Pasko sa Sugbo

Well, Pasko sa Sugbo (Christmas in Cebu) has been amazing so far. The Christmas season goes until the feast of the Three Kings, which is first Sunday in January.

There is no snow here, no pine trees, and Santa Claus is not very prominent. However, the Filipinos celebrate Christmas in a grand fashion. It is one of, if not, the biggest celebrations they have here.

A lot of their traditions come from when the Spanish ruled the Philippines. Since the Spanish ruled during the same time as Mexico, a lot of the traditions are the same as Mexico today.

It starts formally on December 16. That is when they start the Misa de Gallo, or Mass of the Rooster, which is Mass at dawn. Many churches have this at 4:30 or 5:00 in the morning. These Masses continue for 9 days until December 24. Nine is the number for a novena, which is done for special graces. Filipinos believe that special graces will be granted by God on the last dawn Mass.

I only got up early enough on the last day to attend dawn Mass. I was amazed how crowded Mass was for so early in the morning. There was standing room only.

On Christmas Eve, or Noche Buena, many Filipinos attend evening Mass. Most churches around Cebu had Mass at 10:00 at night. Just like the US, the Christmas Eve Mass is filled with a lot of additional ceremony than usual.

We attended Mass with Glyn's brother Coning, sister Jen, and nephew Josh at the Basilica del Santo Niño. Again it was standing room only. There were several altar boys and celebrants at the Mass. The lights were turned off as the procession was made to the altar. After the blessing of the baby Jesus (Santo Niño), the lights were turned back on.

After Mass, we went to one of Glyn's cousin's place to celebrate Noche Buena. It is traditional to have lots of food and celebration. On the way to Glyn's cousin's place, we saw (and heard) many firecrackers going off. This is very typical to do on Noche Buena and Media Noche (New Year's Eve). I had lots of food, beer, and good times there. We didn't leave until 3:00 on Christmas morning.

On Christmas Day, it was more quiet. A lot of people, I am sure, slept in from all of the reverly the night before. Glyn and I spent Christmas at the condo opening presents.

We are going to Bohol to celebrate Media Noche. I will report on how that goes. I am looking forward to seeing how it is celebrated in the provinces here.

Hope everyone has a Happy New Year!

Pictures from Christmas in Cebu

Here are more pictures from the Philippines. I hope everyone had a Merry Christmas! You will see many pictures from the Christmas season here in Cebu. Included are pictures from outside the balcony, at the Mall, at Fuente Osmena, from the Christmas Party we had at the condo, from Misa de Gallo, from Waterfront Hotel, from Noche Buena, and Christmas Day. Happy New Year!

Remember you can also click the link "Pictures from the Philippines" in the Links section.

My Grown-Up Christmas List

Do you remember me?
I sat upon your knee;
I wrote to you
With childhood fantasies.

Well, I'm all grown-up now,
And still need help somehow.(can you still help somehow)
I'm not a child,
But my heart still can dream.

So here's my lifelong wish,
My grown-up Christmas list.
Not for myself,
But for a world in need.

No more lives torn apart,
That wars would never start,(and wars would never start)
And time would heal all hearts.

And everyone would have a friend,
And right would always win,
And love would never end.

This is my grown-up Christmas list.

As children we believed
The grandest sight to see
Was something lovely
Wrapped beneath our tree.(wrapped beneath the tree)

Well heaven surely knows
That packages and bows
Can never heal
A hurting human soul.

No more lives torn apart,
That wars would never start,
And time would heal all hearts.

And everyone would have a friend,
And right would always win,
And love would never end.

This is my grown-up Christmas list.

What is this illusion called the innocence of youth?
Maybe only in our blind belief can we ever find the truth.
(there'd be)

No more lives torn apart,
That wars would never start,
And time would heal all hearts.

And everyone would have a friend,
And right would always win,
And love would never end, oh.

This is my grown-up Christmas list.

Oh this is my only Christmas wish.
This is my grown-up Christmas list.

Dirty Fingers

When eating any meal out here in the Philippines, I am amazed by the lack of napkins. One of the treats I like to take is going to Jollibee or McDonalds. In the US, usually you can get your own napkins....and I must admit, I take more than my fair share. I guess I don't like feeling that I won't have enough napkins. Well, here, they usually give you one per person.

I guess that would actually be fine if they gave a napkin with the same thickness as I am used to in the United States. Instead, every napkin that I have seen here is tissue thin. It just doesn't cut it when eating fried chicken.

This absence of napkins is pretty bizarre to me given the fact that Filipinos eat with their hands a lot. Many times, instead of using a fork or a spoon, they will just grab rice with their fingers.

The lack of paper doesn't just stop at napkins...When I go to the comfort room (restroom) at a public place, there is usually not paper towels to dry your hands. Sometimes, they have those air hand drier things...but many times, it is nothing.

I have heard also that there is not always toilet paper in the public toilets too. Luckily, I have not had the fortunate to discover this for myself.

Even at Mass, there is no bulletin, no missalette, and no song book...no paper again!

When I think about it, I don't really see the kind of trees here that we have in the United States. You know, the ones that the environmentalists keep telling us we shouldn't cut down. Well, I guess if they saw the lack of napkins here, maybe they wouldn't scream so hard about not cutting down trees.

I guess it is a good thing that Filipinos don't really shake hands.

Pink Stripes

Tonight I was over at Glyn's apartment and watched Catch Me If You Can, a movie starting Leonardo DiCaprio and Tom Hanks. It is a great story about a guy who pretends he other people and writes fraudulent checks for over $4 million. Supposedly it is based on a true story.

I am not going to write a movie review...I want to talk about the DVD. We were watching the movie on a pirated DVD. By pirated, I mean, it is not the official DVD that was released by the studios. From what I hear, sometimes the movies are shot with a video camera in the movie theater. As I walk down the street in the city here, I see DVDs for sale of movies that I know are still in the theater or just stopped being in the theater. I know then, that these are pirated movies.

Catch Me If You Can was released in 2002. The DVD that we were watching was copied from a preview version of the movie. I assume that movie studios have these previews for the movie reviewers...or for Academy Award voters. My guess is someone gets a hold of them and makes a lot of money on the black market.

Since it is not an official copy of the DVD, the subtitles are the same as you would get. Glyn and her family watch DVDs with the English subtitles, because it helps them understand everything that is being said in the movie. However, the subtitles for this movie must have been added by someone who was not a native English speaker, so in this case, I can't see how the subtitles actually helped.

I laughed throughout the movie, but it was not always from what was being said or done by the actors. The subtitles were cracking me up. Sometimes the subtitles said things that were wrong...different than what was actually said. Now, at times, these errors were minor...like getting the grammar wrong. No big deal. Other times, the errors were getting peoples' names wrong. One of the main characters, played by DiCaprio, goes by a fake name throughout the movie. One of the names that he uses is Frank Connors. However, the subtitles kept referring to him as Frank Connell. This, despite the fact that they show his name several times on a plaque on a desk and on a door!

They also had "system prosecutor" instead of "assistant prosecutor" and "Bonds California" instead of "the Bar in California".

Sometimes, there is no subtitle at all, I assume because the non-native English speaker doing the subtitles couldn't guess what was being said.

My favorite subtitle goof is towards the beginning of the movie. It was kind of a critical juncture in the movie. The father of DiCaprio's character is trying to convince a bank into giving him money. He gets a store to loan his son a suit so he can help him go to the bank. In explaining the importance of wearing the suits the dialog goes like this:

You know why the Yankees always win, Frank?
'Cause they have Mickey Mantle?
No, it's 'cause the other teams can't stop staring at those damn pinstripes.

However, instead of "pinstripes", the subtitles had "pink stripes"....HA HA HA

I could not stop laughing about this throughout the movie. It was such an important point that was being made in the movie...however, most non-native English speakers probably are wondering why the Yankees wear pink stripes! Well, if it helps them win...

Like the tagline of the movie...it is a true story of a real fake!

My 60 cent haircut

Yesterday I got a haircut here in Cebu. I was a little nervous about it because I normally get my haircut by the same guy at home. I don't ever have to tell him how to cut my hair...he just cuts it.

The guy ended up doing a great job...I even got a great shoulder massage at the end of my haircut. What I ended up being surprised about is how cheap the haircut was. I paid only 30 pesos for the haircut. Thirty pesos is roughly the equivalent of 60 cents! At home, I pay $12 for a haircut. This means that I paid one twentieth of what I normally pay!

Afterwards, Glyn and I went and got manicures. Again, they ended up doing a great job. And, again, I was surprised about how much they cost...30 pesos each! (For those who think it is weird for a guy to get a manicure...don't worry, I have no polish on my nails.)

I still have not gotten a massage here, but they are relatively cheap too. A full body massage costs around $4. That's right....4 bucks!

That is how things are around here. Labor is so cheap compared to the United States. I first saw this when I arrived to Cebu for the first time. Taxi drivers were waving at me to give me a ride to the hotel. They were saying it would cost 1500 pesos ($30) for a ride to the hotel. From the airport, it is about a 40 minute taxi ride. From US standards, $30 for a 40 minute taxi ride is very reasonable. However, it was lucky that I did a little reading before I came here. I read that I should go to the metered taxis instead. So, that is what I did. I ended up paying 170 pesos for the taxi ride....which was a little over 3 bucks!

I have learned that many Filipinos will try to get foreigners to pay more since they are used to paying more. One hotel even told me that they have a different rate for foreigners than for locals. So, I get Glyn to do a lot of price negotiation for me.

Excuse me, I have a $4 massage to get to...

New pictures

I have posted new pictures from the Philippines. Included are pictures from around Cebu and from Glyn's birthday party on November 30. Glyn said it was the greatest day of her life. I think she was being overly gracious. You can get to the pictures by clicking on the "Pictures from the Philippines" link under Links, or by going here.

Eggcellent! Unrefrigerated eggs?

It is a sight that I just cannot get used to. Before I went back to the Philippines, Glyn told me that she bought eggs for her apartment. I did a double take and asked her if she really bought eggs, because I know she does not have a refrigerator (which they call a ref here BTW). She said it was no big deal to not have eggs in the the refrigerator.

Now, everything that I have ever been told about eggs says to put them in the refrigerator and keep them there. I mean, you would get sick if you didn't put eggs in the refrigerator, right?

Well, since I have been here the second time, I have seen it with my own eyes. I walk into the grocery store, and instead of the eggs being in the refrigerated section, they are sitting out on a shelf like bread! Are they crazy?? I even saw a truck carrying eggs that was not refrigerated.

I did a little bit of reading on this and it ends up that most of the world does not refrigerate their eggs. I actually have eaten these eggs and they taste just fine and I do not get sick.

Now, here at the condo I am staying in, the eggs are put in the refrigerator. It makes me feel a little bit better to do this, so I am not a complete convert.

Eggciting? Huh?

Cutting in Line

I have experienced an annoying phenomenom here in the Philippines...people cutting in line.

Now, this is not something totally foreign to me. I have had people cut in line in front of me several times in my life. However, this has happened to me many times since I have been here in the Philippines.

I will be in line at the store waiting to buy something, and someone will just walk in front of me and stand in line like they belong there. At first, I thought it was because I was a foreigner. Maybe they think the foreigner won't say anything, so they do it. Recently, I was in a public restroom, waiting for an open urinal, when two guys walked in front of me and went to urinal instead of waiting behind me.

After it happened to me for the 7th or 8th time, I asked Glyn about it. I asked her if it was usual for people to cut in line. She said that it was not uncommon. However, she thinks that it is still rude when people do it.

It really made me think about the way people drive around here too. Cars cut in front of each other with great frequency. There is no road rage or anything like that when it happens. People sort of expect it. I have never seen a taxi driver yell and scream or honk their horn in anger.

I have joked with Glyn about going to the front of a line that we are standing in to see what would happen. I am learning to stand a little closer to the person in front of me...and to take a deep breath when I get cut in front of again. Who knows? Maybe I will try it myself sometime...

The Angelus

Glyn and I were walking through a department store in the mall today. At 6:00 pm, all of a sudden everyone stopped what they were doing. I asked Glyn what was happening. She told me that they were praying The Angelus. It is traditional to pray the prayer at 6:00 am, noon, and 6:00 pm.

The prayer is a devotion to the Incarnation. So over the loudspeaker, the prayer was broadcast. It goes like this:

The Angel of the Lord declared to Mary:
And she conceived of the Holy Spirit.

Hail Mary, full of grace, the Lord is with thee; blessed art thou among women and blessed is the fruit of thy womb, Jesus. Holy Mary, Mother of God, pray for us sinners, now and at the hour of our death. Amen.

Behold the handmaid of the Lord: Be it done unto me according to Thy word.

Hail Mary . . .

And the Word was made Flesh: And dwelt among us.

Hail Mary . . .

Pray for us, O Holy Mother of God, that we may be made worthy of the promises of Christ.

Let us pray:

Pour forth, we beseech Thee, O Lord, Thy grace into our hearts; that we, to whom the incarnation of Christ, Thy Son, was made known by the message of an angel, may by His Passion and Cross be brought to the glory of His Resurrection, through the same Christ Our Lord.

Amen.

I was amazed to be standing in a public place and see all people stop what they were doing for prayer. I have never known anything like it in my life. I have grown up in a place of supposedly religious tolerance. However, practicing one's religion in public is not really tolerated in the United States.

We have freedom of religion, but what has happened instead is that we can practice whatever we want, as long as we keep quiet about it.

It was also surprising, in a predominately Catholic country (over 80 percent call themselves Catholic), that they have a national holiday for the end of Ramadan, which is a Muslim holiday (only 5 percent of the country are Muslim).

The Pac Man

Remember that game from the 80s? You know, the little character that would eat the dots? They even had a Ms. Pac Man...

Well, I am not going to talk about video games today. Instead I am going to talk about Manny "Pac Man"Pacquiao. Manny is a hero here in the Philippines. He is an actor, a singer, and probably one day will be a politician. Oh yeah, he is also a boxer!

Today, I joined what seems like the whole country in watching him fight Eric Morales of Mexico. The fight was being billed as the Grand Finale to the Trilogy of Morales-Paquiao. (That means they fought twice before...each fighter winning once.)

The fight was being fought in Las Vegas, but Glyn and I headed up the street to a restaurant/bar (they call them restos here) called The Wine Shop (a wine and Spanish tapas restaurant...er, I mean resto) to watch the fight live on the big screen. The fight was also being shown on commerical TV here in the Philippines. However, because of commericials, anyone watching it over "free TV" was seeing it an hour or two behind.

So at 8:00 in the morning, we walked in and sat down at one of the tables. However, we found out that the tables were already reserved. So we sat at the bar to watch the fight. There were a total of 3 fights before the main event. So we had breakfast at the bar and watched all the fights, which started at 10:00 am here.

We even ordered a bottle of wine before the big fight. I know I am going off on a tangent... those who know me well would say that this is normal for me to do...I could not get over how cheap the wine was. The bottle that we ordered was 210 pesos, which is just over $4.00 US. In fact, it is cheaper to drink the wine in the restaurant than to take it out!

Anyway, back to the fight...What a great experience it was. The place was packed! They played the Philippines, Mexico, and US National Anthems before the bout. I was impressed at the great reception the US National Anthem got in the bar when it was played. The crowd was into every punch that Manny threw! They would roar with every good hit, and they erupted at the end of the third round when Manny won on a KO (that is knockout to the uninitiated).

It seemed like the whole country celebrated this victory! The priest even talked about Manny during his homily at Mass. (Hey, he knows how to play the crowd!)

Honestly, I cannot tell you the last time I watched a boxing match, but today it was a real joy to celebrate with all Filipinos the Pac Man's victory.

Here! Here! Blogging from the Philippines

Well, here it is...my first blog post here. I have had this blog for probably a year and a half, but never did anything with it. I guess I didn't have much to say.

Most of you know that I am currently in the Philippines. I have been here since November 1, which is All Saints Day, a national holiday here. Being here is really amazing...I get to experience a different culture than my own for the first time in my life.

I will post some thoughts on what it is like here in the RP, as well as other things that are in my head. Thanks for reading.