Angie's Adventures in Manila: March 2012

More random stuff about life in the Philippines

I've got a little list of more random things I've learned and/or noticed that are much different than what I'm used to.

Lighters are not childproof. Guys ride in the open backs of pick-up trucks. I even saw a dude on the back of a flatbed semi truck. A lot of the safety things that we pay attention to in the U.S. are not given any thought here.
They allow vendors to sell goods right in the middle of the highway (called E.D.S.A). These people sell all kinds of stuff - bottles of water, snacks, handkerchiefs, even those backrest thingies you can put on your car seat. I snapped a pic of this dude selling something (snacks? I'm not sure)

I wonder how often these people are hit...

I've learned that hiring based on height, weight, health, etc is normal practice here. For example, receptionists need to be tall (?!) and many places have a height/weight requirement so that employees can fit into whatever uniform is required. The military also has a height requirement of 5'6 (I think it was).
Circumcision. I know - really random. I don't know why it popped in my head to ask about this, but it did... Boys here are not circumcised as newborns. Instead, it is like a right of passage for them as a young boy - from about 8 years old to 11 or so. If it is discovered that they haven't had it done yet, a boy's friends and family will tease them about it. They have summer clinics where they'll go and wait in line to have it done. No drugs. Just stand there and take it. Yowza! So if/when I see boys in that age range walking around in a skirt or big, loose basketball shorts, I'll know why. Poor kids!
Because of the poverty here, many Filipino women will find themselves an ex-pat husband. You see a lot of very young looking women with icky old men. Gross.

Corner Tree Cafe - all Vegetarian restaurant in Makati!

I made it my mission this weekend to finally try out one of Peta's top ten vegetarian restaurants listed on spot.ph called Corner Tree Cafe. This is a quaint little restaurant on Jupiter Street in Makati that serves a variety of vegetarian, vegan and gluten free dishes. It was so nice to have the option of being able to order anything on the menu - even the Filipino cuisine!

I didn't opt for Filipino cuisine (this time), instead I was in the mood for a burger. A Baked Tofu Walnut Burger to be exact. Slathered with mint yogurt sauce (optional of course) and topped with lettuce and tomato and cheese, this was a filling burger. I opted for greens on the side since our previous night's meal was lacking anything resembling veggies :) I'll have to try their sweet potato fries next time.

Michele joined me for dinner, and she decided on the North African Vegetable Stew. Made with eggplant, potatoes, zucchini, carrots, chickpeas and Moroccan spices - it's topped with toasted almonds and served on rice. I liked hers better than mine - Moroccan spices are yum!

I was in the mood for a drink, so I tried the Icy Lemon Ginger Vodka cocktail. It looks pretty, and tasted good, but they do not make it with enough alcohol...

The Corner Tree Cafe delivers - and I'm definitely going to use that, but I really enjoyed the atmosphere here too, so I'll be adding this to my regular rotation!

Videoke in the Philippines!

It's been a fairly uneventful past couple of weeks. The Travel team has been practicing working cases, and our trainer, Michele, leaves in the morning. She did a great job training the team and we are well on our way to having a successful team! Thanks Michele!

To celebrate, last night we went to a videoke bar called Music 21 (videoke is basically the same as karaoke), and it was a BLAST! (Josh, if you're reading this, we're totally doing this when you're here! ;-) People here REALLY get into this, and because of their enthusiasm, I couldn't help but get into it too! It's just a matter of finding a song you love to sing along to...


They have all these private rooms (this is key, otherwise I would be too shy to participate) with the videoke equipment and sofas and tables. You get a package deal that includes food and drinks.