Same Food, New Recipe

Our experience with having household help has had its stressful moments, but is has also had some very funny ones as well.




Helen, my very sweet and competent maid, also does all of our cooking. She makes a wonderful Lasagna, and even Landon will eat her tacos! Brennan loves any type pasta with her spaghetti sauce, and she has learned to make Poppy Seed Chicken, and even Jambalya. She can follow any recipe, and is very careful to remember any special requests for the next time.




She previously worked for a German family, and when I asked her what she knew how to make, Beef Strogonoff was one of her answers. Since we like it as well, I decided to let her make it for us. What I didn't realize was that there is more than 1 way to make it, and I will never forget our faces, when she placed before us a huge platter of Beef Stroganoff made with large chunks of dill pickles! Of course Steve and Brennan, who hate pickles and won't eat anything made with them, would not even touch it! Since I did not want to hurt Helen's feelings, and because I never even knew you could cook will dill pickles, I ate as much as I could manage, washing it down with tons of water. I have to admit throwing the remainder in the trash when she was on her day off that weekend, and we have not asked her to make it again. I am sure she wonders why.




Recently Helen asked if I would like for her to "cook for me" something to go along with the main course for dinner. What she made looked kind of like au gratin potatoes, and we were very excited until I scooped out a spoonful and realized that there was tuna in the bottom! Now I personally love tuna, and had no problem with it, but of course neither Steve, Brennan nor Landon would touch it, so once again I was the only one to try it. I am not really sure what else she put in it, maybe sour cream or some type of yogurt, but I will be throwing it in the trash this weekend.

Murder

Did that get your attention?

We were informed in the paper today that the Philippines had more recorded murders than any other country in 2004 as stated by the Guiness Book of World Records. (not sure why there is a 4 year lag between getting these statistics) There were over 3,500 murders that year. While that is alot, surely other countries have more. Maybe they just aren't reported.

The Filipino spokesman, always the optimist, stated - "While it is good to acheive world records, we should focus on more important areas." Well said.

Helen & Alice

Steve has already introduced you to Eddie and Butch our drivers, so I will tell you about the maids, Helen and Alice.

Helen is more of a cook than a maid, but she also does the laundry, cleans the kitchen, feeds the dog and generally runs the household. She knows more about what goes on there than I or anyone else does, and she does it all very happily, and without complaint.

She spoils us by having fruit ready every morning, and making sandwiches for lunch, along with whatever we request for dinner. She is a very quick learner, and does well following a recipe, but she doesn't like to use a microwave, and prefers to use a toaster, instead of the oven. This works out great as long as you like all your food to be crunchy on the outside, and cold on the inside! Besides being ever cheerful and hardworking, she is a Christian and can always be found reading her Bible when her chores are done.

Alice does most of the cleaning, and with 6000 sq feet to clean, she is always busy. She also helps in keeping the boys organized, and makes sure they have everything they need for school. She is very good about keeping an eye on workers while they are in the house, and is always there when we need her.

I know that this seems like so much indulgence, and really I have to say that it is, but in a recent training class I took for handling your employees, I found out that it is not unusual for a Filipino family of 6 to have as many as 12 household helpers! Now if I could have drivers and maids, and live in the U.S. then I would have it made!

Sometimes you gotta go...

As a follow up to the poverty post...with some many people without basics, electricity and plumbing are not high priorities. Just feeding your family is on the list for many. As a result, there are millions of people that need to find a place to go to the bathroom. At least for guys, the city has helped them out. These are nothing more than a metal shield for a little privacy. Terri and I estimate there are at least 1,000 of these in the city. And they are sitting on major roads for the most part. So while disgusting, at least it is better than not having them. Sorry, we haven't seen anything for females yet.

This is what you typically get to see. I know you will enjoy it.

Poverty

I have been asked a few times if there is a middle class? are there alot of poor people? etc. I read in the newspaper today that 52% of all Filipinos fall below the poverty line here and another 24% are right at it. So, 76% make at or less than $150 per month for the entire family. I was even a little shocked by this. The prices for food really aren't that different than in the US. So you can imagine how hard you would have to work to feed and shelter a family for $150 each month. The numbers aren't that different between those that live in Manila and those in the provinces. Makes for a very hard life, yet so many people here are positive and happy.

We are back in Manila

Sorry, we haven't been on in awhile. Just got back from our first home leave trip. Spent the time at my parents house and at Terri's mothers house in Arkansas. We really had a great time. Landon had a party with his old friends from school. Terri had a lunch with her friends. I had dinner with Rusty and Tom a couple of times. We had about 10 doctor/dentist appointments between all four of us. It was really a great, great time. Only took a few days to get used to how cold it was. Temps in the 40s is not too bad, but compared to our 90s everyday of the week, it is quite the change.

We were told that the first trip home would be the hardest. They were definitely right about that. It was so easy to get back into the hang of things being home. But it was unbelievably sad to have to get on the plane to come back here. Not that things are bad in Manila, it just isn't home. I am sure once school and work start (tomorrow), we will get into a routine. But it was much more difficult than I thought.

We're going home!

Flying home tomorrow! IBM pays for us to go home once a year. So tomorrow morning we get on a couple of plans for 22 hours to go back to Arlington, Texas. Four hours from Manila to Tokyo, four hours sitting in the airport (should be a thrill) and fourteen hours to DFW. I am planning on gaining at least 8 pounds through constant eating at Chick Fil A, On the Border, Abeulo's and Mama's Pizza. I am even wanting Sonic. Weird.

We get to stay for 2 1/2 weeks. Should be fun and should be cold. We are still in the upper 80s and lower 90s here in the Phillipines. I am ready to go! Been five months since we have seen my family and Terri's and lots of friends. I know my parents are very anxious.

Christmas for the poor

We gave each of our workers 2,000 pesos ($40) in gift cards to buy christmas presents. Both Eddie and Butch, our drivers, have little girls. They were so excited because they were able to buy them a simple church dress and shoes. That is all their kids are getting for Christmas. Apparently, most years they don't get anything. Christmas here is more about being together with family than it is about gifts. The top 10% here buy most of the gifts, so there is plenty of that. Like Terri said in another post. But the poor, obviously, don't.

I also found out that Santa Claus is not a big deal here. Most children don't believe in him since they don't get any gifts. Wow! A place where Christmas is about Jesus and family. What a concept!

Manny Pacquiao

Not sure if you know who this is. He is the Filipino boxer who defeated Oscar de la Hoya this last weekend in a pretty big bout. He was the underdog and still won. In the boxing world he is considered the best pound-for-pound boxer in the world right now. He has won four titles in four different weight divisions.

Reason I bring him up is how hugely popular he is here. In the US we are so used to having "superstars" that are globally known in many categories. So many to choose from and follow. Probably not too many Filipinos you can name off the top of your head except for Imelda Marcos and her shoe collection. So, in a smaller country who has someone who is the best in their field in the world, they become a national hero.

The entire country nearly shuts down when he fights. Most of the theaters turn into a pay per view event. You can see it at malls, churches, everywhere. The paper reported there was no crime in the entire country during the fight.

Certainly interesting to see the pride in the people I work with. Everyone has total faith in him even when he is a heavy underdog. Kind of cool.

We joined a country club

I have never been a member of a country club before. However, we are talking $150 per month for all four of us. Big drawback is this club does not have a golf course. So why join you ask. It has three restaurants (Japanese, Continental and American/Asian), a bakery, four swimming pools, tennis, badminton and squash courts, basketball gym, rock climbing wall, etc. It is really nice and fairly new.

We all play badminton 2-3 times per week. I hear the snickering. But after an hour I am totally soaked with sweat. I am too slow to play tennis anymore, but this has many of the same skills needed. Those that are really good at this hit slam after slam. So it is quite the workout. Of course, it is not air-conditioned. Maybe that has something to do with it.