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The phone call came as a pleasant surprise. It was unexpected, but it was certainly the kind that most Filipino Americans are used to receiving. A relative will be visiting “around the area” (which is usually a few states away) and will be dropping by. And so we scramble to get the house as clean as possible and geared into the hospitality mode that we Filipinos are famous for.
Our guest came in a cold windy October night. It was an appropriate Chicago weather. The expected pleasantries were exchanged and comparisons of weather between Manila and Chicago were dutifully noted. Our Ate (as she should be addressed because she is an older female cousin) turned out to be a pleasant guest, but she infused more dose of nostalgia into our lives than we bargained for, and rendered us more reminders of life’s blessing than we had acknowledged. Our house was one of those typical newly built single-family homes in Chicago’s suburbia, an embodiment of new country living. However, our house was smaller than most, and I am nowhere close to your idea of Martha Stewart. The minute our guest crossed the threshold of our home, an expression of pure appreciation was clearly seen on her face. Up until that moment I had been feeling frustrated and discontent with my housekeeping skills. Yet here she was apparently content and pleased with what she saw. It was not because my housekeeping abilities became, or was actually, acceptable. It was simply because she was used to seeing situations in lesser degrees that enabled her to appreciate what she beheld. Afterwards, we sat and ate at the kitchen table. We were grilling her for some news from home. We have not been home to visit in the Philippines since 1998. We did not realize how glad we were to see someone from there, and how we thirsted to hear for genuine news, not just the kind you hear or watch on The Filipino Channel. Our cousin was different, in a way that she was well aware of the dire situations in Manila, but she was also hopeful and proud of the Filipinos’ resilient spirit. Her attitude lessened the depressing flavor that usually lingered when one asked, “How is it back home?” After dinner, our cousin proceeded to bring out her “pasalubong” (gifts brought from Manila) as had been our tradition. She brought out two huge bags of fried pork skin that were just the right size, crispiness, and fluffiness that you can get only from Manila. There were Mangorind, a candy mixture of mango and tamarind, as well as the all-time favorite Chocnut, milk chocolate and peanut powdered and compressed into this delicate rectangular block. Out of humor, she brought a “pirated” version of the Chocnut. Filipinos have this thing for copying originals. Go To Page: 1 2
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