Hello People!!
No pics yet....forgot to bring my CD...Doh!! But watch this space....
Been here now for two weeks and has been spent with my ridiculously big and fabulous family ;o)
Bulaklak (flower) Village, San Fernando
San Fernando is the capital city in Pampanga (the province I'm from and famous for Tocino - a sweet kind of pork) and to prove it, they have their own mall! I always love the drive up to my auntie Fides' place from San Nich. or Manila - just watching the world go by (how nice to be seeing rice fields, coconut trees and sunshine again!), it's great at the mo as the xmas light sellers are out in force so there are plenty of little stores by the motorway with massive displays of stars, reindeer, bells and all things christmassy ;o)
Have spent most of my time hanging out with my cousins who always manage to keep me laughing...they're practicing their english (Jena asked me if I wanted my waffle heated up by saying 'Do you want me to hot this?') and I'm practicing my tagalog/kapampangan (won't even try and give you an example but I've started to get very good at calling people ugly). Also, now realise that my kapampangan is better than my tagalog. Which would be great except tagalog is the national language! Damn. will try harder. We've gone to the mall, to the movies (watched Zorro...HP's out in Nov - hurrah!), played lots of badminton - even managing to hit the shuttlecock - I'm so proud!, went to palengke (the market), travelled on calesas (horse drawn carriages), tricycles (motorbike with side car), jeepneys (see previous blog on transport here...), 3-wheelers (bicycle with side car) and motorbike ;o) Have also been to my auntie Fides' school, had some food with her teacher mates and also beento my cousin Jena's Uni so it's been cool seeing what it's like here.
San Nicholas, Flordia Blanca
This is where my dad's grew up and where most of his side of the family live. It's a relatively small town compared to San Fernando and more rural. Both, however, have roosters cockadoodledoodling at 5 in the morning. It's a pretty little town where everyone knows each other and you rice fields and mountains form the backdrop.
We've had a few celebrations too...
Uncle Fred's 1 year death anniversary - 1 year death anniversary is always celebrated with as much gusto as any other celebration. It's very important for celebrating a person's life and is done with a mass and LOTS of food (yep, a pig from uncle Meo's farm again and this time, a goat too!).
Price Earl's birthday - Earl turned 9 on Nov 4 so there were balloons, music, lots of kids and lots more food. I even got to help decorate the cake ;o)
All Saints Day (1 Nov)
This is a national holiday and a day where families spend a day (and sometimes the night as well) at the cemetary paying homage to their loved ones who've passed away. They believe that their souls roam the earth on this day and All Souls Day (on Nov 2). There's also a belief that some souls come back as butterflies (white ones, in particular) so whenever we see one (and we've seen them regularly on this day - not sure if it's because of the day or because I'm taking more notice...), we think it's someone we know. The cemetaries all over the country are packed with people who bring food, candles, games, guitars and it's like a family day out in the park! Also, plenty of market type traders to sell food and drink so you won't starve! The cemetaries here are beautiful - the older ones are packed with mausoleums and some even have 2 floors and a toilet! My uncle Fred's one is nearly finished and is in a fairly new cemetary so you can still see plenty of green. It was strange wandering around to have a look at the graves and mausoleums, all the families having fun together and because everyone's there, very easy to catch up with old friends! It's a strange thing for me as growing up in England, we don't really have anything like this. It's a shame though, because it's been a really happy event. The best time is in the evening once it gets dark....all the lit candles and singing make the scene quite remarkable ;o) On the way home, more lit candles stand outside people's homes and shops and it's nice to think about how loved all those who've gone must be!
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