PINOY ADVENTURES: A Cup of Coffee for an Early Riser

Sprawled in Pacific Ocean is an archipelagic wonder that is known for her singing mountains, dancing waters and many other personified wonders but, I won’t be talking about them. All I want to say is that we Filipinos love to wake up early – really early. Yup, and that’s it. 

Waking up is as early as 3:00 AM for the market vendors, 4:00 AM for street vendors, 5:00 AM for early market shoppers, joggers, students, employees and small time entrepreneurs. 6:00 AM? In the Philippines, 6:00 AM is a late clock. You should have continued your sleep when you woke up 6:00 AM. Yeah, you woke up late. 

I don’t know why we wake up early but we do. I know some countries wake up early too but they start their work late, like 9 or 8:00 AM. I’m sometimes confused why many people see waking up early as something laborious to do. 

In the Philippines, waking up late is a sin. Try my experience: one time I woke up at 5:30 AM and mother scolded me and told me many things – 

“Lazy! You think you’ll be successful in that kind of attitude? Aren’t you ashamed of yourself? Our neighbors are already done with their chores and yet you’ve just woken up!? The carabao’s head would blow up in the heat of the high sun and you still lie in your bed like a queen. The sun will shine on your teeth and they’ll crack!” 

The first ones, I can take but the last one? I don’t know and I know there’s no scientific explanation that the sun’s rays could crack off teeth but I grew up fearing it. 

I would admit. Mornings in Philippines are really beautiful scenes. As early as 5:00 AM, the commotion of activities can be felt – fathers feeding the animals, mothers cooking breakfast, children getting ready for school. Add the aroma of cups of coffee steaming and the ‘pot-pot’ of the vendor in cycles of the warm pan de sal waiting to be bought. People would usually crowd around the vendor hoping to get some. Yeah, it’s really nice to wake up early and see the sun shining from the east. 

But what is the reason for this? 

Honestly, I do not know any study about why Filipinos rise early. But let me share with you my theories. LOL. 

We all know that Filipinos are colonized by other countries (Japan, etc.) and unfortunately Filipinos were made slaves. I was thinking that it forced them to wake up early. They have to wake up early to serve their masters and do stuff slaves do. 

The Philippines was making trades with China through ‘barter’. In order not to be late and have the finest trade, they wake up early. If they wake up late, they’ll get the bad fish. 

Whatever the reason why most Filipinos wake up early could be, we all know that it is a very good trait and I am talking from experience. During school days, I stay in a dormitory. My dorm mates wake up early but I wake up earlier to the point that my roommates hate me for turning the lights on as early as 5:00 AM. LOL. Believe me; I am sorry for that. I take a bath at 5:45 AM, eat breakfast at 6:15 AM and go to school at 6:45 AM, although the class is starts 7:30 AM. It has its perks, by the way. I can savor the aroma of early morning and enjoy the calming silence. 

Believe me; waking up early is one of the greatest experiences life can offer. 

Add the worms. 

Now, who’s the early bird?