M.G.

CCES Class of '87 staged a "Ms. Gay" contest when we had our grand homecoming reunion in Surigao last July. It was for the sole purpose of having fun. The contestants were real men. By that I mean with wives and children-- well-- most of them. Here's a part of it captured forever for their children and future grandchildren to laugh or shudder about. :)

Stories from the P.I. trip

1. I was lining up at a money changer inside E-mall in Cebu when I heard a girl's excited voice along with a so familiar laugh a few meters behind me. I turned around to see A being approched and chatted animatedly by someone. I grinned at my cousin, who was waiting for me at the tiny reception area and who also noticed what was happening, amused at A's sudden predicament. The woman next to me also saw the girl's daring move and said to me in what seemed to be a combination of disbelief and mild disgust; "That girl is so desperate to marry a foreigner. We don't know, that man probably has someone here somewhere." The look of sheer amusement on my face probably gave me away.

"Do you know him?," she slowly asked.

"Yeah, he's my husband."

2. We were in Tagbilaran City in Bohol looking at some native accessories on sale. A was in a booth checking some necklaces while I was stuck in another which was selling really nice bracelets. When I went to join him I saw a pair of giggling girls talking to him. Then he said something like "yeah, but you have to ask my wife first," nodding at my direction. The girls looked at me and bolted away as if I was the plague. "What was that about?," I asked. "They wanted to have pictures taken with me," the husband answered, shaking his head in bewilderment.

Shucks, he should have said yes right away and I would have collected a fee. :)

3. The taxi we were in was waiting for the green light to go along MJ Cuenco Avenue in Cebu when a boy of not more than 8 years old tapped A's window. He was carrying a plastic bag of small yellow mangoes and firing away convincingly his prepared marketing speech to A in Cebuano: "Sir, sir, palit mangga, sir. Tam-is kaayo ni ug gagmay ug liso! Singwenta lang ni, sir." (Sir, buy these mangoes, sir. Very sweet and they have small seeds! Just fifty pesos, sir!")

Like any foreigner traveling in PI, my husband has a soft spot for street urchins, especially those who are working by selling something. He turned and asked me to give the boy a hundred pesos.

"Pila gani na, Dong?," I asked. (How much is it, son?)
"Saysenta pesos, maam." (Sixty pesos, maam.) Aww, an immediate mark up.
"Tam-is kaayo ni, maam. Gagmay ug liso. Di jud ka magmahay palit ani, maam uy!" (These are very sweet, maam. With small seeds. You really wont regret buying them, maam!")

I gave him 70 pesos and took the mangoes. Sure enough, they were all so sour.

I have no doubts that kid will be a great politician someday.

Roses are....dead?

Flowers make my day. So at the last week of classes in June, my days were made as I received bunches of them from my kids and their parents. On the last day I received a bouquet of roses. Usually I would be ecstatic but not this time-- we were going to my in-laws' place near Brno straight from work to spend time with them before we fly to PI-- which means I had to leave all the flowers to die at home.

Then an idea came from Anne. She said to hang the roses upside down in a cool and dark place. This is to preserve their color and for the petals and leaves not to fall off. This way I would still enjoy them when I come back.

Fast forward to more than five weeks later. They look like this now:

Anne's right. The petals and leaves are intact and they make a lovely home decor. Oh well, she's not a preschool teacher for nothing. :)

P.I. in pics (part 2)

SURIGAO

I was born and raised in a once sleepy town called Carrascal in Surigao del Sur. I moved to Cebu in the early 90s to study and since then only came to visit Carrascal for holidays and sometimes, not even once a year. I've since considered Cebu City as my home, but even this is now left in question as Prague has weaved itself as such. Still, I'm grateful to Carrascal for shaping and molding me to someone that I actually like, haha.

It was its fiesta when we visited the town in July. It was A's first Philippine fiesta experience. The compulsory food binging must have been something for him. I can't count how many lechons we had to sample, how many slices of cake we had to taste, how many servings of humba we had to stuff in our stomach. Gikabuhi ko pagkahuman.

What I love most about Carrascal is its empty beaches and how you can have your pick of black, white or even red sand to go with them. We were beach bums day in and day out, for a week.

The road frequently travelled to and from Carrascal. It's a three-hour bumpy ride from Surigao City which guarantees you ending up having ginger hair when you reach the town with all this red dust blowing everywhere.

Skimboarding is the new in thing in Carrascal. We watched this skimboarding competition right on our arrival in the town.

Trisikads as the means of transport. We preferred to walk but the tropical heat and humidity made us change our mind.

Pigging-out in action. This was the third house we went to for lunch on July 16. I swear if I ate more than few bites of chocolate cake I would pass out. And we still had to go visit a fourth and fifth house!

At the fourth house. Aguy, lechon nasad! We definitely begged off from having another bite of it.

Finally, food binging was over. Time for a dip at Candido Beach to burn those calories. This is one of my favorite beaches ever. A candid shot by A when we docked at Candido. This beach is a 15-minute boat ride from the town. I texted my friend Nemsie (in white shirt), who owns several boats for fishing, if we could rent one to take us there. Less than half an hour later she came telling us the boat is ready when we are. (With Nemsie's husband, Raul and my sister Michelle.)

Communing with the sea, the sand, the wind and the sky... a perfect way to end the day, or to start it.

Blueberry bread/cake

I'd like to spend the remaining days of my vacation experimenting in the kitchen because once the school year starts, I know I would have my hands full again and wont have the time for it. Yesterday I was so bent in making blueberry muffins. I got inspired after I watched my sis and mom-in-law bake them at the cottage during the weekend. Problem was I couldn't find a single muffin paper cup even after searching them for hours at Tesco and Interspar. Sigh. What to do with these fresh blueberries I made the special trip for at Namesti Miru? Intending to do something with them, I searched the net for an easy blueberry cake recipe.

I found one at About.com. It's originally called Blueberry Tea Cake and baked on an 8-inch square baking dish but we dont have it so I used a bread tin instead. I don't think it makes any difference to the taste, anyway. Please click here for the recipe. The result makes me decide this one is a keeper.

P.I. in pics (part 1)

I'm back in Prague, jet-lagged and not looking forward to go back to work. I still have two weeks of paid holidays left so I guess I couldn't complain.

Did you miss Prague?, most of my friends here and in PI asked. Yes, I did. Do you miss PI now? I miss the food and the beaches and of course, my family. But other than that I'm happy to be back.

Here are the faces and places of our five weeks in PI:

CEBU

Plantation Bay in Mactan. It was teeming with Japanese and Koreans as everywhere else in Mactan.

Parasailing is fun! (Tambuli Beach, Mactan)

A trying so hard to climb this coconut tree as high as he could. Did he reach the top? Did he fall? I'll leave it up to your imagination. ( Kawasan Falls, Badian)

Kawasan Falls in Badian. The V-hire took us only from Cebu City to Moalboal so we had to hire a jeepney from Moalboal to Badian for PhP250.00. I've been to Kawasan several times before so we didn't need a guide. But one man imposed his presence and walked along with us from the highway to the first falls and later demanded PhP100.00 for his "professional fee."

This is how it was like travelling with a blond, blue-eyed husband in most parts of the country. The people assumed we were Central Bank personified and thus trying to wring out as much cash as they can from us. I understand they just wanted to "make a living." It's sad how poverty makes you a nuisance for some.

Will post some more pics soon. Ta-ta for now.