Thanksgiving and the Opon Fiesta

It was the perfect autumn weather. I started the day by having a stroll on the neighborhood park with my daughter Jeanne and my dog (Jake Snarky). We took some pictures on the road and had a lot of fun. Later that day night we had a Thanksgiving feast but instead of turkey we have lechon (courtesy of Jojo and Cielo). I call Thanksgiving as the Annual City Fiesta of Birhen sa Regla. Both celebrations almost coincide on the same day. The Opon fiesta is always on the 21st of Nov. and the Thanksgiving this year was on the 22^nd. It makes me think on how my family back home in Opon could be having the time of their lives enjoying the festivities. The big City Parade will herald the Opon Fiesta and in contrast here in America we have the Macy’s Thanks giving parade. Although both parades are not comparable in terms of pageantry and grandeur but what counts most is the holiday cheers it brings to the people. For me both parades are of equal importance and are already part of the culture and traditions. In the USA we have the Thanksgiving Football game and in Opon they have the Coronation of Miss Lapulapu. The religious activity like Birhen sa Regla Novena is also celebrated here by our Rosary.

The house was full pack with visitors eagerly wanting to gobble up the mouth watering crunchy lechon. Each family is bringing a dish or two so we had our stomachs full. The Thanks giving feast consist of the following lechon, fruit salad, inatayan, macaroni salad, cassava cake, pancit, banana fritters, refrigerator cake, fish kinilaw and tinolang isda. The party winded up till 2:00am. People still try to grab a few hours of sleep when they arrived home for them to gain enough strength for the Black Friday Sale. The Black Friday Sale is the biggest event of the retail industry. Big discounts and a lot of early bird specials for the loyal shoppers. I did try it once to have a feel of this madness but I will never again lineup in the store as early as 4:00am just to buy an item on sale. But if you really want to grab one it is worth it, where can you find a laptop/notebook computer sold for 299dlrs only!!!.

We woke up late, almost lunchtime. The Black Friday sale is already out of the question but we did checkout a few stores late that afternoon. The family decided to watch videos and play Wii games that Friday and just stayed at home instead of going out for a movie.

The Thanks Giving / Open Fiesta celebration was a very good one. I sure did cheat a lot on my diet but it was worth it. Hopefully we can spend Thanksgiving next year in Opon and try to celebrate it the American way.

A visit from the Queen

The immaculate image of Our Lady of Fatima has been in our home since October. The image has been moving around from one house to another for the Family Rosary Crusade. The last home it visited was of the Aguila’s and it has been in my home since October.

The family seldom prays the rosary but when Mama Mary came we have been praying it everyday. Even if we are away for out of town trips we always make sure that we pray the rosary wherever we are and think about Mama Mary at home. The rosary pledge is part of the commitment that each family must make before accepting the image at home. My children were initially complaining about the daily rosary routine. Specially Jeter who always ask questions why do we have to do it everyday???. Jeanne and Jay jay have been the most understanding. So far it has been a wonderful experience, there is nothing compared to a family praying together and hear out each others personal prayers and intentions. Jayjay always pray for the polar bears, Jeter for his grades, Jeanne for world peace, Myrna for the families at home and Me … thanksgiving for all the blessing that we have receive. I am so grateful to have the Virigin Mary staying with us. It has not only help my children to pray the rosary but it has taught me the value of praying together as a family everyday.

When the time comes for Mother Mary to move on to another home I will surely missed the children singing Ave.. Ave… Ave.. Maria.

Kalag-Kalag in my Mind

Trick or treat…give me something good to eat… It is a fun day for children and the young at heart. This is the only day that I allow my kids to gorge on candy, taffy, chocolates, candy corn and many more. I use to spend a lot of time and money on this event. This year only my dog went out trick-or-treating. My son decided that he is already too old for this stuff and ask me not to spend a single cent on costumes. I joke them that I would dress up as Nacho Libre and 3 of them as the children of Hogwarts. I got a very big NOOOO. I was wondering what ever happened to the playful childhood innocence??? My kids decided to do away with it… but I haven’t. Probably midlife crisis? It would have been fun to look at Myrna as the trampy fireman, trampy police or a trampy waitress. Hehehe nice to be creative...I don’t think she would even think of being trampy not even in Halloween !!!.

In Cebu we celebrate it as kalag-kalag. We do have Halloween parties on the street but no trick-or-treating. Probably the affluent neighborhoods in Cebu celebrate it western style but for me kalag-kalag is the best way to celebrate it. There is nothing compared to the thousands of people in the cemetery and the brilliant lights and heat generated from the burning candles. Biko, budbud and other native delicacies would surely make this day to look forward to. I remember that Mother would always ask me to go to the public market to buy coconuts for making the sweet biko. Our candles are bought all the way from the Chinese stores in Opon or Carbon. We need to visit the tombs of all of our dead relatives and it is like going to maze going from one place to another. With thousands of people in the cemetery there is a big chance that you will get lost.

I was thinking all of this stuff while trick-or-treating with Jake (my dog). I wonder if my children would experience the fun that I use to have in the Philippines. Maybe someday they will and I hope they will think of it as fun and think of Halloween in a more religious and reflective way.

CFC-FFL Bible Study

I recently went on a Bible Study retreat at Army Recreational Facility in Fort Story Virginia Beach. I brought along the family Myrna and the kids. Jake (our jack Russell terrier) has to stay behind, dogs are not allowed. The trip was almost canceled because it was raining hard all day; the traffic in I-95 was terrible it took us almost 7 hours to reach Fort Story. What should have been a 4-hour drive took us like forever on the road. Driving on heavy rain on an interstate highway is such an arduous task; I promise myself never to drive again on such conditions. Ironically I have been doing this almost every other year on our trips down to Florida.

We reach our destination at almost 11pm at the Fort Story chapel. Some of the participants have not arrived; all of which have been stuck in traffic. Our dedicated Brothers and Sisters in the CFC-FFL who went earlier that day have been preparing meals for the weary travelers. The warm arroz-caldo soothes away any tiredness felt on the trip. After grabbing a light meal we went straight to our cottages and to my surprise it was very nice. The cottages are on stilts so we can park our cars jus under the house. My daughter Jan-jan/Jeanne was wondering why the cottages were built on stilts. I somehow remembered my elementary social studies reading about the fishing tribes somewhere in Mindanao who also built their houses on stilts on the coastal seas. I jokingly answered my daughter probably it was due to seasonal high tide and it would be fun just to jump on the water and have fun right at the stairs. We stayed on the loft while the other families stayed on the other 2 rooms. The retreat is on a budget some families have to share the beach house. The beach house is just a few meters away from the sandy beach. You could hear the waves rushing thru and feel the fresh ocean breeze. It was little bit windy when we arrive and cold if you stay outside for long. It was getting late and there is nothing better than getting a good night sleep on beach house.

The Bible study session started early that Saturday the children have to stay behind the cottage. Bro. Ado is a very good teacher. He might have been an ex-seminarian before since he is very well verse on the Bible. I always have thought that doing Bible study takes a lot of patience because somewhere down the process you might get bored and fall asleep. This retreat opened my eyes and humbled me enough because I thought I already knew all the major stuff about the Bible. More than 10 years in a Catholic school in Mactan (St. Alphonsus Catholic School a.k.a SACS) would surely prepared me for things like these. I never thought that studying the Bible is like going thru a scientific research. There are steps and guidelines to follow. You need at least 3 kinds of Bible: King James Version, New American Bible, New American Bible international edition. A dictionary will surely come in handy and a Bible Commentary book. Bible Commentary books are thick and full of things that you might think is to deep for you to understand. You might be wondering why would anyone write a book like this? This Bible retreat is like doing hard-core research and you will learn a lot of history, geography, anthropology, poetry and even vocabulary (etymology). You also need your emotional intellect to apply the verses on your current life situation. Before, when I read Bible passages I don’t pay attention to words written and its logical sequence. I am only interested on how it can be applied to my life and to others. After the retreat it seems that each word on the Bible needs to be examined and thought. I have always been taught that the Bible is being inspired by the Holy Spirit by the Benedictines Nuns, Franciscan priests and Religious Education teachers but never really grasp the entire concept. Only now that I have come to this great realization that no man/or men could possibly wrote the Bible on his own without divine intervention. Bible Scholars could not disagree on this issue that this is indeed a work of God. You will be awed and inspired after going thru this seminar.

We failed to hit the beach. If only the retreat was held on summer! But then that would have dampened the spirituality of this retreat. Remember the soul is more important than the flesh. We did not even bother to climb up to the famous lighthouse landmark. I would have like to walk on the beach early morning but the cold autumn wind is too harsh; you will get hypothermia if you dared to walk outside early morning. Nevertheless we meet new acquaintances and old familiar faces (all Filipinos) having fun not only studying the Bible but having good laughs and enjoying the food. Have you ever wondered why retreats are held on late autumn or early winter? I have found the answers and I finally understood why.

My Happy Birthday

All of us are always looking forward to our birthdays year after year. We planned it with anticipation and wishful thinking that someone will give us something memorable on that day. As a young child in the Philippines I am always looking forward to have something new like cool toys or clothes. Mother always cooks pancit (noodles) or sweet spaghetti. The long stranded noodles symbolize a longer life ahead for the celebrant. Binignit, bud-bud, biko and if you get lucky a kilo or two of lechon from Willi’s lechon house will surely make anyone’s birthday a grand celebration. I am not a sociable person but when my birthday comes it is always well attended. You don’t have to be a sociable when you have all your cousins and neighbors numbering more than 50. Inviting people to come to your birthday has never been an issue so much more on what kind of food you have to prepare. In Maryland it is somehow quite different. Food is very affordable, you don’t have to save for more than 6 months for a party. But when there is abundance of food here comes the restriction. When you serve food on a party you have to be mindful of people who have allergic reactions to peanut, dairy and seafoods. So far these are the only restrictions I have encountered. We don’t have like these in the Philippines and if we do, we don’t really mind it all. People who have allergic reactions to food already know what food to avoid. The responsibility is more on the person attending the party and not the host. The safest that you could bring at school (if you are planning to have a celebration at school) are potato chips and water. It will be more of the teacher’s responsibility if there are children with allergies. This is also why parents should confirm invitation to a birthday party if their child is with a known food allergy. It really is such a hassle that is why thru the years birthday celebrations of my own kids are only held at home and invite people whom you really know. In a land where there is a lot of racial and cultural diversity we really need to be mindful of what we do because it might unknowingly hurt other people and worst you might get sued or in get trouble. But in spite off everything what matters most is that the celebrant will have the time of his life. The joy of seeing yourself/or your child having fun on that day will be worth the trouble. Who cares about allergies, it’s my birthday and I will have fun…

Fall 2007

Its already October and the weather is still warm. Summer might end late this year. The trees ares till green and a few patches of fall colors can be seen. As you drive all around in Maryland a lot of pumpkin festivals are held on weekends. This year the family went on an apple picking rampage. Yes, a rampage because we picked a lot of apples and ate it all in just 2 weeks. The apples are priced at 99cents a pound. It is quite expensive considering we did all the picking ourselves. My wife swears that the apples taste different from the ones we bought in the grocery stores. Honestly, I could not tell difference, it taste just the same like....an apple (what do I expect???). I never really like apples that much. I guess I still prefer eating mangoes over the crunchy red. Someone have to eat all those apples that we picked. I think it wont hurt that much eating 4 apples a day. As they say an apple a day keeps the doctor at bay... how much more 4 apples a day... probably a mile away.