Operation Smile - Philippines

The wards in the hospital where the missions are held are designed to be really kid friendly. They have posters of cartoon characters, coloring books, toys, even DVDs!

Some of the wonderful staff who help during the missions FOR FREE. I think Operation Smile is as much about the volunteers as it is about the children whose lives are changed forever because of this non-profit organization.

Smile!

Operation Smile - Philippines

I was fortunate enough to be able to go to an Operation Smile mission here in the Philippines. Operation Smile is an international non-profit organization that focuses on providing free reconstructive surgery to children (and adults) with facial disorders such as cleft lips and palates.

Stay tuned for more pics tomorrow!

There's the grub!

This dish is actually more appetizing than it looks. Sisig is a favorite Filipino dish made out of parts of a pig's head and liver and seasoned with chilli or calamansi, which are like little lime fruits. It's fantastic, especially with a cold beer.

THEME DAY: PUBLIC TRANSPORTATION

This is a replica of our iconic Jeepney, as seen at the Manila Ocean Park. Why oh why there are ginormous cockroaches on top of it, I have absolutely no idea.

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Nightscape

"I often think the night is more alive, and more richly colored, than the day." - Vincent Van Gogh

Indeed.

Drive Safely Powh!

How do I even begin to explain the concept of Jejemon that is currently terrorizing Manila? Let's see. Jejemon is a culture, a lifestyle confined to certain social brackets. It is derived from the phrase "jeje" which is a Frankensteined term for "hehe" (as in "Yes I admit I have a Justin Bieber CD, hehe!") + the word phenomeNON. Hence, Jejemon. It refers to a way of speaking but it is so encompassing a concept that it refers practically to a whole way of being.

In the jejemon culture, certain words have a way of evolving. Words like "hehe" mutates into the word "jeje", or "hello" into "eow!" and other such monstrosities. Jejemon must have started through texting. Manila is the texting capital of the world after all. So a simple "Kamusta ka na?" which is Filipino for "How are you?" becomes "mUztah na U?" with matching mix of small and large letters. The word "po" which is a respectful term in the Filipino language, becomes "PoWh." (See example above) It's a tragic concoction of awful spelling, terrible grammar and horrendous usage of both the English and Filipino language.

It must be very confusing for my non-Filipino friends, but let me go on.

This is the simplest way I know how to explain the jejemon culture: no self-respecting Filipino will want to be called a jejemon. Trust me.

My future neighborhood

The Central Business District, where I work, is about an hour away from where I live. Forty minutes if I'm lucky, and twenty if I'm super lucky. Most days I wonder why I chose to work here, when the commute is a nightmare, but some days, I think it's not so bad. It's actually pretty. I can jog, everything's accessible, and it's relatively cleaner compared to other places. Which is why I'm moving in one of the residential places around here (har har). More on that in the coming weeks!

I think I shall never see

.... a poem as lovely as a tree. Trees by Joyce Kilmer is one of the first poems I learned in school. I bet these kids in this school courtyard have heard of it, too.

Fancy that

Here we are at the food court of Greenbelt, a mall at the Central Business District. Greenbelt got the Urban Land Institute's Award of Excellence, considered the "Oscars" in the real estate industry, for its design, innovation, and responsible land use. The other 2010 Awardees were Dragon Lake bridge Park in China, Newton Suites in Singapore, Rouse Hill Town Center in Australia and The Southern ridges in Singapore. Yay for Manila!

Dusk

Sorry I've been remiss in my blogging lately. I am moving houses! I can't wait to show you photos of my new neighborhood when I finally move in. In the meantime, here's a photo of the dark, menacing Manila sky.

Jeepney

I took this photo of the jeepney on the way to work. The driver was swerving like crazy. I should really call that number posted on the "How's my Driving?" notice (on the right side) and tell the jeepney operator precisely what I think of the driver's driving.

Pretty

I don't know what this is called. Sea anemone? Anyhow I thought it was pretty when I saw it at the Manila Ocean Park. I hope you're having a good weekend folks!

Under the Cebu sky

So that was my brief, but immensely enjoyable trip to Cebu. I hope you get to visit that place and see for yourselves what a lovely island it is. Have a good Friday!

Sutukil? No Problem!

We originally wanted to eat at this place, before my friend dropped me off at the airport. No Problem Restaurant? Why, yes, take me to the land of no problems please! Alas, when we got there, it turns out they did have a problem. They had no oysters! My friend and I were craving for oysters, fresh, juicy oysters. So we had to say goodbye and look for another place.

Sutukil is a contraction of SUgba, TUwa and KILaw, which are ways of cooking seafood in the Cebuano dialect. Sugba is grill and tuwa is stew. Kilaw is a little more complicated. Let's just say it involves cooking raw fish in vinegar and a whole host of ingredients including coconut milk. Sutukil also means restaurants serving seafood cooked in these various ways and they're mostly located along the shoreline. What happens is, you go to these restaurants, choose your seafood, tell the cook how you want them prepared and that's it! You go to your seat and the waitress will bring the food to you in no time. We ordered oysters, and squid and fish. No photos, as we devoured them very quickly. If I get to go to Cebu again, I will make sure to take nice photos of the food there!

Taboan Market

Here at the Taboan Market, you'll find all the dried seafood you'll ever want to have. Dried squid, dried fish, what have you. It's all here. I mean really this market is MASSIVE. It houses so much dried seafood and the smell just sticks to your clothes long after you've left the market. I still carried the pungent aroma of danggit (small but oh so tasty fish) as I boarded the plane back to Manila. I couldn't do anything about, well, me, but I DID stuff the plastic bag containing a kilo of these precious dried fish on the overheard compartment as soon as I can. Apologies to my seatmates on the plane, and to the owners of the bags next to mine!

Cebu Metropolitan Church

Here we are at the Cebu Metropolitan Cathedral Church, a typical baroque Church. Construction on the Church started on 1734 and was completed in 1786, 52 years later. Because of extensive damage from World War II, nothing of the original interior remains. The only thing that's left is the original exterior from the 18th century.

Magellan's cross

This is Magellan's cross, the cross widely believed to be planted by Portuguese and Spanish explorers on Philippine soil by order of Ferdinand Magellan upon arriving in Cebu, Philippines on April 21, 1521. It is believed to herald the arrival of Christianity in the Philippines.

This cross, made of tindalo wood and housed in a kiosk made from coral stones, actually encases the original cross. The original cross was covered to protect it from the harsh elements, including visitors who chip away at the cross, either from a belief in its supernatural powers or just to take home a souvenir. One of the alternate stories of the cross is that the original cross may have actually been planted at a different site and burned by Filipinos after Magellan's defeat. It may not have been until Spanish forces conquered and colonized the Philippines that this purported cross by Magellan was placed at this site that we all know today.

Living the life

My friend and I stayed in this beautiful resort hotel called Cebu White Sands. The pool was wonderful, the beer was overflowing, the company I kept was fantastic. All in all it was the most relaxing vacation I've had in a long time.

It is in an island called Mactan, where Portuguese explorer Ferdinand Magellan landed and was subsequently killed in a war with local tribes headed by Datu Lapu Lapu. Tomorrow, more on Magellan!

Welcome to Cebu!

Since the name of my blog is Life in Manila... and elsewhere, I thought I'd post photos from my recent trip OUT of Manila. I went to Cebu! Cebu is an island about an hour's plane ride away from Manila. It's in the Visayas Region (the Philippines is composed of three major islands, Luzon, Visayas and Mindanao. Manila is in Luzon). I only stayed a night there, just to say good bye to my friend who is off to London for her Master's in Education. I had a lovely time though. I can't wait to show you my photos! Stay tuned!

Free the dolphins! THEME DAY: GRAFFITI

Here's a wall I spotted practically right behind my neighborhood. I know, it's more of a mural than graffiti but I thought I'd share it nonetheless. Filipino artist A.G. Saño created this mural as part of his quest to paint 23,000 dolphins to help raise more awareness about the plight of these sea creatures and to protest the keeping of dolphins in captivity. Members of the public, mostly students, also got the chance to collaborate on this mural. Speaking to students in a gathering, A.G. Saño said "When we paint these dolphins, we take action to let others know about the issue and to pressure the authorities and concerned parties put a stop to this brutal killing of wildlife. I may be one person, you may be young, but we have a voice to influence others one at a time by campaigning for an advocacy. And this is a story you can tell your child or grandchild, that once in your life, you took a stand to save another life on earth.”

An artist and wildlife photographer, Saño has been studying the migration of humpback whales in the Babuyan Islands for the past 10 years.

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