I am a little disappointed that I don't have any great photos to show of the Thanksgiving festivities in the Philippines. That's entirely because it's an uniquely American holiday -- most Filipinos are totally unaware of Thanksgiving or only know of it casually from some television program or Hollywood film. That said, my "host" family put together a very nice rendition of a holiday feast -- Filipino chicken (in place of the turkey), some roast beef, mashed potatoes (the potatoes are somehow different but still good), gravy, vegetables, and some type of "cake" with a super-sweet syrup on top. There were some rolls and butter (maple flavored butter, at that), Sprite and Coke -- I probably left something out, but that's about it. All in all, it was a very good meal and I confess I haven't been that full since departing the US nearly three weeks ago.
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| Christmas decorations at Peter's Restaurant |
I woke up early on Friday morning to the sound of my phone ringing -- my family from in the US was calling to wish a happy Thanksgiving. They had just finished eating there celebration feast and were calling the far-off traveler to offer him good wishes and expressions of how much they missed him. I fell back asleep and enjoyed a quiet morning. I've not slept-in much here, so this was a holiday treat for me. At the time of this writing, Thursday in the US has passed and is now moving on to another American holiday . . . Black Friday. This is also unheard of here in the Philippines. I haven't seen much in the way of Christmas-themed shopping except in the big mall in Tagbilaran. They had a Christmas decorations store set up in one of those open areas in the central concourse. It was interesting to see what types of decorations they had to offer. But . . . I have yet to see any signs of big holiday sales. Maybe closer to Christmas, but so far, it seems like business as usual.
It is rather humorous to hear Christmas music blaring at all times of the day and night. Many of the little shops and sari-sari stores have music playing. The motorcycle repair shops and the tire shops (seems to be a popular business) all have music playing. Many of the Jeepneys passing by have music playing. So its rather an interesting auditory experience. Oh. . . . and in the Philippines, just be prepared to hear your neighbor's music. They play it loud and are in no way concerned if it bothers you. Deal with it.
I did see an interesting sight last night coming home from my Thanksgiving feast. One of the motorcycle shops had a single strand of Christmas lights festooning its little repair bay and a couple of partially disassembled tricycles were parked in front of it. I didn't have my camera or else you'd have that picture in front of you right now. Maybe when I come home from dinner tonight it will still be lit up and still be as curiously interesting as it was last night. It brought a smile to my face.
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| Filipino schoolgirls in their uniforms. |
Speaking of smiles, I had gone into the market to buy a soda . . . just an excursion to get out into the culture. I visited Peter's Restaurant again and ordered a 7 Up and a piece of what they call Choco-German bread. Nothing chocolate about it and nothing German about it either -- who knows. They had the store decorated with some rather gaudy giant Christmas ornaments along the one window. That's it. Rather amusing I thought, but it is what it is. Again, the Filipinos make the best of whatever situation they have. Oh . . . I was talking about smiles. On the way back I took a slightly different route. Instead of walking along the main road like I have always done, I opted to take a residential street just off the market place. I had figured that it intersected with the road my favorite little eatery is on and so would be a more peaceful walk. The main road is full of traffic all the time and you really need to mind what is coming at you from all directions. This other road did not have that. No . . . it had something else. I had paid no attention to the time, but school was just letting out, and I as walked home down this new road, I suddenly found myself going the wrong way against a sea of school girls. Hundreds of school girls. I don't know where the boys all went, but there were very few mixed in the with girls. Anyway, I've already had the experience of getting "comments" from the school girls passing by. They smile, say hello or , one even told me that she loved me ( I think she was 12). But it has always been just groups of 2 or 3 -- not hundreds in a mad press to leave school for the weekend. It's not that I'm some handsome hunk -- it's just that I'm a foreigner and they like foreigners. That's all it takes to get their admiration. And so, here I was, for about ten minutes, the target of countless quips, a few cat calls (yep - cat calls), and literally hundreds of smiles. I will have no problem taking that same route again, but I do think I will check my watch the next time to avoid school letting out. I just don't need that kind of attention.
Well that's it for today. Hoping for a photo of that motorcycle repair shop for tomorrow's article.
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