Quietude

After all the stress and strain made by my self-imposed pressure of adjusting to expatriate life, I have reached some degree of quietude.

I think the most critical period has passed and while adjustment continues to be the order of the day for me, it doesn’t scare me now as much as it did a year ago.

That every storm will pass, we know by heart, by knowledge, by experience. But each time we experience its whip, it’s never the same – with a different kind of battle that requires a new approach and solution – but in the end, you are transformed and strengthened.

Puxa-puxa brings back the old times

Isn’t it amazing how a foreign food can be exactly the same as the one you have enjoyed at home long time ago? The moment I took a bite of the puxa-puxa, I told myself that indeed, this world isn’t at all too big.

Puxa-puxa is a sweet made from sugarcane. As the name suggests (puxa literally means “pull”), one has to bite one end and pull the rest of it away from the mouth to tear it apart and eat it. When it’s freshly made, it has the consistency and texture of melted mozzarella cheese.

In the Philippines, specifically in my home province, puxa-puxa is called “kalti”. My earliest memory of kalti took place in my grandfather’s farm where he had a traditional sugarcane mill. The mill had a long wood attachment and the tip was tied at the back of his carabao.  The poor carabao would then walk in circles like a planet rotating around the sun, as the sugarcane was fed into the mill. The juice from the sugarcane was pressed then cooked until it produced the kalti.

Now with the puxa-puxa, I can enjoy once again a good old favorite and let my heart delight on the memory of a family tradition. Thanks to my dear Brazilian friend who made me try one and gave me some more to take home.

Music from home

Something unexpected came out Saturday night at the home of a lovely couple who invited us for dinner. Before we sat down to enjoy our meal, our hosts led us to a small room and played a medley of familiar songs, one after another.

They were popular Ilocano folk songs – Pamulinawen, Naraniag a Bulan, Manang Biday – that they stumbled upon in the Internet and downloaded them because “the melody sounds good and lively”. What a surprise!

Brazilian and Filipino breakfasts

A week ago, a Brazilian friend asked me what a typical Filipino breakfast is like. She was surprised to know that Filipinos eat rice for breakfast.

A typical Filipino breakfast is composed of garlic fried rice known locally as sinangag, sunny-side up eggs, and one or several of the following: longganisa (garlic pork sausage), beef tapa (cured beef), tocino (cured pork), tapang bangus (cured milkfish), tinapa (smoked fish), daing (dried fish), sardines, hotdogs, or tortang talong (eggplant omelette). In all this, a sawsawan (sauce) – made from a variety of choices such as vinegar, fish sauce or paste, tomatoes, soy sauce, calamansi (Philippine lemon), ketchup, or their numerous and almost unimaginable combinations, with or without chili – is a must.