Absolutely Delicious!!!

I mentioned in previous posts about Edwin (my big brother).  Well, his Mom invited me and another friend of Edwin’s over for lunch the other day.  I had met Edwin’s mom at a bar she owns a few nights before and she had asked me what I like and I explained that I love love love Filipino food and I’ll eat whatever she puts in front of me.  Apparently, she was very concerned too cook for me and told Edwin she was going to make pasta because she was afraid I wouldn’t like anything…she was WRONG.  Everything she served was sarap (delicious)!

Now, I didn’t take pictures of everything she put on the table and I had to look up all the spellings of what she served is sinigang with shrimp, Kare-Kare which is a Filipino oxtail soup with vegetables and peanut butter, dinuguan (pork blood stew – I LOVE this and have for years), bagoong which they called “Filipino Caviar”, fish and of course rice.  I was SO full and beyond excited when Edwin packed me up a to-go bag so I had food for the next couple of days.  His Mom kept saying that I was lying about how delicious it was but I definitely was not – I was in Heaven!!

Here’s my to-go fish….I had this for dinner with a pile of rice and was one happy camper…squeeze the kalamansi (looks like a small lime and tastes like one too – but much better) on top and enjoy!

And too any of my Filipino friends reading this – don’t laugh at my attempts to write this…..I did google all the names to make sure I had it right!)

If this is true, am I considered an athlete?

“Eating is really one of your indoor sports.  You play three times a day and it’s well worth while to make the game as pleasant as possible..” – Dorothy Draper

My Lola’s Hometown!

Today I went to visit Roy who I met a few years ago on the Statendam.  When I met him, he was a Security Guard and now he’s a supervisor!  We were friends and hung out with the same people while we were there.  I haven’t seen him in years (2007), but we’ve always stayed in touch via Facebook.  When I posted on Facebook that I was coming here, he contacted me to let me know that his girlfriend would be coming into town around the same time, so we should all meet up.  His girlfriend, Simone, is actually another Party Planner for Holland!

Roy was the first one to text me when I posted my phone number and told me that they were going out of town for a few days, but we should meet up for lunch when they returned.  Sure enough, a few days later I got a text message asking me to come over and he would cook.  You know me and food, especially if someone else is cooking..I was going!  Then, the hot water wasn’t working again after I had figured out to flip the breaker the day before.  I called maintenance and waited for them to come and they did but told me that they couldn’t fix the problem since they thought it was electrical, so I waited for the owner to call me with a new solution.  Well, an hour later I told Roy and Simone to eat without me because I didn’t want to leave if they were going to send somebody else out.  I ended up not getting an email until the following day. 

Anyways, a few days later (after they had gone out of town again and returned) they invited me over again and I wasn’t missing it for anything this time.  I took an ice cold shower and hopped in a cab to Pasig (about 25 minutes away from here) to meet them at their condo.  Roy made an awesome lunch with pork, bok choy, tofu, sautéed onions and rice.  I scarfed it down because I hadn’t eaten all day.  We chatted for a long time and then they said that they were going to Angeles City for a festival (Tigtigan Terakan Keng Dalan 2011) and asked if I wanted to join.  Initially, I was hesitant because I wasn’t sure if Edwin had planned something that night but deep down I really wanted to go!  My Lola (my step-mom’s Mom) is from there and I would love to see it!  A short while later, we packed up and headed out to catch a tricycle (a motorcycle with a side car) over to where we could get a Jeepney. On our way out f the complex, we asked the security guard to take a photo…can you tell who the short one is?!?!?

Here’s Simone and I in the side car with the “wind in our hair” and Roy riding sidesaddle on the motorcycle with the driver.

 

Once we made it to the Jeepney, they were going to drop me off where I could take a cab home and they would take the bus.  While we were in the Jeepney, Roy said “I think you should just come with us.”  I agreed and went with them and decided it would be stupid to pass up the opportunity!  We went to the bus station to catch a bus…a very crowded bus (the kids were out of school all week for “All Souls Day” so everybody was headed out of the city) and grabbed a seat in the very back row comfortably squished together with three of our closest new friends.  It took a little more than 3US dollars and 2 hours to get there (we were stuck in Manila traffic for 25 minutes before hitting open road). 

Once we arrived, you could see that there was a festival going on but it seemed pretty dead.  When I looked at my watch, I realized it was only 7PM and it would probably pick up later.  We paid for our tickets (80PHP, less than $2) and we walked down the center street for about 30 minutes. 

There wasn’t much going on – seemed that all the bands were still setting up as were all the concession stands.  Roy was looking for a specific restaurant to take us to so that we could have Sisig, which originates there.  Now,  sisig is traditionally made from chopped pigs head (including the snout) and mixed with lots of other things (I can hear my mother now). Roy couldn’t find the restaurant he was looking for, so we decided on a nice restaurant outside (the weather was gorgeous aka not humid) which was DEAD.  All the waiters and waitresses were standing around waiting for somebody to come in! 

We sat down and ordered a drink right away – I saw a yellow mango shake on the menu and knew I had to have it.  Simone ordered the same and Roy got a San Miguel, the beer of the Philippines (so we took a photo with it).

 

  As far as the food goes, we let Roy take care of the ordering. I knew I wanted some sisig since we were where they “make it best” but I was up for anything else!  He ordered fried rice, pork belly (my absolute favorite), sisig (1/2 spicy for me and him and the other 1/2 no-so-spicy for Simone), Mongolian BBQ and chicken butt.  Now, let’s talk about this chicken ass.  Roy said we had to order it because he wanted us to try it – I said no problem, I’ll try anything at least once.  When it came to the table, it looked fine…just like three pieces of meat lined up in a dish.  Roy picked a piece up and put it on my plate because he wanted me to try it right away.  I picked it up with my fingers and took a bite and it was delicious!  When I set it back down on the plate, I set it at the wrong angle because it was looking back at me…that’s right…the big giant ANUS was staring me in the face and I could not fathom taking another bite.  Come on, anus on a plate?!?!?

Here’s our food before the chicken butt hit the table – I never got a photo of the dish of anuses…sadly.  I don’t typically get grossed out…but at the sight of that, I was.

 

Once we finished eating (we were stuffed with plenty of food left over) , we sat and listened to the band that started playing next to the restaurant.  We decided to walk a bit more down the way and we came across another band that looked interesting, so we found a table & Roy ordered a pitcher of some mango drink.  I couldn’t drink anything – I was beyond exhausted for some reason.  We sat and listened until the band finished and then some drag queen comedians took over and did some competition with a bunch of the guys from the audience.  The entire thing was in Tagalog, so I didn’t understand a damn word they said!  But it was funny even just to watch. 

At 10:30, I got up to go call my guy and I never thought it would be as big of a challenge as it was.  The place was PACKED and there were so many bands playing (I could could 5 within hearing range) that I couldn’t find a decent spot to call.  Finally, I found a corner next to a 7-11 (in the middle of the bands) behind a delivery truck so that I could at least call and say Good Morning (they are 12 hours behind us).  We talked for awhile (I didn’t hear a word he said) but at least we talked, right?  When I got back to the table with Roy and Simone, they were ready to go (I was so tired that it was good news to me– especially since we had a good 2 hours of traveling still to go!)

Like I mentioned before, the place was packed – but not as packed as the line to get in.  It literally took us 20 minutes to get through the thick crowd of folks just trying to get into the festival.  I was AMAZED at how many people were standing there.  We hopped in a tricycle back to the bus station – people would move out of their way for that…not for us.  They picked up a pack of cigarettes ($1US – which explains why everybody smokes here) and then we hopped on a bus, which was much less crowded then the way there.  Roy fell asleep quickly and Simone and I chatted for a bit before we both dozed off as well.  Now, if you take a bus in the US it’s a decent ride you can nap because it’s smooth and comfortable.  Well, riding a bus in the Philippines where there really is no speed limit and time is money…I felt like I was in an empty beer can being thrown down a rocky mountain at warp speed.  Let’s just say we almost hit a Jeepney and we made it home in 52 minutes (as opposed to the 2 hour trip there).  Eek!

I am SO glad that Roy and Simone invited me to go with them – it was great catching up with Roy as well as meeting Simone (she’s awesome!) and I was so lucky to be able to go to the festival with them!  If I didn’t, I would have just been sitting by myself at home.  I’m one lucky girl!

“Be more concerned with your character than your reputation.  For your character is who you are and your reputation is merely what people think of you.”

Filipino Idol

Edwin’s family owns a karaoke bar here in the Philippines and we had planned that at least one night we would go over there and hang out.  Yesterday afternoon, Edwin called me and said that his Mom asked if I would be a judge for a Halloween Karaoke competition and some other activities that were going on last night.  When he asked, I got really excited and was more than willing to do it…it actually takes me to my ship job, judging our Karaoke Superstar competition.  When we arrived, the bar was pretty full already.  Close to the bar, there was a “Reserved” sign on the table with 4 chairs waiting for me, Edwin, Joyce & Eddie.  It wasn’t long after we plopped down that the Emcee introduced the judges.  Needless to say, I was the only “foreigner” judge.  Before the competition started, there were also dancers (probably about 9 or 10 ladies) that did a few numbers intermittently throughout the singing competition.  This isn’t the best picture, but it gives you the idea.

All three of the judges stayed at their respective tables and the competition began.  In total, there were seven singers and we listened to them all while I kept score on a white index card (making the numbers really really small so that I could go back and change them as my decision waivered back and fourth).  While the competition was going on, we drank the Jack Daniels that I brought from the US for Edwin (he swears ours tastes better than here), ate tons of food that they kept bringing out to us and just had a really good time.  (The food was an accident picture…but it gives you an idea!)

  

After the competition ended and we had a few more numbers that the dancers performed and then open mic began for anybody and everybody.  Edwin told me I had to sing.  This didn’t bother me since I do it on the ship all the time.  The big problem was that I couldn’t find any of the songs I can somewhat sing and not sound like a dying cat.  After looking through the book for 20 minutes or so, we let Joyce sing and Edwin and I went outside to the patio and chatted with his parents for awhile.  They are SO nice and lots of fun.  His Dad kept saying how tall I was (like I’ve mentioned before, I’m Amazonian here!) and we just chatted about how my vacation was going etc.  Here’s the group!
Around 2:30AM, we left the bar and Joyce wanted to stop by and show me this Extreme Bingo place.  I didn’t really have any clue what she meant – I was expecting a hall full of old women playing bingo with 20 cards in front of them and multiple daubers.  Instead, this place looked like a Casino with tons of “slot machine” looking things all over the room, but instead of pulling a down a handle, it was automated bingo cards.  Joyce played while we all watched and chatted for awhile and then we headed out.  I made it back to my place about 4:30AM tired and ready for bed, but I was so happy to have had a good time out with friends!

“You only live once, but if you live right, once is enough.”

Tea Time with Ronnel

My main goal for my vacation in the Philippines was to relax (check) and catch up with friends.  Over three years ago while I was dating Sherwin on the ms Statendam, we made a good friend, Ronnel.  After Sherwin and I left the Statendam in January of 2009, Ronnel left the company and has had some other job ventures over the last couple of years (one of them being a fabulous wedding planner!).  When he found out I was coming, he immediately contacted me and said we had to get together and of course I agreed. 

He texted me about 6AM (when he got off from work at a club that he works at) a few days ago and asked me if I wanted to meet him for “afternoon tea” at the Greenhills Promenade which is the massive mall close to my condo at 3PM.  I was game for sure!  We met up at the promenade around 3:15 at a bistro/café called “Bizu” where he had actually worked several years ago at another location.  Cakes and pastries of every color and shape lined the path on the way to our table at the back of the restaurant.  Now, they did actually have “afternoon tea” available, but we chose our meal off of the regular menu.  The waitress took our orders  - both identical – with an oriental salad and the mixed ravioli stuffed with cheese, portabella mushrooms and meat (not exactly Filipino food, but it’ll do!)

I don’t think the two of us stopped talking the entire time – we had a blast.  It is so good to see friends OFF of a ship in their own comfort area where we don’t have to worry about all aboard time or heading back to work – we had not a care in the world! 

Our meals were delicious but the dessert was a whole different story….AMAZING!  Ronnel ordered the “Yoga” and I got the “Mango Cheesecake” – my two favorite things in one incredible dessert!  The mango cheesecake had slices of mango presented as petals of a flower – so pretty!

 

 

Since we were so close to the mall, we headed over there and I took full advantage of having a friend that speaks Tagalog (I’m going to learn it – Rosetta Stone is on my Christmas list!!) and have him help me do some bargaining because I needed some pillows bad!  If I’m sleeping alone, I usually have 4 pillows to myself…the owner of the condo left me ONE that looks like it was steam rolled the night before I got here because it was so flat.  Not only were his language and bargaining skills put to use, I had an extra set of hands which was SO nice!  Every trip I’ve made to the mall, I’ve seen this lady selling orchids and I was dying to have one.  It wasn’t practical to carry that as well as my groceries etc back to the house with me – but now I could. We bought my orchid for 150PHP (About $3), grabbed some groceries and my new pillows and headed back to my place. 

Ronnel came home with me so that he knew where the condo was for the next time he comes over and to avoid traffic (as much as you can avoid it here – even at 2AM it’s ridiculous!).  We hung out together until 9 or so and he headed home – but I had SO MUCH FUN just having him here.  One of my many many Filipino blessings :)

Here’s a picture of us posing with the self-timer.  The ironic thing I just noticed is that you can see the Greenhills sign over Ronnel’s right shoulder! 

(Objects in photo are closer than they appear- it’s really a 70PHP ($1.50) taxi ride or 8PHP Jeepney ride away.)

Try It!

 

 

Amen.

Livin’ la vida Filipino!

Twenty three hours, three flights and two screaming babies later, I walked off of the plane and was greeted with the wall of humidity that blankets the Philippines.  For an accurate representation, stop by Florida around 2:00PM in the middle of July.  It’s exactly like that, just year round.  I must admit, the heat is not as intense as it was the last time I was here (April/May 2009) but like we say in Florida – it’s not the heat, it’s the humidity.  Once I made it through customs and got all of my luggage together, I headed outside to the “Greeting” area as they refer to it or the “zoo” as I have coined it.  I waited (and melted) for the arrival of my friend Edwin under the sign clearly marked with an “E” for Ellis.  Edwin picked me up along with his girlfriend Joyce and they drove me over to the condo building that I rented which is about an hour and a half/two hours away from the airport.  One thing about Manila is the traffic – if there was no traffic, you could get anywhere in a very short period of time but the congestion here is unbelievable – even at two in the morning it is bumper to bumper!

When we got to my condo building (Avida Towers, New Manila) I told Edwin not to unload my luggage from the car and just make sure everything was set.  Of course, my gut instinct on that was correct because when I got inside, they told me there were no keys for me because move in time was between the hours of 8AM and 5PM.  Previously, I had verified with the leasing agent and the owner of the unit as to whether or not it would be ok that I arrived at 2AM and they assured me that as long as the paperwork was done and money was paid that it would be no problem.  Sure enough, I spent my first night in the Philippines in the Eurotel Apartels on the 12-hour rental.  I mean come on…who in the hell rents a hotel room for 12 hours (other than hookers at the Prince Frog hotel in Tallahassee?). 

By the time we made it to the apartel, I just wanted to lay down – I was exhausted!  So I did just that, turned on the TV and drifted to sleep.  There’s one thing I despise about all the traveling I do.  Jet Lag.  My body has been in a whirlwind of confusion for the last 4 1/2 years because it doesn’t know what time zone it’s supposed to be in.  At 5:40AM I was wide awake.  I tried and tried to go back to sleep because I knew I would be exhausted with settling in and running around throughout the day.  Unsuccessful, I got out of bed and gave myself a facial (I had one of those packets in my luggage), took a shower and watched Ellen and Oprah (yes, of all things, these are what I watch!)

Edwin had told me to call him when I woke up.  I knew that 5:40AM was not appropriate, so at 10:00AM I made my first phone call I chatted with one of the ladies that worked for his family and she said he was asleep.  This routine repeated from 10:00AM until 12:00NN.  Around 11AM, I decided that I needed to venture out on my own and get my money exchanged and last night I saw a money changer right next to the apartel.  For anyone who has not traveled –it’s a bit nerve wrecking to go out in a foreign country where you don’t speak the language (and look like an Amazonian!) and do tasks that seem so simple.  Yes, I have traveled a lot and been to many places but I still have a huge fear of (for lack of a better way of saying it) looking stupid or standing out.  I went out and walked around the corner, exchanged my money and headed back to the room to try and call Edwin a couple more times.  I knew time was coming to a close on the 12 hour room rental, so at 12:15 I tried again.  This time, he wasn’t asleep but not there!

At 12:40, I got a phone call basically telling me that my rental was up (weird!), so challenge number two was to get a cab and head over to the condo building myself.  I managed to make it there safe and sound (got ripped off and I knew it – Tip #1 for foreigners…always have them turn the meter on!) but it was alright – I was happy to be there and was still only a $6.00US cab ride so I can’t complain!  Once I got all checked in and signed an updated contract, I was handed the keys to my “very own” place (ok, at least for a month!) and I don’t think I was in the door 5 minutes before I had unpacked my backpack and begun to dissect my three other suitcases!  It was nice to unpack for longer than a day or two since I had literally packed and unpacked my suitcases 4 times in the last 12 days – I was ready to settle for a bit.  One downside to this condo (other than a 12 hour hotel stay) was that my “fully furnished condo” was not fully furnished as in lacking everything like pots, pans, dishes, silverware, towels, pillows etc.  Immediately, I begin to make a list (if you know me, you know that chronic list making is an ailment I have yet to cure) of things I need from the grocery store to get by.  Initially, I was supposed to be here for three months – so I would be more willing to purchase things I needed but being that it’s only a month now, I just needed some basics to get me by.  The condo is awesome…it’s just got nothing in it but furniture :)

When my list was complied, I took my next challenge – getting a cab from here to the Greenhills Mall/Shopping Center where I could get everything I needed.  Now, when you go to a “Mall” here in the Philippines – you don’t go to a mall like we have in the US.  These malls are MASSIVE (let’s just say I got lost…a few times) and include multiple buildings with 100’s of stores including a grocery store and it is divided into sections, i.e. the technology section has 3 floors and it’s own area alone!  I took a cab to the mall and began the search for the two most important things:  a cell phone and internet access!  I found a cell phone and got everything I needed for that and then purchased a broadband stick (it goes into the USB port on your computer and has prepaid minutes that you can use anywhere). 

Next, it was off to the grocery store where I gathered plates, plastic utensils, towels and some groceries to get me by…the typical American staples of bread, peanut butter, jelly and cereal.  I think my biggest disappointment is the inability to cook anything for myself.  Lucky for me, Edwin brought me a pan.  I bought eggs and realized I had no way to cook them (since my utensils are plastic), so I boiled eggs in a pan…I was impressed!  Once all my loot was together, I headed back to my condo to relax! 

Before heading to bed, I wanted to jump in the shower and rinse off.  Hot showers are not something that is standard here – most people take cold showers or use a bucket and a scoop to wash.  But – one luxury that is hard to give up is a nice hot shower.  So – I turn on the hot water heater (you have to manually turn the dial in the shower before turning the water on) and turn on the water to find out it’s not working.  I rinsed off and took a cold shower and immediately emailed the owner once I was out to find out how to get it fixed.  She sent an email back just saying I had to flip the breaker since it hadn’t been used in awhile.  Once I did that, I tested it and it worked fine.  Well, the next day when I get in the shower – it isn’t working again.  I tried EVERYTHING before emailing the owner again.  She sent an electrician and it turns out the entire thing needs to be replaced!!  Now I’m just waiting on when…ugh.

I will post pictures of the condo soon! :)

Quote of the day:  “The purpose of a relationship is not to have another who might complete you, but to have another with whom you might share your completeness.”  

So true

 

A friend of mine posted this on her Facebook the other day…

That is all.