Mother And Father's Hometown
By hereandthere
@hereandthere (45651)
Philippines
December 31, 2015 2:12am CST
My parents came to the capital as newlyweds so all of us were born and raised here. They came from the same province so, growing up, we went to the same place every summer.
It is still agricultural with bodies of water and mountains, so it's a pleasant change of scenery, but I never liked how far it was and the long uncomfortable overnight bus trip to get there.
I would also get bored because there was no TV, no reading materials, no toys or boardgames.
The nearest city was an hour away. You can't just walk to the main street and ride a passing jeepney like here in the capital because public transportation was limited and on schedule.
If my parents came from different provinces, we could enjoy different places and interact with different people. And if one of them came from a province that's nearer to the capital, we could go on weekend visits, too.
Are you parents or grandparents still in the same place?
Do you get to visit both sides of the family?
17 people like this
16 responses
@hereandthere (45651)
• Philippines
3 Jan 16
do you still get to visit your parents and sister?
2 people like this
@ridingbet (66857)
• Philippines
31 Dec 15
my late mother was from Pangasinan, while my late father was from here up north. They met in the capital city. Now, our ancestral home is here up north.
2 people like this
@hereandthere (45651)
• Philippines
31 Dec 15
but growing up did you visit your grandparents, aunts, uncles, cousins on both sides?
isn't pangasinan part of northern luzon, too, and ilocos region?
2 people like this
@hereandthere (45651)
• Philippines
2 Jan 16
@ridingbet i think i had an officemate surnamed villasis. how many hours would it take you to travel to paranaque?
2 people like this
@ridingbet (66857)
• Philippines
1 Jan 16
@hereandthere no, Pangasinan is near Ilocos region, while up here north, our nearby province is Isabela. I was able to visit the home of my mother in Villasis, and so with my cousins mother's side. The family, father side, are all in Paranaque, and yes, I see them too.
2 people like this
@kaka135 (14916)
• Malaysia
3 Jan 16
My grandparents have passed away, my parents are from the same hometown, my husband and I are from the same hometown as well. I like it this way as it's easier for my husband and I to go back to our hometown and visit both our parents as they are staying about 30 minute drive to each other. My husband's grandparents are also staying in the same hometown, so we also spend time visiting them when we go back to our hometown. This is really easier for us, so we don't need to drive to too many places all around, especially during Chinese New Year.
1 person likes this
@hereandthere (45651)
• Philippines
3 Jan 16
@kaka135 that's nice, too, because you never worry about where to eat and stay. what activities do you look forward to when you go to your hometown? do you also have different regional dialects aside from the national language?
1 person likes this
@kaka135 (14916)
• Malaysia
8 Jan 16
@hereandthere Yes, hence I don't have that dialect problem with my in-laws, as we speak the same dialect. My younger sister's in-law speaks a different dialect which she doesn't understand. It might be good for her to learn a new dialect if she wants to. 
1 person likes this
@hereandthere (45651)
• Philippines
9 Jan 16
@kaka135 true. some learn to speak the language/dialect around them and use it. some learn but feel self conscious to speak in case they don't get the accent right.
1 person likes this
@arthurchappell (45002)
• Preston, England
5 Jan 16
my family has lived in North Manchester for about five generations now
1 person likes this
@arthurchappell (45002)
• Preston, England
5 Jan 16
@hereandthere no, we are a working class family - not a wealthy one
@hereandthere (45651)
• Philippines
6 Jan 16
@arthurchappell oh, i didn't mean castles. haha! i mean are the oldest house/s of the first generations of your family in that area still in the same spot and inhabited by members of your family?
1 person likes this
@hereandthere (45651)
• Philippines
5 Jan 16
wow. i guess that means most people know one another and/or related to each other. do you have an ancestral home?
1 person likes this
@Jessicalynnt (50525)
• Centralia, Missouri
1 Jan 16
I dont have much to do with dad's side, mom's I see more
1 person likes this
@hereandthere (45651)
• Philippines
2 Jan 16
yeah, it happens. but were you able to interact with them before when you were younger - grandparents, aunts, uncles, cousins?
1 person likes this
@hereandthere (45651)
• Philippines
2 Jan 16
@Jessicalynnt even though our parents came from the same place, we always stayed at the house my mother grew up in.
1 person likes this
@Jessicalynnt (50525)
• Centralia, Missouri
2 Jan 16
@hereandthere mine kinda worked like that too, both sets were very close together, but we stayed at grams, honestly she had the space, the other side really didn't. still a bit sad there was that rift.
1 person likes this
@hereandthere (45651)
• Philippines
6 Jan 16
the same is happening here. more and more people from the province are moving to the cities. even here in our area, i now hear more and more people talking in my parent's dialect.
1 person likes this
@hereandthere (45651)
• Philippines
7 Jan 16
@Shiva49 urbanization is also spreading. many places have been paved over.
1 person likes this
@Shiva49 (26200)
• Singapore
7 Jan 16
@hereandthere The young are even going abroad and I know about OFW running into millions. In India too many villages have mostly only elderly people without the young to look after them - siva
1 person likes this
@mysdianait (66009)
• Italy
1 Jan 16
Mine were from different places but too far from each other. I went to visit both areas many times when I was young as we went often to see my grandparents.
Happy New Year! 
1 person likes this
@mysdianait (66009)
• Italy
8 Jan 16
@hereandthere One was more sloe paced living as it was in the countryside and a farming area while the other was in a busier market town. Those are the ony differences that I recall now.
1 person likes this
@hereandthere (45651)
• Philippines
8 Jan 16
have you noticed any similarities and differences in those two places?
1 person likes this
@hereandthere (45651)
• Philippines
6 Jan 16
were you able to visit both north and south while growing up to see your grandparents, aunts, uncles and cousins on both sides?
@allknowing (130066)
• India
10 Jan 16
I do not have my parents. They both came from the same place. Getting there for a break was a welcome change.
1 person likes this
@hereandthere (45651)
• Philippines
10 Jan 16
when did you go there - christmas and summer? did you ever wish they came from different places?
@SIMPLYD (90722)
• Philippines
4 Jan 16
No , they are from two very different provinces . My mother is an Ilocana whose origin was Nueva Viscaya but because of business , transferred and grow up in Cotabato .
My father is a Bicolano , who came from here , the Bicol Region .
The last time i get to visit Cotabato was before we transferred from Manila to Bicol . But mother , gets to visit her relatives about 4 years ago .
1 person likes this
@SIMPLYD (90722)
• Philippines
11 Jan 16
@hereandthere Her parents and siblings . I guess you are right , they did that because of business . They have a department store and gas station there .
But today , the department store became apartments but the gasoline station is still there but given to one of my mother's sibling who bought the parents .
1 person likes this
@hereandthere (45651)
• Philippines
8 Jan 16
i think a lot of people from northern luzon went to mindanao because the region had few people back then yet rich in resources.
who accompanies your mother when she goes to cotabato?
1 person likes this
@Carmelanirel2 (8084)
• United States
3 Jan 16
Mine were from two different places. My mom from the city while my dad lived in the country (I have no idea how they met, I might have to ask someone about that one) and now they are both gone.
1 person likes this
@hereandthere (45651)
• Philippines
8 Jan 16
but were you able to visit your grandparents, aunts, uncles and cousins on both sides while growing up?
1 person likes this
@Carmelanirel2 (8084)
• United States
8 Jan 16
@hereandthere One set of cousins used to visit, until their mom remarried, one uncle,aunt, and cousin were just over the county line and since my cousin and I were so close in age, we would have one another over for our birthdays, and until I was 5, my grandmother lived right across the street from me. Unfortunately we are spread apart and I only have contact with one cousin on Facebook.
1 person likes this
@DaddyEvil (137145)
• United States
5 Jan 16
My parents were born in small country towns roughly an hour away from each other.
My parents didn't take us anywhere. Our extended family came to us, instead. We still have a family reunion about 12 miles from our family farm in Missouri every year.
@hereandthere (45651)
• Philippines
31 Dec 15
i prefer two places - different food, different landscape, different activities, different people
@boiboing (13153)
• Northampton, England
31 Dec 15
@hereandthere - then be sure to marry someone who comes from somewhere you want to visit.
1 person likes this
@hereandthere (45651)
• Philippines
8 Jan 16
did you parents' parents came from different places? were you able to visit them when you were growing up?
1 person likes this
@just4him (306113)
• Green Bay, Wisconsin
8 Jan 16
@hereandthere Yes. My grandparents were actually about an hour apart from each other. We visited often.
1 person likes this
@jstory07 (134458)
• Roseburg, Oregon
3 Jan 16
Just to visit them is nice even if they do not have lots for you to do.
