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By Thelma Macas, Contributing Writer - Texas, USA

In my 5th year of teaching in Texas, one of the most exciting part of the school year is Spring Break. Need I say more if I tell you we are only one hour and a half drive to THE SOUTH PADRE ISLAND!

You are right, ” Girls Gone Wild” parties are being held in the island. Our guys would always love to escort us, they would always declare they came to fish. Mind you dear friends, part of the Fishing paraphernalia they bring with them is a pair of “larga vista”or a telescope! They always come home with a bucketful of shipshead fish and some “beachy” anecdotes which they share in whisper and giggles.

Come on, we need a break! This year the Filipino Community of Rio Grande, chose an exotic place for our families to camp. “It is one of the best parks in Texas,” exclaimed Aleli (she’s a Reading Specialist in our college,a Filipina too).

We arrived at the camp at about 9 in the evening, I was delighted to see for the first time a Texas Ranger wearing fatigue uniforms like what Steve Irwin used in his Crocodile Hunting shows. “Okay , this is the map and park rules, you’re set, enjoy your stay,” said one of the park Rangers who looked like Tom Cruise.

In about eight minutes we navigated through a rugged road to cottage numbers 200-210, we parked our car across our campsite, I noticed some “Roan Beach looking cottages” neatly lined in a cul-de-sac with the Three Rivers Lake as background. As our Mayor (yes we have our Filipino mayor in our city, we fondly call him “Kuya Obot”) showed us where to put up our tents, I noticed a huge warning sign in red and white. I can feel my blood pressure rose to 180/100 when I read, “BEWARE ALLIGATORS EXIST IN THIS PARK”.

“Wow! How can I take a good night sleep tonight?” I whined secretly to my husband. “Mas nabalaka ko nga sila ang dili katulog sa kakusog sa atong hagok managan na ang alligators sa kahadlok!” I think he was right, the moment I hit the airbed, I dreamt endlessly untill 5 in the morning.

I said my morning Praises and got up early . As I stepped out of our tent, it was foggy and wet, I remember an old song in church, “Sama sa yamog nga nagabanig sa kaadlawon”. Aleli was already up and about as she invited me over in their cottage for coffee and bagels with Philadelphia cream cheese.

Part of the schedule that day was fishing, the kids used our alligator infested lake as fishing ground. We took turns in looking after them providing security as serious as the life savers in the Baywatch could be.

Then came the alligator, it was about 4 feet tall and one feet wide. It was about 15 meters away from us. Thank God there were four wild ducks he chose for his meal that day! Yes, an alligator hunting for food right before our very eyes! The act of the alligator eating those wild ducks was as thrilling as watching one of Pacman’s fight in it’s final round. Imagine the children’s screaming and the adults’ wild cheer as it mercilessly swallowed those helpless ducks.

I was in charge for cooking dinner that day so I miss some parts of the “Alligator Episode.” Well I was busy cooking hamonada, chopsuey, tinolang ulo sa “bass” nga isda.

If you are asking if we still eat rice? The answer is “yes!”. All households are required to bring their rice cookers with them. This is to ensure that nobody would shout “kan-on pa!!!”.

Inspite of the Alligator scare , I still would consider this year’s camp one of the best ever, or should I say it might be the alligator’s presence which made it awesome!

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