Saturday, June 30, 2007
Taraf: A Romanian gypsy band
Singapore just had its Arts Festival from May 23-June 24. There had been a lot of this cultural events that Singapore hosted, prior to that holding a French Festival Viola.
This time it was a different cultural experience watching Taraf, a Romanian gypsy band . I had no idea what it was since I was just substituting for a friend. I was just curious to find out more about this type of music. I knew I wouldn’t understand a word but later on realized that one can appreciate music even without understanding the lyrics. It was a matter of feeling the rhythm and beat and see the expressions of the musicians as they go with the melody they are playing.
They played different types of musical instruments with a lot of improvisations, like how the violin was played. He had various tricks like pulling the string of the violin and using that as the bow that creates the tune. He also experimented a couple of other things; his son controlled the chords of the violin while he played with the bow to get some tune.
Apparently they had been so popular the past 10 years but always had their concerts abroad. Their press release says they are not acknowledged in their home country since they are perceived more as gypsies rather than real musicians. However, the Romanians say that’s not true but rather they really prefer to perform abroad since they definitely get more projects and exposure in the international arena doing some world tours.
Monday, June 25, 2007
What's a usual greeting?
In Netherlands, the welcome greeting to friends will be three kisses on the cheeks, two kisses in France and only one in the Philippines. The Dutch would say “Dank je wel” for Thank You when buying something at the supermarket, the French will greet you “Bon journee” for a Good Day.
This morning, while I was on the elevator, I thought of doing the usual French way of saying “Bonjour” for Hello to someone I rode with at the elevator. Instead, I just looked and smiled at the guy, and even then, it felt random doing so. This would have been a usual practice when you see people in elevators, building entrance/exits, etc rather than just being silent. Maybe next time I should stick to listening to some music?
Tuesday, June 12, 2007
You don't know what you're missing until you have to leave it again
I remember feeling more homesick with Paris when I was in the streets of New York or being back in Singapore. Then again, it was more a nostalgic feeling of a recent past that should be put down to memory lane. I’ve somehow moved on and felt more comfortable about my life back here in Asia.
After 1.5 years, I was back in the Philippines for a week. After experiencing a great Filipino adventure, I realized these are things I've been missing while being away.
MISSING CRAZY ACTIVITIES
So I was back in the Philippines for a week. I had a full agenda, day and night, meeting family and friends. I had Amit and Gitti visiting me from Singapore, so had the opportunity to show them some Filipino hospitality with the rest of my clan. We went to Subic for a full day activity of going to the Zoobic safari, picture taking with the tiger, kayaking by the beach, & horse back riding.
MISSING NON-STOP FOOD TRIP
I also shared with them our favorite past time: eating! By then they have been used to this, where their first dinner in the Philippines was followed by a second and third dinner in just one night. Hahaha!!! We brought some food with us and we were a bit hungry since we didn’t actually have lunch. So at 6pm, we started with some fresh mangoes and some shrimps as a starter. At 8pm, my brother arrives with lots of crabs and fish so we basically had a second dinner. It was just 2 hours difference so there was enough time to digest. The third dinner was not really planned, but Jayson insisted that we go out so we can see the nice view from the marina area of Subic. I insisted that we just have some pica-pica “finger food” and it still turned out to be quite heavy: crispy pata (pork thigh), inihaw na squid (grilled squid), baked scallops, kare-kare (pork in peanut sauce), nilagang baka (broiled beef), kilawen na tuna (raw tuna). Yes, it’s just finger food as long as there’s no rice. Hahaha!!!
MISSING NATURE
The following day we had to wake up early since we were traveling from North to South. We went to Lipa, Batangas where you can get a view of Taal Volcano. Taal Volcano is actually a volcano within a volcano. What is now known as Taal Lake, used to be the main crater until it erupted and formed smaller islands within the lake. The lake is now inactive and that’s where we spent an entire afternoon in a raft house in the middle of the lake. It was a serene environment where time was put to a still and you can appreciate the view of the sunset and the main crater.
MISSING WATER SPORTS
After some seafood for lunch, we had the chance to go for some jetskiing. It’s been awhile since I last went and even then I always had someone else drive for me. This time was an interesting adventure where we were allowed to drive and just think like we were driving a motorcycle on water. Not that I knew how to drive a car, all the more how to drive a motorcycle. Then again, the lake was very calm and all I had to do was press the button and release the gas when I would want to turn. It was scary at the beginning. Later on, it gave me such freedom to go as fast as I can and feel the water & air brush through my face.
MISSING QUALITY TIME WITH FAMILY & FRIENDS
I still keep in touch with them through chat or email but it was different when we get to have those long chats face to face. We would either go out for dinner/lunch and then followed by some drinks or dancing. I could get lost in my own hometown, where the number of restaurants and malls has increased tremendously. I even thought that Serendra was a restaurant when in fact it was a new mall just across Market Market! To add to the bubus was referring to MOA as something like Ministry of ??? I think I have been in Singapore for awhile to think of that, when it actually means Mall of Asia- the biggest mall in Asia.
Well, regardless of where I was spending those times with family and friends it was a good time to catch up with them again. It was a bit tough as well, especially talking about the future where it’s still unclear and so far away from them. I knew I would be back in Singapore after a few days. While it was almost easy to bridge the 1.5 years gap that we haven’t seen each other, it was tough to connect with what I was going through next. It was still great to see their support and belief in me.
Now I am back in Singapore, am I suddenly feeling homesick for the first time? I can only move ahead, and maybe go back to the Philippines if any of my friends will get married too. For now, I am just missing it and looking forward for the next opportunity to see them all again.
Monday, June 11, 2007
A Filipino Wedding
That was more than a year ago until I heard from her again 2 months ago. She was planning for the wedding last June and I still wasn’t sure I would be able to attend. I was only in Singapore, so there wasn’t any reason why I couldn’t attend. My whole family was almost part of the wedding as well: my cousin as maid of honor, me and another cousin as bridesmaids, & my mom as one of the principal sponsors. She also made me emcee for the wedding reception, so it was definitely an event I had to attend.
Most weddings in the Philippines happen in June, and my friend was one of them. They are often called the June brides. It was a garden wedding where the ceremony and reception was held. I barely knew the people though, apart from her parents and brothers. It has been years since we last saw each other, and most of the guests were her work colleagues plus of course the groom’s relatives and friends. I almost wanted to back out in hosting an event where I barely knew the audience.
In the end, I just went through it as an experience, followed through the traditions that were interesting to witness once again. I led them to the cutting of the cake, wine toasting, freeing the doves. The most exciting to facilitate was the throwing of the bride’s bouquet to single women & garter to bachelors where it’s believed that those who will catch it will be the next to get married. It was fun having to call all the bachelors and single women who didn’t want to come on stage. Luckily I was the host so I didn’t have to participate in this crazy tradition at all.
