Mon Voyage…Ma Vie

Having gone through different love teams from Romnick-Sheryl, Dingdong-Antoinette, Jerry-Barbie, to Bi-Song Hye Kyo, Lee Byung Hun-Choi Ji Woo, Kwon Sang Woo-CJW and So Ji Sub-Im Soo Jung, I am used to putting one and one together, finding chemistry between two people I see.  In just 4 Saturdays, two people on television endeared themselves to me.  I am now starting to miss this tandem. No, they are not a love team. Theirs is a working partnership…a meeting of the minds, bound by a significant mission. I am missing Jamie and Nora. =(

For those who are not familiar with Food Network’s Jamie’s School Dinners, the 4-part series featured Jamie Oliver, one of the aforementioned network’s celebrity chefs.  Jamie, being from England, had previously launched a successful project in 2003 in London which he called, Jamie’s Kitchen.  In that 9-month project, he trained 15 unemployed youth to be the chefs in his new restaurant which he was going to name as “Fifteen”…in honor of the 15 underprivileged youngsters who would be under his tutelage.  Such documentary proved very inspiring to many as the viewers stuck glued to their televisions watching the youngsters develop confidence, team spirit, and a great passion for cooking as they all underwent the rigors of training. This year, Jamie, once again came up with a note-worthy project (filmed last year but shown this year) with a campaign slogan, “Feed Me Better.” 

He targeted the meals served in British schools.  Working initially in Kidsgrove School, one of the 20,000 education institutions located in a London borough, Jamie met Nora Sands, the school kitchen’s unit manager or in simpler terms, the head dinner lady. Wanting to change processed foods served to students into nutritious and flavorful dishes, Jamie and Nora worked together to make the campaign of feeding the kids with better food a success.

The two had clashes at first.  Jamie was adamant about his plans; Nora was overwhelmed with the extra work.  However, the battle from the kitchen soon dissipated but moved towards the cafeteria.  Kids, who were so used to being served burgers and chips for lunch day in and day out, just couldn’t take the idea of eating cannelloni, baked chicken, or beef stew in replacement for their reconstituted favorites.  Months passed before the children started to appreciate the revamping of the cafeteria food.  Small demonstrations staged by some teen students soon stopped.  Nora’s motherly prodding convinced them into trying the nutritious yet delicious foods.

Nora was definitely not a silent worker. ;p She spoke her mind.  After she and Jamie met with the school principal, she even chased him at the corridor in order to berate him.  But it wasn’t long before Jamie and Nora got in the same groove.  Together, they convinced not only the students and school officials at Kidsgrove School but also the other schools in the borough about the importance of caring for their health.  As was shown in the documentary, Jamie and Nora even met the education minister of England so that more funding can be given to schools for the changes in school dinners to be possible.   March 18 of this year, even Prime Minister Tony Blair gave positive comments about Jamie’s drive promoting good health for the young.

The fourth and final episode of Jamie’s School Dinners was shown here last Saturday.  I’m sort of feeling a Jamie-Nora withdrawal now. I’ve always looked forward to their funny banters. With the dvd copies of the series out now in the market, perhaps I can get a copy and witness once more their successful partnership as well as the “miracle” they created in the schools.

Jamie and Nora — definite sources of inspiration…successful agents of change. 

"Remember, Bruce, why do we fall? So we can learn to lift ourselves up." This was uttered by Bruce Wayne’s dad when he (Bruce) fell accidentally on the cave’s cavity. With that reminder, the boy grew up with a sense of how life’s drama unfolds…the fall and the rise of humans.

Watching Batman Begins reminded me that from time to time, we do experience low moments in our lives. In those instances, our frustrations, our apprehensions, seem to double as we look at them through our myopic vision. Yet, in all of these, there is always that opportunity to bounce back…a silver lining, as we may call it, or a case of a phoenix rising from the ashes, to wax poetic.

Right now, my homeland, the Philippines is in crisis once more. “When has it ever been out of crisis?” one may sardonically ask. But I believe that as a country, we will still rise from our quagmire. Yes, it is easy to say it but a hundred times difficult to do. However, as I’ve heard many a time from our patriotic elders, “if we don’t believe in our own country, then who will?” Good changes may not happen in my lifetime, but the promise of a new tomorrow for every Pinoy will always be a fervent hope.

My fellow Filipinos have gone through a lot of hardships, as attested in history, yet the smile never faded from our faces. Others find it weird that we can still manage to laugh off the seemingly sinking economic and political woes we are in but I see the humor as the Filipinos’ way of coping with what we have left. The common man has no money but remains standing with dignity. The “smile,” representative of the optimistic spirit living within himself…dreaming of that day when he can finally tell his family that everything is fine.

The zeal, the idealism, the love for country…these feelings must reside not only in the youth but also in the senior ones. Hand in hand we must learn to rise above our problems and build a good present for everyone and a better future for our children and the generations thereafter.

My faith in the Philippines remains steadfast…my love, unwavering.

Yesterday and today, I thought of doing some things but before I could put them into action, I discovered that people I know have just done what I wanted to do, almost the same time that these were just in my thoughts.

First coincidence…I was at the mall when I thought of making my next entry here be about my embarrassing moments (yeah, we must find humor in our lives and learn to laugh at ourselves from time to time). However, before I began typing, I decided to check out first the blog site of a former student of mine, whose site I wanted to see.  It was my first time to read her entries and she impressed me with her style of writing.  So funny, so witty, so Bernadette (that’s her name).  But guess what her last entry was about? It was regarding her embarrassing moments too. Hehe. I guess we were both thinking of how funny life can be sometimes when we’re put in blush-inducing situations.

Second coincidence…the face of a former co-teacher/friend of mine crossed my mind earlier today.  Maybe I just missed the non-stop chatter we used to have at the faculty during break time. Now just before lunch today, I was chatting with a former student of mine when she suddenly mentioned the name of my co-teacher whom I was thinking about this morning. My student said that she saw this teacher very recently.  When she was near her, my student smiled at the teacher but the latter didn’t smile back. As surmised by my student, the teacher didn’t recognize her anymore. I wish I was able to see that friend of mine before I left the Philippines. I bet her daughter is now a big girl.

Third on my list of coincidences is finding out that the recipe I was looking for in the net is the same thing that my friend was looking for today. I dropped by Ana’s blog site (www.buhaykorea.com) and read about her search for a potato soup recipe.  That’s exactly what I wanted too because I caught another episode of the Iron Chef last night where Chef Michiba and his challenger used potatoes for their recipe. Since I’ve tried making potato salads before, I wanted to try other recipes using this ingredient that would make a grumbling tummy complain no more.

Too many coincidences for me in just two days.  I better come up with very good thoughts. They may just happen. Who knows, I could be a princess someday. (Ok, let me go to sleep now so I can AT LEAST dream about it) ;p

Last Saturday marked not only the anniversary of Philippine Independence. Here in British Columbia, it was also the 12th anniversary of Kababayang Pilipino. KP is the name of a group of dancers comprised of young Filipino-Canadians. It was my second time to see their dance concert; the first was in 2003. Most of the members were either born or raised here in Canada, but at a young age were exposed to the beauty of the Filipino dances.

It was heartwarming to see these young Pinoys in their late teens and early 20’s to be involved actively in promoting the indigenous Filipino dances. They may not be professionals but so evident was their passion for dancing that their show came out well. Their repertoire consisted of six suites: Pagsilang (Si Malakas at Si Maganda), Lumad (Dances of the Indigenous Communities of Mindanao), Cordillera (Dances of the Luzon Highlanders), Pista sa Barrio (Pastimes of the Rural Countryside), Nuevo España (the meeting of east and west influences), and Pangalay (Muslim Philippines).

Aside from the colorful costumes that drew “ooohs” and “aaaahs” from the audience, KP’s talented ensemble of musicians produced beautiful music with the use of the gangsa, kulintang, gandingan, agong, banduria, octavina and other instruments native to the Philippines. Their sound was truly a highlight of the show.

Two of the much-awaited numbers in the show were the dances of the kids who will most likely carry the torch of KP when they grow up. Right now, they are still part of the KP Children’s Workshop, of which my niece and nephews are members. Their numbers were called Ilocana a Nasudi (Ilocos Norte), which was about the chaste Ilocana women and Maglangka (Mindanao), which was originally a dance by the slave women of the Sultan. The audience just loved the children’s dances! Loud applause was proof of that.

After the show, we met the performers at the theater lobby. Like the feeling that their dances of Itik-Itik, Tinikling and Maglalatik brought about, the air evoked a jovial mood among one and all outside the theater hall. Parents and relatives beamed with pride as their sons and daughters who performed joined them at the lobby. I hugged my niece when I saw her and blew out kisses to my two nephews. They certainly did a good job in their dance.

For the Kababayang Pilipino group, I wish to thank them for keeping alive the Filipino pride in them even if they are miles away from the Philippines. Likewise, I salute their parents for inculcating in them the value of love for our rich culture through traditional dances, music and artistry.

Mabuhay ang Sining-Pinoy!

Is it Monday again? Whoa, time passes so fast that it sometimes makes me forget what day it is. :p

Friday night…I joined my sister, her family and her in-laws at the New Valley Cemetery to visit the the gravesite of my Ate’s father-in-law. It was his 16th death anniversary.  Although I don’t remember much of Tito Chito, I just know that he was a good person.  The youngest sibling of my bro-in-law looks very much like their father.

When we got to the place, we, the adults and all the children and grandchildren, gathered ’round the urn crypt of Tito and prayed the rosary. Right after that, we ate dinner near the crematorium. New Valley is actually a garden that houses urn niches. It isn’t the type of place that you’ll find spooky.  Its thrust is on nature, providing families with an environment where they can reflect silently and reminisce about their deceased loved ones. It’s like one huge park, when you get to see it. Even kids can frolic there.

Saturday was reunion time for me.  I finally got to see Maribel after one year.  She and I have been friends since 1999. We met in the net because she happened to like a local loveteam I was supporting too back then. At that time, Maribel, Mae and I would email each other frequently. This friend of ours, even if she was living in Canada already, would send us tapes about our fave stars. She also would send us gifts like we were part of her family. We truly appreciated her generous spirit.

Even if our fanaticism over our former fave loveteam faded, our friendship continued.  This time, it was Rita who became part of the emailing triumvirate. Our topics of discussion were varied. But more often than not, we centered on our love for movies, on our fave local and foreign stars and of course, on our own personal lives. Among the three of us, it was Maribel whom we could rely on not to let a week pass without sending an email. Her thoughtfulness is simply amazing. And so, whenever I’m here in Canada, I make sure that I see her in person. She had visited the Philippines before where she met our group, comprised of (ex) fanaticos of a local team-up. Now that I’m here permanently, we didn’t have to rush our meeting. But seeing each other last Saturday was really a blast.  Together with my husband, we talked for more than 3 hours while seated at Richmond Centre Mall’s food court. Although we’ve been emailing each other, it still felt more special to see one another in person. Non-stop was our chatter as we updated each other about our lives, her work and about showbiz stuff. My hubby wasn’t a non-participant in the discussion. Being used to my showbiz interests, he also knows a lot of stuff and so he gamely joined us in our banters. And as we talked, we also ate our lunch which we bought from Good Ah!…a Pinoy stall that sells yummy food. Maribel and I got the same meal. It had 4 BBQ pork skewers laid on a bed of veggies and steamed rice. The marinade of the pork had the right mix of sweet and spicy flavors, making the tender meat so delicious.  My tummy had no complaints.

At past four in the afternoon, we called it a day and went our separate ways. We promised each other we’d continue emailing. Perhaps we’ll see each other again in the next 3 or 4 months.

When Johnny and I were about to go up the escalator, I was attracted by one of the stores’ signages. The store is called, The Face Shop. It was very bright inside, with an all-white interior.  Inside the shop, we found different products for skin care.  My hubby knows that I like looking at those stuff so he accompanied me inside.  It was he who saw that all the products were made in Korea.  Then he pointed to me the hanging pictures on the ceiling which I initially didn’t bother to look at. He asked if I knew who the guy was. When I looked up, I almost screamed in delight. It was Kwon Sang Woo…one of my fave Korean actors. Apparently, he is the endorser of The Face Shop. Johnny laughed when he saw my reaction. I just got so giddy looking at the pics inside the store. Knowing that KSW is the endorser, I took my precious time to look at each product…hahaha.  Two Korean ladies assigned in the shop approached me to ask if I needed help. I just asked them about one creme product. But after 20 minutes, I ended up buying not the face creme but the hand creme which has almond oil. Since I do a lot of household chores daily, the hand creme would be of better use to me.  And so I got the small container and gave it to the lady for wrapping. After I paid, instead of saying "thank you" to her in English, I said it in Korean. When she heard me, her eyes lit up and said "kamsahamnida" too. We bade each other goodbye and my hubby and I went out.

Thirsty that I was, we bought a soy smoothie with pineapple. We originally ordered the mango-flavored soy smoothie that Johnny and I were going to share but the girl who made it must have had her thoughts somewhere else at that time so the mango turned to pineapple. Hehe. But we didn’t complain anymore.  Johnny didn’t like the taste of the drink. He found it weird.  For me, it was ok. I found it pleasant to my taste buds. However, it could’ve been more refreshing had the smoothie been served colder. Anyway, Johnny just gave me the drink and he went to the vending machine to get an iced tea bottle for himself. Problem solved.

Sunday….I woke up at 9 then proceeded to the kitchen.  I made the breakfast for everyone. Since Ate and I hadn’t gone to the grocery yet, there wasn’t much left in the pantry. I just decided to cook mixed fried rice. I put in cubed Spam lite, veggies (peas, corn, carrots, green beans),  scrambled egg sliced thinly into smaller pieces, granulated garlic, then I added soy sauce (for more color and flavor…wala kasing Maggi sa pantry), as well as salt and pepper. 

Johnny and I had to rush eating because we would be late for mass. We ate for just 10 minutes then proceeded immediately to the bathrooms. He gets to share the bathroom with the boys (my nephews) while I share that of my niece’s.  Zoomed, we did. When we got to St. Joseph’s Parish, we already missed the first and second readings.  It was Father Al (a Filipino priest who arrived here late last year) who celebrated the mass.  He reminded us, the parishioners, not be self-righteous like the Pharisees who only saw the bad side of people.  He said that we should be like Jesus, who loves us even if we are sinners.

After hearing mass, we went to Army & Navy to buy some stuff. Then we decided to watch Cinderella Man at Famous Players’ Colossus Theatre. Since the movie has been receiving good reviews, we coudn’t wait anymore to see it.  The film didn’t fail us. Johnny and I finished our two buckets of popcorn and a tall cup of pop as we took in every detail of the movie. It wasn’t hard to commiserate with James J. Braddock and his family on their predicament during the Great Depression because his family kept their values despite the difficulty of survival during that period. Mr. Braddock was a true hero to many whose lives were in dire straits just like him. He wasn’t just Cinderella Man. He was Mister Courage.

Last destination of the day was Wendy’s where had our early dinner after watching the movie. We ordered our usual faves…spicy chicken sandwich, fries, and chili con carne. Since it was raining the whole day yesterday, eating frosty wasn’t a good idea.  While enjoying our food, it came as a surprise for me that Johnny and I both thought of the Filipino people while watching Cinderella Man. We saw  in the film the hardships of the Americans during the Great Depression yet we knew that many Filipinos have been suffering the same fate not just for a few years but for a long time now. Of course I’m not saying that the Americans’ situation back then wasn’t bad at all; I’m just wishing that with the poverty being experienced by many Filipinos and other people in different countries, the underprivileged will still find hope in their condition and find a hero in themselves. Yes, there is a silver lining behind the clouds. We just have to believe in that.