boxes onto his canoe where two toddlers manned the ship he covered it up & motioned for them to leave it alone, but as soon as big brother was back under the water, I saw two little naked booties in the air as they bent over and began to fill their mouths with the rice inside. It was a fascinating site really, maybe you think I'm a bit twisted for thinking so, but these kids were more than resourceful, business men without the suits if you will, Donald Trump wouldn't have fired a one of them, they saw an opportunity and they seized it; granted it was motivated by growling bellies, but rather than stand with their hands out they rowed out a good mile from their province and "fished." I'm sure the next edition of "When Helping Hurts" will have a chapter in about the Gypsies of the Sea, and truthfully it's dangerous and unsustainable to throw coins and food off the ship, but it's completely resourceful and more than most Americans do for their money! Oh and the baby in the bowl... well, he laid down calmly the whole time, and when big brother was done with his tactic, the "baby" was placed in a boat and rowed away with the other lil' sea gypsies, in the bowl he appears to be an infant, but the way he pranced around the boat when they were leaving, he was probably well on his way to being three years old! They're going to need a bigger bowl soon! It's sad, but come on, it's also GENIUS! When this is what you are surrounded by it's hard to understand American politics and really hard to justify caring about cold water and toilet seats. Rethinking my expectations and my ingenuity for that matter!