You know you're not in America when....
Trip Start
Mar 27, 2004
1
6
15
Trip End
Jun 27, 2007
Bayombong,
Philippines
Saturday, May 28, 2005
2. When a child does something like throws fop at the dinner table and the parents just say 'Oh that baby' rather than disciplining them. I think since the community where we are staying is mostly just mothers and kids because the husbands went to Saudi Arabia to work. This is the case in a lot of Filipino families. They get paid a lot more mo9ney over seas and send back cash to support the family.
3. You make pseudo tacos for dinner (can't find lettuce used Chinese cabbage, taco shells used bite size tortilla chips or cheese used processed eden cheese food). The family gets out the white rice. When you explain that tacos don't include rice you realize that you are serving a mierienda not a dinner. Mierienda is the snack between both breakfast and lunch and lunch and dinner. It usually consists of pansit (noodles) and some sauce or cookies and juice. Lots of sugar and starches here. Atkins would never fly. Any meal with out rice is not considered a meal. The next day at breakfast my host brother, JoPhil said we skipped dinner the night before!
4. You haven't seen a butter knife the entire stay and wonder if you even remember how to use one. A large spoon and fork are used to eat everything here even to cut meat! Or sometimes in some areas just the hands are used, it especially makes it easy to separate the fish meat from the bones.
5. A sandwich: 2 pieces of bread with butter or mayo spread-no caked in between.
6. When a cashier at the grocery store asks 'YOu want to marry a Filipino?' Every one asks this and says it will make the most beautiful skin tone. Another friend of ours said we should marry a Filipino and upgrade their height.
7. Every kid you pass asks where are you going and what is your name. In English but when you respond with what is your name they just laugh and get all shy.
8. You take a drink of Red Horse and you wonder if the newest ingredient is fish to add to the already delicious combo of gin and beer. The Red horse was stored, I assume next to the fish in the frig....not really sure though.
9. While at the Internet cafe you 'accidently glance over the cubicle wall and see two Filipinos making out in complete silence. PDA is looked down upon here so it the young and old people have to show affection in private only even if married!
10. You're stuck in traffic behind a herd of cattle. Well actually this could happen in the states some places...but not where I am from!
11. You see a lalaki (boy) carrying a hello kitty bag and it ain't no thing.
12. Everyone's pinky toe hangs over the edge of their sandal! Not sure exactly why maybe arch problems.
13. Your meeting with the barangay (city) officials gets cancelled because there are free circumsions that day. National circumsion month was last month and local doctors provide this service free of charge to the people. Mostly younger boys. I didn't go though so IU really don't know.
Comments
mmm, fish beer....
Hey how could you miss National Circumcision day? It's like Christmas except with genital mutilation instead of toys! And what's wrong with Hello Kitty, anyway?