Filipina Soul

Have you considered going to the Philippines this Christmas? And I’m writing to both expats and foreign travels who are planning a destination get-away for the holiday.
Consider going to the Philippines this December, and staying on till the New Year. With almost 3 weeks worth of Christmas season, and holiday traditions unlike any other, the Philippines should be on your short list.

A travel agent I talked to said the fares are still relatively cheap, although that won’t last long with the holiday travel looming next month.

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You’re looking at a costume of a tribesman from southern Philippines, the Tigwahanon Manobo of Bukidnon. Click on the photo for a close up and you’ll notice the intricate details of the jacket.
You have to understand, clothes such as this were woven by hand, and the designs/applique were certainly not made by machine.
Photographer Ceasar Amirhassan Nimor had the privilege to capture these various costumes of the Philippines, and he shares them with us. I believe Ceasar used the dance troupes as models for his shoot, so the men and women pictured below would not be the actual …read more

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There is no reason not to write about Whole Grain Rosemary Potato Bread on a Filipino blog. While Filipinos are not big bread eaters, we’re adaptable and will happily enjoy good freshly baked bread anytime.
Our featured blog this week is Apple Pie, Patis, & Pâté. Its author, Jude, mixes cuisines from all over the world “from a tiny apartment kitchen in Chicago”. In addition to Filipino food, you’ll find Finnish, French, Indonesian, Belgian and Austrian recipes here. While I love traditional Filipino food, I’m also interested in Filipino fusion cuisine. For starters, how about a grilled version of Chicken …read more

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When it comes to travel, there is no such thing as overcrowding in the Philippines.

Counting the heads, there could be more than 25 people on this jeepney’s roof deck, excluding the 20 more packed inside. Do the math. Who needs a bus when you can have this?
image: flickrcc

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What is really the best gauge to determine the performance of a university? Is it facilities? Amount of money received in grants? Number of alumni who go on to become presidents/senators/congressmen?
While there are any number of criteria to consider in ranking any group of schools, a survey by Philippine Professional Regulations Commission (PRC) and the Commission on Higher Education (CHED) assessed university performance by looking at graduates of the same programs.
The joint study, published in 2005, looked into the performance of Philippine universities in the various national board examinations. The study ranked the universities based on the average passing in …read more

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There is nothing quite like this in the world. Not even Chrysler is able to manufacture this model of Mercedes Benz.
King of the Road. Only in the Philippines - 

image: flickrcc

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Just two more jokes, and I’m done for the day.
TEACHER.
There was this Filipino kindergarten teacher and she was teaching her class how to do the hokey-pokey. She started off by saying, “You put your right feet in, you put your right feet out, you put your right feet in….” 
Suddenly one of the children said, “Teacher you have to say ‘foot.’” 
So the teacher said, “You ‘foot’ your right feet in, you ‘foot’ your right feet out…..”

Nothing personal here. Filipinos just have an irreverent humor, and we make fun of ourselves all the time. Here’s …read more

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Some jokes are too good to pass…
A Pinoy went to a bar in Hawaii to have some drinks. At the counter, he sat next to the famous Hollywood director, Steven Spielberg who was already ahead by a quart of alcohol. After a couple of beers, the Pinoy sensed that Spielberg was glaring at him. Suddenly, in a flash the Pinoy crashed down from his stool, felled by a vicious hook from the director.
Picking himself up, he yelled, “Wat da hell is dat por?”
Spielberg ranted: “That’s for the bombing of Pearl Harbor, you #@@!!##! My dad perished in that bombing!”
“Tang …read more

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You saw how it ended. Now watch it again.
One of the most followed Filipino teleseries this year, “Lobo“ended its run last  July 11, 2008. Viewers cried for an hour and even through the commercials, as Lyka Raymundo (Angel Locsin) and Noah Ortega (Piolo Pascual) fought for their love one last time.
It was dramatic, unforgettable and oh-so Filipino. The death scenes – at some point I wanted to say “die already”, but I so wanted the characters to survive what could possibly be the longest dying segment. Not to belittle the actors, but they were very convincing and actually brought …read more

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This is the most romantic wedding scene ever!!! Gosh, and it’s not even real.
Lyka Raymundo (played by Angel Locsin) and Noah Ortega (Piolo Pascual) exchanged vows in a tearful wedding ceremony in the hit teleseries “Lobo” of ABS-CBN.

For those new to the series, “Lobo” (Wolf) is the love story of childhood friends Lyka, of the wolf-clan, and Noah, of the wolf-hunters. Noah and Lyka must battle all odds to prove their love can survive the hatred that each family feels toward the other.

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