Chicken Tinola - Maly's Lesson A Glimpse of Live In The Province

Chicken tinola or tinolang manok is a favorite dish of the Philippines and a taste from my wife’s childhood. Typical ingredients are chicken, green papaya, malunggay leaves and sili (pepper) leaves. The malunggay is very nutritious and can add a unique taste to this dish.

RICE HARVEST - A REAPER IN ACTION A GLIMPSE OF LIFE IN THE PROVINCE VIDEO

The reaper is coming! No it’s not the grim reaper, but it is
called a reaper in the Philippines. This is a harvester they now use for
harvesting the majority of the rice in our valley.

Over just the last few years, we have been seeing more and
more of these reapers during the harvest season. Living in a farming community,
the people relied on the different seasons of the year to provide them with an
income. During planting time, they would all be out helping to plant the rice.
When harvest season came, these same people would be out with their bolos
cutting and harvesting the rice. They would also bring in thrashers to thrash
the rice with.

Now this has all become automated with the use of the
reapers. No longer are there scores of farmers in the fields cutting the rice
by hand. The reapers have taken over this job from them. Only the ones that
cannot afford a reaper or only have small plots use the traditional way of
cutting rice. If the rice is blown over by a storm, the farmers can be called
in then to try to salvage more of the rice harvest. Still the reaper is able to
do this work too, but with the rice on the ground already, the quality of the
rice is not as good when harvested with the reaper. The reaper is coming! No
it’s not the grim reaper, but it is called a reaper in the Philippines. Over
just the last few years, we have been seeing more and more of these reapers
during the harvest season.

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life videos in the Cagayan Valley and Beyond. If you enjoyed this video please
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Cagayan Valley Isabela and Beyond

Bud Brown - Christmas 2016

Mr Brown is an extraordinary gentleman. Him and his wife Gloria live in the Dumaguete area in the Philippines. He has many wonderful videos he has shared. He is well know for all his charity work he has provided to the children and others in this area. I think some would even call him lovingly as the "Tsinela Man" Often while out in town you can catch him handing out tsinelas (flip-flops) to those Filipino children (and adults) less fortunate. Several have sent him donations as well to help support his works of charity.

This video is a collaboration with Ned and Michelle of Philippine Dreams. Last year they got together for Christmas and handed out spaghetti meals to the poor around Dumaguete. The success they had last year resulted in the quest to do it again this year. They went to McDonalds and purchased 120 meals this Christmas to be handed out. With the Help of Mr Brown's Molly Mobile they went into the parks and areas where the less fortunate stay and handed out all these meals. Ned and Michele even brought along some helpers this year.

This is Mr Brown's version of the day. I hope you will watch and enjoy this video as much as I did.

Experience life-size Noah's Ark! RV Family

Here is a great video by a great family. The Browns live their life in an RV traveling around the country and working. They also raise 2 children and home school them. They often visit exciting places around the sites they are staying at. They recently did a review of the new attraction "The Ark Encounter". It was very interesting watching this video and their experience there.

Kindly check their video out here and also some of their other exciting videos they have posted on there Youtube channel Modigazzi Travels Your Family on the Road!

A Christmas Feast - An OFW Christmas part 3

A Christmas Feast! Let’s eat everyone! What a Christmas feast we had! Food was available all day long it seemed. We had pancit and ox tail soup in the morning, Indian cuisine during lunch with Charles' special Chicken Biryani and then lechon baboy and a roasted turkey for the evening meal! If anyone went away hungry, I am not sure why. Although we were not with our own families, we enjoyed the time spent with our OFW family. We tried to spread a little Christmas joy for all that were here.

Special thanks to all who helped prepare this feast for us! We had help from some of everyone to help make this a successful day! We really appreciated all the food that was prepared!  

Lechon Baboy An OFW's CHRISTMAS EXPERIENCE

Lechon Baboy? What a surprise this morning when we were
blessed to have some good friends come over and share their Christmas with us!
They brought along this piglet to cook. In the Philippines this is called
lechon baboy! Jerry did an excellent job of cooking this for us! We are grateful
to have good friends like this to share this time with! This is just part 2 of
our Christmas Day celebrations. Come along as we celebrate “Christmas in the
containers”!  

An OFW Christmas - Christmas Eve and Christmas Morning

Christmas… For most it is a time of spending Christmas Eve
and Christmas Day going from house to house visiting family and friends. A time
of joy watching as presents are exchanged and smiles are made. Having big
celebrations and feast on the table as families come together to enjoy a meal.

Christmas for an OFW, the time spent away from home can be
lonely and depressing. To try and cheer up the team here, we had our own
celebration here this year. With the help of some of our competitors in the
workplace, but friends otherwise, we made the best of the day being away from
our families. This is just part 1 of our Christmas Eve and then our Christmas
Day celebrations. Come along as we celebrate “Christmas in the containers”!  

Buko Juice Before Leaving the Farm

Buko juice is a
popular refreshing drink from the Philippines. “Buko” is a Filipino word
which means “young coconut”
in English.

Well, after all the tomato pickin’, pea pickin’, chainsaw
watchin’ and vittles eatin’ time we had, it was time to take off back to the
house once more. But before we could leave, we just could not resist having a
little fresh Buko juice and Maly had to find some flowers. 

MERRY CHRISTMAS TO ALL

We would like to wish all our family, friends and subscribers a very Merry Christmas and a happy New Year! May you each enjoy this time with family and friends and have a wonderful holidays!

The Man, The Myth, The Legend - The Filipino Lumberjack

The Man, The Myth, The Legend - The Filipino Lumberjacks are workers in the logging industry who perform long hard hours of work from felling trees to cutting them into boards that can be used for building. The actual work is difficult, dangerous, intermittent, low-paying, and working in strenuous conditions. I give it to these guys, as they are very skilled in what they do. No way would I want to trade places with them. 

GREEN ACRES - FARM LIVIN' IS THE LIFE FOR ME! A GLIMPSE OF PROVINCE LIF...

“Green Acres is the place to be. Farm livin'
is the life for me. Land spreadin' out so far and wide. Keep Manila, just
give me that countryside”. How true that is. There is no other place I
would rather be than out in the country on the farm. We may not have the beach,
the casinos, or the fancy restaurants to go to; but we do have the advantage of
getting out in the fresh air and enjoying time with friends. We took a day to
drive out to one of our friend’s farms not long ago. While there we picked our
way through tomatoes, peppers, eggplants and long string beans before sitting
down for a dinner of some of the fresh vegetables we had picked. We had brought
along some fresh tilapia we had delivered that morning. We decided to cook this
“ihaw ihaw” style. We enjoy the flavor this gives the fish as it cooks over the
open flame.

We really enjoyed our visit and look forward to the next
time we can go again. It is always fun going out to the farm to see what
vegetables and plants they have available fresh off the vines. 

HOUSE BLESSING PART 2

In July of 2010, Maly and the 2 kids left Kuwait
to come to the Philippines. We had looked at some property in the Cagayan
Valley and we thought this would be a nice place to build a house and raise our
family. Little did we know at the time, but things would change with our house
plans as we had an addition to our family added in April of 2011. We made some
changes to our plans and continued to build our house. Now, 6 years later and
after what seemed like endless days of construction, we finally have a place we
can call home! We had such a great day while holding the house blessing
ceremony! We had many friends that came over to help us celebrate this special
day. There was plenty of food, laughter and singing the whole afternoon. 

THE GREAT UNBOXING - IT WAS JAM PACKED

Unboxing a special gift received from my sister in Alabama!
What’s inside? Come along and let’s find out! Finally something exciting here happened
to VLOG about! Make sure to check out the bloopers and outtakes!

Please subscribe to my channel for more fun filled everyday
life videos in the Cagayan Valley and Beyond. If you enjoyed this video please
SHARE, LIKE, and COMMENT. Thank you! Salamat!

Preparing Food for the House Blessing to Come (Part 1 of 2)

After 6 long years, finally we have the house completed far enough along to have the house blessing. We had a lot of food to prepare for all the guest arriving! Starting early in the morning, the grill was fired and the process began! Come along as we get ready to Bless this House!

TEACHER'S APPRECIATION DAY 2016

Teaching school is not easy. During Teacher's Appreciation Day, I had the opportunity to teach not one, but two classes that day! My hat is off to all teachers around the world that have chosen this as their profession! I am thankful for the teachers we have at the school my kids attend for all their dedication and hard work they must put in!
This is video was actually filmed in OCT 2016. 

Up Goes the Christmas Tree

Spending Thanksgiving as an OFW…When You Can’t Be with Those You Love fo...

PHILIPPINES BOUND! DELTA FLIGHT HARRISBURG TO MANILA

A LESSON ON ALAMO CAR RENTAL RETURNS – HARRISBURG AIRPORT

Route 222 and 30 through Lancaster Pa - Pot Roast Dinner for Supper

An Amish Corn Harvester in Action - LANCASTER COUNTY PA

A SHORT TOUR OF LANCASTER COUNTY, PA AMISH COUNTRY

BREAKFAST AT OREGON DAIRY

Keith and Christine's Wedding 23 September 2016

Surprise, surprise, surprise!

Cricket Time After Work

Bowling without lanes? No foul balls? Last ball? An over? 6 points scored without a touchdown? What is this game?
I had to just go out and see what the guys were up to after work. I kept hearing them talk about a bowler and spinning the ball. That should be interesting. I never knew we could build our own bowling alley. I was eager to take my shot at this! It should be a lot of fun.

Regesh bowling

Wait just a minute! That guy does not have a bowling ball. He has a baseball right? Or is that a tennis ball? I knew for sure it was not a bowling ball yet everyone said he was bowling. I really had a hard time figuring out what he was doing. He would take a long running start up to a certain point and then sling this ball up towards what looked like a batter.


The batter although standing ready did not have a regular bat. I guess they need more "wood" to connect to the ball than what we do in baseball. They also had an awful swing at the ball if you asked me. Instead of holding the bat high up on their shoulder as I had been taught, they would let it hang down and swing it with an upper cut. This was turning out to be a totally different game than I thought it would be. 

They even have these things called wickets and overs. I am still yet to learn what these are all about. I did hear them hollering "Six! Six!" but not once did I see anyone crossing a goal line. Just one guy was running and running after a ball that made it past his outstretched arms. I thought how amazing it would be if football were like this and you did not actually have to hold on to the ball as you crossed over the goal line. Maybe even Auburn could score some touchdowns that way!
By the way, I am so ready for the start of college football next weekend. I did enjoy my day, but it is so much better to finally watch some good championship football starting next week. Roll Tide Roll and may you all have a good day!

Dinesh in swing form 

Sharun ready for release

Charles setting the spin

Subash in training

Come and watch as they play this game called cricket! Is not that something you would fish with???

Cricket at Work

HOUSE CONSTRUCTION: THE PAINTING PROJECT

It has been a long journey, but we are finally starting to see some real improvements as we move along. The thought of ever accomplishing all this when we began back in 2010 is becoming a distant memory. These days we are working on the more aesthetic projects rather than the construction we have been completing. It has begun to take on the resemblance of a place we will be able to call home.

Kuya Tony visited us late last year. He is a cousin to Maly through marriage. He is a distinguished painter and has had many projects in the Philippines. He looked over the house while there and advised us he would be able to paint the house if we would like for him to. We had to wait until May to begin, but he was willing to come at that time.

I was scheduled to be home late in May from work. Maly and the kids wanted some time away from home, so we decided to meet in Manila. While Maly and the kids were away, it was arranged that Kuya Tony and his helpers would arrive and watch the house while also beginning the work of painting it. They came in a few days before and started there preparations for the job ahead.

Banner painter by Kuya Tony

Maly and the kids met me in Manila as planned. We had a great time there that week as we visited several amusement places the kids wanted to go to. All the while I was eager to get back and see the job that was being done at the house as well.

We finally arrived on the 25th of May. We were welcomed home by a large banner outside. Kuya Tony is not only a house painter, but also can paint banners as well. He made sure were we all were welcomed back in style. It was great pulling up and seeing the banner along with some of the progress being made in the house.

During the next two weeks of my time at home, Kuya Tony and his team continued to work on getting the outside of the house painted. It was a lot of work to make sure it was painted in a standard that only Tony would accept. Many hours of scraping, sanding and painting in the hot Cagayan Valley sun. He wanted to get the outside completed before the monsoon rains of June decided to come. We were lucky not to have too much rain during this period and the house painting continued at a pretty good pace considering that there were only 3 helpers working.

Our new ride

Maly kept me busy with trips to the market and other places picking up supplies. We would go for groceries for Maly's Country market in the early mornings and then for any paint or other supplies later in the day as Kuya Tony gave us a list for items he needed. We were always going in the tricycle and always needed a driver for this. I got the wild idea that we could accomplish so much more if we had an extra means by which to get back and forth to town.
So one day on a trip into town, we had stopped with the kids and one of our helpers to buy groceries. Once finished, we loaded the tricycle with the groceries and the kids and there was no room left for us. I told Maly we would just walk down the road and hire another tricycle to get us home. As our tricycle left, I changed my mind and we went looking at different motorcycle shops. I had already scouted around and new what i was looking for. At the first place we stopped, I asked how long it would be for me to be able to drive the motorcycle I was looking at off the lot. They told me it would at least take two days.  As we were now walking, I was not satisfied with that answer.
We went to the next dealer. Maly and I have used this same place for other purchases we have made. She is well known there and has good credit with them. We asked the same question. They said that once we chose the bike and they completed the paperwork, we could drive it off that day. We were now in business! It took approximately an hour for everything to be completed. Very efficient and even let us bring some of the items back the next day that we did not have with us. We were very happy that we no longer had to walk and that we had a way to get around town even without the tricycle.   

Rain spouts installed and painted

Kuya Tony was able to get a lot done in the two weeks. Even with frequent interruptions and new ideas being added. We had gutters that were originally installed, but no downspouts. We kindly asked if he would mind installing those before continuing the paint job. He agreed and off to town we went to buy the supplies. He did an excellent job of getting these installed and painted along with the rest of the outside. It has made a huge difference when the rains have come.
Kuya Tony and his team still have work to be done, but at least we can see a positive improvement from where we were in 2010. Even since just this May we have seen a much more lovely house from the outside.
We now have the tiles for inside and the painting will begin in there shortly. We cannot wait to see the finished results of it all.
I am headed back to work now. It takes money and this is the only way I know to make it. So I will have to wait another 90 days to see what progress is made, other than our nightly calls and video chats.
Hope you will check out the video below to see the progress. If you have not done so, please subscribe to follow along in all our adventures.

House Construction: The Painting Project

Party at Dayrit Resort, Cabatuan Isabela PART 2

We really enjoyed our visit to the Dayrit Resort in Cabatuan, Isabela. The kids had a great time swimming the afternoon away in the two pools they have there. One is a kiddie pool that is just right for those kids that cannot swim yet. They can splash and play there and the water is only a few feet deep. It was not crowded so they had plenty of room to have fun in.

Excited to be sliding! 

The bigger pool is a deeper one. It does not really have a shallow end at all as it is mostly over 4 foot in depth for the whole pool. Not so bad for an American, but for my Filipino friends, some did not like that it was as deep as it was.

It had a slide at one end that made it an attraction for the kids. They enjoyed taking many turns going down the slides. For those that could not swim that well, they would still come down the slide. They would ask for an adult to wait at the end to catch them by the hand before actually coming off the slide. This seemed to work out pretty well and the kids had a lot of fun doing this.

Oh, I think I saw a karaoke machine! Time to brush off those vocal chords and have some fun. We cranked up the volume and began to sing. I do not know why we did not get any of the ladies on camera singing, but the guys had a great time. Kuya Tony not only paints, but he can sing as well. He did a great job keeping the crowd entertained.

What do you know, they even let me get into the karaoke spirit. I am not so sure this was a great idea or not. But I still had fun. I was able to find a few songs in the book that I thought I could sing anyways.

Maly was finally found to end the night with her singing. Sorry, but she would not let me post her complete song, She really enjoys singing and I hated she would not let me post that. But she did provide some "power" at the end of the evening. Not sure if that was the "Power of Love" or for the guys if it was the "Power of Food"!

We hope you will come along and enjoy our afternoon of relaxation and entertainment. You can catch it all in the video below

Dayrit Resort Party Part 2

One thing for sure about the Filipino people is their love to party. What’s the occasion? Does there even have to be one? Just invite a few friends and the enjoyment begins. We decided it was high time for us to have one of these get togethers and Dayrit Resort in Cabatuan, Isabela seemed like a great place to go.

First thing in the morning preparations began. We needed fresh coconut scraped so our painter, that had been at the house doing some work for us, helped to prepare this. Kuya Tony, Aljon and Ray all helped out. Aljon was exciting to watch as he shaved the coconuts and then split them open with his bolo. Kuya Tony and Ray used a scraper Filipino style to scrape the meat from inside the husk.

Maly, Hazel and Marjorie were busy with other cooking duties that morning. There was pancit, a Korean boiled pork wrap (Bossam), steamed Filipino bananas, rice and other items to get ready. It was a mad bee’s hive of activities that morning. The chicken had been marinated overnight and fresh tilapia was bought that morning. Everything was coming together right nicely.

I had to go into town to pick up some other items we had special ordered for one of the ladies that has a small caldaria in town. I managed to pick up some dinaguan, pata tim and some kinilaw baboy. As soon as I could get back home with my supplies we would be ready to go!  

It is sometimes a chore to get everyone wanting to go to a party where you need them to go along with all the food we were bringing. We had 3 tricycles we loaded with food and people along with our single motor as well. We made sure the store was locked for the day and off we started.

Steve and Maly ready to ride! 

We no longer got on the road when we started to remember several things we had forgotten. We had bought some ribs for doing on the BBQ. Did we pack them? We could not remember if they were loaded in the cooler. So back we went to pick these up. We also forgot the camera and one other important item. That is yet to come.

We managed to get out to Dayrit Resort which is only a few miles from where we live. It is a nice resort with big cottages you can rent out by the day. We had been by a few days earlier and requested to have the first cottage as you entered the resort. These cottages offer plenty of room with two large tables to place your food on. Another advantage is that the cottage also has a sink at the back with running water. This really comes in handy when BBQing. They do have grills you can use also, but you need to bring your own charcoal.

Maly and Ellen making sure everything is good to eat! 

As we were unloading all our goodies, we found we had forgotten the most important ingredient of all if you want a Filipino party to be successful! We had left the rice at the house. So here I go again with Aljon back to get the rice. Again thankfully we only live a few short miles from this resort, so we managed to get the rice and have it back in time for our lunch time party!

Everyone seemed to enjoy the assortment of food, dessert and refreshments we had brought. I think everyone that came went away with an extremely full belly and had great memories to share afterwards.

Come along as we take you on this first part of our enjoyable day at the Dayrit Resort. I am sure you will have some fun right along with us! 

Dayrit Resort - It is time for a Party!

Samuel and Noreen’s Happy Dance

School programs are always fun to be at. As the saying goes, “It is more fun in the Philippines!” We always enjoy seeing our kids perform their programs whatever they may be. There is always a celebration of some sort to prepare for.

This again was for a Thanksgiving performance for the school celebrating 29 years in service. All the students were allowed to do different skits, songs or other acts. Each showcased their own individual talents for the teachers and parents in attendance.

Malou Barnal, one of the mothers that also has children in the same grades as our own sons, helped by practicing with the children and preparing the dance routine along with the outfits the kids wore. She was a great help in having the kids ready for their dance.

Samuel and Noreen’s dance performance was to the song “Happy”. It was not hard to smile and get a happy vibe as they performed. The crowd enjoyed their performance and had a great time watching them dance.

You can check out their video below and if you have not, please subscribe so you will not miss any of the exciting videos we have to share! 

Sam and Noreen's Happy Dance

Tracking a Typhoon in the Philippines

Nida has already passed over the Northern Cagayan Valley between 3-4PM local time this afternoon. It also has intensified in strength to near Typhoon strength while moving along the shores of Aparri. The massive storm bands will continue to bring heavy to extreme rainfall with moderate to strong winds across most parts of Northern Luzon tonight through Monday morning, 1 August 2016.

www.typhoon2000.ph/ 

So how do you track such a storm to know if it will hit your area or not in the Philippines? I have been using the site www.typhoon2000.ph/ for most of the time I have been tracking storms in the Philippines. This site is very useful as it has many links to get information from.

I like the multi track link on the page to get an idea of several of the leading weather forecaster’s predictions.  Once I click on this tab, I can find information from all the forecast by clicking on their link to go directly to their page.

I usually go to the Joint Typhoon Warning Center (JWTC) page. This gives several other links on this site that can be useful. It provides the written warnings that have been issued and provides updates throughout the storm.

KIDS SENDING HUGS TO ALL!

It also has a google map overlay that can prove helpful when tracking the storm. You can click on the link and it will take you to google earth. On that page, it will provide you with the track of the storm, the current location of the storm and the predicted path for the storm to take. It has been a pretty accurate way of tracking the storms when needed. I find myself using this method a lot as sometimes I cannot understand the local news forecast besides looking at the pictures they provide on the news. Although I have my wife Maly as a translator, sometimes it is good to have this information to back up or confirm how the translation is received.

We are fine for tonight with just some rain and a little wind. The kids will be off from school tomorrow. They are hunkered down in the house and enjoying the family time together. They enjoyed pulling their mattress into the other room to sleep in a “safe” area for the night. We are praying for all whom are effected with this storm for they safety. May God bless you all and may you all have a good night.

Kindly check out the video of the Typhoon.com website we have posted. Hopefully this will give you some advice for tracking storms in our area and will help you be more prepared. Thank you! 

TRACKING A TYPHOON IN THE PHILIPPINES

Matt and Nizzana Timber Dance Routine

Not long ago we had our Thanksgiving program for the end of the school year, a magnificent performance of song, dance and drama from all the students in front of a hall packed with parents, grandparents, teachers and friends. It was the best way to say thank you for the wonderful kindergarten year and to let everyone know that we were ready for first grade now.

We are lucky to have a group of mothers at the school that enjoy working with the kids and enjoy watching the shows they put on. Malou is just one of these mothers. She has 3 daughters and 2 of them happen to be in the same grades as our two boys. It just so happened that they paired Matt and Nizzana together to perform their rendition of the dance for Timber.

Matt and Nizzana were very cute in their costumes they had on. Although as you can probably imagine with kindergarten students they might of faced a little stage shock. It did not deter them though as they put on their performance.

We hope you will enjoy their dance routine and like the video! 

Matt and Nizzana Dance Routine

Do you like to dance? Well we have three kids that really love to dance and sing as well. They are always excited to see shows on TV that show people dancing and performing. They like to imitate these moves to the best of their abilities.

We had purchased an X-Box 360 with Kinnect for the kids a few years back. This has proven to us to be a good investment. Not only do we get the enjoyment of watching the kids play the games and dance for us, they also get a good work out in and can burn some of the energy they have stored up though out the day. We have enjoyed countless hours of watching the kids in the evening times; provide us shows and entertainment while playing the different games it offers.

After school and before doing their studies, the kids love to do their dance routines. They can even forget about eating if they are dancing. That is how much fun they have doing this. It has become nearly a nightly ritual for them to come home from school and turn on their favorite dance videos. We have purchased the Just Dance programs that have some of the latest videos that are currently being played on the radio.

Come Dance with us

They enjoy bringing their friends over for afternoon play dates. They will sing and dance the afternoon away. Snacks prepared by Mama give them the extra energy to burn off while playing their games. They all seem to have a real good time.

As you might imagine being in the Philippines we can experience days on end with rain. With the X-Box, it does not matter if it is raining outside, they can still get a good bit of exercise from playing the X-Box games. They have dance games, driving games and games they jump and run through. I can tell you from experience, you can really get a good work out from all the games they have. Although the kids could continue, I have found myself having to ask for a break to relax and regain my breath again. Some of the games are in constant motion and you can exert quite a bit of energy performing the entire task they have for you to do.

We do enjoy our time playing together. I hope you will enjoy this video we put together of one of our nights doing the Just Dance videos. It was fun and the kids had a great time. Sorry, but I did not accept the challenge to dance on this particular night!

Dance Fever? We have it!

Going to Palangke!

Maly adding fresh produce to the shelves

Everyday life in the Philippines can be quite exciting! There is always something to do. We will take you on a little part of what we do today as we wake up early and get ready to open Maly’s Country Market!

Time to make the doughnuts! Well not exactly. We usually awake around 5 or so in the morning, but there is no doughnut making going on. We have to get out to the store to start prepping for the day and get our meals ready we will be serving that day. Maly always has some fresh vegetables to chop and prepare the menu she has that she will be selling on that day.

I thought I was being helpful one time and I bought her a brand new food processor. I thought this would ease the chores in the morning of having all these vegetables to cut by hand. As with most times, my good intentions were placed on the shelf and the hand cutting continues to this day. As they say, a hand prepared meal is made with love and it makes it taste better. I do know Maly’s fresh pancit is some of the best I have eaten (I hope I am not too biased here).

Fresh pancit at Maly's Country Market

Once Maly has started the preparations for the morning meals, it is off to the palangke (vendor’s market in town) to restock the items we need in the store. Some mornings here in the valley that can mean for a cool ride to the palangke, at times requiring an extra shirt or jacket to be brought along. Usually these mornings are after a rain or during the morning hours in the cooler months. It is not often, but it does happen here. Our driver, Philip, has the tricycle waiting by the time the food prep is ready and off we go! Depending on the time we actually get to leave in the mornings, sometimes we have a guest that comes to ride along. Megan will often time come along just to be with Mama!

I often think of a song once we get to the palangke that I saw in a YouTube video. Mikey Bustos does parody song videos and one was about going to the palangke that is very catchy. I would not sing it out loud of course in the market, but it often runs through my head as I watch Maly wheel and deal for her needs at the store.

A common sight at a palangke

The palangke is a large area where there are many vendors selling almost anything you could ask for. Maly has a few favorite places to go to in the market. She knows the vendors and they know her as well. Not only will she buy her supplies, but often catch up with whatever “news” there is going on in town. A kilo of cabbage, a kilo of potatoes, half a kilo of beans, oh there are tomatoes how about a kilo of those as well… Before long I can have 10 kilos hanging from each arm! I do not need to visit a gym to stay fit! She is always looking for the best deals so she can bring them back home to our market and have the best for our customers.

We cannot go to the market without a stop by the fish market. Fish is a main staple in the Filipino meals, so we have to keep a good stock on hand. Maly will go by and see what fresh fish are available for the day. Usually she will buy what she needs for the day to take home and cook. Having fresh fish to cook is always better for her. I would like to say I enjoy this part of the trip, but this is not my favorite. If only the smells from the market could be emanated from the pictures or video you might be able understand my displeasure of going to this side of the market.

Maly, Hazel and Philip prepare for the day

Once we are done with all our shopping it is time to go back to Maly’s Country Market and restock for the day. Hazel usually has the food prepared and ready by the time we get back. Phillip and Maly begin to put their supplies up for the customers to buy. It is always an exciting time to see the shelves being stocked full and the fresh fruits and vegetables from the market laid out on the table. At the end of the day, Marisa will have the BBQ going and ready for the evening sales!

We hope you have enjoyed this part of our morning routine. Come check out the video below to witness our adventure into the palangke. We would welcome your likes, shares and comments on our blog and videos!

Going to Palangke   

  

Comparing School Lunch in the Philippines to Lunch in the States

School days for the most part are the same in the Philippines as they are elsewhere in the world. Kids arrive to school and head to their assigned classes as normal. There may be a morning activity they attend prior to their classes, such as a flag raising ceremony, skits performed by different classes or any announcements the principal may want to make.

Michael the school guard monitors kids entering and leaving during breaks.

The differences I have found in the schools between the States and in the Philippines are the breaks they have for snacks and lunch. As a kid growing up, when attending school we did everything together as a class. At break time the bell would ring and we would all go outside to play. If not one of our teachers, there would at least be a teacher on the grounds to monitor the kids playing. After our short break outside, we would then be lined up to go back inside for class.

This also was true for lunch breaks. We all went to the cafeteria as a group. School lunches were provided either by paying for your lunch or subsidized. We would get our trays and milk and sit at a table to eat together. Once we were finished lunch, we were allowed a few minutes play time if I remember correctly before being marched back to the class room. This of course changed over the years as I got older and we had a little more freedom with our lunch breaks.

With that being said, I was quite shocked when placing our kids in school here in the Philippines. At break time, the teachers just release the kids to go out of the room. Some play and some eat snacks. But there is no teacher guidance during this time. The teachers themselves seem to use this time as a break.  It is the same during the lunch break. This is usually a little longer break around at least an hour if not more. The kids come running out the doors and then what?

Busy moms in the waiting area

This is where the parents or guardians (nannies) come into play. At a lot of Filipino schools you will see a gathering of women (and some men) gathered at the front entrances to the schools. Many times there are actual waiting areas for these individuals to spend the hours during class waiting on the children to be released. They are there so that during break times and lunch times they can take care of the children in their care and make sure they eat, play, use the restroom (CR in Philippines) and get cleaned back up before going to their next class. The parents and nannies many times build a bond while waiting on the kids, so I guess this is not that bad an idea. I found this to be an inconvenience, as in the States a parent would not need to spend the day at school in this manner. 

Watching videos during lunch

We do not have time to travel back to our house during these breaks, so we take our kids to a local eatery called Ala Eh’s which is just around the corner from the school most days. It is a nice restaurant that provides the kids with school priced lunches. These are special meals that are cheaper than regular restaurants and usually will cost 25-50 peso per meal depending on what you get. This is a nice place that has covered seating and is also open air. This gives it a cool atmosphere even on a hot summer day! The kids enjoy the food and they like having a large table to place their computer on so they can watch their favorite YouTubers while eating!

After lunch we return them back to the school to clean up before the afternoon classes begin. There they meet up with their friends and plan the rest of their day. Moms and Dads can then relax until the next bell sounds for the afternoon break! It will be a few more years of this until all our children get to an age that they can have a little more freedom during these periods to do more of what they would like to do. Maybe just hanging around the school with their best friends!

Please watch the video below of our experience eating at Ala Eh’s and then getting the kids back to school. 

School Lunch in the Philippines

Steve’s Attempt at Growing and Selling Tomatoes in the Philippines

As a child growing up in rural Alabama, we always had a vegetable garden at our house. How I remember the many hours of pulling weeds and taking water out to the plants. I know at times I would sit there pulling weeds wishing I could be anywhere else but there. But with the hard work, we would also reap the rewards. Our table during the summer months would be filled with fresh tomatoes, cucumbers, egg plants, squash, peas and corn during the summer months from the garden. Nothing could beat coming in and sitting down to Mama’s cooking on a hot summer day.

When we moved to the Philippines in 2010, I was excited about having the space to have our own garden. While looking for a place to live, I always wanted to have room. Not only for the kids to play, but maybe for a garden as well. We were lucky to find a lot with 1,500 square meters that would be perfect in my mind for all I thought I would like to do. We were in a small farming community that had good soil for planting. All it needed was some good seeds and a little tender loving care.

I had purchased some seeds for planting off Amazon. Being I was not the farmer my Dad is, I did not pay attention to what kind of seeds I was purchasing, I just wanted some of those big and juicy tomatoes I had grown to love. The kind when you slice it, one slice would cover a piece of bread. You know those big, red, juicy Beefy Boy tomatoes we have in the States! I purchased my hybrid seeds with a big smile on my face just thinking of those “mayo and mater” sandwiches which I could soon be enjoying. 

Friends and family working in the garden. 

How did I forget so easily that WORK was also involved in all this? Was not it just a few years back in my youth that I had sat there complaining of sitting in the corn rows pulling weeds? How could it be so hard? Weeds seem to be able to multiply overnight and take over anything! Pull one and two more grow!

I am thankful for some helpful friends and family that were available to help with the gardening chores. Their eyes also were on my prized “large” tomatoes. I am not sure anyone in the Cagayan Valley of the Philippines had ever seen such large tomatoes in their life time. That is unless they had been an OFW working abroad and got to see one in a supermarket outside the Philippines somewhere.  They just could not be patient long enough though.

I would walk out to check the tomato plants in the evening and see ones on the vine I knew would make my perfect sandwich. Nice, firm and green yet, with maybe a hint of red coming on. I had just a few more days to wait only. Patience is the key. Let it ripen on the vine and then all that juiciness would fill that tomato just fine.

Look Uncle! Fresh green tomatoes!

The next morning, I was shocked to see not only the tomato I was so eagerly waiting on to ripen, but most all the tomatoes that were bigger than a medium sized rock had been removed. There sitting in the bucket were many half red, some still green tomatoes! Did a storm come through and blow them off the vine? What had happened? Why were all these tomatoes taken off the vine so early? It was explained to me that the Filipinos would like to have them this way and not as a red juicy tomato. Oh the horror as I thought of my “mayo and mater” sandwich that I would now not get to enjoy.

I quickly looked through the bucket and found the biggest and reddest tomato I could find. I set it aside to complete the ripening process as best it could. I would have to enjoy the moment even if it were not as big, not as juicy and not as red as I had planned on it being.

Sorting the goods from the garden to be sold!

After pulling my lone tomato from the bucket, the quest was on to find buyers for these stellar green with somewhat reddish tint tomatoes.  We plied the roads and trails of the local Barangay that we live in looking for interested people who were likely to enjoy these tomatoes. We were met with smiles and laughter and of course some buyers for the tomatoes brought to them by the Kano (kind term given to an American in the Philippines)! We were able to sell our tomatoes with ease and our prices could not be beat. Even being nice at times and throwing in an extra smaller tomato to boot!

Here is a word of advice on buying seeds for growing a garden in the Philippines. If you are like me and did not have this knowledge prior, hybrid seeds are good for only one growing period. They are not able to reproduce if you take the seeds out and try to regrow them. It was a lesson we learned the hard way. The next year we toiled the soil, planted the seeds, pulled the weeds and waited. Although the plants did come up, we never did see the fruits of our labor. It was a disappointing year for our garden. Maly was so depressed, she decided flowers and orchids were a better choice of plants. Will I ever get another juicy “mayo and mater” sandwich in the Philippines?

You can check out our tomato selling adventure on YouTube by visiting the link below. If you have not done so already, please subscribe to our channel and come back for more interesting stories from our adventures in the Cagayan Valley and beyond! 

Steve's Adventures Selling Tomatoes

Living in a small farming village in the Cagayan Valley of Northern Luzon, it requires a great deal of ingenuity to get by during the months between harvesting and planting season. The neighborhood guys find many means by which to provide for their families. They raise pigs, chickens, fish or even go bird hunting. Today, I found a few guys going out on such a hunt. They were walking down the road carrying their long poles with nets out to the fields. JR, who is one of our neighbors, was also along. He just happened to be a little behind the rest of the bird hunters. I tried to find out how they use these nets to catch the birds, but JR is a man of few words (usually this is only when I am trying to speak to him). He did return a big smile as he marched on out into the field barefooted to join his friends. I was not prepared to go along this day. I have to be careful getting out in the sun here without having sunblock on. So I tried to video tape some of the adventure from the road. Maybe next time they will let me know before hand and I can be a bird hunter as well!
Be sure to check out the video below and I hope you will also subscribe!

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7sFahmPSnrM

An Intro to Cagayan Valley Isabela and Beyond

My name is Steve and this is a chronicle of my time spent being a contractor working overseas and my time spent at home with family in the Philippines.  We moved to the Cagayan Valley in Isabela on the Northern Luzon Island in mid 2010. We have worked to build a house and a sari-sari store that we call Maly’s Country Market. We will have videos posted on our YouTube channel depicting time spent in the province Philippines as well as when I am away at work. Life is not a bed of rose nor is it a beach where we are located! We have been from Aparri to Davao and have come to love this little farming Barangay we now call home. We have enjoyed our stay in the Philippines and want you to share some of our experiences with us.  Please subscribe to both the blog and the YouTube channel below if you would like to follow along on this journey through life with us!

Follow us on YouTube at:

http://www.youtube.com/c/CagayanValleyIsabelaandBeyond