Mabuhay!

The last two weeks have seen me in a blissful state of relaxation as I went on annual leave. Apart from suffering from some mild tinges of pager-withdrawal syndrome for the first day or so, I've found myself in a complete state of holiday bliss. I've elected to leave the harsh almost-winter of Adelaide and go home to the Philippines.

No one can deny that there is a special something in returning home. Mum-meals, your old bedroom, memories associated with old haunts, secret hiding places, old toys. For a balikbayan, one cannot underestimate how much more comfortable life is with maids and drivers.

But there are also those things that are uniquely Filipino, little things that remind me that I am, indeed, home. Here is a list of things I 've noticed, little things that make me smile, little things that frustrate me, all little things that I will miss when I return to Adelaide:

1. "Intertropical convergence zone" -- a term that must have been coined by PAGASA, as I've never heard it anywhere else. It is a term that also invokes memories of waiting for DECS to suspend classes.

2. Traffic. Traffic. Traffic. -- I don't care what anyone says. No one has seen traffic, unless they've been in Manila. I dunno that I'd ever be able to drive in Philippine traffic, but it reminds me that I am home.

3. Kakanin -- With Australian produce, I can make our traditional Filipino meals: adobo, pancit, menudo, mechado, arroz ala cubana, and even some form of champorado. But I will never ever be able to make bibinka, sapin sapin, suman, puto. For which my waistline is thankful. It's another story for my tastebuds.

4. Mangoes -- I will return to Australia with packets of dried mangoes. But nothing can replace fresh authentic Filipino mangoes, both the juicy yellow variety and the tart green mangoes dripping with alamang.

5. Shopping bargains -- Bazaars. Enough said.

6. Jollibee -- I had an intense craving for yumburgers in the buildup to my final exams. Go figure. Yumburgers and Jack and Jill Chiz Curls.

7. Telenovelas -- Neighbours and Home and Away just cannot compare to Marimar.

8. SHOPPING HOURS -- Adelaide, listen up: late night shopping is still early for the pinoys.

9. Security guards with rifles patrolling malls and guarding McDo.

10. Street kids selling sampaguita leis on the street, then using our car's tinted windows as mirrors if we don't buy anything.

I'm sure if I sat and thought about it, I could think of lots more things that evoke memories of home. But I'm hungry and my mom's cooking adobo :)

An aside: For breakfast, I had a chocolate cinnamon roll from cinnabon. YUM!!!!!!

A year ago

A year ago, I met this guy. He was nice looking and sweet, so I had coffee with him. Then one thing led to another and we started going out. I learn new things about both him and myself on a daily basis. Our relationship isn't perfect, but then I don't expect it to be.

Footy Madness

It's a sign of the universe's twisted sense of humour that my boyfriend is one of the most sports-mad people in existence. Remember: this is a girl who faked asthma attacks to get out of cheering practice and timed monthly visits to the school clinic with dysmenorrhea to avoid compulsary volleyball at PE. Daniel, on the other hand, relishes his sports, and has to juggle me, work, uni, playing tennis (saturdays in summer)/indoor cricket (?wednesday)/footy (saturdays in winter)/going to the gym (wednesdays, i think), as well as watching the footy/cricket. Oh yeah, and then there's coaching the little kiddies at soccer (tuesday). Me? I walk around the hospital and take the stairs instead of the lift. That's exercise enough.

So how I managed to find myself amidst a crowd of 41,000 screaming footy fans at the football stadium on Saturday is still beyond me. Needless to say, it was an experience. Not that I hadn't been to the footy before. It's hard to live in Australia for more than a year without being exposed to it -- it's like Pinoys and basketball: you may not be passionate about it, but you can't escape it! I had been to college matches -- where the rules I went by were 1) if they cheer, it's bad news and 2) if we cheer, it's good news. At the end of 2 years, I managed to get a better understanding and add 3) if it goes between the two tall sticks, it's 6 points, if it goes between a tall one and a short one then it's 1 point and we have to cheer harder.

I had been to a professional match only once before. Daniel took me to the opening match 5 rounds ago. We lost. (And, man, was he grumpy!). This match was slightly different. For one thing, it was cold and drizzly. But while I ducked out between showers to seek shelter, Daniel was there cheering the Crows on. It was a close game. Even I, with my very limited footy knowledge could see that. And, with Daniel's teaching, I could appreciate some of the plays. But my biggest indication that "something" was about to happen that could possibly change the course of the game was Daniel grabbing my arm and muttering "I can't watch!".

In the end, we won. (The club's song is now stuck in my head "We're the pride of South Australia, we're the mighty Adelaide crows..." over and over again...) Went for a pizza. Watched some more footy on tv (there are 8 national games played between Friday evening and Sunday afternoon!). The next day, after lunch (while Daniel watched even more footy), we went to the nearby Adelaide Oval and watched 2 local teams fight it out. By dinner, I was fully saturated and curled up with a girly book and the last 2 weeks worth of taped OC and Summerland and ER episodes. There was just an overkill of footy for a hapless non-sport-orientated girl.

But, a little secret: I did enjoy myself. Even with the rain.

Until next weekend...