Curious Cat

My dad and sister visited me in Hong Kong last weekend -  so many things were happening at the same time it was completely overwhelming. This is a shot of my sister and I last Saturday night waiting for the bus at CSW headed for Hong Kong Island.

xx

Crystal Jade 翡翠拉麵小籠包

After my lonely lunch on my first Thursday here, I headed to Central to meet up supposedly with Dea, my English blockmate back in college (oh M03, how I miss you.. those were the good old days of chocolate grades with Ma’am Diaz and whatnot..). As of today (three weeks later), I still haven’t met up with Dea (she took a week-long vacation in the Philippines in between), but I’m sure I’ll see her soon enough, her bring a permanent resident in Hong Kong and all. Maybe in September?:)

But back to that first Thursday - Dea was unable to meet up with me, so I texted Justin (another Filipino intern at UBS) instead to see what he was up to, since I was already in Central. He told me to come to Crystal Jade La Mian Xiao Long Bao at IFC Mall as he was about to have dinner with some Filipino visitors - Camille, Mia, and Kat.

After queuing for an hour or so (the line was crazy long), this was what we finally had:

Xiao Long Bao

“La Mian” (?) :) (? feel free to correct me if I’m wrong…)

Pork Spareribs (I would make a terrible food blogger, I realize…)

And here’s our group picture in Central, taken by Kat, the outcast from UP (University of the Philippines) :p (Although in truth, it was I who was the outcast..)

Filipino get-togethers have become such a treat to me lately. I never really thought it would happen as I always knew I was perfectly comfortable speaking pure English everyday, but then I find myself missing speaking in Tagalog. Especially exclaiming in Tagalog, if that makes sense, haha! (On a side note, I’ve discovered that talking to Spanish-speaking people in “Spanipino” somewhat makes up for it…)

Tonight, I’m heading to IFC again for a farewell party. This time, I’m literally taking my IFC experience to another level - we’re having drinks on the roof deck. And no, it’s not as posh and glitzy as it sounds, as we, poor interns that we are, are only staying in the landscaped rooftop of “resort-style sofas, tables, and armchairs for the use of the public. This means that while places like H One and Red would prefer that you blow a ton of cash on their meals and drinks, you’re perfectly entitled to bring your own if you’re sitting outdoors.” (Time Travel)

xx

PS - the staple mirror shot of the day (taken before the dinner at Crystal Jade). Get used to it.

(Source: TIME)

ohsofilipino:

glaizacomia:

Five Pinay top models proves that “Brown is Beautiful”. Way to go MetroMag. I think Filipina who has morena/brown skin should be proud of there complexion. I’m morena and I’m not ashamed of it, some people are dying to have our skin color and even paying to have a tan like ours. So it is important to embrace our own skin color. 

Be comfortable with your own skin. ♥

Fierce. Love it.

FINALLY. Refreshing after all the mestiza (Western) and chinita (Oriental) girls splashed all over our billboards and magazines, the latter being the roots of my growing up insecurity about my darker skin tone. I mean, some people call it golden, some people call it ‘honey,’ ‘natural,’ ‘bronze,’ or what have you, but most Filipino guys would just call it plain dark. Maitim. And well, fuck that. hahaha. Guwapo ba kayo? Walang punto, eh. Haha

xx

(via ohsofilipino-deactivated2011090)

one thing I’m really gonna miss when I leave: going out with these girls :(

I just got this e-mail from the office - WTF!!!!! I have to get a VISA now! Why does Taiwan have to take this out on ALL Filipinos?!! ugh.

*POST NOTE: Just called the Taiwan Economic and Cultural Office in the Philippines - I can still use the temporary electronic VISA I got before this whole issue exploded! Thank God for my timing. 

**leaving for Taipei on 25 February!

from Garet

I’m often asked why I can speak English well, how can I manage to study in Japan or France if Philippines is poor, etc. Though some inquiries are simply out of curiosity on the way of life or history or concern about people’s welfare when they see something in the news (which I’m eager to entertain because I love sharing what I know and learning about what others think about), some people are just ignorant and mean to assume that everyone’s uneducated, that aggression in Mindanao is all there is to our lives, and that we’re all supposed to work as maids, drivers or escorts. People like this actually exist and they’re ridiculous.

Well, the truth of the world is that not all French people are stylish and snobby, not all Japanese are smart and hard-working, not all Africans are poor and black, not all Muslims have something against America, and no, America isn’t at the center of the world. I don’t mean to attack others. In truth, I’ve made friends with French who are simple and unpretentious, Japanese who have come to love the “rural life” in the Philippines, Africans who are educated and well-off, Muslims with open arms and Americans who aren’t self-absorbed. I have been fortunate enough to have met people from everywhere who have challenged what I thought I knew about others and the world has become bigger because of them. I hope the same for those who continue to be judgmental and close-minded and for them to be pleasantly surprised at how wrong one can be sometimes.

P.S. I have nothing against maids and escorts as well. My schoolmate from Saudi told me she had a Filipino maid that treated her like her own kid and cooked Lugaw for her when she was sick. And my friend from Singapore says that Filipinos are the most sought-after and highest-paid escorts. OK, It was kind of awkward to be told that, but if they have to be maids and escorts at least they’re the best wherever they are in the world.

(Source: travelstreatsandtrinkets.wordpress.com)

Iliac Diaz.

I’m in love with this guy. He is my modern day hero. I’m so happy there are Filipinos like him out there. I read about him a few years back and knew him as a Social Entrepreneur behind Pier One, the dormitory for sea men in Manila. But I read about him in the paper a couple of days back in an article about eco-construction, and am re-inspired!

He brought earth bag construction to the Philippines - a type of construction that is fire proof, typhoon proof, perfect for Philippine weather (cool), and visually pleasing. Plus, it’s extremely cost-efficient. Can someone please replace GK houses with these kinds of houses? More on this on my next post.

Post-edit: Tam and I actually went to Manilacon, the Construction Expo in SMX last Saturday to check out the new environmentally friendly ways to build. The theme was green and sustainable design and construction. There were some really innovative ideas to be found, like pivot-houses from this Cebuano firm (space efficient houses you can move around), permeable cobblestones (for better drainage, so rain water can seep through the cobblestones and into the soil), soil treatment (instead of paving and cementing or asphalting parking lots and roads, just use this safe chemical that hardens the soil and makes it non-erosive), heat-resistant bricks, “green” odorless and non-toxic paint, energy-saving and non-heating light (LED), etc.!!!!