"C'mon. You've Got To Try This ..."

Time and again I will always hear that some colleagues of mine brought the visiting boss from another country to some Gerry’s Grill or similar restaurant to feed the sorry bloke our world-famous and tasty yet disgusting looking delicacy known as the Balut.

C’mon guys there is a reason why this dish has become a mainstay on the reality show Fear Factor. Let us not think that we are doing him a favor by introducing him to a 17 days old hatchling literally fresh from the duck (or chicken).

There is an overused old saying that goes by “Do not do feed unto others what you wouldn’t them to feed unto you.” Just because the typical Filipino is pretty adventurous in his dish selection doesn’t mean that your American boss or Australian colleague is as daring.

May I suggest though another dish which I have observed to be always a hit with the foreign guests? It’s equally as deadly (cholesterol-wise) but not nearly as revolting in its appearance. Next time let them try the “chicharon bulaklak”. In my experience, a single order isn’t always enough.

Just don’t tell them what it is until after the meal is over.

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The Average Pinoys + Airplanes = Noise-Canceling Headphones

Summer is just around the corner here in the Philippines and it’s that time again to head to everybody’s uncle Jun or aunt Baby in the US. Plane seats are quickly filling up and not too few mileage points are being quickly converted to upgrade certificates. Would be visitors are getting their yearly dental appointments and their haircuts done. The yearly summer vacation trip to the US is something a lot of us look forward to with glee.

People will never go without ensuring to have with them their "pasalubongs" (i.e. presents).

In my case, I would definitely not forget to bring my Sony noise-canceling headphones for the flight.

Nope, it’s not so that I can get great quality sound for the onboard movies (the airlines take care of that for you unless you fly PAL). It’s for the ever present high decibel voices of some fellow pinoys on board who think they are the only ones on the flight.

Many a tourist trip have I unfortunately been on where the American beside me is quietly reading, the Japanese in front of me is playing his Sony PSP, the Indian across me is writing; and the twenty Pinoys behind us are proving to each other that they can be cast on American Idol or the Last Comic Standing.

(I'm not too concerned about the Chinese except to just be sure to let them off the plane first during disembarking lest you risk getting trampled upon. I never really understood what the rush is all about.)

All I ask is to please pipe down a bit because not all of us want to be on a live "Wowowee" show the entire 12-16 hours flight.

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"For without them, this wedding would not be possible …"

A Filipino couple’s wedding preparations are never without the proverbial list of godparents or in reality – the wedding sponsors.

The typical Filipino wedding in Metro Manila would have anywhere between 8-12 pairs of sponsors while weddings outside of Metro Manila (also known as provinces) would have up to 20 pairs or a whopping 40 sponsors!

One of the motivations for such a practice, apart from name dropping the neighborhood general or city mayor, is monetary logic. A wedding self-financed thru the generous contributions of its sponsors will indeed make it easier on the pocket for the lucky couple.

A typical contribution for a single sponsor can range between 10K-100K Philippine pesos (i.e. USD 250-2.5K). Multiply that by forty individual sponsors and the couple will have the capability for a really grand wedding. Quite a blessing considering the usual wedding requires you to invite the entire city -- lest you risk the spite of the grandma of your aunt’s third cousin.

The irony of all this is that if you need to raise that sum of money for your wedding, then you can’t afford yet to get married. It just gets worse (i.e. more expensive) from thereon. The best way to prevent such illusion of richness is to spend for your own wedding and to keep the number of godparents down (i.e. between 2-4 pairs). This will definitely keep the wedding solemn and prevent it from turning into a circus.

Trust me. There is nothing like the feeling of spending for your own wedding and choosing your sponsors not according to the depth of their pockets or their status in society.

Let the wedding sponsors revert back to the more meaningful role of godparents whose responsibility is to impart wise guidance on the growth of your kids as well as to be back-up parents in the event the couple cannot be around.

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