Travel Diaries : the Philippines through Foreign Tourists' Eyes

I think I ought to start my Travel Diaries by sharing how foreign tourists view my homeland.  I found the link of the first video on a friend's wall in Facebook.  Then I found the second one on the right side bar of the first video in Youtube.  I'm sharing these because I find them interesting and entertaining.

This first video is entitled "20 Reasons Why I Dislike the Philippines" by Jimmy.  I describe this video as -  looking at the glass half-empty.  However, almost everything he said was true, exaggerated but true. Let me enumerate his reasons and let me add some of my thoughts on each:

1. Improper covering of holes in the sidewalk - this is true in most cases :(

2. Sidewalk vendors - this part is really funny  

3. Sanitation in local wet market - this is true but you have lots of option.  Don't buy your food there if you have issues with that.

4. MILF - funny

5. Construction site - not always true

6. Whitening products - I totally agree with Jimmy here. Filipino skin color is beautiful.  But seriously, it's hard to find beauty products here that is not "whitening."    

7. Air pollution - in cities, so true.  In some rural town, this is also true because of too many tricycles. :(

8. Packaging that adds up to the litter all around you - so true.  Total waste of money (coz those little plastic bags and staple wires cost something too), time, and energy.  But you have an option here too.  If I buy small items like a bar of chocolate or a pack of Kleenex in drugstores or 711 , I tell the cashier that i do not need a plastic bag for it - simple way to help mother nature.  Buyers must be proactive too!  

9.  Litter everywhere - in some places this is true. :(

10. Shitty drivers - true in most cases.  

11. Uncomfortable comfort rooms - In some really poor areas, this is true.  But you'll be surprised sometimes because I've been to a poor and remote area once and the C.R. has a roll of tissue paper and has running water even if it did not have a toilet seat.  Oh and just so you know, not all Filipinos wipe their ass after relieving themselves because they wash it with soap and water.  Hence, not all comfort rooms have tissue paper.

12. Security guards everywhere doing nothing - not true.  I believe that there are still lots of noble security guards around here.          

13. Pissing anywhere you want - funny male practice

14. Mall entrance search - true. I hate this too.  They just touch you and that's it.  Unnecessary practice.  

15. Beep! Beep! Beep! - funny but true.  "I saw you" = beep!

16. Small napkins in restaurants and food kiosks - just so you know, there are available napkins like that in stores.  It's impractical for restaurant managers to assign one waitress/waiter to cut and fold those napkins into that size. And for a 10-20 pesos snack or drink that you buy, don't expect to get a full-sized napkin with it.

17. Beggars everywhere you go - so true.  :(  And they keep on touching you with really dirty fingers which is really irritating.

18. Chicken everywhere - funny

19. Blasting sounds from stereos - exaggerated. This is not always the case and definitely not everywhere

20. Roaches - they thrive in really populated areas. Eeeeww too!   

21. Everyone is asking for tips -  the ugly truth.  Really annoying.  Here, we call it, making kikil or asking for tong.

22. Ladyboy - funny

23. Tons of loud Koreans - hmmm... they go to our schools and universities that's why there are tons of them here.

24. Making motorcycles and scooters sound like Harley - funny. So are cars painted to look like a race car.  But what i hate are motorcycles and scooters that expel their exhaust right into you face.  That's the trend here now. :(

25. Warm beer - can't relate here. I never liked beer.

       

Now the second video was entitled "20 Reasons I love the Philippines - Walter Masley & Jeff Lester" .  This is like looking at the glass half full.  However the link is already dead now. (http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_embedded&v=bSDl7Fi38RU) It was still available last March 15 when I started to draft this post.  It has been removed recently.  Anyway, I'll edit this post when sombody uploads the video once again.  Btw, original video of Jimmy has also been removed when I check today.  I'm glad another fellow uploaded it again in Youtube.

So anyway, I'll share some points that I can still recall which were mentioned by Masley and Lester:

1. Basketball everywhere - so true. funny clip of a flooded makeshift court.

2. Roasted chickens everywhere - yes, and we love it too!  Delicious! :D

3. Pirated movies and tv series everywhere - true. this is probably the reason why the video has been removed.  :D  

4. Haggling fun - yes, you can haggle in the local markets.  

5. Lots of transport options - this is true but somehow annoying.  Like in our town, there are toooo many tricycles and motorcycles already.  And some drivers do not have licences.  This is really dangerous to commuters.  Plus, the air and noise pollution they create is really annoying.

6. Access to alcohol anywhere and anytime of day - true.  But I'm not a fan and this is dangerous too.

Sorry but that's all that I can remember for now from their video.  

These videos are limited to the clips they gathered during their stay in the cities and in some towns.  But we should note that, these little things matter too in a tourists' point of view, not just our pristine beaches.  The first video is like a wake up call to us Filipinos.  We should really be proactive if we want to produce a lovely picture of our country. 

After this, I hope to continue my Travel Diaries and I hope to show you that not all the cities here are like that and to show you how beautiful our country really is.  :D

Sewing Curtains using Mom's Old Singer Sewing Machine

This afternoon, mom finally taught me how to use her old Singer sewing machine.  She knows I can sew by hand.  So she just gave me the very basic instructions on how to use her machine.  

a. Put the cloth under the walking foot
b. Make sure the threads are at the back
c. Turn the knob to put the needle down
d. Put the walking foot down
e. And press the "electric pedal" with my foot.

She just gave me a piece of cloth, made me run 2 stitches,  then left me with the curtain fabric to work with. Wow!  She knows I hate being watched while working.  I so loooove my mom!  

That's me sewing while the little boy was busy playing on his walker.  He was pulling my measuring tape in this picture. Pardon the photo quality 'coz this was taken using my webcam.  In case you're wondering, the thread was not on top of the machine because it was in a cup on the floor.  Mom told me the stitches get tangled when she put the thread in its proper place.  

I was able to finish 50% of 3 panels but had to stop because of the little one.  He kept pulling the fabric because he wanted to go out of the house and watch lola in the garden.  So we played outside instead.  Fun!

I hope you had a happy, productive, and memorable weekend too! =D

Wearing Barong Tagalog

Yesterday, the Mr. and I were one of the Principal Sponsors in Crislyn's wedding.  It was a lovely experience.  When we were first informed, I was like "WHAT? We're still young!"  Later on I realized that it was an honor to be a big part of somebody else's wedding.  And I was glad it happened. Here are some photos of us taken after the wedding reception.  

Howl's Moving Castle by Hayao Miyazaki

Last night, the Mr. and I watched a film directed by Hayao Miyazaki who also directed Spirited Away, one of my fave animated films ever.  Now, I have a new title to add in my favorite movie list.

a scene from Howl's Moving Castle 

Title: Howl's Moving Castle
Director: Hayao Miyazaki
Rating: 5 out of 5

Why I love it:  Have you ever dreamed of having special powers like the ability to fly or to teleport? Well, I did and sometimes still do.  That's why I love reading fantasy books, playing RPG like World of Warcraft, and watching fantasy movies.  And this film contains both flying and some sort of a teleport "machine" or door to be precise.  I love the idea of just turning the knob to a certain color which is assigned to a certain place so when you open the door, you'll be opening a door to that certain place.  Imagine your door with a knob of colors assigned to your most favorite cities to visit, say Paris, Tokyo, New York, Baguio, and Quezon City!  It's so fun and awesome! I wish I could invent such a thing. hee hee

Also, I love it for its art.  It has a lovely, colorful, and fun cinematography.  And I think, painted or drawn cartoons are still better than 3D.  I'm enjoying 3D movies too but, the classic ones like this is much better!  See Howl's castle below? 

    

The artwork is really awesome, isn't it?  There are more really cool paintings in the movie but these are just some of the photos available from IMDb. Just click on the photos to direct you to their sources.

Oh and just so you know, Christian Bale was the voice behind Howl.

Now that's just a glimpse of the film.  You have to watch it to see for yourself. 

Have a magical week ahead! :D

Blythe's sleepy eyes and new lashes

I've always wanted to try customization on my Blythe for the following reasons:

a.  I wanted a matte finish for my Blythe's face so that when I took her photos, the lights won't bounce on her face.
b.  I wanted sleepy eyes!
c.  I wanted cute lashes!
d.  I wanted a  more poseable body like Licca
e.  AND I wanted an OOAK Blythe art doll!

Yesterday, I finally found the courage to try this on Pepper (Simply Mango).  After doing some research, I went to the market to get some supplies.  I bought a sheet of Hippo 1000 and a sheet of Hippo 400 abrasive paper for 10 pesos each in a local hardware store.  Then I also bought fake eyelashes for 10 pesos in a local Taiwanese store.

By 9 pm, after finishing all chores for the day, I started working on Pepper.  Unscrewing the back of her head was easy even without a screwdriver.  I used a strong hairpin instead.  The part where you separate the back of the head was difficult.  I think I wasn't strong enough.  So I asked the Mr. for help on this.  I told him to squeeze the ears just like what most customizers share on their blogs.  He was adamant at first.  He was afraid of breaking the doll's head.  I assured him that that will never happen.  And so he squeezed until we heard a snap! "Oh, that was easy," said the mister. =D

Here is Pepper with her head open.  See her sleepy eyes? Yes, that's the effect of unhooking the string off her head.

I grabbed her from the Mr. as soon as I heard the snap. I was sooo excited! I tested how the sleepy eyes work.  And then I started sandmatting the back of her head with the Hippo 1000.  I skipped the Hippo 400 because I wasn't sure if it was fine enough for a Blythe. I rubbed a patch at the back of her head in circular motion and the Hippo 1000 didn't leave any scratch marks so I continued sandmatting.  When I was halfway done with her back, I stopped to look at Pepper...

...and she was looking back at me!  Her face was just so pretty and I was afraid that if I sand matte it, she will no longer be my Pepper!  So I put down her head and decided to work on her lashes first as I debate with myself if I will sand matte her lovely face or leave it as it is.

As I was soaking her eyelids in cotton with hot water, I showed the back plate of her head to the Mr. and asked for his opinion.  He just advised me to weigh the difference.

So I did as I was plucking Pepper's eyelashes.  This part was really very easy.

But I had a hard time inserting her new lashes even when I used a needle.  The lashes came out with the needle because of the glue.  Nevertheless, I persevered. And here's my reward...

Isn't she gorgeous? I definitely love her new lashes!

Then we both contemplated if we're going to sandmatte her face as I finish the rest of her back.  I polished the back with a cotton cloth.  See the difference between the the original shiny face and the sand matted back plate?

In the end, I decided not to sand matte her face last night.  Here are my reasons why:

a.  I wasn't sure I can sand matte her face without ruining her original face up;
b.  I do not have chalk pastels and MSC to give her a new face up after sandmatting; and
c.  She's just so pretty as is!

So I just added a sleepy eyes pull string using a crocheted yellow yarn and charms.

And I was done before midnight!  It took me that long because I took a break when I fed my little Perry.

Here's Pepper giving me a flower for her beautiful new lashes and sleepy eyes. =D

 

Aurora by Melacacia {Swoon}

I found her on ebay and I die!

Click here to bid for her.  It's closing in 17 hours. I wish I could adopt her...

empty bookshelves

I was lying in bed with Perry tonight, looking up on our empty bookshelves, and felt a pang of sadness.  A bookshelf is not a bookshelf without the books! It just isn't right.  Also, I hate it when Perry wakes up in the morning looking up to our now empty bookshelves.  He used to stare at all the books in our bedroom the moment he opened his eyes early in the morning.  The spines of our book collection used to amuse him as me and the Mr. catch some more sleep.  

I have to do something about this.  Maybe I should open our boxes of old toys and put them on the shelves instead, what do you say?   

Oh, I forgot to turn the Sylvanian Families calendar to March.  

Perry turned 8 with Chicken Pox and the vegetable garden

My little boy turned 8 months old yesterday with chicken pox all over his face and body.  It was the 3rd day after the first break out so when I got home from work, most of the fluid-filled vesicles have started to crust over.  

He only had mild fever, like 37.7 degrees, during the first 2 days of the infection.  He was still very active and vibrant as ever especially during daytime.  But on the first 2 nights, he was restless while sleeping.  So the Mr. and I  had to carry and sing him lullaby almost every hour until around 5 am - his waking hour.  Last night was back to normal, he slept so soundly. Yey!  He only cried when he needed milk.  He has been, relatively,  a very good and cooperative baby during the first stage of the infection.   

I found Perry in the vegetable garden watching his lola (grandma) tend the plants yesterday afternoon. He enjoys the outdoors so much and would always say " 'ama " (short for "sama" meaning "I'll go with you") with both arms raised as if shouting "carry me! carry me!" to anyone he sees going out of the house.  And he would go crazy over you if he sees you carrying the pink umbrella.  =)  He is simply irresistible.  And he knows a lot now.  

Lola Priscy tends to the string beans (sitaw) with Perry and his nanny Nine.  On the left are the new sitaw plants and on the right are the old ones that still bear vegetables but are soon to be replaced with new seedlings for better harvest.

 Perry waving his hand at me beside the bitter gourd (amplaya) plants on the left. Under those trellises are eggplants.  

that's the bitter gourd (amplaya) plant and the sticks underneath the trellis are markers beside each eggplant seedlings.   

On the other news, it's really good to have your own vegetable garden so you can eat fresh and organic vegetables everyday.  There are other vegetable plants in our backyard like tomato, squash (Perry's favorite), bell pepper (my favorite), okra (lady's fingers or gumbo), cucumber, among others.  We also have some herbs and lots of fruit bearing trees. I also have a pack of chamomile seeds waiting to be planted this weekend if time permits. This vegetable garden is one of the things I love about living in a farm.

Do you have your own vegetable garden too? Tell me about it. =)