Weekend Escape: The Beauty of Rural Living

Happy Sunday Hivers!

If you live in the city every day, you’re constantly exposed to pollution, dust, and noise. That’s why whenever there’s a long holiday, most people in the city rush to pack their bags and either go home to their provinces or take a vacation. At least for a while, they get to escape the overly polluted environment.

Many of my officemates also dream of settling down in rural areas where life is calmer and the food is fresher. But the reality is, there are fewer opportunities there compared to the cities where bigger opportunities are abundant.

That’s why I’m truly grateful for my new company, where we have two days off every week. In most companies in the Philippines, you only get one day off. With two days, I have time to travel or visit my mother in the province.

Just two weeks ago, our youngest sibling came home after working in Australia for two years. She and her husband timed their vacation to coincide with our mother’s birthday. After celebrating her birthday, we all agreed to visit our mother’s siblings who live in the rural area on the next day.

We rarely get to see them, so all of us went. We were excited, because being in the rural area feels completely different—the atmosphere is so relaxing, and everywhere you look, it’s mostly green.

When we arrived at my uncle’s house, he and his wife were already busy cooking. Since the native chicken was done, they served us their freshly cooked tinulang bisayang manok (native chicken soup). Native chicken is well-known in the Philippines because it tastes much better than commercial chicken, especially since they’re raised organically. After all the cooking was done, we prepared the table for lunch and also added the food we brought with us.

This is how simple life is in the Philippines—we all gather around the dining table, say grace to bless the food, and then just pick a spot where there’s an available seat.

We’re always full whenever we visit my uncle’s house because he really cooks so well. After lunch, the men were busy drinking tuba (coconut wine), while my mom, my sister, and I went out for a walk. We were supposed to take a dip in the river, but when we checked, the water wasn’t clear because of the heavy rain earlier.

Life in the rural area really feels different—it’s so peaceful. There’s no noise from blaring car horns, no bustling crowds, no dust, and most of all, no garbages spreading around.

Since the river wasn’t good for swimming, we decided to gather pako (edible fern). I love eating pako salad—just blanch it and mix with plenty of tomatoes, calamansi, onions, and a bit of soy sauce, and I’m good to go. But my mom only managed to gather a small amount since someone had already picked ahead of us.

One of the best things about living in the rural areas is that it doesn’t cost much, as long as you’re hardworking. Sometimes, you even get your meals for free from nature itself.

That was my weekend experience. Even if my vacation wasn’t that long, at least I was able to relax a bit away from all the pollution. My mind was refreshed by nature, and for a while, I got to take a break from work stress.

Thank you for reading and see you on my next blog. Cheers!

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Watch with glittering eyes the whole world around you because the greatest secrets are always hidden in the most unlikely places.

Roald Dahl

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Some photos were edited using Canva

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_{Namaste! I am fond of reading books, watching korean, american and filipino series/movies and I am also fond of gardening. I love listening to different life stories and I am always captivated with the beauty of nature so travel is my escape when life turns into blue. But hey, how could I forget my photography hobby? It is one of the best, so follow me as I will be featuring my experiences of the stuff that I am passionate with.}