When we were younger, summer was a time when children would go to their parents' hometowns to spend time with their grandparents and other relatives residing in the province. Last summer, my parents, some of my siblings, nephews, nieces and I had a rare chance to go back to my mother's hometown for some recreation and to visit her relatives in Agno. Agno is a little agricultural town on the west side of Pangasinan facing the West Philippine Sea and is near the towns of Bani, Alaminos City, and Burgos. Farther to the north is Bolinao.
My uncles and cousins are farmers and so naturally, my city-dwelling nephews had fun chasing their chickens and chicks, riding on the back of the carabao, and harvesting mangoes from the trees. These plus the vast rice fields and the nipa hut were a refreshing sight, an alternative to the concrete jungle back in the city. But an even more pleasant sight are the faces of relatives we haven't seen in a long time who welcomed us warmly in their house and served us with a feast of karamakam (crablets), tinolang manok (native chicken stew with ginger and papaya), shrimps, pritong bangus (fried milkfish), and buridibod (an Ilocano dish made of camote, eggplant, malunggay, and stringbeans). We all ate in my uncle's nipa hut as the hot, summer wind blew and joined the sounds of our stories and laughter.
If you have relatives in the province, why not find time to visit them this summer?
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