- the neighborhood 'suki'
- buying 'tingi'
- watch-your-car boys who also direct traffic
- security guards who double as watch-your-car boys, umbrella holders and traffic enforcers
- salespeople who are on your back as soon as you enter the store. At least this way you can find them easily if you need them.
- Eating rice three times a day. Eating rice with hotdog, or with Spam/corned beef/tapa/vienna sausage for breakfast. Or even merienda. No one to say you should watch your carbs.
- bringing 'baon'. I was eavesdropping on a conversation that airport security people were having about their baons.
- tsinelas!
- the useful 'balde' and 'tabo'
- funny Filipino movies and TV shows. Even when they're not meant to be comedies.
- Having statues of the Santo Niño, the Blessed Virgin Mary, Buddha, Fuk/Luk/Sau, even the lucky cat, in one household.
- sweet spaghetti. As an added treat, hotdogs or vienna sausages in spaghetti!
- Saying 'Xerox' when you mean to photocopy. (also saying 'Colgate' for toothpaste, 'Frigidaire' for refrigerator, etc. etc.)
- Using umbrellas on sunny days. It just makes sense.
- Using spoon and fork to eat. That also makes sense.
- The sight of clothes line-drying, women washing clothes in 'batyas' or 'plangganas'. Using the 'palo-palo' makes it even more interesting...beating the crap out of clothes is probably therapeutic.
- Saying 'po' or 'opo', having terms like 'manang', 'tita', 'ate', 'lolo' or 'tatang' as a sign of respect. I hate calling grandparently patients by their first names.
- The abundance of tropical fruits and juices, fresh vegetables and seafood.
- Filipinos' knack for fixing things, keeping things running, where others have failed.
- Filipinos' ability to keep smiling despite their problems.
- The sound of roosters crowing in the morning.
- The sound of rain against the 'yero'.
- "dirty" ice cream, banana or camote Qs
- hearing the 'balut' and 'taho' vendors at night. Kinda comforting. It's like having a town crier saying that all is well.
- having a "dirty" kitchen
- cool, rainy days
- plenty of iced treats like halo-halo, mais con hielo, etc.
- children making 'mano' to their elders
- churches open most of the time
- My family is there.
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