Rainy Day

This is probably the most uncomfortable day I've  had since I've been here in the Philippines. The humidity has been oppressive all day. It's really not been that hot, the temperature peaked in the low 80's, which is mild for here. But, all day the humidity has hovered around 100% and everything feels damp. The floors feel damp, especially the wood. The fabric on the chairs feels damp and the bedding feels damp. Everything is clean and fresh, but it still feels so damp. I took a shower and felt good for a few minutes but then my clothes started to feel damp again. The weather is supposed to be this way for the next few days, and the weather radar shows a large storm system. Thunderstorms are predicted--they're really fun to watch from the 46th floor here.

It rained very hard this morning and many of the streets in the Manila area flooded. The video is from the street in front of our apartment during the storm. Nevertheless, my mother-in-law came by with two of Mexica's little sisters (Russia and Jasmine), and Canada was here already, so there's a house full of beautiful women. Mama Nena made a great dinner and now we're watching (ok, well, they're watching) Filipino TV. They're all giggling and laughing and enjoying the show. It's some kind of talent show, Talentadong Pinoy ("Pinoy are Talented"--if you don't know, Pinoy and Pinay are Tagalog for natives of the Philippines). They have a lot of talent shows and a lot of quiz shows on TV here, and most are pretty funny (even I get some of the humor), but they're really just prolonged advertisements.

It took the family about 2 hours to get here today, much longer than the usual trip of a half hour, because they had to change from cab to tricycle and back again several times--4 or 5 separate vehicles--and it cost 500 pesos, which is more than twice as much as usual, all due to the flooding. The streets were clear by this afternoon, but it's raining again, so the streets are flooding again, so they're all spending the night. It's a little crowded by my standards but not too bad and they're all having fun and mainly, an attempt at a trip home for them would be really dicey.

Crime in the Philippines

This was a kind of close call I had today. Mexica  and I were catching a taxi in front of our apartment at about 6:30 PM. Traffic was awful as it usually is that time of day and cars were not moving. There were very few taxis available.

One thing you see here is young boys, about  8-12 years old who will run for a taxi for you. They find an available taxi out on the street and then bring the taxi to where you're waiting. For this, you give them a few coins, usually I give them about 5-10 pesos, depending on conditions and how far they had to go, etc. That would be about $.25 in US dollars, but that's pretty good in a world where a teacher makes about 200 pesos a day. I think these kids' parents send them out every day and tell them to come back with money. I don't think they care much how the kids get it.

Anyway, a cab arrived without any assist from any of the urchins, but two boys fought to open the car door for us and get a few coins. Usually I would give them very little, if anything for this, since they didn't do anything. These boys were very persistent and one was getting way too close--and then I noticed a pressure on my front pants pocket (which is where I keep my wallet here) and reached down and pulled out a hand that wasn't mine. My pocket was being picked! The boy tried to bluff that he was only asking for a coin, but I knew what he was up to, and he knew that I knew. He ran off and Mexica and I (Mexi  was already  in the taxi) rode off to the Mall. Close call.

Rainy Season

It appears that the rainy season has arrived. There's rain every day, very hard, for at least a short while. As a result, the streets fill with water. The storm drains here can't handle the downpours, but the streets clear pretty quickly, at least in most places. There are some spots where the drainage isn't quite right and the water builds up. I'm going to take a video one of the next downpours and post it, so those of you who haven't seen it can experience it some. The worst part is that because  the streets aren't kept very clean, the water in the streets is very foul.

Even though it's raining, it's still hot. Very hot. I thought maybe the rain would bring down the temperatures, but not to any meaningful extent, at least so far. Still no typhoons, thank goodness. We bought a rechargeable emergency light and we're buying some canned goods so we will be prepared when a big storm hits. We just got a nice package from home that included AA and AAA batteries to power our other flashlights. Batteries here are not very reliable. There were a lot of goodies in the box, including some new clothes for me that are more appropriate in size. I'm down to a 48 inch waist from a 56, and still going.

Thoughts on Holy Week

Holy Week  here in the Philippines was a new thing for me. Things here essentially shut down from Thursday through  Monday (although stores were open on Saturday).

I found it pleasant to be able to go into the street in front of my apartment building and see almost no traffic, as opposed to the constant roar, horn honking, and general din. People visit their families, spend time with friends or just chill, and, even without stores, they survive. Mexica and I had a little self-inflicted trouble because we got home from Boracay on Wednesday and we did not go out shopping when we got home. Because we'd been gone a week, our refrigerator was almost empty and we didn't have much, but that was our fault.

The real surprise came on Saturday, when the stores were open for a few hours. We went shopping, but to my great surprise, the stores were not crowded. There were very few people shopping. It seems that people had found something else to do besides shop. What a shock.

Meanwhile, this week (April 29 to May 5) is called "Golden Week" in Japan, and things in Japan pretty much shut down for the whole week. Just  by coincidence there are several unrelated holidays that occur over the course of just these few days. Many employers apparently just shut down for the whole week and many people take vacations. 

My point? Couldn't the USA use something like this? Wouldn't it be nice if our biggest holidays were NOT mere excuses for shopping? Yes, day after Thanksgiving, I'm talking about YOU. A week of quiet, rest, visiting family and  friends, relaxation, recreation without the constant commerce sounds good to me. Here in the Philippines it's a religious festival (and that makes me uncomfortable for other reasons), but in Japan it's purely secular. By the way, Japan also shuts down for close to a week for New Year's Day, and so does China. If the rest of the world can do it, why can't the USA? 

Cooking Filipino

Mexica and I are working on our Filipino cooking skills. So far, we've developed a pretty good hand with Pork Adobo. Adobo is a basic Filipino food, and really pretty easy, pork, onion, garlic, soy sauce, water, bay leaf, whole peppercorns and something called "magic sarap" (which is an MSG-based flavor enhancer). Most recipes I've read for adobo call for vinegar, but Mexica's family recipe does not include vinegar. Either way, I do love adobo, it's not only easy to make, but it's delicious.

Yesterday I tried making spaghetti Filipino style, and that is a work in progress. I've mastered spaghetti in a more traditional Italian-American style, but Filipinos like their spaghetti sauce sweet and mine tasted too much of Italian spices. I'll have to try again. Today, I'm making Beef Mechado, which is a Filipino variation of a beef stew. I'll let you know how it turns out. It's been fun learning to cook in a new style!

Ingredients:

• 1/2 kilo Beef chuck cut into large cubes
• 1 small onion chopped
• 3 cloves garlic chopped
• 1 medium can tomato sauce or crushed tomatoes
• 2 potatoes cut into medium cubes
• 1 small carrots, cut in serving pieces
• 1 cup water or beef stock
• 2 bay leaves(laurel)
• 1/4 cup soy sauce
• 1/4 sliced lemon or 2 tbsp lemon juice alternative
• 1 red bell pepper
• salt and pepper to taste
• cooking oil

Mechado Cooking Instructions:

Heat cooking oil in pan, add in beef and sear until all sides are brown. Set aside.

In the same pan, saute garlic and onion until soft and fragrant.

Place the beef back in the pan and stir for few minutes.

Add in soy sauce, tomato sauce, bayleaves, water and bring to a boil. Simmer over low heat for at least an hour or until the beef is tender.

When meat is tender, add in sliced lemon or a drop of lemon juice. Place in potatoes, bell pepper, and carrots. Simmer until vegetables are tender. Salt and pepper to taste. Turn off heat.

More on "Life in the Philippines"-Rental Agent

The rental agent through whom I rented this apartment has been telling me she is in contact with the condo owner, an Australian, who insists on certain terms for the rental, which I found peculiar. She promised to clarify the issues and get back to me, but she never did.

Well, today I met the owner of the condo. He's an American (not an Australian) and until he arrived in Manila today he did not even know his unit had been rented out--he had authorized renting it, but didn't know it had happened. He had to ask ME how much my rent was. He was not asking for any of the unusual terms the rental agent had requested. One of them was that I would provide 11 post-dated checks to cover the rent from now through next year. Of course he found that as appalling as I did and said he would never do it. They had asked him for 5 years of post-dated checks, but instead he makes a payment each month. He was surprised to find out that he "insisted" that I pay the condo dues. He is paying those. He was surprised to find out that those dues are 2700 pesos per month, as he is paying only 2250 pesos.

Real Estate agents in the US don't have a high rating for honesty, but this woman we are dealing with here takes the cake.

Retirement

Well, I've retired now and I am living in the Philippines. Living here is presenting challenges all the time, but mostly I enjoy it. Nothing happens on time--and any of you know me, know that is a difficult thing for me to deal with. Things are on their own schedule.

We have an apartment on the 46th floor of the Grand Towers II on Pablo Ocampo Street in Manila. We have a wonderful view of Manila Bay. Our first big purchases were a bed/mattress and an air conditioner. The latter is absolutely essential for me, as the heat quickly makes me wilt. I'm getting better but I am not fully adapted yet.

We were supposed to move into our apartment on Monday, the 20th. Instead, we got into a different apartment on Saturday, the 25th. In between, we got delays and foot dragging and things got challenging. We couldn't really afford a hotel for an extra week, so we ended up staying with one of Mexica's aunts for a few days. They were very gracious. The pictures on my Facebook account of me reading to two little kids are of me reading to her aunt's two kids, Yuro and Reika.

Traffic in Manila is SOOOOOO BAD. I was looking out our apartment window and I can see our hotel from there. It is no more than 2-3 miles but driving would take us at least an hour.

I went the US Embassy on Wednesday to get paperwork, and that took me about 3 1/2 hours. Funny thing, the man in line in front of me was from Springfield MA. I never got his story, he was the one unfriendly man in the whole line. The rest of us talked and shared stories and it was pretty interested how we each ended up in the Philippines.

This is a little disjointed, and I am sorry for that. I will post more episodically now, if I can, as I have time. Once we have internet in our apartment, I hope to do better. Right now I'm in a public study room in the apartment complex. Next to the palm trees, the swimming pool and the Jacuzzi tub. More to follow from the Philippines, bye for now!