Peanuts for your Thoughts

Peanuts For Your Thoughts

EBALE, LANCE

UP students like us have our campus literally located just a few steps away from SM City Baguio. Thus, chances are, we've already passed T.M. Kalaw Street a hundred times. The narrow sidewalk on this street serves as the main avenue for mall-goers from the east side of the mall. This path is usually quiet and clean, with the sound and smoke of passing vehicles as the only things to regard. That's until we reach the near end of the sidewalk, just before going uphill towards the mall where an elderly woman sells her peanuts from a sack.

Anyone heading to SM City Baguio through this route would most likely expect this vendor. It is as if she's already a part of that road, and as unremarkable as parts can be, some people tend to ignore her. She’s just sitting there, eagerly waiting for mall-goers to buy her peanuts. Sometimes, while walking along the way and seeing her, we couldn't help but wonder why, at her age, she still does this. Rain or shine, she's patient to sell her little peanuts. The elderlies should be in the comfort of their homes. They should be enjoying whatever it is they have saved while they were at their prime, right? So, one day, we approached her to know her story and motivations and then we realized that there's really more than meets the eye. Her name is Elizabeth and this is her story.

Lola Elizabeth is a 73-year-old peanut ambulant vendor along the sidewalk of T.M. Kalaw Street. Lola Elizabeth starts her daily routine early. She wakes up, gets the peanuts from her supplier, and walks from Cabinet Hill to T.M. Kalaw while carrying the sack of peanuts on her head. At around five in the morning, she can already be spotted at her usual spot selling peanuts. She usually stays until six or until her sack of peanuts is sold.

Apologizing in broken Filipino, Lola told us that she only knew Ilocano language since she was originally from Bontoc, Mountain Province. She and her husband decided to move here in Baguio to support their son’s studies. However, their son stopped going to school and got married at a very young age. She now supports her 7-year-old grandchild, a grade 2 SPED pupil.

 Lola Elizabeth sells peanuts for 20, 25, 30 and 40 pesos packs respectively. She does not go home until all her peanuts have been sold. She has children she supports besides her grandchild. Two of her children have stalls in the marketplace which also help in financing their family.

During the rainy days, she would be forced to move to the overpass near Baguio City National High School and University of the Cordilleras. Because Lola Elizabeth is an ambulant vendor, there would be times when she would be forced to move from one place to another. She would drag her sack of peanuts to look for another spot where she could sell her peanuts. We asked why she still continues to work as an ambulant vendor despite her old age and she responded, “Oo, mahirap… mahirap talaga… pero kaya pa naman.”

When we look at reality the way Lola Elizabeth does, we start to understand their situation. We begin to see things differently and realize that there are different perceptions of reality that depend on one’s age, culture, and place in society. We learn to be affectionate and considerate to the people around us especially those whose realities are harsher than ours. We start to look around us and care about the things that we used to ignore like Lola Elizabeth that we just pass by on a daily basis. Since our perspectives have changed, we see things in a new light. Things and people that we used to take for granted come into our line of sight and we start taking notice that these people and things we take for granted exist and are not “just there” but have stories of their own to share. We tend to view our lives differently from others. Difference in circumstances in life goes a long way when it comes to viewpoints.  Having a privileged life can mean you have it okay in life. But some people are not so lucky and have to strive hard to earn a living and a place in society. We sometimes cannot see the plight of others. We also sometimes cannot hear the voices that are screaming out their qualms but are ignored or dismissed as whispers. As Communication students, we should try to hear these qualms and our job is to amplify and give them a means to share what they are going through.