~~~Balik sa Dagat Bangka Journey ~~~~

as we set sail back towards san francisco’s pier 39 from a full day of fun that included sailing on the sf bay waters, poetry sharing at angel island over potluck lunch by the picnic tables, an oncoming ship (see photos below) that seemed far away approached and loomed closer and closer towards pei qi xu, a 40 feet sailboat and nine sailors for the day, but with the expert sail of skipper john we were safely out of the way as the boat coincidentally (or not) named William Shakespeare bid us daghang mabuhay! a wonderful journey indeed and daghang mabuhay to skipper alex fabros, skipper john and lenny, rock the bangka sailors for the day, and all of rock the bangka poets spring 2013: paul joseph vistal, vanessa deza hangad, tisay ng mindanaw and mehrzad karimabadi. also another mabuhay goes to professora pinay warrior for setting the sail forward with her positive vision.

sharing with you participants reflections from the rock the bangka sail to angel island 11 mayo 2013:

we appreciated:

1) the wonderful community, the shared gifts of boat, food, time, art; 2) learning about the philippines, learning about canoes and their importance in various communities, sailing on the boat, being on Angel Island, last but not least meeting everyone who was part of this event; 3) the spirit of the project 4) the sharing, meeting new folks, learning about China Camp State Park, Bangka Journey story, yummy okra stew with gumbo and wheat-beet salad, beautiful poems, sailing and manning the wheel; 5) the story of leng’s vision, dreams and hopes and meeting great people; 6) the poems were all well-written and inspiring, great group of people, new friends; 7) hearing other people’s stories, creation of bangka journey and inspiration.

we plan to use:

1) new contacts, cultural affirmations 2) to learn more about people in fishing villages in the Philippines and Haiti; 3) information received to explore future projects/directions; 4) (soaking it all in…) 5) stories of Pin@y-Native connections that allow us to see new ways of making traditional knowledge contemporary; 6) share this experience with other communities to start a journey of the symbol of their culture; 7) deeper appreciation and inspiration to write/journal particularly with focus on dreams, water and building – knowledge from bangka journey and literary work inspirations and stories of companions.

we would like more:

1) a water ritual/thanksgiving; 2) to learn more about people who lived in fishing villages and learn more about their culture and customs including how they made their water vessels; 3) workshops like this; 4) everything’s perfect; 5) stories of all the pictures and books; 6) long day boat trip, outreach about the program

we suggest:

a partnership with schools or universities to participate to the Bangka Journey; art and design schools may be helpful with the construction of “bangkas”; stay motivated, continue this work and keep sailing!

like bangka journey on facebook to see more photos. contact mylene@bangkajourney.com