Mati is the place where I spent the first nine years of my life. I was born in Davao City, the biggest city on the island of Mindanao. However, due to my father’s job as a Red Cross Administrator, we moved to the southern region of Davao Oriental, with Mati as its capital town.I have rich childhood memories in Mati that resurface whenever something triggers them. One day, for instance, my husband and I were reminiscing about our last trip to the Philippines. We had an interesting encounter with a taxi driver, whom we coincidentally met twice during our ten-day vacation. He was a good driver who kept us entertained with his stories, including one about bananas. In the Philippines, bananas often grow wild and are ubiquitous, even in big cities like Davao. This conversation brought back many precious childhood memories of Mati.### BananasI remember how my siblings and I played in our backyard, poking holes in the banana trunks with sticks and watching the sap flow out. We used to say the banana trees were “peeing” or “crying.” Although our parents scolded us for doing this, telling us not to “hurt” the banana trees, we found the flowing sap fascinating.We also used banana trunks, which we called ‘bani’ in our local language, to feed the pigs we raised in our backyard. We sliced the bani thinly and mixed it with ‘tahop’ (ground husk of rice grain) because commercial pig feed was too expensive. My mother would ask us to cut the bani at feeding time, and my siblings and I took turns doing this menial job.### The Duck’s Swimming PoolOur backyard in Mati is where most of our precious childhood memories took place. One day, my sister Dhaday and my cousin Dodong decided to “sail” a big plastic basin across the green, dirty duck’s pool. We put Dodong in the middle of the basin for balance and pushed it to start “sailing.” When the basin was halfway across the pool, my uncle William, Dodong’s father, arrived and saw Dodong in the basin. He was furious because he thought it was dangerous, but for us, it was fun. Dodong was crying out of fear of his father, saying, “Mudunggo na lagi ko pa, mudunggo na lagi ko pa,” meaning, “I’m gonna land, Dad, I’m gonna land.” This remains one of our funny childhood memories.### The Manzanitas TreeNear the duck’s pool was a Manzanitas tree that bore fruit resembling cherries. Birds and we kids loved these fruits, which were green at first but turned bright red when ripe. We used to call them apples because apples don’t grow in the Philippines, and having mini apples was heartwarming for us. One afternoon, when my older sister made us take a nap, my sister Lea and I sneaked to the backyard, and I climbed the Manzanitas tree to pick the red, ripe fruits. I was caught when my mother came and saw me in the tree. I was scolded, but it remains a precious childhood memory.### The Mango TreesI loved climbing trees. We had two mango trees in our house in Mati: one big “Carabao” mango tree in the front yard and one small “Cebu” mango tree in the backyard. We used to climb the small mango tree with a saucer of salt and a small bucket of water. We picked the fresh budding leaves, washed them, dipped them in salt, and ate them. We also enjoyed the green mango fruits. My sister Dhaday and I would sneak out of our window to the rooftop to pick mangoes, being careful not to make noise that would alert our family. Papa once caught us and was very angry.### Our Guava TreesWe also had guava trees. Lea’s guava tree in the backyard was the most fruitful, bearing big, oval fruits, but they were bland. Ate Dhaday’s guava tree had the best fruits—tiny, green, and sweet. My guava tree outside the backyard fence bore fruit once or twice a year. Though its fruits were delicious, the long wait made us impatient. We often sneaked to ate Dhaday’s tree during siesta time to pick the fruits, much to her annoyance.### Sugar CaneMy older siblings had a sugar cane plant, which we called ‘tubo.’ Cutting and munching on tubo was one of our happiest activities. We would measure and share the tubo equally to avoid fights. If you don’t know, sugar is made from sugar cane.### Play House and Play StoreMy sisters Dhaday, Lea, and I often played house in our living room, using chairs, cardboard boxes, and blankets to create our own spaces. Outside, we used a bench as our “store,” selling make-believe ginanggang (roasted bananas). We used leaves as bananas, skewered on coconut broomsticks, glazed with mashed gumamela leaves for oil, and sprinkled with wood particles as sugar. Candy wrappers were our money, and soft drink caps were our coins.### Play FightWe also played gunfights, using banana trunks to make our guns and buyangyang seeds as bullets. We were very creative, making our weapons look real. Our older brother, Kuyang, liked playing gunfights, and we would run around the house and backyard, hiding behind trees and having fun.### Watching and Catching BirdsI was obsessed with birds. I would stay near the bushes in our backyard, tweeting like I was talking to them. Once, I hid inside a big rubber water container, hoping to attract birds, but none came. I found a bird with a broken wing and kept it as a pet, but I accidentally stepped on it, killing it. I was devastated and gave it a “funeral” in our garden.Looking back, I realize why I didn’t have many close friends outside the family. I grew up playing with my siblings in our big house and yard in Mati. These moments are very precious to me, and I will treasure them forever.