THINGS I LEARNED

Now that I am on the road to recovery - yes, it is taking me this long to feel half decent - I am posting some of the things that I loved learning about my father's homeland.

~ I am thankful for our indoor plumbing. In the barangays outside the bigger cities the plumbing consists of squatting above this toilet and then ladling the water from a nearby bucket to flush it down.

~ The national flower of the Philippines is called the sampaguita. That combined with the yellow/green Ilang Ilang are strung into fragrant garlands and sold on Sundays at church.

~ There are three ingredients that are used in all Filipino cooking - tomato, onion and garlic.
~ You can tell when a town is having a Fiesta because they rope off the street, stop you and ask you for donations.
~ I am thankful that I can afford dental care - well, until I lose that coverage due to retirement - and we fill teeth instead of pulling them.

~ I never knew pickled mangoes (vinegar/sugar/pepper) could taste so good. Ditto for the puron and ensalada with sweet potato tops.

~ These are Bahay Kubo's - they would be in your back yard - kind of like our gazebos. So cute.

~ San Jose, Batangas is the 'EGG BASKET OF THE PHILIPPINES"