Recently, I've been missing home quite a lot. With David gone, wedding planning begun, Christmas arriving, and applying for jobs, my head and heart are pretty much in the U.S. most of the time. In my quest to soothe some of my longings for home, I decided to make rice krispie treats. I don't know about you, but to me rice krispies are A. Delicious! B. Easy to make and C. A typical American treat. So off I headed to the local grocery story to grab some ingredients.
But when I arrived at the supermarket a terrible thing happened. There was no rice krispies cereal to be found! I had been craving rice krispie treats for days, it would have been horrible to turn back now. I already had two bags of marshmallows in my hands! Luckily I came across Coco Pops, basically chocolate rice krispies. While I love the simplicity of rice krispies and marshmallows, chocolate never made anything worse...
Two batches later my roommate and I have eaten about 20 of these treats, I've shared with my friends here, and most recently I brought them on travel with me. I'm currently in Cotabato finishing up my work with some last minute interviews. In the afternoon today I offered the treats to my co-workers. None of them had seen such a thing before and I think were quite skeptical. But they were sweet enough to me to at least try them. As I walked around the car one of my co-workers came upon me with his eyes wide, a big smile on his face and a huge bite taken out of his rice krispie/coco pops treat. "You must open a store, you must open a store in Davao and sell these, you can make them different flavors, they are so good...!" And a few minutes later, "You can cook! You must get married, you can cook!" After informing him that I indeed was getting married and I was so happy he enjoyed the sweets I made, I couldn't help giggling to myself. I spread the joy that is rice krispie treats to the Philippines. Also, I'm glad the easiest thing I know how to make is all the proof I need to show that I can cook! Hopefully David is looking forward to long years together marked by many rice krispie treats to eat!
On a side note, last year I joked that I would create an NGO called "Cupcakes for Peace." Basically the idea is that I will make the most delicious sweets ever and bring them to intense negotiations and diplomatic meetings among warring parties. The amazingness of these sweets will make everyone so happy that peace will be made with ease (this idea isn't too far from the serious fact that peacebuilders do have to be aware of the environment they set when facilitating an intense mediation session). I'm pretty sure the joy I saw in my co-worker over my rice krispie treats continues to prove my idea that sweets can really change the world!
Next up: Christmas season in the Philippines!
Tuesday, November 30, 2010
Monday, November 8, 2010
To the Market
Here are some beautiful pictures David took of the local market here. This market is right near my office and gym, so its where I buy most of my food.
Giant Siopao
I forgot to include this photo in my previous food entry, but that's okay, this picture deserves an entry all its own. Here is a photo of David's cousin Renato holding GIANT Siopao. Siopao is a Filipino food made of a steamed bun with different meat (or bean?) fillings. Usually Siopao is about a third or half of this size, but this Siopao is famous in Manila for its enormity. This Siopao is so special that the Mayor of Manila, during a hostage crisis a few months ago in the city, a tense situation in which several people were killed and the government was harshly criticized for its poor response, just couldn't resist and slipped away in the middle of the stand-off to go to the nearby restaurant that makes these specialties to eat some famous giant Siopao. Its that awesome...
All Soul's and All Saint's Day
All Soul’s and All Saint’s Day are big holidays here in the Philippines. Usually the entire family gets together and spends either one day or more (sometimes sleeping overnight) at the cemetery. From what I understand some people throw huge parties, but recently there have been some laws and rules put in place to keep the noise and drunkenness down. But most people just spend time picnicking, saying prayers, and spending some quality time with the family. David and I were able to spend October 31 at the cemetery, visiting his grandparents, and multiple aunts and uncles who have died. We also met and spent time with tons of his living relatives.
Manila Memorial Park:
Tents are put up around the burial sites for the family to picnic:
While visiting the cemetery is a Filipino tradition, David's father's side of the family is ethnically Chinese. The red candles and incense represent the Chinese tradition of honoring the dead. Below is a picture of the grave of David's paternal grandparents.
Another Chinese tradition is the burning of paper money, first for the gods, and then for the deceased. Here is what some of the money for the gods looks like:
Burning the paper:
After all the money is burnt, we get to eat!
Manila Memorial Park:
Tents are put up around the burial sites for the family to picnic:
While visiting the cemetery is a Filipino tradition, David's father's side of the family is ethnically Chinese. The red candles and incense represent the Chinese tradition of honoring the dead. Below is a picture of the grave of David's paternal grandparents.
Another Chinese tradition is the burning of paper money, first for the gods, and then for the deceased. Here is what some of the money for the gods looks like:
Burning the paper:
After all the money is burnt, we get to eat!
My Trip to Manila
After getting engaged, David and I jetted to Manila for a week to visit with his family. David's last visit was seven years ago! We were able to visit pretty much every relative David still has in the Philippines. Our schedules were jam packed with travel, good food, fun places, and quality time with my new family-to-be. Here's the week in pictures (David and I took a ton more, they'll be up on facebook soon!)
First, a meal (of course!) with David's mom's side of the family:
We then spent a couple of days touring Intramuros. Intramuros is the old city of Manila, where the Spanish built their fort in the 16th century. Intramuros was almost completely destroyed during World War II, so almost everything is a reconstruction.
This is part of the wall of the old Spanish fort:
Behind these walls is where Philippine national hero Jose Rizal spent time in jail before he was executed by the Spanish. Below is an actual size statue of Rizal (He was only 5'2") in the area where he said his last prayers before execution. The spot pictured used to be a chapel:
The surrounding area of the old city (to the right in the below photo), which used to be a moat, is now a golf course to help pay for the cost of upkeep of Intramuros.
Below is San Agustin church. It is the oldest church in the Philippines and just about the only thing to avoid being destroyed in World War II. The Japanese help American and Filipino hostages here so the U.S. avoided bombing it.
The Manila Cathedral, the second oldest church in the Philippines. This was destroyed in World War II, so the building pictured here is a reconstruction:
Visiting Tagatay, a mountain resort area:
The resort we went to had a small zoo!
Visiting Villa Escudero, an old coconut hacienda or plantation, turned into a resort. One of the attractions of this resort is being driven around by carabao:
This was my favorite carabao, an albino carabao named Pogi (meaning handsome):
Another attraction is eating lunch in a river, at the bottom of a manmade waterfall, which is an old dam used for electricity in the early 1900s.
Back to Davao, land of the Durian!
First, a meal (of course!) with David's mom's side of the family:
We then spent a couple of days touring Intramuros. Intramuros is the old city of Manila, where the Spanish built their fort in the 16th century. Intramuros was almost completely destroyed during World War II, so almost everything is a reconstruction.This is part of the wall of the old Spanish fort:
Behind these walls is where Philippine national hero Jose Rizal spent time in jail before he was executed by the Spanish. Below is an actual size statue of Rizal (He was only 5'2") in the area where he said his last prayers before execution. The spot pictured used to be a chapel:
The surrounding area of the old city (to the right in the below photo), which used to be a moat, is now a golf course to help pay for the cost of upkeep of Intramuros.
Below is San Agustin church. It is the oldest church in the Philippines and just about the only thing to avoid being destroyed in World War II. The Japanese help American and Filipino hostages here so the U.S. avoided bombing it.
The Manila Cathedral, the second oldest church in the Philippines. This was destroyed in World War II, so the building pictured here is a reconstruction:
Visiting Tagatay, a mountain resort area:
The resort we went to had a small zoo!
Visiting Villa Escudero, an old coconut hacienda or plantation, turned into a resort. One of the attractions of this resort is being driven around by carabao:
This was my favorite carabao, an albino carabao named Pogi (meaning handsome):
Another attraction is eating lunch in a river, at the bottom of a manmade waterfall, which is an old dam used for electricity in the early 1900s.
Back to Davao, land of the Durian!
I think all of you who read this blog (unless you are a random stranger) now know that I am engaged. Of course it wasn't official until it was on facebook, and to me its not official official until it makes it to my blog. So here it is internet world -- I'm engaged!
David and I got engaged when we spent some time at Pearl Farm, a beach resort in Davao. David tells our engagement story much better than I do, so maybe he can be a guest blogger here! Mostly we are so excited to be able to gather all of our friends and family members to celebrate our wedding next year. I've just started a bit of planning here and there and I really hope it remains stress free!
So here are a few informal engagement photos/just some nice pictures of David and me for those of you who are interested!
(I know, I know, I'm a terrible friend to you all and have no close-ups of the ring, soon, soon)
David and I got engaged when we spent some time at Pearl Farm, a beach resort in Davao. David tells our engagement story much better than I do, so maybe he can be a guest blogger here! Mostly we are so excited to be able to gather all of our friends and family members to celebrate our wedding next year. I've just started a bit of planning here and there and I really hope it remains stress free!
So here are a few informal engagement photos/just some nice pictures of David and me for those of you who are interested!
(I know, I know, I'm a terrible friend to you all and have no close-ups of the ring, soon, soon)
S & R Warehouse
A Filipino version of Costco! A must visit in Manila!
And it seems I'm not the only person from Minnesota in Manila enjoying this American comfort:
Check out this blog
Seriously though, I don't usually shop at these places in the U.S., but it was fun to see basically the exact same thing in your country (layout, food, brands) in a foreign place!
And it seems I'm not the only person from Minnesota in Manila enjoying this American comfort:Check out this blog
Seriously though, I don't usually shop at these places in the U.S., but it was fun to see basically the exact same thing in your country (layout, food, brands) in a foreign place!
Kaina! (Let's Eat!)
In the Philippines meals are the main event, a race, a feast, and an important social and family ritual. As I've mentioned before most Filipinos partake in 5-7 meals today (three main meals and then several snacks). My impression is that Filipinos have an amazing love of life, which comes in the form of a laidback lifestyle, amazing artistic and musical talent, and most obviously a, perhaps unparalleled, gusto for good food. While in Manila visiting family David and I were busog (full) basically 24 hours a day. Each meal was large and long. The meal was the main activity and space to renew our relationships with our family members. We did other stuff in between the meals, like sit in traffic or visit tourist spots, but it was always clear that the most important time was spent sharing in meals. I myself, especially this past week, have been brave enough to try a lot of new foods while in the Philippines, including, shrimp heads, shark fin, and chicken feet!
I had been wanting to do a food entry for a while (indeed, a whole food blog could be done on Davao alone) but I'm sort of embarrassed to take pictures of food in restaurants. Luckily my partner David lacks this feeling of shame and let me borrow his foodie pics for my blog.
At Pearl Farm, a beach resort we went to in Davao, we had the most amazingly large buffet, which left our plates overflowing:
One day at Pearl Farm, instead of the buffet, I opted for chicken soup. I got chicken soup in a coconut shell, topped with a yummy bread baked on:
At another resort we went to. Villa Escudero, our buffet meal was taken in the shallow river. Here you will see kare kare (the yellow dish, but sometimes its orange too, it is a tasty peanut dish), lechon kiwali (grilled pork), pancit noodles (a common merienda snack) as well as grilled fish. I have been thoroughly enjoying the seafood while I've been here. Its everywhere and its always fresh! Although I haven't been brave enough to eat the fish head yet! Lastly, you'll see some grilled caramelized bananas, one of my favorite desserts or merienda snack here.
My love of Filipino food stems largely from the amazingly delicious fruit available. Mangoes never taste this good in the U.S.! And in Davao, I'm right at the source of the fruit, since banana, pomelo, and mango plantations and farms cover the island of Mindanao.
In terms of dessert, one of the most popular dishes is Halo-Halo. It means "mix mix" in Tagalog. It's basically full of lots of different desserts, including leche flan, jackfruit, banana, gelatin, sago, sweet beans, and rice krispies, topped with ice, cream, and ube ice cream. You mix it all up and enjoy!
I had been wanting to do a food entry for a while (indeed, a whole food blog could be done on Davao alone) but I'm sort of embarrassed to take pictures of food in restaurants. Luckily my partner David lacks this feeling of shame and let me borrow his foodie pics for my blog.
At Pearl Farm, a beach resort we went to in Davao, we had the most amazingly large buffet, which left our plates overflowing:
One day at Pearl Farm, instead of the buffet, I opted for chicken soup. I got chicken soup in a coconut shell, topped with a yummy bread baked on:
At another resort we went to. Villa Escudero, our buffet meal was taken in the shallow river. Here you will see kare kare (the yellow dish, but sometimes its orange too, it is a tasty peanut dish), lechon kiwali (grilled pork), pancit noodles (a common merienda snack) as well as grilled fish. I have been thoroughly enjoying the seafood while I've been here. Its everywhere and its always fresh! Although I haven't been brave enough to eat the fish head yet! Lastly, you'll see some grilled caramelized bananas, one of my favorite desserts or merienda snack here.
My love of Filipino food stems largely from the amazingly delicious fruit available. Mangoes never taste this good in the U.S.! And in Davao, I'm right at the source of the fruit, since banana, pomelo, and mango plantations and farms cover the island of Mindanao.
In terms of dessert, one of the most popular dishes is Halo-Halo. It means "mix mix" in Tagalog. It's basically full of lots of different desserts, including leche flan, jackfruit, banana, gelatin, sago, sweet beans, and rice krispies, topped with ice, cream, and ube ice cream. You mix it all up and enjoy!
Thursday, November 4, 2010
A Long Cab Ride
On my way back from Bangkok I had to spend one night in Manila before proceeding to Davao. I was alone (as I left a day earlier than my co-workers to get back in time to greet David at the airport) and was staying overnight in a hostel. My cab ride was incredibly long since I flew in on the tail end of rush hour traffic. Luckily, my cab driver was extremely chatty.
One great thing about telling people what I do in the Philippines is that it almost always elicits a political discussion. This allows me the opportunity to learn the various opinions Filipinos have of their country. And this particular cab driver had a lot of opinions. He was incredibly pessimistic about his country. He said his country was slowly headed towards anarchy. He felt that things were better during Marcos’ time (the president who is almost universally acknowledged as a horrible dictator). He said that during Marcos there was peace in Mindanao because he just drove all the Muslims out. It was only when President Cory Aquino was elected that the problems in Mindanao worsened. And he felt corruption began with the people around Marcos, not Marcos himself. The cab driver also told me that the People’s Power movement that ousted Marcos weakened the rule of law. Lastly, he felt as though Filipinos don’t care about their country, they are only “good” when they are in other countries.
I realized from this conversation how much I take democracy for granted in my country. Here in the Philippines democracy is quite new, and it hasn’t been altogether picture perfect. The citizens of this country face multiple insurgencies, deep seated corruption, rampant crime in many cities, and widespread poverty. For some, a hard-fisted dictator would feel much safer than this wild system of elections and change. There seems to be some people may feel as if there is such a thing as too much democracy. I think I finally understand why Mayor Duterte (now vice-mayor), who orders extrajudicial killings of “criminals,” is so popular in Davao. He really makes the residents feel like they are safe and everything will be ok. Residents acknowledge his killings, but they say it’s only of the bad guys; it is only to keep us good guys safe and everything under control, so it’s okay. Perhaps some are not yet comfortable with so much political control in their own hands, perhaps they would rather leave that power with someone trustworthy to take care of things as they see fit. I can see now, in the face of so many problems, how this is a viable option for some, even if it is so out of my realm of understanding coming from the political system that I do.
The cab driver also added another piece of the puzzle for me as to why the Philippines is struggling to move its country forward, that is, it is a archipelago of diverse peoples lacking in unity. The cab driver explained that there is no such thing as a Filipino; everyone identifies first with their tribe. He stated that it is untrue what people say about the People’s Power movement uniting Filipinos. He contended that the People’s Power movement only united Catholic Filipinos. He asked, how is our country every supposed to improve if its citizens don’t even identify as Filipino and fellow country men and women?
When I left the cab I didn’t know what to say. I wanted to reassure the cab driver that things will get better, that adjusting to democracy takes time and your country will get there one day. But really, I had no answers. And the cab driver, while slightly misguided about Mindanaoan history, made some important points. When I left the cab I simply said I hope things get better for you and your country. I also left wondering, however, what will a functional democratic society or system of governance finally look like in the Philippines? And what will need to happen for the country to get there?
One great thing about telling people what I do in the Philippines is that it almost always elicits a political discussion. This allows me the opportunity to learn the various opinions Filipinos have of their country. And this particular cab driver had a lot of opinions. He was incredibly pessimistic about his country. He said his country was slowly headed towards anarchy. He felt that things were better during Marcos’ time (the president who is almost universally acknowledged as a horrible dictator). He said that during Marcos there was peace in Mindanao because he just drove all the Muslims out. It was only when President Cory Aquino was elected that the problems in Mindanao worsened. And he felt corruption began with the people around Marcos, not Marcos himself. The cab driver also told me that the People’s Power movement that ousted Marcos weakened the rule of law. Lastly, he felt as though Filipinos don’t care about their country, they are only “good” when they are in other countries.
I realized from this conversation how much I take democracy for granted in my country. Here in the Philippines democracy is quite new, and it hasn’t been altogether picture perfect. The citizens of this country face multiple insurgencies, deep seated corruption, rampant crime in many cities, and widespread poverty. For some, a hard-fisted dictator would feel much safer than this wild system of elections and change. There seems to be some people may feel as if there is such a thing as too much democracy. I think I finally understand why Mayor Duterte (now vice-mayor), who orders extrajudicial killings of “criminals,” is so popular in Davao. He really makes the residents feel like they are safe and everything will be ok. Residents acknowledge his killings, but they say it’s only of the bad guys; it is only to keep us good guys safe and everything under control, so it’s okay. Perhaps some are not yet comfortable with so much political control in their own hands, perhaps they would rather leave that power with someone trustworthy to take care of things as they see fit. I can see now, in the face of so many problems, how this is a viable option for some, even if it is so out of my realm of understanding coming from the political system that I do.
The cab driver also added another piece of the puzzle for me as to why the Philippines is struggling to move its country forward, that is, it is a archipelago of diverse peoples lacking in unity. The cab driver explained that there is no such thing as a Filipino; everyone identifies first with their tribe. He stated that it is untrue what people say about the People’s Power movement uniting Filipinos. He contended that the People’s Power movement only united Catholic Filipinos. He asked, how is our country every supposed to improve if its citizens don’t even identify as Filipino and fellow country men and women?
When I left the cab I didn’t know what to say. I wanted to reassure the cab driver that things will get better, that adjusting to democracy takes time and your country will get there one day. But really, I had no answers. And the cab driver, while slightly misguided about Mindanaoan history, made some important points. When I left the cab I simply said I hope things get better for you and your country. I also left wondering, however, what will a functional democratic society or system of governance finally look like in the Philippines? And what will need to happen for the country to get there?
Bangkok
About two weeks ago I had the most amazing opportunity to take a trip with my co-workers to Thailand to run a training entitled, "People's Diplomacy Training on Women's Engagement in Peace and Decision-Making Processes." In other words, the training was intended as a resource for our participants to learn about international and national mechanisms for promoting women's right and engagement in peace processes and providing them with tools to use these mechanisms to promote improved situations for women in their respective countries. We had participants from the Philippines, Timor-Leste, Indonesia, Cambodia, West Papua, Aceh, Thailand, and a few of us ex-pats from the U.S. Many of the participants were also resource persons, sharing their stories from their countries. We heard about truth and reconciliation processes in Timor-Leste, success stories of engaging with government in Cambodia, and the process of creating a people's peace agenda and lessons learned in including (or not including) gender in this agenda in Mindanao, Philippines. We also spent some time learning practical skills such as mediation, negotiation, and media advocacy. For me, personally, I was able to present and facilitate throughout the workshop, and I gained tons of experience in honing my trainer skills.
I also gained so much inspiration from the participants of the workshop. There were women from Burma literally risking their lives to work with NGOs on the border of their country. They told us horrible stories of the military junta, but also expressed hope that the Burmese population was slowly turning away from supporting the oppressive government. One day, the junta will have to face an entire population against them. There was also an amazing sharing among Muslim women from Aceh, South Thailand, and Mindanao. They all had different interpretations of how the Quran views the place of women in the public sphere, but the conversation wasn't a doctrinal debate, it was a sharing of how the one truth in the Quran can be humbly interpreted to different contexts, situations, and women. To me, this was religion at its best -- a tool for helping each person understand their lives and the world around them, while remaining respectful of all others.
We also had a couple extra days in Bangkok to explore! I loved Bangkok, it is clean, modern, and beautiful. The Thai culture is present almost everywhere you turn. Small shrines are erected outside of hotels and Western car dealerships. Bangkok seemed to me a cross-section of modernity and tradition that works. Here are a few photos:
Then we headed over to the Grand Palace, but got there just as it was closing, so I could only take a picture from the outside:
We also caught a picture of the Temple of Dawn:
Then off to another temple, Wat Po, the one with the famous reclining Buddha:
Then we headed over to Khao San road, the tourist, backpacker's haven:
Mmmm Pad Thai off the street with Thai beer:
One morning, I also headed to Lumpini Park, took a walk around, and caught some people doing morning Tai Chi:
I also gained so much inspiration from the participants of the workshop. There were women from Burma literally risking their lives to work with NGOs on the border of their country. They told us horrible stories of the military junta, but also expressed hope that the Burmese population was slowly turning away from supporting the oppressive government. One day, the junta will have to face an entire population against them. There was also an amazing sharing among Muslim women from Aceh, South Thailand, and Mindanao. They all had different interpretations of how the Quran views the place of women in the public sphere, but the conversation wasn't a doctrinal debate, it was a sharing of how the one truth in the Quran can be humbly interpreted to different contexts, situations, and women. To me, this was religion at its best -- a tool for helping each person understand their lives and the world around them, while remaining respectful of all others.
We also had a couple extra days in Bangkok to explore! I loved Bangkok, it is clean, modern, and beautiful. The Thai culture is present almost everywhere you turn. Small shrines are erected outside of hotels and Western car dealerships. Bangkok seemed to me a cross-section of modernity and tradition that works. Here are a few photos:
First, we headed to Chatuchack market, a huge market with 5,000 stalls. You can buy basically anything you could ever need or want!
Then we headed over to the Grand Palace, but got there just as it was closing, so I could only take a picture from the outside:
We also caught a picture of the Temple of Dawn:
Then off to another temple, Wat Po, the one with the famous reclining Buddha:
Then we headed over to Khao San road, the tourist, backpacker's haven:
Mmmm Pad Thai off the street with Thai beer:
One morning, I also headed to Lumpini Park, took a walk around, and caught some people doing morning Tai Chi:
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