My Family First Generation

First Generation

My grandmother, Teofila Jabines – Tabel was born before World War II on December 20, 1928. She grew up as a child to adulthood during the post-war period from the 30s to the 40s. During those period where a time of simple entertainment, inconvenient tool of long distance communication, limited information and information gathering and strenuous school and work related tasks.

Every 4:00 in the afternoon after watering the plants in the garden my grandmother Teofila would habitually listen to AM radio tuning to a local frequency. During my interview with her, she told me that during her time televisions are so rare and so expensive that they can only afford radio. Her first radio was battery operated. She made it a habit to listen to the radio listening to her favorite lullabies and her much anticipated drama –series aired on AM radio.

My grandmother Teofila is old and she cannot remember any songs that she used to like and cherished as a young lady. Probably during her time, a song would take a long time to be popularized. She told me that many of the young man during her generation (including my grandfather) sing songs of love for their beloved by their window. It is tradition among Filipinos to court their love through “harana”. A song is popularized as it is kept on being sung by the suitors.

One of the most favored past-time during my grandmother’s generation is the Bayle. As a beautiful young lady during the 40s, many young men invited my grandmother for a Bayle. During the Bayle, music is played by a band of acoustic guitarists accompanied by some percussionist and organist.

During my grandmother’s generation, there are no emails, no chatting, and no cell phones. As a source of long distance communication my grandmother and her contemporaries must rely on old-fashioned letters delivered by trusted mail companies in the country. It is hard to send messages during her time and it is too unconventional to wait a very late reply. Sometimes, she would ask someone (a close friend) to be the messenger and deliver a message to my grandfather. Telephones arrived in the Philippines in November 1928. During my grandmother’s time, she don’t usually use the telephone because there is no telephone lines yet in her province, so she has no choice but to write letters.

Televisions, radios, and newspapers are already available during the time of my grandmother Teofila grew. My grandmother’s life was saved during the Second World War when Pascual Jabines (my great grandfather) immediately dispatched his family to hide in the mountains after hearing from the radio that the Japanese have arrived at Bohol. Chika-chika is common among the Filipinos but it is also an essential information source during my grandmother’s time. With less IT developments, a simple chika of who-sleeps-with-who is a talk of the town!