An Overseas Filipino Worker's reflections at 2:00 AM

Kabayan. This is how we address our fellow Filipinos here in Dubai - a word that literally means: my fellow countryman. How do the other nationalities perceive us Kabayans? A conversation with a non-Filipino revealed this point: The Filipinos tend to stay together. Go to any pantry or breakroom in any office and you would see Filipinos sitting together during lunch – sharing their sinigang, adobo or spaghetti. Most of the Filipinos eat at the same place too. Check out Taza, or Ponderosa, and you would see more Filipinos dining here. It would seem like, one Filipino will discover this awesome restaurant, tell his friends, and the next thing you know this place will become a Filipino favorite. The Filipinos come together even in worship. The church which I attend is comprised of 99% Filipino in the congregation. 

There is nothing wrong with all of these. In fact, this trait magnifies how united the kabayans are. Being away from our country has somehow instilled in us a sense of patriotism. We tend to look after each other. Looking at my fellow kabayans at the next table and hearing Tagalog and some other dialect buzzing through the air, gives me a sense of comfort. But we are missing something. We spend so much time with each other that we have limited our ability to grow. They say that travel is the best form of education. Well, we do not need to go that far. Dubai is a melting pot of cultures. This is a place of extravagance, of superlatives, of opportunities for everyone.  We should try to get out of our comfort zones and interact with non-Filipinos. We can try to reach out to other nationalities and learn their cultures. Life is a constant cycle of trying to improve ourselves – to be better than who we are yesterday. Explore. Discover.  Cultivate the yearning of always wanting to learn something new every day.

So I am widening my circles and extending my network to include non-Filipinos. They will see the Filipino values infused in me. I will share with them the colorful Filipino culture. In return, I will experience their country through them and I will gain a friend. And perhaps, no, definitely a yes, with prayer and faith, I can bring this new friend to the Lord.

This is me just saying and rambling and writing at 2:00 AM J

Disconnect to Connect

For 6 hours and on a weekend, my flatmates and I decided to turn off our Wifi connection, set aside our mobiles, Ipads, laptops and turned off the TV. What we accomplished? Played the guitar, sang songs, danced to some music, cooked a delicious meal, cleaned the flat, read a book, doodled in a notebook, and placed hotoil in our hair. I know, there is nothing extraordinary about these activities. But the best thing was we were actually outside our rooms, sitting across one another and talking face to face. There were no interruptions of FB’s newsfeeds or IG posts. There was music and laughter. It was fun.

Now, we turned on the Wifi, and retrieved our gadgets. We are back in our rooms, back to our social media life. Do not get me wrong, the social media sites are an OFW’s lifeline back home. However, today’s exercise reminded me that sometimes I need to actually get off my mobile, stand up, leave the room and talk to people. Today I am reminded that I am surrounded with people who have kind hearts and gentle spirits. I learned about their struggles and I am amazed on their strengths in coping with these. Today was a different kind of bonding. I look forward to more offline times with these ladies.

Another gentle reminder is that the Lord is always online with us. He never disconnects. We can always come to Him in prayer: Jeremiah 33:3 “Call to me and I will answer you and tell you great and unsearchable things you do not know.” Wherever we are, whatever connection we have, we can always come to the Lord and in all His goodness, He will always answer our prayers.

2014: The year to start it all

So I am back after a long period away from this blog.

I will start with the very obvious first-year-of-the month post: My 2014 goals.

Here they are:

1. To travel to at least one country outside the UAE (aside from the Philippines)

2. To get pregnant 

3. To get a salary-raise (blimey, i hope my manager reads this)

4. To go back to blogging again

I will leave this short for now. 

Hello 2014! :)

Chicken Curry

What you need:

400g chicken

onion

garlic

salt
ginger

potatoes

red bell pepper

green bell pepper

2 tbsp curry powder

fish sauce (patis)

cooking oil

water

coconut milk

What to do:

• I normally boil the chicken before cooking, just to be sure that the chicken is thoroughly cooked. Previous dishes taught me to do this. Before boiling the chicken, season it with salt. Place the pieces in a pot, cover with enough water then boil. After making certain that the chicken is cooked and soft, remove the chicken from the water and set aside.
• In a cooking pot, heat the oil. Then fry the potatoes. I was taught that vegetables should be separately fried to maintain the "crispiness" in the outside but soft in the inside. Set aside.
• Saute the garlic, onion and ginger.
• Fry the chicken pieces. When the chicken turns light brown, sprinkle the 2 tbsp of curry powder. Spread evenly.
• Pour enough water into the pot and allow to simmer.
• After a few minutes, put the potatoes, and the red and green bell peppers in the pot.
• Season the dish with fish sauce. Then simmer for another 5 minutes.
• Pour in one cup of coconut milk.
• Simmer for another 5 minutes, then serve.

My own version of Penne Alla Arrabiata (Angry Penne Recipe)

Arrabbiata (the Italian word for angry) is a Roman sauce of garlic, tomatoes, and red chili cooked in olive oil. Basil is sometimes used, although the majority of chefs in Italy do not use basil for this recipe. The dish is usually served with pasta and chopped fresh parsleysprinkled on top. (Wikipedia)

I first tried this dish from my landlady. I was curious because this was a different approach to cooking pasta. She told me this is a version of penne alla arrabiata. It was very delicious! The pasta, cooked to perfection, mixed with the tuna and all other spices, was mouth-watering. The kick- the green chilis, added flavor to the whole dish. The following day, I was very excited to cook the same meal.. and viola, I achieved the perfect taste for the recipe! 


Here is the no-sweat, very easy recipe:
What you need:
1 can of tuna (flakes in oil)
cooking oil
tomatoes
onions
garlic
3 pcs long green chilis
salt
400g penne pasta (cooked per package instructions)


What to do:

• Cook the pasta per package instructions. Set aside.
• Saute the garlic, onions, and tomatoes (the more spices, the merrier, the tastier!) and green chilis.
• Put the tuna (with the oil).
• Season with salt to taste. Although in my case, I also used Ginisa Mix, just to be sure :)
• Add the pasta.
• Mix all the ingredients to coat the pasta.
• When all the ingredients have been combined, turn off the heat and serve.

I heart cooking! :)

“Cooking is like love. It should be entered into with abandon or not at all.” Harriet van Horne


I do not know how to cook. Don't get me wrong. I know how to do the basic and staple meals- rice, egg, hotdog.. or anything that would only require a frying pan, cooking oil and the meat. When I graduated from highschool, I mastered the corned-beef frying and instant-noodles cooking. There was a phase in college when I get to learn the basics of baking. I tried making three to four cakes and I remembered my brother making fun of all of these cakes.


I told myself that when I get married, I would hire a househelp to cook for my family, since I lack these skills in the kitchen. But alas, lately, I found myself staying in the kitchen longer. My work ends early at 330pm. At around, 3pm, I would browse through the web on recipes for dinner. This is how I spend my last official 30mins at work - googling the web for recipes: nilagang baboy, chicken teriyaki filipino style, binagoongang baboy, and other beef, pork, chicken, fish and vegetables menu.


I would write down the ingredients. Drop off to the nearest grocery store before heading home and start preparing the dish. Everyday, I found myself looking forward to going home and cooking. This even surprised me. I might just be terribly bored here.. or this comes with the age and maturity... whatever the reason is, this desire to cook is here to stay for awhile.


So, my next few entries would be on some of the meals I cooked. And if you have any suggestions on other recipes, I would really love to try them! (note: no oven in the flat, so please send recipes that does not require this).


Bon appetit everyone!

Back to back with the majestic Burj Al-Arab

I was in hibernation.

I was too lazy to update my blog. Then I realized that it would be better to consistently update my activities, than to regret not remembering all the things I did. I know my memory will fail me later.

While I was away, I went visit the majestic Burj Al-Arab.

At 321 m (1,053 ft), it is the fourth tallest hotel in the world. The Burj Al Arab stands on an artificial island 280 m (920 ft) out from Jumeirah beach, and is connected to the mainland by a private curving bridge. It is an iconic structure whose shape mimics the sail of a ship (Wikipedia).

Nope, we didn’t get to see the inside of the hotel. We heard that it is very expensive to book a hotel tour for non-guests. Rates would not come cheap for this seven-star hotel. The room rates start from AED 6000- AED 14000 (USD1600- USD 3800).

We were content to take our photos outside the Burj, along the Jumeirah shoreline. We went to the Burj on two separate times- one in the evening and one in the early morning. The Teflon- coated hotel is brilliant white during a sunny day, but takes on an entirely different look at night. Computer programmed spotlights create a changing tableau of colors on the white façade. We could not miss these two sides of the Burj.

I was amazed at this architectural marvel towering Dubai. But did you know that there is a Cross story about this hotel. It seems that if you see the hotel from the seaward side, you would see the world’s largest Christian cross. Urban legend says that the designer Mr. Tom Wright, intentionally designed the cross after he had a dream about Christianity influencing a Muslim country. On 2001, Dubai introduced a vehicle plate with the Burj Al-arab symbol. But later on, the symbol was removed from the plates without any explanations. Conspiracy theory huh? This remained to be unanswered. However, notice that 99% of the images of the Burj are from the mainland looking toward the sea. I'm so much fascinated with these schemes.

The Burj Al-Arab is certainly one of the symbols of Dubai. This masterpiece monument is just one of the things why Dubai is often referred to as the land of superlatives.

For more info of the Burj Al-Arab:

https://www.jumeirah.com/en/Hotels-and-Resorts/Destinations/Dubai/Burj-Al-Arab/