Life in the Philippines

One of the things we do whenever we live in a foreign country is  try as many of the customary native foods as we can. Sure we miss our American favorites but we like to know what the common foods here are too. TAHO is a Filipino cuisine that seems to be a comfort food or one that is enjoyed very much by the local people.  Taho is sold in the neighborhoods.  I was not sure what was going on the first time I heard the guy with his call to sell his goods.  I can’t really describe the call, it is a long drawn out call of the name like Ta-hoooooooo, said just like the vehicle Tahoe.  For those of you who have any time on the farm, I liken it to calling the cows or pigs as to the way the call sounds. It echoes through the village so that anyone who may want some knows he is in the area.  It’s about as effective as the music on the ice cream truck too, because people will hurry out to meet the Taho guy.

So what is this delicacy? It is a snack of soft bean curd in a caramel like syrup with tapioca beads. So essentially tofu and tapioca in a syrup.  Taho sounded like my kind of snack but the kids were not so sure.  Ariel took one bite and decided that tofu is not for her.  Chris was a bit more open to it, and did taste it but didn’t care to much for it.  Johnnie thought he would not like  it but he actually thought it was ok.  I am the tofu fan of the bunch but for me it was just to sweet.

Taho can be served warm or cold and can be eaten with a spoon or slurped.  If you wonder how this is sold in the neighborhoods, take a look at the buckets in the picture.  I made this picture on the way to the orphanage last week. I was not sure what they were. I was thinking milk buckets but there are no cows that I have seen.  They are taho pails. The guy carries two pails with a bar on them, over his shoulders balanced kind of like the bar is a yolk.  If you do a wikipedia search on taho you can see a picture of the guy carrying his pails.

Tagalog is one of many languages in the
Philippines but is the largest base of the Philippine National language of Philipino. Tagalog has an influence from many other languages including English, Spanish, Arabic, and Chinese to name a few. While many people speak English, not all areas speak it fluent enough for communication and my Tagalog is limited to a few words I have learned since arrival. I hope to learn more over time. There are a few useful Tagalog terms

Welcome Is Mabuhay!

Goodbye Is Paalam!

Grandfather is Lolo and Grandmother is Lola
 

Lolo and Lola are words that the housekeeper taught Ariel so she would know what children here called their grandparents.

I’ve never been able to grasp foreign languages quickly but I hope to pick up a few words to help me find the things I need when we are away from the
Manila area.

Ok so I’m not Lonestar and it’s not the front porch…actually not a porch at all but here’s the view from the pool side of the house looking into the family room area.  We had dinner outside one night.

I need to invest in some placemats, and we need to do this more often. It was a beautiful night.  The kids have really enjoyed doing simple things like this. We had gotten away from sitting down at the table and enjoying dinner together but we’ve done so since getting here. It’s fun hearing how the conversation varies and I am sure it do so even more once the kids start to school.

Today wound up being exercise day for us. It’s Rizal Day in the Philippines which is a holiday here. Jose Rizal is a National Phillipine hero and this holiday observes the day he was killed. The Embassy observes some of the Philippine holidays too, so Johnnie was off.  The kids convinced him getting in the pool would be a good idea, so he did his 15 laps and then went bike riding. I pool walked while he rode, and Ariel continued to swim. Gosh she has a lot of energy!  This afternoon we ate at a Japanese restaurant, and then finished the day off playing basketball at the park.  Chris is pretty good for a kid who has never played but at the end of the day he says he still prefers his double bass!

And so that’s another day of Living in the Philippines. Johnnie has been here 4 months now. I am sure in the next 32 months we’ll have a lot more to share.

A few days back I finally connected with an old friend and family member via email so that we could exchange blog info.  Debbie (now known to everyone else as Deborah) and I went to high school together and she married my cousin Travis.  It is nice to be able to see what is going on in their lives via her blog now. The internet has sure made living far away much easier than it was the first time I moved overseas.  This time it is definitely different.  Since the kids who are out on their own, and the college kids could not very well move with us, a part of our world is there in the states while we are here in the Philippines. It’s tough on both sides I know.

Deborah had mentioned traditions on her blog entry.  We’ve built traditions over the years with the kids but as time goes on the traditions have to evolve based on circumstances. One of those traditions that the kids will be sure to relate to is hanging garland on the tree.  You can’t do it without dad because everyone needs to here “Where’s the Judy?” Of course when younger the kids had no clue what he meant but over time they learned that Judy, Judy, Judy is the garland! So of course this year, we had to wait for him to get off work to hang the Judy on the tree and Ariel had to ask “Who’s Judy???” We decided the explanation of who Judy is could wait as her tree decorating excitement didn’t seem to allow for any other educational moments.

Each of the kids have ornaments that they hang on the tree.  This year with only Chris and Ariel here, the ornaments were placed on the tree by them.  Ariel hung her Mommy’s and she and Chris argued over who hung which other ones of course.

Traditionally, the biggest battle of the tree is between Bubba and Dad over whether Bubba’s Thomas Ornament can have the highest spot on the tree.  Typically it’s a battle between the Air Force ornament and Thomas with each of them inching higher and higher until Mom finally says NO MORE before the tree falls over.  This year, the Air Force Ornament was broken before the move, so the top spot for dad was his double bass ornament which we gave him last year.  I am sure he thought he was in the clear for top spot since Bubba isn’t hear, but Thomas had not made his appearance when the double bass went on the tree.  Chris took on the role of working Thomas into the ornament mix and getting him higher on the tree than the bass. Anthony would have been proud of him but as typical, Dad rules and the double bass now sits at the highest point.

Chris is the youngest but he is by far the most traditional of our children.  He’s the one that insists on things being as they always have, like watching a TV show all together, or certain foods at certain times and his newest one:  A bowl of ice cream while we all watch Naruto together.

Traditions.  I am sure we will make more as our time here goes by and I am sure my kids will make them wherever they are.

Adaptability. That’s what moving is all about. You know going in that you won’t have everything at your new location that you had at the last, and that when you leave you will miss some of the things you had here. You adjust. Over time things become an accepted norm for you. It’s those first few weeks that you miss routine and little things in your day to day life.  Here are a few of the things I miss.

1. Communication means. Yes, we have a US phone number through Vonage.  Yes, my cell phone does receive email and probably can dial out but I can’t seem to figure it out and have not gotten that to the top of my list of things to resolve. But eventually I know it will work.  I miss being able to pick up the phone and call Johnnie to say “hey grab bread on the way home” or stuff like that.  I can call the US but cannot figure out how to call his cell phone here!  Add  communication when we are out and about to the list too.  When we go to the store, we are arranging meet up points because I don’t have a phone.  Well I do have a phone, but it is a US phone and even if I had it figured out, go back to my previous comment about not being able to call him.  I think his cell phone must have some sort of restrictions on it.

2. Hot water.  We have hot water and plenty of it. It’s just that you have to run the faucet in the sink for about 30 minutes for it to work its way to the kitchen.  The tank is on the back of the house close to the bedrooms.  OK so on the positive side, if I had to choose on waiting 30 min for hot water for a shower versus 30 min for getting it to the kitchen sink I would wait on the dish washing for sure!

3.  A sprayer on my sink.  No dishwasher here which is ok, we can wash by hand after we wait the 30 min to get the hot water. But the dish soap is not the most potent stuff  and could use the boost of a sprayer to help suds it up.  No sprayer here.  Can’t add a sprayer so I’ll add dish soap to my commissary order when I get that process figured out.

4. Ice cubes.   I am an ice cruncher.  Having had an ice maker on the fridge for the past 10 years, it is sure tough to get used to going back to ice cube trays.  But I am adapting. I have even added a bowl of ice in the spare freezer for the moments when I grab the ice tray to find that no one thought it necessary to fill it up other than me! See my memory does still exist, I know that is exactly what happens when multiple people are using two small ice trays. The freezer on the fridge is extremely small so it is nice to have an extra freezer to use.

So just four things. There are more but really even these four (other than the communication) are not earth shattering.  We’re enjoying new things and adapting to change.  Neither Chris nor I do the adapting thing well so I think so far we’ve done better than anyone expected!