a relative world

Showing posts with label be pinoy. Show all posts

Driving in the Philippines can teach us several virtues and it brings out a side of you that you never knew existed. All the patience, courage & understanding are a daily challenge in the asphyxiated streets of Manila. "Ganyan talaga, kaya tanggapin nalang (it's like that, so we can just accept it)," everybody tells me. While it's true that I probably lost the habit of driving in Manila, you definitely get used to an organized road rules, discipline, and mostly respect.

I have always loved the vibrancy and contrast of the Philippines, bursting with so much verve in its lifestyle and progress. How we still use the crappy international airport, and be in awe with surprise at our 5 star luxury hotels, the cosmopolitan huge malls, bars and restaurants. And yes, how the cars are getting bigger, and with mostly so little roads to drive on. Progress & change are inevitable, and you come home to a place you hardly recognize. The only familiar thing that reminds me of the recent past is the worsening frustration of getting from one place to another in this city. May it be in a private or public mode of transportation.

While France is not at all free of traffic congestion, impatience is just due to the long wait. Traffic can be bearable if not for undisciplined & rude drivers on the road. Cutting cars is a skill only learned here. The forming of non-existent lanes & the counter flowing. The kings of the road with their roof lights, sirens & warning signals. The mess of already having buses & jeepneys with no fear, adding taxis, tricycles, motorcycles, bicycles & people jaywalking. I encountered some Filipinos who actually prefer not to drive in another country for fear of not actually knowing the rules. This says a lot to the continuing dilemma.

It will take probably centuries to resolve this eternal problem, especially when the country's road habits have been deeply embedded for generations. The roads do not seem to be ready for the city's continuing development. Laws and rules are not strictly enforced, if ever there are actual ones. It is truly a miracle the city have preserved its sanity. I do not have the slightest hint to even try to contribute to making motorists happy & hopeful, but my cousin did have an idea that may sound encouraging with further research.

Zoning. Scratching the surface, Clark, Pampanga & Subic are said to have strictly enforced traffic rules & regulations. Although it was enforced the American way, Filipinos naturally follow & abide by these rules when driving on these zones. A city like Manila will be a bit ambitious to make changes. One district at a time can initiate a transition. Implementing this is a bold move with a gallant budget to make driving safer, where safety is one major purpose of having rules & regulations on the road. One district at a time will form good habits, and habits can be transformed. I know mine did after driving for 9 years in France. One district at a time to instil discipline & respect among motorists, as well as pedestrians. This might not totally ease the traffic volume, like any developing cities, but it will help the flow & will surely make it less stressful among enraged drivers.

The saying "when you can drive in the jungle streets of Manila, you can drive anywhere," is not entirely true. Acquiring my French driver's permit with a written & driving exam have actually kept me alive. With my Filipino driving habit, I could easily have had multiple collisions on the road. And I'm glad I learned the rules & followed them. Not because I was afraid of getting a ticket, but more for everybody's security & safety.

When it seems there are days that really don't seem to end, I pull out one of my most feel-good treasures from the freezer - tuyo. Tuyo is a salted dried fish (Herring) so common in the Philippines. Usually paired with garlic rice & tomatoes, I just learned that some of my friends have never tried it with champorado, a chocolate rice porridge. The fusion of salty & sweet is curiously ambrosial to the taste. At least for some who are born to this particular flavor. One of our French colleagues was so sure he can handle Asian dried fish after trying one from Thailand, actually gave up on our very own tuyo. Even after he soaked it in milk overnight.

Exotic food such as the tuyo, or any other form that is dried or fermented, is a craving that needs a plan. A method that can cover its reeking smell once you drop it in a pan of drizzling hot oil. Especially if you happen to live beside a Manhattan Convent who apparently sued a Filipino couple for cooking it. A friend who lives in Rome have switched to the bottled Gourmet Tuyo, ready to eat without the possibility of being charged as a potential health risk to others. As much as I want to keep my butt out of court, I still prefer the good old stinking dried ones. It is also making a culinary surprise with recipes such as tuyo pasta or salad with tuyo. Afterall, it is our version of anchovies.

"I cannot fry those darn fish in my kitchen again!" My friend sweared. She's one of the many Filipinos who gave up on this heavenly taste of home just because we live outside of the country. Everytime I tell them how my husband, or my neighbors, never smell the odor of carcasses when he comes home from work, my method actually makes them laugh. Or they're simply too overwhelmed with the effort that comes with eating it. For those of you who still have the taste of tuyo in their blood, there are just a few rules & simple ways to feel home away from home.

How I cook Tuyo scot-free in France:

1. I light about 2 incense by the stove, another 2 by the open windows, and another 2 where I eat. You won't cover the smell if you light them after you cook & eat tuyo.

2. I add extra candles in all those places, plus a bowl of vinegar. My mother said it can absorb foul odors & I've proven it true. Our coconut vinegar is better.

3. I heat the oil as hot as it can so I can only fry the fish for about 5 minutes. Covered & beside the incense, candle & a bowl of vinegar.

4. I run hot water right away after cooking & leave it with water & soap.

5. I bring the bowl of vinegar to where I eat, together with another set of incense & candle.

6. I throw what's left of the fish right away in a plastic bag & seal it. Wash the pan & plate then I throw the palstic bag directly to the public trash can.

7. I will again light a pair of incense & candles by the stove, the open windows & the dining area. I will use about 15 incense, 6 candles & a bowl of vinegar.

8. Don't eat tuyo every week.

9. Try not to eat tuyo during winters. I tried once & the smell takes longer to disappear.

10. It is always better to have the stink inside your house than to share it with your neighbors. Never fry it outside your window or terrace.

A post about tuyo...because it's all worth it.

Pugad Baboy strip from Pugad Baboy Online

Generation after generation Filipinos have embedded in their entire lifestyle the bahala na* attitude, more of a philosophical & spiritual value than a simple mantra to get through life. After a couple of years of being uprooted from this culture, I realized that I have not applied this outlook for so long now. At first I wanted to say that I finally rid myself of what seemed to be a cultural flaw but I cannot really say if my life has been so much better without it.

Bahala na, believed to be rooted from the word Bathala, the Tagalog word for God, expresses our fatalistic attitude towards life. At home, in school and at work, we have always been reminded to change this habit. Now that I live in a culture where fatalism is non-existent and where the absolute truth is that life is a series of action & reaction, I found myself more depressed, more frustrated & affected when life does not turn out the way I would want it to. In the end, we are where we live.

While the reality of life is in fact reaping what we sow, the sun or the rain, the bees or the worms somehow affect our reap. We do with what happens in between but we cannot control everything. A lot of my stress & frustrations are rooted from here. The pressure of believing that we can do everything & control everything. It took long for me to be reminded of this. That there is something bigger out there.

A glance of back home, with their grumbles and troubles, they always manage to surmount the stress & depression in so little ways. And when the news of the France Telecom employees rate of suicide cases headlined France, you really have to wonder about the importance of our individual character as a person in relation to the society we are part of. Probably we are really tougher when we are more hit. Sure, the complications of life are relative from one to the other but even the smallest detail can make a difference. We cannot put a planet on our shoulders all the time.

And when bahala na has a more negative connotation, it becomes more of a reassurance when applied responsibly. It is when when we try to do the best we can & then say bahala na. Knowing that we did our part then letting go of what may come. Imagine the emotional freedom it can bring. And I really believe that it's one of the things that makes us Filipinos manage to go through life, even happier than the most privileged.

In a society where there's no room for fate, I don't know what I'll do staying sane without bahala na. Is there any better way to cope with the pressures of life?

*bahala na = come what may
You can explore more of this Filipino culture with a Philosophical Analysis. Yes, it can go deeper.

The Philippines have forever been sidetracked when it comes to the richness of its food. It couldn't be described as the best in Asia but it definitely has character so Filipino in taste. Living in a country where it's gastronomically known around the world, I was often asked what a typical Filipino menu is & I always list the common main dishes as adobo, sinigang, karekare then end up feeling irrelevant to a country where food is part of their culture. Keeping food warm, a common site in the Philippines

It is always when everything is out of sight that we naturally ransack the tastes you were practically born with. As disgusting the bagoong (shrimp paste) is, I freak out without a stock in my fridge. The taste of dried fish brings me home to bright & warm breakfasts. The sinigang broth reminds me of noisy family lunches. Having minimal access to these tastes logically made me appreciate more what is pinoy. With 7,107 islands, there would be as much ways to make adobo & with so many islands, there is as much island specialties to which I admit, have not tasted even half of them.

So one day, when my friend & I were arguing about the French having recipes for bulalo, the bone marrow, she told me as a matter of factly that Anthony Bourdain, featured it on his show "No Reservations." The curious me, and so out of the loop, I watched his episode on the Philippines. Watch No Reservations -Philippines (on this link, follow the trail to the 5 part episode) & tell me if you really know much about Filipino cuisine. And they didn't feature as much specialty. Do note the Pampanga scene - "Pampanga first before the Philippines."

The Filipino cuisine can boast its diverse menu. Sure the presentation sometimes can spoil your appetite but the taste is distinct that can be likewise rooted from the assortment of its ancestors. Sure I don't eat so much of anything from the inside but the French cuisine have been doing this dating back to many centuries ago & made popular by the peasants. They just have the language to make it more alluring & class. While the French call it the "boudin noir," the Filipinos call it the "betamax." Whoever names food betamax?!

The mixing & the fusion from many different forefathers have made the Filipino cuisine special in its own way. The taste might not cater to everybody but I am proud of the savors I was born with. In a country where people eat 5 times a day, who said food is not part of their culture? There are still so many to explore & discover in Philippine food & like in France, every region, or island has its own specialty. How much do you know your Filipino cuisine? Kain na!*

You can also watch No Reservations -France (again follow the trail to the 5 part episode) & note the rat trap shop from the Pixar movie Ratatouille. It's freaking real!

* Kain na! is the Filipino's bon appetit, loosely translated as "Let's eat!"

When I was complaining about the processing of my Dual Citizenship here, a lot of people asked me why I still want to be a Filipino Citizen when I already have the French. This surprised me a bit but it never entered my mind not to be a Filipino on paper. It was only when the Philippines passed the Citizen Retention & Re-acquisition Act of 2003, or RA 9925, that I applied for the French nationality. A country recognizing Dual Citizenship is a great privilege because there are only a few countries (website not updated) who do. Left, my Certificate of Oath of Allegiance & new Philippine passport after acquiring Dual Citizenship

But my complaining was abruptly stalled & I had a chance to do it in Manila. Apparently, with all the red tape & corruption I experienced, and simply the hassle of doing paperwork in the Philippines, I have to admit that the Philippine Embassy in Paris has improved by leaps & bounds in the paperwork department. Although I didn't inquire directly for the procedure in Manila, a friend informed me that she had to hire a lawyer & the processing will be at least 6 months. This turned me off & I have to be actually grateful I had an easier option here in France.

And so finally I was able to file my application in Paris & off we went for our oathtaking. On May 23, 2008, Hazel & I went together to be a Filipino on paper. Although I thought that it was unnecessary, reciting my Oath of Allegiance to my motherland was quite moving, in front of the Philippine flag, a portrait of GMA & all. Below, Oath taking with Hazel & with Consul Rosalita S. Prospero

Today, I just received my new Philippine passport *yay!* I still have the old, non-machine readable since the embassy is finishing their stock of old passports. Which is not bad because it is more than a passport to me. It's my proof of citizenship. And besides, I still get to smile & be beautiful in a passport photo. The guy in the photo shop couldn't believe that I can smile for a passport picture. So the trouble a smile can bring is yet to be discovered.

Another issue was when a Filipino friend with an Italian citizenship asked me how I ever lost my Philippine Nationality. Since the Philippines didn't recognize Dual Citizenship until 2003, Filipinos who acquired another nationality automatically lose their Filipino citizenship. It is here that we retain or re-acquire it. The procedure is relatively new & it will improve with more years. Hopefully in a few years, the RA 9225 won't be necessary at all. That we won't automatically lose our Filipino Citizenship. We are still fortunate to have an embassy with more experience on this.

The procedure is actually easy. As long as you have your official documents with you & you don't need to have it sent from Manila, it'll be a breeze. You can call the Philippine Embassy in your area & request for an RA 9225 Application Form which is sent by mail. Requirements are normally the following:

passport size photos, any proof of Philippine Citizenship (birth certificate, old passport, voter's ID, marriage certificate indicating Philippine Citizenship), foreign passport, certificate of naturalization & its official translation, proof of payment, marriage or report of marriage if married, oath of allegiance

Remember to only submit photocopies. The embassy might request original copies to be sent. If so, you will then be asked to write a letter to the Consul why you cannot send the originals. I know such a waste of time. You will be then given an appointment for your oath taking & voila! As usual, you will always need to follow up.

The Dual Citizenship is not for everybody, so grab it if you can.
For me, being a pinoy by heart is not enough until you are on paper.

There are a thousands things I miss about the Philippines. The two times I've been there it's like I've never left and that is what home makes us feel. And if home is the Philippines, no matter how much you have always craved for everything that is you, there are things that you just cannot stand anymore once you've tasted & been on the other side.

Traffic & driving in Manila. That's right, what's new? This is the national stamp of the country but when traffic has gotten a little bit better even with the humungous cars, it's the discipline & character of the drivers that made me crazy. When my mom & the driver was hit by another car from behind, the guy had the guts to ask them for 5Kphp when they saw it was an old car, a badly coiffed driver & an old lady. He even death threatened our driver. Don't care about morality, my car is more expensive & you look stupid. In the end, the guy hit & ran our driver when they were supposed to meet in the police station. Then there's the constant "I go first" attitude & nobody just wants to give way. The few times we went to Makati, we were stopped by the police twice on issues of vague rules by the stoplight eg. was there a sign on making a turn on red. And I have almost forgotten how busy the roads are in Manila. In one main road, you can have taxis, jeepneys, buses, people crossing, bicycles on the left lane, pedicabs in the middle lane, motorcycles & scooters, all at the same time, all the possibilities that can happen. And everytime I point out this madness, they always remind me how I handled it before, with craziness as well but I've outgrown this craziness due to lack of practice.

Philippine Government Agencies: BIR - if you can't beat them, join them. You will never understand what it means to go through them until you've experienced it. Driving licenses, cedulas & the like does not count. We always find someone to do the biggies for us when it comes to the tough guys of BIR. I was left alone with my mom to do one of those biggies, the form 1801.

For those who had to do the Estate Tax, fear is always the first reaction to it. We know it means big money especially for us common people who has a small piece of land, for privileged people with many pieces of land exactly know what it means, big lawyers & accountants. But our hired humble accountant seemed promising to help us go about the process with the City Hall & BIR. One dry afternoon, we met her City Hall contact who was in charge of the Tax Declaration. This means the land's zonal value & improvements, apparently a very important part of the process. He then informed us, with a voice almost to a whisper while scanning quickly his surroundings, that the paperwork which will normally amount to 150-170Kphp will cost us 70Kphp. Awe was my first reaction but I thought it was reasonable even without a hint of how much the true amount is. We just want to get it over & done with. We just need to talk it over with the rest of the family then I sincerely thanked him for his help.

After one dinner & a night's sleep, the decision was to go for it. The accountant went her way to start the said paperwork. Like a reeking fish, she came back telling us that her contact raised the amount to 120Kphp. So she took it in her own hands & went straight to BIR coming back with the final amount of 90Kphp. Not only that they were all robbing us blind, they had the audacity to negociate our ignorance & situation. We don't even know who was the most corrupt, the City Hall contact, the BIR or our accountant. This caused a dispute among us & my mom insisted of gathering information among her widowed friends. I felt so bad in thanking these sharks.

One mahjong afternoon at her friend's, she was able to collect considerable news & a valuable lesson. Her friend gave us a copy of her form 1801, showed us how to compute & tipped us on the important estate tax table at the back of the form.

In the end, our taxable amount totaled to a negative making us exempted from paying anything at all! Pointing this to our accountant, she tried to debate & convince us of wrong computation & that in the end, it's her first time handling a biggie like the form 1801. My proud mom had the courage now to go to the BIR, kicking out our accountant, to file our Estate Tax by ourselves.

Arriving at the BIR, there were so little signs except for where things are. I was getting too impatient & embarassed of actually being there without a clue on where to start. The best way is to inquire at the information desk without giving out too much of our file just yet. There is something about the BIR that you just cannot really trust. Fortunately, our file was almost ready except for other documents I don't even know when the lady started asking me more about our background. It made me & my mom realize that we cannot make this clean as much as we want to. There will always be something & we'll end up paying people to make things easier for us. In the end, we rehired our accountant for 20Kphp to go through all the hassle. The valuable lesson is you can never be lily white when it comes to Philippine governement agencies. Corruption is at every level. As we speak, our paperwork is still not yet finished. I've never seen corruption so raw, taking advantage face to face without shame & that went up to 120Kphp. Afterall, the BIR & the Customs are the most corrupt department in the Philippines & it will take many generations to disinfect them.

These & among other things make the Philippines. People see it in their own eyes & complain everyday but nothing is done. People live by it because it's as if there's no other choice to be what it is. Yes, what can we do? That is the spice of the country among the beautiful islands that is home.

I already have forgotten how frustrating it is to deal with any Philippine government agency. Not that I had tormenting experiences with them before in fact a lot of my encounters would even be considered almost delightful, almost a miracle. Although I know the Philippine "culture" on paperworks, I have always practiced the "doing it right" when it comes to applications & procedures because I have forever believed that when you do things right, everything will be okay.

But here I am, 14 thousand kilometers away & tens of French paperworks after, the frustration came creeping back but not because there's a long line to queue or because we're bothered about the bored & disturbed employees who can't smile behind the glass window radiating a silent power among us. It's because of the incompetence & the incomprehensible system that makes you wonder why is it sometimes so freaking impossible to have a smooth processing with our government agencies. Voila, the Philippine Embassy of Paris, bow.

After the long process of gathering my Philippine documents & acquiring my French nationality, I was ready to file my Philippine Citizenship & Re-asquisition Act of 2003, or RA 9225. I thought it would be a breeze. I thought being Filipino again in paper is easy for a Filipino by blood & birth. I normally don't overreact but I can hear you saying, "only in da Philippines," or "what do you want the Philippine nationality for?!"

Just after receiving my French nationality last July, I requested right away the RA 9225 Application Form No. 1. I was told that it is a week processing.
Three months after receiving my French passport & having my Certificate of Naturalization translated, all photocopies of required documents are neatly filed & organized in order in a big white envelope. It arrived Paris after 3 to 4 working days.
On the 5th day, I called them to confirm reception of my file, asked when I can follow up to know our oath taking schedule. She asked me some questions regarding my documents then I was told to call after 4 days.
On the 4th day, I diligently called to have some good news, after all, it will almost be a week. After having my file 5 days in hand, I was informed that my application form is the old one & that they will need to send me the new one. Fortunately, first for calling them back & they mailed it right away & I received it the following monday, filled it up & sent it back without delay.
On the same week, they confirmed receipt of my application form & I didn't hear anything from them for 2 weeks.
Last friday, after a month, which is supposedly a week processing, I receive news that to continue the evaluation of my file, I have to send all original copies of documents submitted by mail.
Yesterday, I called the Embassy to assure that the original documents I need to send are my birth certifcate from NSO & my Philippine passport. They matter of factly told me they won't need the French passport but just the original copy of our French Certificate of Naturalization & continued saying that I cannot have an Oath Taking schedule without this. I was actually assured of how ridiculous & clueless on their part to ask for this one valuable document. The French Tribunal handed us only one original copy with a "guard it with your life" advice. Even after saying that repeatedly & mentioning the checklist found on the Bureau of Immigration official website that only a photocopy of foreign documents are required, my plea fell on deaf ears, without a justifiable reason for this ridiculous demand. On top of that, we were asked to actually explain to the Consul why we cannot send our original Certificate of Naturalization by mail adding, "we're not keeping it naman, we'll give it back to you."

Selective files, mood swings, or the holidays, the reason is dependent on your lucky star. Or finally having more competent people to actually work effectively for the citizens: seriously examining your file & documents for errors or problems & not to give it to you on a weekly installment, strictly following the delay of processing, and original documents normally comes only with the presence of the holder. How much more can you prove the authenticity of your valid & legal documents?

I just want to be Filipino again in paper. Applying for my French nationality was way much easier because the French governement is precise on their procedures. I'll be going back to the Philippines in 2 months. I am torn between trusting the Embassy or processing it in Manila when I get home. Please do bestow priceless information on processing the RA 9225 in the Philippines.

But what really ticked me off is that I had to have my left & right sideviews picture taken for nothing.

Since summer of this year, I have been relishing the thought of going home to Manila on February, starting with alimasag, kare kare, lechon, taho & cocktails by the beach. After 7 years, I can now finally go a month ahead of my husband & because in those 7 years, I have only stayed a total of 3 weeks back home. The excitement intensified when I bought our plane tickets two weeks ago & that my summer mcjob was extended just until 2 weeks before I leave. Then a phonecall to home to announce the news kind of shattered a bit my cocktails by the beach panaroma: two months expenses. So I wondered, am I really stingy?

Let's start with our old tradition the pasalubongs. It is the custom of bringing gifts to family & close friends when one has been away. May it be a day to work, a weekend trip, or years of living in another country. Paslubong comes from the word "salubong" meaning "to meet" & "pa" meaning "for," making it a "meeting gift". We bring home pasalubongs to say that we thought about them while we were away. The younger me thought it was a bribe when my parents wouldn't bring me along when they go away for the day. Then it has become a souvenir from places. Now the tradition has become to share the bounty of what seems to be a better life.

The idea of pasalubong has evolved as more & more Filipinos reach more places around the world, and as life back in the Philippines become harder. For being away now is a necessity for many but whatever the reason may be, the tradition of giving gifts has turned into a stressful part of going home. But we still find time to get the perfect gift for everyone & we even have back up gifts for people we might meet. Afterall, we seem to have a better life, away from our families, than they do back home. But the pasalubongs has reached a new level. It's not anymore about souvenirs & tokens. But do they really understand how it us for us to go home? For us, plane tickets has to be planned & budgeted months ahead (note that we still don't have kids). Pasalubongs are better bought a little at a time during months before departure. Then there's the expenses during your stay.

Hearing stories from friends around on being a balikbayan, I'm glad that my family understands. They do forget sometimes but I also forget that life back home is not the same anymore. I asked my nieces & nephews what they wanted, one said she preferred a shopping spree in Makati & when I said that the budget for each was 1500php, they all laughed at me. Although 1500php is now nothing there, 25€ is not really nothing here. And I'm not being stingy nor selfish. It's just that it's easy to get carried away with the euros & I wouldn't want to go back to France with a bank statement on alert.

But to see them all again & the smile on their faces is priceless. The glorified pasalubongs are worth all those years of being away. To share the bounty of your life in another land is part of the reward of your hardwork to earn it. I was never so much of a pasalubong person nor did I expect it before but being away for so long made me understand the pleasure, and the stress, of this Pinoy tradition. Although I will be getting laughs due to their thinking that I'm kuripot, I can't wait to be home.

How do you go about this Pinoy tradition when you go home? Do pray tell.

My brother-in-law called last weekend to ask us about portable video games for his son's upcoming birthday. Since my nephew-in-law is turning 10, he gets to choose between a PSP (Playstion Portable) & a Nintendo DS. And since my nephew-in-law has a 6 year old brother, he also gets either a Nintendo DS or Nintendogs (for the dog lovers). We strongly advised Nintendo for Nintendo's platform is truly geared for the kids. I couldn't really remember what I used to get for my birthdays but it's sure nothing like the toys of today. Sunny smiles of the kids at Villa Escudero.

Like the evolution of our society, toys have advanced to the greatest imagination & creativity ever. Scientific researches resulting to absolutely educational gadgets, employing different skills necessary for learning. Some toys are so complex that even an adult is required to concentrate & understand first before playing & having fun. There are so many toys to choose from. From the cuddly stuffed toys, the colorful blocks, the singing books, the puzzles & lego type constructions (which I am so bad at) to video games. It sure is fun while learning.

But for my generation, I preferred to be on the street than playing with my classic & standard toys which solely required my own creativity. I remember my mom shouting behind me to be careful & to come home on time for lunch or dinner, and to be as clean as I can be. In my childhood, learning was more about the joys of picking up recreational materials in the park & playing fair with my friends. Learning was about getting dirty & having little bruises.

Street games are as educational as the toys of today & it builds character:
- taguan (hide & seek) taught us agility & the motion of time. Without them, we'll still be hiding while everybody has already gone home.
- patintero taught us teamwork, strategy & the art of bluffing.
- shato taught us focus & concentration, coordination & math, and determination to chant shato continuously for the whole loser's run.
- tumbang preso taught us speed, coordination & sportsmanship, especially to the "it."
- agawan base likewise taught us agility, teamwork, strategy & competitiveness.

Street games also build camaraderie & teaches us to be a good loser. It only requires trees (or lamp posts), rocks, sticks & cans to almost no materials at all. We get a lot of exercise & sun. My mom used to freak out & send the maid in a thorough hunt to find me but it taught me basic responsibility. Me & a friend went on a search for the perfect grass sled, found a dilapidated plywood & sled down a 10 meter slope down to a main road. We were saved from crashing a car but we didn't get away from the old woman sceaming at us for all the dust we brought to her house just in front. We had freedom.

We didn't have high-tech, state of the art toys. We didn't have 15 channels of cartoons & kid's shows but only Sesame Street, The Electric Company & the Saturday Fun Machine on channel 9. As classic & as standard our toys are, they encouraged imagination, creativity & inventiveness. Look how we all turned out. I loved smelling like the sun.

Although there are not as much sea urchins this year, our little barrio's tradition, L'Oursinade, will continue like it did every February for the past 30 years. But I have to admit that in the 5 years we lived here, we didn't really get into the spirit of the Sea Urchin Festival. Like a fisherman's celebration, the festival includes Provençal folklorique music & dance while enjoying the indescribable taste of the sea urchin even during the height of winter. Photo taken from last year's Oursinade

It is with France's idyllic respect for tradition & nationalism that always made me look back to my own roots, our very own fiestas - only one of the many other things I regretfully took for granted while I was busy adoring other cultures of the world on TV. I've never been to any real fiesta back in the Philippines except for the local ones in our village & province of Nasugbu, Batangas. Now that the year has just started, let's take a glimpse of our popular festivals in our islands. How much do we know our fiestas?

Fiestas in the Philippines is a celebration usually religious in nature but is likewise a piece of our history.

Although a lot of them has a lot of Spanish background, there are pre-Spanish years of tradition. January seems to be the best month to catch the better festivals in the country, most of them to celebrate the patron Sto. Niño but a Mardigras style. It starts with hala-bira! the Ati-atihan in Kalibo, Aklan, known for its rythmic drums & colorful costumes. Just a few islands away, Cebu celebrates the Sinulog Festival. Then just across, Iloilo celebrates the Dinagyang Festival, dinagyang translated as "merry making," celebrating the Christianization of the natives who sealed the peace pact between the Negrito Ati tribe & the Malays, Ati warrior customes & weapons grace this festival. Worth visitng the three festivals as they are all located in the Visayan region. Ati-atihan photo taken from www.ati-atihan.net

In February, the city of pines offer the Panagbenga Flower Festival, colorful ethnic tribal costumes & flower floats parade to the Bendian dance of unity & harmony among tribes. Come April, the Lenten Season of the country celebrates Moriones Festival in Marinduque, passion plays in warrior costumes & masks. Then the famous Cutud Lenten Rites, in San Fernando, Pampanga, where villagers participate inthe act of self-flagellation in the morning of Good Friday.

May is the flower month of the Philippines. In Quezon, the Pahiyas Festival celebrates good harvest & good times. Not only flowers but kiping, suman & houses with colorful & creative decors. In the same month, the whole country joins in the Santacruzan or Flores de Mayo, parading lovely ladies in beautiful Maria Clara gowns. In June, Tacloban celebrates the Pintados Festival of tattoos & body paint signifying courage of warriors.

Jumping to September, the Peñafrancia Festival of Naga City is a spiritual celebration of novenas & the fluvial procession. Another regatta show comes in October at the Hermosa Festival of Zamboanga, where the colorful vintas take the waters. Down in Visayas, the Masskara Festival of Bacolod City is also celebrated in October, carnival style. Just across, Camiguin celebrates the Lanzones Festival parading Mindanao tribal costumes. Like one festival here in France, la Fete des Geants in Lille (Festival of Giants), the locals of Angono, Rizal celebrates the Higantes Festival in November, where the higantes is a 10 feet paper-maché puppet. Masskara Festival photo from www.lakbaypilipinas.com/masskara_festival

December is the biggest festival of the country - Christmas but aside from that, the Giant Lantern Festival in San Fernando, Pampanga adds up to the our country's bright holidays with a lantern measuring 40 feet in diameter. Not having the patience to include the many other festivals around the country, the Philippines is abundant of beautiful fiestas that are a part of our history & our spiritualism, shaping our culture. I hope we continue to respect the tradition - maki-fiesta! It's fun & truly ours.

I learned that nationalism doesn't really start at home.
Say, what fiesta have you been to in the Philippines?

Remembering the sounds of Christmas of quite a long time ago.

1. "Merry Christmas, Ma'am, Sir," combined with a special holiday smile, in all places of business & consumption from the taxi to department stores & restaurants, with or without the expectation of a holiday tip, contribute to the holiday ambiance.

2. "Pasko na, Sinta Ko" by Gary Valenciano is playing on the jeepney on your way to work & you don't mind hearing it every year. It's timeless.

3. The tinkling sound of Christmas tunes that goes with the twinkling of colorful Christmas light decorations that you may find in your exterior house decorations, small places of business & even in Aling Tinay's sari-sari store.

4. Television & radio holiday commercials geared to remind us of the holiday spirit may it be by consuming or religious in nature, bring us all together in one spirit of Christmas.

5. The rattling of folded paper in a pencil holder when your officemate or barkada approaches you to pick a name for the monito-monita, an imposed manner to spread the joy.

6. "We wish you a Merry Christmas, we wish you a Merry Christmas," together with the jingling of a makeshift tambourine of kiddie carollers made of tin cans & coins who through time complains when you give them 5 pesos for their 2 questionable songs.

7. The clinking toast of beer bottles among friends to all the years of alaskahans, hangovers & everything in between. Even though you never miss a weekend inuman with them, the holidays will always be different.8. The chime of churchbells at 15 to 4am for the Simbang Gabi which also means it's bibingka & puto bumbong, all warm wrapped in banana leaves for breakfast. One of the many Filipino food I am proud of.

9. Your mom's voice telling you to stop watching the Christmas cartoon special on TV & start getting ready for church or telling you to stop eating the Noche Buena food. Whether she's angry or not, her reminders to do this & that will always be a part of the Chrismas Eve preparations.

10. The laughters & the kulitans over your dad's Christmas songs still on vynil records while you eat your family's humble Noche Buena midnight meal. The noise of all these voices at the same time, the sweet chaos of family banter & mockery, will always be your best memory of Christmas.

11. The tearing & crumpling of gift wrappers, the oohs & the ahhhs & even the "what the..." chorus of responses over our Christmas gifts by the tree, will always be one of the most heartwarming family moments.

12. The sound of silence after the midnight Christmas mass, Noche Buena meal, the gift-giving & when everybody has gone to sleep, that sound of bursting happiness & flowing gratitude.

I am subscribed to ebalita where I receive daily Philippine news on my e-mail to keep me slightly updated on what's going on in our country (& where I haven't sent any single donation to help maintain the site). Slightly because I seldom read the real issues on politics (normally leaning on the bad news) & there's this one article that I found interesting on last week's updates. The Filipinos ranked no. 6 on the world's happiest people!

According to a recent poll covering 50 countries from World Values Survey, the Filipinos are in the top ten world's happiest people & the happiest Asians. Top on the poll is Venezuela, followed by Nigeria, Ireland, Iceland, Netherlands, Philippines ranking 6th, Australia, USA, Turkey & Switzerland. Read more here on the article "Are we the happiest?"

It didn't really make me wonder so much but found it a little surprising. Despite of the whirlwind of crisis the Philippines is now facing, the study shows that "Filipinos are very happy about their lifestyle." When I really thought about it, it is amazingly true that the Philippines, although sourrounded with poverty, a political mess & an economy constantly on the edge, the Filipinos still do remain happy people. Naturally, we still feel a heavy atmosphere of struggle but it seems that it does not get in the way of their being happy & a smile always forming on their lips. Then, I thought of the things that personally made me a happy Filipino.

For one thing, Filipinos are very spiritual by nature & I strongly believe that this spirituality is one of the

many reasons that keeps the burden lighter in our day to day living. There is that faith of knowing that there is somebody bigger out there & it saves us the stress of trying to control everything. This same faith that results to optimism & gratitude for what we have. I noticed that there are a few religious people here in France, and even fewer in spirituality. Somehow, it go figures why a lot of them are stressed & unsatisfied. Not that I have to convince them to join the spiritual club, but it is probably the stress of controlling everything & being unhappy when they can't.

Another thing that triggers happiness to Filipinos would be the circle of family & friends. They are our support group. Just knowing that we are not alone already eases the burden. We are so family oriented that having them is one of our greatest teasures. And what about friends to help you forget for one moment the harsh realities of life? To enjoy a hard day's work (or maybe not so hard) with a drink on a mid-week break while we let the traffic pass?

And there's also culture. Our bahala na si batman is one attitude that really stands out. It is good & bad at the same time because professionally, it's a little difficult to work with somebody having this attitude but it is something that also doesn't get in the way of living. We pounce to circumstances with this attitude to just get over something, or because we just really don't know what to do and apparently, we always do have fun along the way. But are Filipinos always responsible for the outcome of this risky attitude? Of course! They have an innate ability to always worm they way out of anything. All Saint's Day can be one of the portaits of Filipino's relation to life: a day to celebrate living.

But in the end, there's acceptance. Acceptance that is more on hopelessness. With the rate the Philippines is going, how accurate is this survey? A country where the middle class has disappeared & the rich gets richer, the poor gets poorer, consistently being corrupted by government officials, terrorists threatening one of our biggest profits on foreign investments & tourism, increasing unemployment rate & where the salary never compliments the increasing standard of living. Where there are more & more Filipinos striving to get out of the country which apparently turned out to be now one of our country's biggest profit.

Are Filipinos really happy? In the Philippines, happiness is relative & subjective.

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