As it were, the Municipality of Sindangan proved to be an exhausting six-hour drive away from the southern reaches of the Zamboanga Peninsula. The same place housed a whooping number of 52 barangays on aggregate - each of which was graced with a multitude of great plains of green, ever-ravaging rapids, exuberant beachfronts that rivalled some of the best nationwide, and jagged earthen terrain that would teasingly entice just about any dauntless mountaineers. The weather, like most present in the Philippines, consisted of the dry (El Nino) and wet (El Nina) seasons respectively. Asphalt roads provided direct access to the center of the municipality, Barangay Poblacion.

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     As we arrived, we were greeted to the warm smile of the municipality's health officer - Mr. Rex Samson; a local to the municipality, having arrived fresh from his previous hospital tour in the nieghboring city of Dapitan just the year before. After opening up with a simple introductory message not mere moments prior, he simply expressed the best of his wishes before sending the different groups to their respective barangay of assignment. Of these barangays, we settled into the stoic setting of Barangay Maras.

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     Barangay Maras was located approximately 8 kilometers from the Sindangan’s capital. At first glance, a simple signage reading "Welcome to Barangay Maras" welcomed empassing visitors that darted through the national highway which divided the Barangay into east and west halfs. A great majority of the barangay's constituents were of Bisayan origin, while a notable number were composed of native Subanens and other minorities. Under the looming calmness of the area were extensive farmlands and houses that scattered indiscriminately along the highway; dotting along the landscape in numbers few and far in between. In addition to which, one major road forked separately from the highway, leading to what it seemed to be the wilderness that housed the remaining half of the local populace. Furthermore, much of the barangay's activities centered around the three schools and the multi-purpose function hall that was located in reach of the highway. More other dozens of other local citizens may be spotted toiling around the extensive farmlands for the cultivation of the area's rich agriculture. Fishing, on the other hand, occupied much of the locality's beaches. With these set of circumstances, the group members held on to their personal reservations concerning the residents of the area.

     

     Admittingly, because of these notions, we were unable to connect emphatically among the residents of the area during our initial stay, and a great deal of time was spent in understanding the fundamentals of the Bisayan dialect. Only a select few were able to converse in their native Bisayan tongue, and the rest stuck to speaking in Tagalog although, this evolved into a liability in of itself. However, managing to befriend the barangay's pointperson - the barangay captain proved to be rather beneficial for the group. Because of this, much of the group's preconcieved notions - our biases and prejudices - regarding the community were put to rest, and we were beginning to understand the complexities of rural life in little baby steps at a time.