Chapter 13

The start of the fiesta on the 8^th began the previous Thursday, with the elementary school teachers. They put on a show of dancing and singing. And quite a show it was. There were 10 schools involved, each of which had their own costumes. The dancing was a little bit of artistic dance, but mostly modern dance moves.

Florida’s sister Adele is a teacher, and she told us we needed to be at the show by 7pm sharp, as it was a rather long show and they wanted to begin promptly.

Promptly at 8:15pm the show began. Filipino time, you see.

As I am a foreigner, I stand out like a Martian to these folks. Most children will smile as they pass by, and the occasional one will say ‘give me money’. But most are shy, except for these 4 above, who decided they were my best friends for the evening.

The first group, about 10 couples, put on a show that had the kids screaming at the moves. Some moves were not quite the moves you would expect elementary school teachers to know, but, apparently ‘shake your booty’ is not unknown here. As each group got up and did their piece, a mental image began to form, one I could not shake. Try as I might, I could not picture Mildred McCracken doing these sorts of dance moves.

The last group brought on the screams again. This time there was the Terminator, which everyone knows, so everyone was joining in on the singing, and even some 3 year olds were dancing along with the teachers.

What a nice way to bond with the students. Seeing your teacher having some ‘kid’ fun made the kids next to me quite proud of them.

On Friday, I looked at the unused room in Florida’s house. She lives in a Tri-level, the bottom floor (room) of which is only used for storage. Having seen the devastation the 2 children create in the living room and dining room, I suggested we make a Klubhouse in this spare room. So, off to the hardware store where I bought a gallon of Dutch Boy masonry paint, $11.34.

Unfortunately that did not even cover one wall, so the project was abandoned for the day.

Saturday, and 2 gallons further, the basic room was painted with the exception of one wall. We decided not to paint that wall as we are not sure what needs to be done to the structure, should an addition be added on. At one point during the painting, Florida was called upstairs, so I continued on. After a few minutes, I happened to glance at her paint brush thinking I should make sure it wouldn’t dry out, and I found Joshua concentrating on painting the cement block wall next to me. I was quite surprised, so I put my brush down and went to tell Florida to take a look. When we returned, Stefanny had picked up my brush and started in as well!

We let them continue. After a couple hours, they started to lose a bit of interest, so I went to my apartment and got some pens, pencils and highlighters. On one wall I drew (or actually traced) a picture of Jupiter. The kids immediately got the idea, and spent the rest of the day designing the ‘wallpaper’ for the Klubhouse. Soon there were adults adding to the design, although adults (except me) are not allowed in the Klubhouse. Actually, there are no girls allowed either, except for Stefanny.

Much to my dismay however, the toys in the Klubhouse remain neatly on their shelves. The disarray in the living room and kitchen remains the same. The kids do return some of the toys, in order to bring others out, but at least that one discipline has been installed.

Discipline. Not a big thing here in the Philippines. Children here are quite the Lords and Ladies of the manor. They rule the roost, and sometimes with an iron fist. Almost nothing is denied them, which makes some of them just a hair short of being gangsters. Others are quite cavalier, and accept the spoiling while remaining quite human. Joshua is one of those, while Stefanny tends to be leaning towards gangsterism. Having said that, she is a bit afraid of me, and when I call her by name, she stops whatever she is doing. Her mother, Atchi, is visiting (from Manila) for a couple weeks, and is amazed that she actually tries to behave. At times. Atchi is her nickname, her real name being Arcelin. She has finished her contract in Manila, and is waiting for a notice to go to Norway to work. Filipinos tend to send at least one member of a family abroad for work, in order to supplement their income.

Sunday lunch at Lydia’s. Lydia is a Filipino who was married to a foreigner, who unfortunately is not with us anymore. Maybe I mentioned that Pedro was pursuing Lydia, but if I did not, well, you have heard it first here. She is going to Italy in the next week or so, unless Pedro accomplishes a most difficult task. I am not sure if his attraction to her is matched, but perhaps he can put on a significant show by the 10^th to convince her not to leave.

To my amazement, I already knew Lydia; although I had met her at the last party, I did not recognize her, nor did she. She lives in a small neighborhood outside Guindelman, where I had a flat tire last March. An old gentleman tried to help me, and ushered me to Lydia’s house, who had an air compressor. Unfortunately it didn’t work, so we enlisted the help of another neighbor who removed the tire and wheel and then took me to a vulcanizer (a tire repairer). Cost me $1.

Anyway, having established our acquaintance, the party began. Many of the same people as the last party, only 2 people missing that I can account for, but many other people that I had never seen before. Lydia’s home is on a bluff overlooking the sea, a beautiful view. Rick lives next door to her and has the same view. The only thing wrong with that view is it takes a mountain goat to get down to the beach. I suppose if you don’t like the water, this would be perfect.

Lydia’s husband was Italian, and their home has a dining room that is L shaped. There are 2 long tables sitting 10 people each, and a circular table sitting 8. Some people ate outside overlooking the sea, where there is sitting for 8. Others just stood.

This is Lydia on the left, and Lanie on the right.

Always a video-oke!

Lechon (purchased from the lechon maker), lasagna (Lydia’s), potato salad (Ken U), rice cakes (Florida), some sort of beef, lots of different vegetable dishes, tempura, meatballs and spaghetti just to name some of the eats. One table was outfitted with desserts, which I didn’t get to, so I can’t describe what was there other than the rice cakes. Beer, red wine and daiquiris were the order of the day.

These parties all seem to start at 12, but I don’t know how long they last, as we tend to leave after 3 hours or so. Ken U drives an hour or so to get here, and he wants to get back to feed the pig, and as I feel, to keep from driving here in the dark. Ken D also leaves about that same time, as he feels 3 hours is an adequate time to see old friends but still keep away from serious political and religious discussions. Fits right in with my feelings.

Driving in the dark here is a traumatic experience. For the most part you will not encounter street lights, even in the most populated areas. However, you will run across unlighted motorbikes, tricycles, buses and cars. Quite often you will see people sitting in the road. This is the National Highway. People have a habit of looking only one way before crossing the road, which as you can imagine creates serious problems in the dark, let alone during the daylight hours. Speed being the order of the day, you are a definite traffic hazard if you travel 60 mph.

The next day was a normal day, up at 4am, walking at 4:30, stopping at the bakery for fresh pandisol, which is nothing other than a small roll, a basic staple for Filipino breakfasts.

At 7:45 Joshua and Stefanny are taken to school, which begins at 8am. This is Joshua, below.

Between then and 11:30, every sort of imaginable household activity is performed, sometimes by a group of 5 or 6 women. Laundry is hand-washed, as machines can never replace the deft hands of a Filipino woman. If the machine is used, the items are then hand-washed to ensure cleanliness.

And speaking of cleanliness, it is amazing how clean some Filipino homes are, even if all they have is a dirt floor. Each morning the entire outside of the home is brushed. Not swept, but brushed with a stiff broom. I think I mentioned before these brooms are very short, causing one to stoop over in order to perform the task. The kitchen (clean and dirty kitchen) is scoured each day, as is the comfort room. The floors are swept at least 3 times a day. Most homes do not have windows, so there are insects that feel welcome to join in the lunch. Lunch is an affair where one must keep one hand available to wave at the insects, primarily flies. Lunch is a constant waving of hands at times, especially if we eat in the salacote. Should a fly land on the rice, for example, that bit of rice is scooped away from the table. The thought of eating where a fly has landed causes shivers to run down the back, so it just isn’t done.

At lunchtime, Joshua has to change clothes, as he wants to play, and returning to school with sweat-stained clothes just isn’t done. As a matter of fact, Noel was here yesterday, as was his mother. He was busy doing odd jobs around the house, and his mother was helping in the dirty kitchen. Within the space of 90 minutes, Noel was sent home 3 times to change his t-shirt, which unfortunately had soaked up some beads of perspiration. It just simply won’t do to have even the slightest indication one has perspired.

Lunchtime over, and Joshua suited up again, he is taken back to school, but only after his backpack has a complete change of books. It is normal to have 6 books for the morning sessions and 6 different books for the afternoon. He is in 2^nd grade. On the surface this might be construed as a significant accomplishment. However, by all reports, one must not be lead by the volume of books, but by the actual use of those books.

Another thing that never ceases to amaze me is the methods the Filipinos use to keep cool. Mind you, temperatures here range from 82° to 86°, winter to summer. As t-shirts are the normal wear, you quite often will see the men with the bottom of the t-shirt rolled up to the chest. I originally thought that was a macho thing, but it actually isn’t. It is amazing how much cooler you can be. A simple Turkish hand towel is placed on the back, with the top of the towel reaching out from the t-shirt a couple inches. Seemed to me that would add extra heat, but it doesn’t. It soaks up the perspiration and keeps you dry (and if your mom is around it means you don’t have to change shirts so often).

Other things that are different include the exact opposite of American desires for a nice tan. Even on the hottest days it is common to see people wearing jackets, especially the women. Their desire is to have white skin, so no matter how hot, it is better to wear a jacket to keep from becoming ‘black’. Actually, they do not become black, but an intense brown, but as far as they are concerned, that is extremely unwanted. Just check out the local pharmacy to see how many products are there labeled ‘whitening’. An amazing industry, even more products than the American sun tanning industry. Unfortunately, if the whitening product is not put on smoothly and evenly, a patchwork quilt design appears quickly.

Tuesday brought on the Duero Fiesta Day. And what a day it was. I went to Tagbilaran early that morning to fetch my passport (with the new visa) and when I returned I was told that Marcy had come by 3 times during my absence to invite me to their fiesta. It is customary for some families to put on a fiesta each Fiesta Day, so friends and other family members can attend. As soon as I changed, off to Marcy’s bonsai garden to join the fun. John was there, as was Neville and Pedro. John’s wife Shirley, Neville’s wife Naomi, and Lydia was there as well, and a new face, Jim from Ireland. A beer was immediately shoved into my hand, and a plate of food. What a spread! Lots of stories told, some new, some old. One story told on the side, was that although Lydia was leaving the next day for Italy, Pedro would be vacating his apartment at the end of 6 months and taking up residence at Lydia’s place, when Lydia returns. Seems love conquered!

The next day Ken and Lanie appeared, and we all went to Tagbilaran with Ken and Marcy. Nothing special to do, just to be with friends. Ken and Lanie spent the night at my apartment, and then the next day they left at 6am to go back to Tagbilaran to do business that they had scheduled for the day. That evening they returned, and we had a nice easy supper by the seaside. The next morning they left again at 6am, and returned at lunch to pick up their things and return to Ubay. They intend on coming back next week, so I suspect that one day they will be searching for a place of their own.

The other day John wanted to see my apartment, as I will be giving it up sometime in the future, and he is interested in moving. Especially moving after 6 months as once Pedro moves out, he will be the lone foreigner there, and he has grown accustomed to having other ‘long-noses’ around him. We are known as the ‘long nose’ people by the Filipinos. And said in the nicest possible way, mind you.

Unfortunately, the apartment is too small for John, but, he has a French friend who has been looking for a nice quiet place to continue writing a book, and he told John he is very interested in my apartment but will not return from France until mid-January. His name, believe it or not, is Doudou.

I have been using Atchi’s camera, so I am able to send a couple pictures with this issue. The picture of the apartment was taken from the low tide position, which is actually extended now as the last typhoon brought in a shelf-like peninsula extending out into the sea.

For the past 2 weeks, Stefanny and her friends have been practicing their school spectacular dance special every evening. This is while Feliz Navidad is played at full blast on the stereo. In order to keep time, the kids sing along while dancing, with Navidad ranging from Natiodad to Naughtydad. The average plays of this song each night is 43. Every night.

I’m Dreaming Of A White Christmas will not be on my mind this year.

That’s about it for this time, more coming!

Chapter 12

Chapter 12
Chapter 12 It appears like the next few days, if not weeks, will be full of activities. As those things will be slightly unusual, and the fact that I am getting older, I will try to provide a diary so I can put the information in each day before I forget what happened. Friday 27-Nov-09 See what I mean? I have forgotten what happened already and it is only Sunday. Seems to me that it rained, the remainder of the last typhoon. Two islands appeared in front of my home, stone washed in by the seas. A little further down the beach, where a river from the mountain flows into the sea, a gully has appeared, obviously because of the heavy run-off. So, faced with periodic rain, I stayed around the house, enjoying the fresh air brought in by the rain. Fresh sea air and fresh rain air are different, each has their own particularities, but both exceedingly fresh. By mid-morning the rain disappeared, and Ken and Marcy called to say we were invited to a foreigner’s house for a birthday party. So, we joined them in their car and drove about 20 minutes to a small subdivision, where John (I think I mentioned him in the last chapter, but if I didn’t, he is an Englishman and his Filipino wife; I met them last week) and Shirley were hosting a party for Pedro, a Swiss. Ok, Pedro is not a Swiss name, his real name is Peter. He spent quite a lot of time working in Mexico, and became known as Pedro there, and it sort of stuck. Pedro is looking for a Filipino bride. He hasn’t had a lot of luck so far, but, he is still trying. He had a girlfriend, a very similar situation to mine. He found he could not afford the whole family (hither-to unknown to him to be as extensive as it was), and that the girl was only interested in the money, so… Nice guy, a little difficult to understand, the German accent being quite broad. Pedro is originally from St. Gallen, but has not lived there for some time, his job taking him on travels around the world. Pedro has a home in the same subdivision as John, but his home is still somewhat under construction, so John offered to host the party, with Pedro supplying the food and funds needed to complete the drinks and eats. Ken and Lanie from Ubay were invited by Ken and Marcy. That is a very Filipino custom, whether it is a birthday party, wedding, funeral or family doings. Extra people are invited by the invitees. Get used to it. And expect they will want to take doggy bags back to the folks unable to crash the party. Jeffrey appeared, an Englishman who spent his years from 22 years old until now, about 50 or so, in South Africa. A rather large man, extremely red-faced, he also has his stories about his first relationship here. Believe it or not, just as in America, there are good Filipinos and there are bad Filipinos. His girlfriend is a very little young woman; I swear she looks to be a skinny 13 year old, but in fact she is over 20 and already has a small child. Her waist appears to be about 18 inches. I am told she is a superb cook, and with the elimination of Jeffrey’s income by the first relationship, very often they do not have money for meals. She scours the surrounding jungle for food, and as I was told, she will then offer one of the best meals you could ever have. Derrick and Neville (also Englishmen) appeared later, with their wives. Both appear to be in their 60’s, perhaps even 70. And both wives are in their early 20’s. The Filipinos seem to look upon age differences with an extremely cavalier attitude, as compared to the American viewpoint. Love (or need of money) counteracts any age difference. Seeing a 70 year old with a 20 year old does not cause people to stop and stare, it is ignored (of course unless you know the 70 year old or the 20 year old, then you ignore and as soon as possible start talking about them). No difference basically between America and The Philippines. John, being the excellent host he is, immediately started pressuring us to have a beer, which was graciously denied by Ken D and me, Ken being an alcoholic and I being stubbornly accustomed to the dusk happy hour and this was only 11:30 in the morning. But, by 12 noon, he won, and I joined the party. There was an Indonesian there, a fellow called Rick. Nice fellow, very pleasant to talk to, but very silent about his own life, so I really don’t know too much about him. I do know he also lived in St. Gallen, and is retired now with his wife. I understand he frequents these get-togethers, so I will try to learn more about him at the next doings. Then Daniel appeared. Daniel is a German Swiss, a little unusual in that he sports earrings on both ears. His wife did not accompany him, for whatever reason. Daniel’s hobby is producing his own spirits. Apparently he has a rather large distillery in his home, and concocts many different drinks. He has one caveat to giving or selling his product. He does the taste tests on each and every product, which entails consumption of at least half of the lot. As a consequence, it seems to be difficult for any of his acquaintances to remember him being sober. A few other people arrived, wives (but no husbands) and widows. In fact, there was one widow that Pedro is interested in, so he spent much of the time following her trying to convince her not to go to Italy next week to work for 6 months. A typical husband and wife party, the women inside helping prepare the meal and the men outside telling stories, some true, some not, some clean, some not. An extraordinary meal, Filipino lechon (roasted pig), English braised potatoes, French side dishes, Chinese vegetables, along with several desserts, both Filipino and English. One dessert in particular was Mango Float. If you ever….. Graham crackers, condensed milk or cream, and of course, mangos are the main ingredients. What they do to it, I have no idea, but if you ever….. Florida tells me she knows how to make it, so it is on the agenda to be made soon. For me. And only me. I will not invite anyone. All in all, a wonderful time. About 3:30 we left, having spent 4 hours there. The beer was still flowing, and as we left, James (another Englishman) showed up with his wife. I suppose this party was still going well after supper, as I am told this is modus operandi. Saturday 28-Nov-09 Stefanny turned 9 today. She had to go to school for a few hours, a review was being held, so we had decided to have a class party. Early this morning, Florida, her mother, Pia, Leonora and a gay called Palatine (Pal-a-teen), a neighbor, began making the meal. Spaghetti. Filipino Spaghetti. Filipino Spaghetti is your basic Italian Spaghetti with one exception. Sugar. Yup, sweet spaghetti. Many times this dish is offered as a type of dessert instead of an entrée. To make this in the amounts needed, they used the dirty kitchen instead of the clean kitchen. I don’t remember if I have mentioned this before, but, the typical Filipino house has 2 kitchens. One inside, like the Americans, using gas or electric, and one outside, using firewood or charcoal. Dirty kitchen denotes the state of the area around the stove, the obvious blackening due to the flames and smoke of the wood or charcoal. Different utensils are used for each kitchen, and in this case a huge wok-like frying pan was used to prepare the sauce. This pan is approximately 30 inches across, and roughly 10 inches deep. Boiling the noodles was done in a couple 5 gallon pots. Hours later, the spaghetti was made, but not before lunch was served. Lunch was a type of pork, but put basically in a hush puppy style, breaded (sort of) and fried; steak fritters (don’t know how to describe them other than fritters), also fried; steamed fish (using a recipe Florida learned in Hong Kong); and a vegetable dish I cannot possibly describe other than it had lots of vegetables in it along with camote tops. Camote tops are nothing other than the leaves of a potato-like vegetable. By the way, sweet potatoes are boiled and then eaten as a sweet. Because of the steak fritters, we had banana catsup. Yup, banana catsup. Doesn’t have a spicy taste like tomato catsup, but, is red (red bananas????) and has the basic flavor. Very unusual to taste however. So, Noel (Florida’s nephew) went to town to collect the cake in the multi-cab, and then returned to pick up people to go to the school party. The class was intended to last 3 hours as a review, but the first hour and a half was pure party. After class finished, Stefanny and most of her close friends raced home to continue the party, and we were visited by Florida’s cousin, his wife, and his 2 children from a previous relationship. Bicycles were racing around the house (outside), with an occasional foray through the inside. People were in the salacote (the outside meeting room, made of nepa and bamboo), in the house, on the lawn and outside the surrounding fence. Someone came by selling rice cakes, so we added that to the feast. I had been having a little problem with my back, a vertebrae which seemed to have slipped out of place, so Florida had texted the mountain man who apparently is far better than a bone-cruncher. Once he arrived, with his wife, he first worked on Erica, the one year old, who had a cough. After the massage she was given some sort of concoction, a leave from a tree boiled in water and who knows what. Within hours, the cough was gone. So, I was next. He and his wife worked on me for an hour. Very unusual massage, being four hands working me from the top of my head to the bottoms of my feet at the same time. Instead of the typical bone-crushing, he used a method I will call the push-push method. Standing at my head, he pushed his palms down my backbone to approximately half-way, where the offending vertebrae were laying. Doing this for about 7 minutes, each time pressing harder and harder, it did not hurt, but the pressure I felt was intense and all the while his wife was working on my leg muscles. Then he moved to my feet and did the opposite, pushing up from just above my tailbone to the offending vertebrae, all the while his wife working on my neck. Another 7 minutes or so of this, then he had me turn on my side. A torturing 10 minutes of pressure on my hips and then a sort of relief by focusing on my thighs. Jeez. Then he had me turn to the other side and repeated the same actions, all the time his wife was working just below my shoulder, and under the shoulder blade. To wrap things up, he then had me return to my stomach, and I again received an entire body massage by both of them. I asked about the charges, and was told 200 pesos ($4). Being the rich and giving person I am, I dug deep into my pockets and gave them a $2 tip. Amazing how an extra $2 widens the smiles by 3 inches. Absolutely amazing. By 9pm I was totally exhausted, but the kids, like normal kids worldwide, they could not be stopped. It was very obvious that the moment one fell down, they all would break into tears, being so worn out that one trigger for one will trigger them all. We had a difficult time running them down, and then settling them, but a huge pot of hot chocolate helped, as well as the decorating of the Christmas tree growing in front of the house. 10pm and all is well. Sunday 29-Nov-09 Dawn arrived, and I was already on my daily walk. I say daily, because it is my intention to continue this walk each morning, somewhere between 4am and 5:30. It is only my sixth morning walk, so maybe a little early to determine it is now habit, but, I fully intend to continue. Only time will tell if my commitment is what I intend it to be. Florida and I, and sometimes Joshua, walk to town, a distance of 1.3 kilometers, and sometimes we go beyond, perhaps another 1km, and then stop on our way back at the bakery for fresh rolls. Invariably there is some missing by the time we are back home. I don’t know anyone that can truly ignore warm bakery day after day. On occasion we meet one or the other of the ‘crazy’ people, folks whose minds seem to have left them, and some bakery is handed over. Generally we receive no thanks, that being beyond these folks communications ability, but that is ok, we know they are thankful. Breakfast is sort of a give and take situation. During the week, with school happening, mass confusion exists. Of course, there are only 2 children in this house, but, Pia is getting ready for her work, and Leonora checks in with some food as well as her son Noel, who lends to the general confusion by talking to everyone at once. Jona may or may not appear with Erica which then causes Joshua to forget all about school and gets busy playing with her. Today was a little more confusing, as Adele and RR (the sister from the mountain) spent the night because of Stefanny’s birthday, as well as their son. The son does not speak English at all, but he and I spend a lot of time smiling at each other. I would guess him to be 9, almost 10, and he is a most industrious fellow. His name is Lester, and at 4am when the day had begun, there he was, wrapping up the mosquito net and the sheets and blankets. Once finished he began to sweep the lawn, from front to rear, and then moved on to Florida’s bedroom, which has a floor made of the tougas wood. Inserting his foot into a half a coconut which had the meat removed, he began to ice-skate across the floor, applying pressure by leaning into the coconut. With the meat removed, only the fibers are left, which act as a polish to the wood. One day I will take pictures of this floor, it is most beautiful. At 9am Ken D appeared at the gate, the technicians for his phone had arrived so he wanted my help. Yesterday I tried to get his computer to connect to the internet (dial-up), but couldn’t. I called the hotline but the phone lines were so terrible I could not understand a word the technician was saying. It was like he had a mouth full of potatoes in the middle of a typhoon. I vaguely heard he would send a technician on Monday, but he appeared today, Sunday. Once the phone was taken changed I helped Ken get online, as he was anxiously waiting news about his brother in Florida. You may have heard about the 19 year old woman who crashed through a home, knocking a man out of bed. That was Ken’s 80 year old brother. Without the internet, Ken could not find out how he was, and was understandably upset over the inadequacies of dialup internet. There is digging going on right now in front of our home, the eventual internet cable system. The cable will be going entirely around the island, and is being dug by hand. Somewhere close to 40 men and boys work 6 days a week on this, and started months ago in Tagbilaran. There are no guesses as to when it will be live, but everyone is anxious. Having corrected the problem, I returned back to Florida’s to have a cup of coffee and engage in the general nonsense going on. Ken D had invited us to the garden at 1:30 to meet another American, so I got busy trying to sort things out for the rest of the day before going on the visit. Amazing how easy to let things ride when you are busy with family fun. At 1:30 Florida and I went to the garden, and met Seth, from Portland Oregon. Seth came here 12 years ago, and lived in Mabini, a remote village. Last year he returned to the states to resume teaching, a temporary assignment in Yuma Arizona. Three weeks into the job and he had a stroke, and had to quit. The purpose of him teaching again was to earn a bit more money to help finish building their home. Now, not being able to do so, he is living in Tagbilaran instead of completing the home, which he has now sold. It was a pleasant couple hours, if quiet. Seth is not a conversationalist, but Ken and I made more than enough noise to cover his silence. Then supper, in mass confusion. Monday 30-Nov-09 Today was Joshua’s 7th birthday. From dawn, preparations were made, which needed Florida, Rita (Florida’s mother), Adele (sister from the mountains), Leonora (sister down the street), Nora (next door cousin), Pia (sister) and Palatine (gay). The roster of gophers goes like this: Noel (nephew), Jona (niece-in-law), Elmer (brother-in-law), me, various children, and some unknown friends dropping in as early as 6am. By 10 am the first visitors arrived, Ken and Lanie from Ubay, with Lanie’s daughter, Erika, and the celebration began. Erika walked to the back yard, then out the fence to see the ocean. She immediately turned around and told her mother she wanted to move here. Erika is 13 and is one of the most popular students in Ubay, but she is prepared to transfer to school here. This is a gorgeous place. After coffee and pastries, we walked down to Mercy’s bonsai garden, and talked for about an hour before all of us, including Ken and Marcy, returned to Florida’s home. Lunch was served, New York Sandwich (more about that later), La Roca Beef (Bif), fish, a vegetable concoction (thank me for some of that, I did the carrots) resembling a cold salad, spaghetti, fish tempura, rice, squid, pansit (and more about that later as well), plus others too many to mention. La Roca Beef is Palatine’s specialty, the beef being pounded to pieces, and cut into small strips the evening before, then placed into a secret marinade. In the morning he breaded and then fried the beef, and I must say it was most tasty. I am not a beef fan, so I am extremely picky about my beef. Desserts. Ok, now about Mango Float. 1. In a pan, place a thin layer of graham cracker crumbs. 2. Next pour a coating of cream. 3. Float a layer of sliced mango. 4. Float a layer of graham cracker crumbs. 5. Float a layer of cream. 6. Float a layer of sliced mango. 7. Float a layer of graham cracker crumbs. 8. Continue the process until the pan is filled, the last layer being graham cracker crumbs. 9. Place in the freezer. 10. Eat. Now you know, there is no excuse. Do it. Immediately after lunch, the video-oke was brought out. Florida’s brother, Martin, made this video-oke, and it is an extremely professional piece of equipment. Some 10,000 songs are on this, from English to Visaya. Palatine immediately started to serenade us, with Ken U stepping in within minutes. Soon, almost all were busy singing, laughing and joking about the participants. Three o’clock rolled around, and the first children began to arrive. Joshua had invited 3 of his friends, which was all he wanted, so Florida had invited a few more, about 5 more or so. As the children began to arrive, the adults took their leave. I had purchased 15 miniature yo-yo’s as gifts for the kids, expecting no more than about 8 or so, but I knew I had to be a little more generous, hence the 15. 34 children appeared; each of the original 8 invited a few more of their own guests. I was really concerned about only 15 yo-yo’s, but Florida said no mind, the children understand. And they did. The yo-yo’s were given out randomly, and each of the children were told there were only so many available so everyone must share. Amazingly there was no arguments, no tears. This culture is so giving and sharing. I don’t know if that is a Philippine trait, or just a Visaya trait. Remembering what I was told before I arrived, the Visaya peoples are the friendliest and most generous people compared to any other peoples. Ok, back to the food. Most of you will know a sandwich called Croque Monsieur, or at least that is how I remember it being spelled. This house has a substitute for that, however, as they have never heard of a Croquet Monsieur, perhaps it is more proper to say that they have their own brand of sandwiches here. Called a New York Sandwich, it is a very simple sandwich. 1. On a slice of bread, place a slice of ham. 2. On the ham, place a slice of cheese. 3. Roll the bread, ham and cheese into a tight roll. 4. Dip the bread roll into a beaten egg. 5. Roll the bread roll in soda cracker crumbs, or bread crumbs. 6. Fry for a few minutes. 7. Eat. Mustard is uncommon here, but I highly suggest it be used. This is a simple sandwich, easily made, and as good as the ingredients might be. Never mind the use of Wonder bread, or any such common bread. Pansit. What can I say about pansit? Pansit, on the surface, appears to be a number of different size noodles, with beef and/or chicken and/or pork pieces, carrot pieces, as well as other vegetable pieces, cooked, some soy, and who knows what else. Pansit is found all over this island, and a generous helping for two will cost slightly more than a dollar. The recipes for pansit are as varied as the villages. Each one seems to have a different recipe, and all are tasty. Ok, or, as they say in Visaya, sige (pronounced si-gie, means ok), after food, cake and ice cream, lots of coca-cola, the kids alternately rode the bicycles around the house and sang to the video-oke. And sing they did, as loud as they could, mostly off-key. It was wonderful. Many of the kids took advantage of me by taking my picture, as they don’t come in contact very often with foreigners and wanted to prove to their parents that they knew one. At one point we gained another visitor, one of the crazy ones, who let himself through the gate, and sat down unobtrusively near the back gate to listen to the singing. At 8pm, Palatine started rounding up everyone to send home. By that time we wouldn’t have minded all of them staying overnight, just as long as we could sleep. Tuesday 01-Dec-09 I had to go to Tagbilaran to renew my visa. Once again, I was able to get the yearly visa, although I am not eligible as I am not married. I found out a little about this process. The government issues this visa stamp, with a number assigned to that individual. Should that individual leave the country, or die, that number is never assigned to another. However, as the number remains in perpetuity, it is available to the immigration officers. Last year my visa belonged to a dead man, but the number unfortunately was smudged in the process of being stamped. So, this year, a different immigration office and officer, I will once again have a visa. I paid my fee ($206) and will have my passport and visa returned to me next week. The officer will take it to Cebu, on another island, and have it stamped properly (sige, sige, maybe a little smudged). A little shopping, then returning to Duero on a perfect day, helmet-less. I know, very dangerous. But… Wednesday 02-Dec-09 Ok, a normal day, finally. Up at 3:30 (don’t ask me why, I’ll tell you no lies), then a nice walk from 4 to 5. Back to the house for breakfast, rice, squid and steamed fish leftover from yesterday. Can’t go wrong. Just a nice, easy day. Spent a large amount of time watching the ocean, which seemed to be extra calm, almost like a mirror. Funny how that works, so rough for days, then so calm for a couple days. December 8 is the town fiesta day, so lots of parades, music, eats, disco, gambling and fun times on that day. I am hoping the next 5 or 6 days quiet down a little, I could use the rest