Sense of Direction

By Virginia J. Pasalo

 
I REMEMBER years ago when I was looking for a place in Aguilar, Pangasinan, and missed the place. The tricycle driver told us, “Asingger la Madam!” (Translation: “It is very near, Ma’am!”) so we followed the narrow road he pointed with his lips. We thought “near” was less than a kilometer, but we were driving for almost 30 minutes and the place was not in sight. We encountered another tricycle driver, and he said the same thing, “Derecho yo labat yan dalan, Madam, asingger la!” (Translation: “Just go straight ahead, Ma’am, it is very near!”) It was 6:00 p.m. and the sun was slowly setting on the hills. But we plodded on. Romy, the driver, suspected that we may have been misled. I disagreed, the tricycle drivers had no motive to mislead. To put his mind at ease, I told him, “Okay, if at 8:00 p.m. we do not find it, we go back.” By 8:00 p.m. we reached a narrow road that leads to two narrower roads, but the driver was so nervous, he wanted to drive back. He told me, “Ma’am, we do not know this place, we do not know anyone, in fact, there is no one here.” So I told him, “You are right, let’s go back.” Before I uttered the last word, he turned around and sped off.

On the way, we passed the second tricycle driver and he eagerly asked us, “Ma’am, anengneng yo may lugar ya aanapen yo?” (Translation: “Ma’am, did you find the place you were looking for?”). I told him that we reached a dirt road that split into half, and we did not know where to go, so we drove back. He shook his head and told us, “Ay agi, sayang, sikato la man, ma’am, walay abong ed kawanan dimad kawanan ya dalan, asingsingger!”) (Translation: “Oh, no! What a waste, that’s the place, Ma’am, there is a house on the right side of the road on the right, it is very near!” Romy exclaimed, “Asingsingger la lamet? Duaran oras kami la’d dalan, asingsingger la lamet?!” (Translation: “Very near again? We’ve been driving for 2 hours, and you tell us it is very near again?”). He was livid, and the tricycle driver appeared offended and his lips curled downward, and I could smell the machismo on both sides about to erupt. I smiled at the tricycle driver and thanked him, and told Romy, “Let’s go to Binmaley, I want to eat crabs, shrimps, ar-arosep and ripe mangoes!”

I remember this story because it happened to me again, this time finding the address of a dental clinic to get a second opinion about my aching tooth. My sister said that I should make a U-turn at Shopwise, and from there, I could use a little walk to Caltex Gas Station and walk up to Samonte Road. Since Caltex was nowhere in sight, I asked the guard in a car dealer’s shop if Caltex is still far. He told me, “Ay, Madam, nalampasan na ninyo!” (Translation: “Ma’am you just missed the place!”) I wondered was it my mistake? But I was certain about the instructions so I walked some more, and finally found Caltex, and Samonte Street.

At the dentist clinic, I submitted the analogue x-ray of my front tooth, and the dentist said it was the wrong tooth that they examined. For a better appreciation of the condition of the surrounding teeth, she prescribed a panoramic x-ray instead. I requested her to direct me to a better laboratory because the one she referred to did not even give me a protective gear when the x-ray was done. She made out a prescription and said, “Just walk towards the next overpass, the building is at the foot of the overpass, on the second floor.” I reached the overpass and there was no building. So I walked again towards the next overpass, where I can see from where I stood, a building. Upon reaching the building, the guard told me, the dental clinic is at the second floor. I told myself, “I am tired, but I am where I am supposed to be!” I gave the prescription to the dentist who eagerly asked me to sit, and after reading it, she said, “Ma’am, we do not have a digital panoramic x-ray.”

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