You plan to move to the Philippines? Wollen Sie auf den Philippinen leben?

There are REALLY TONS of websites telling us how, why, maybe why not and when you'll be able to move to the Philippines. I only love to tell and explain some things "between the lines". Enjoy reading, be informed, have fun and be entertained too!

Ja, es gibt tonnenweise Webseiten, die Ihnen sagen wie, warum, vielleicht warum nicht und wann Sie am besten auf die Philippinen auswandern könnten. Ich möchte Ihnen in Zukunft "zwischen den Zeilen" einige zusätzlichen Dinge berichten und erzählen. Viel Spass beim Lesen und Gute Unterhaltung!


Visitors of germanexpatinthephilippines/Besucher dieser Webseite.Ich liebe meine Flaggensammlung!

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Showing posts with label Filipino. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Filipino. Show all posts

Wednesday, September 29, 2021

How does being a Filipino affect your selfhood?

 


Being a Filipino is such an incredible, rewarding and challenging thing to be.

The Philippines is such a beautiful country with so much history and culture. One of the most traditionally rich cultures in the world, which unites 128 million people in peace and hope for a better future. We have temples that surpass architectural beauty, with meticulous attention to every detail built by our ancestor's generations ago. Natural wonders range from perfect white sand beaches to majestic mountains with lush cascades of waterfalls pouring down their sides, leaving you speechless from their majesty. When we make these things accessible to you, not only do you feel proud but also energised because there is always something grand on this island, never ceasing its natural beauty or cultural heritage, which unite us as one.

The motivation to be a Filipino, however, comes from within; the rich history of our forefathers and ancestors who fought for freedom against foreign rule. We were even one of the few countries in Southeast Asia freed from colonial control, which gives us such a rare sense of pride and gratitude towards leaders like Rizal and Bonifacio, who fought for us before. We do not forget the lessons of history and how it tells us, as citizens, to fight against oppression to ensure democracy lives on forever constantly.

The rich culture ignites our passion every day because it shapes who we are today. The values instilled in us promote responsibility which all Filipinos know is vital for success in society. We value honesty, diligence, patience, humility and generosity, among many others which live on through us even today into the future generations of Filipinos. These values are what makes us strong as a people because they give us the moral compass to direct our lives in a way that brings glory to God and benefit for society at large.

It is important to remember we are Filipinos, and we make it a point to be the best citizens we can be. We never let anyone or anything diminish our Filipino identity, which makes us stand tall and proud in society today. The values instilled in us give us the confidence to continue fighting for others when times get tough because there is no greater calling on this earth than to be a Filipino, fighting for freedom and democracy in the name of God.

For that reason, I am very proud to be a Filipino.

We will always fight for our rights as citizens, and we shall never forget who we are as Filipinos. We live simply because there is no such thing as having too much; we live a humble life because we know the value of what we have and how it should be used responsibly. We do not waste. We respect our elders and give to those less fortunate than us, giving them the same opportunities as everyone else in society. Our values are deeply embedded in our history, culture and religion, making them so essential for us to live by. Our culture gives us joy and happiness every day, so we can always share with others less fortunate than us.

Our rich history of war against oppression fills us with the courage to face any challenge life has for us. The lessons of all the great Filipino heroes before fuel our fire today to fight for democracy, freedom and what is proper. We never stop fighting, and we never give up on our goals because we know they make us a better citizen and person in the long run. A Filipino is someone who will always stand for what is right, fight against oppression and support democracy no matter which corner of this earth we may be in.

Tuesday, August 31, 2021

Why do some people use the term Latinx?


Profile photo for Jean-Marie Valheur
Jean-Marie Valheur
Young, handsome and exceptionally well-endowed

I like to write. All answers I have written, you may copy, you may use any lines you enjoy, you may copy, paste, share, translate, publish at your leisure — just credit me by name, is all. It’s the bare minimum a decent person would do.

Who am I? Just, somebody who likes to write. It’s really not that complicated. I exist, you exist, we all exist. Just briefly. And my brief existence, I dedicate to writing enjoyable little things for no one in particular.


My father-in-law at the time, Filipino, was reading an opinion piece in a ‘progressive’ online magazine once. Furiously, he closed his laptop. Then opened it again. Then motioned us to come and have a look. “Since when I am I no longer a Filipino, when did I become Filipinx? What is this madness? Who decides this for me?”

The writer opined that, since Filipina was a feminine form, and Filipino distinctly masculine, the default ought to be Filipinx. He was so mad.

“We fought the Spanish. We fought the Americans. We fought the Japanese. All so we can say with pride that we’re Filipino… now they want to take that from us and make us say we’re… Filipinx… like some sort of space aliens?”

There were a lot of curses. It was beautiful, furious, righteous anger and annoyance. Something tells me if Latinos are as open to the “X” as Filipinos, then this spastic, overly inclusive nonsense will soon be stopped in it’s tracked.

Wednesday, July 7, 2021

Is it hard to be a Filipino?


Profile photo for Rosmary Roque
by: Rosmary Roque
Nurse since 2011, thinker since birth

Sometimes nomadic, often dramatic, mostly human.


Like in all things, being a Filipino is both hard and easy at the same time.

For one, we are constantly trying to prove ourselves to the world as a whole. I own at least 3 nursing licenses just because the license from my country is not up to par with those of the countries I wished to work for. I had to pass three different English exams just to prove that I can communicate in that language well enough despite having learnt it since I was 2. In the workplace, Filipino workers are constantly having to prove themselves over and over to their bosses just to keep their jobs. To make matters worse, even their own countrymen try to bring them down.

Another reason that it’s difficult is the weather. The Philippines is both in the Pacific ring of fire and in close proximity to the Pacific oceans, which means that a buttload of typhoons and earthquakes hit it each year. In 2013, a supertyphoon hit the southern region just a few weeks after a 7.2 magnitude earthquake did.

Lastly, we live in a society that has a lot going against development. Corrupt officials, lack of punctuality and other bad habits are rampant. This is unfortunate for a country trying to pick itself up.

Amidst this series of unfortunate events (heh), we’ve got one thing going for us. The adversity advantage.

We are resilient. No matter how hard life beats us, we fight back and cope the best way we can. This is why you see smiling faces in the background of newscasters reporting from flooded areas.

We are everywhere and we are close with our family. When you go to any mall in the United Arab Emirates, it is very likely to see many Filipino workers. We also have close family ties which help keep us sane in the face of trials.

Lastly, we are a generally tolerant, laid back people (so laid back sometimes that we are always late). While some could argue that this is just setting too low a standard, I think it is important to be kind to others and above all to be kind to ourselves.

That is the Filipino way.

www.quora.com


Thursday, June 10, 2021

This litsong baka is Filipino netizen's latest food craze

 


by John Legaspi, Manila Bulletin

When you ask Pinoys about lechong manok (roasted chicken), Andok’s is among the brands to come up in the conversation. Since its establishment, the homegrown restaurant has been the go-to place of many Filipinos thanks to its sumptuous food offerings, from dokito to its juicy liempo, which are best paired with a cold bottle of beer. 

This time, the beloved rotisserie introduces a new product, the litsong baka, and netizens are going crazy about it. Among many foodies online groups, the roasted beef earns top recommendation from Facebook users. But is it really worth the hype? Here’s what people have been saying about it.

Tender and savory

Many laud the litsong baka for being soft and juicy, far from the gummy texture they are expecting. The meat is cut into slivers making it easy to eat. Topping the critics is its smoky flavor that, according to netizen Edward Vange Arriba, is a hallmark flavor of the brand as it is the same taste you get from the roasted chicken and liempo. 

Facebook page Tasteful Adventures describes it as the “perfect substitute to the usual roasted chicken,” and says that the beef is tender, savory, and overall satisfying. 

Perfect dipping sauce

An order of the listong lechon comes with a vinegar dip. While the acidity from the sauce compliments the barbecue notes of the beef, many diners recommend trying it with gravy for a different experience. Toyomansi with chili also gives it a more Filipino touch. 

Versatile meat

While the roasted beef is good on its own, many praise it for its culinary flexibility, and netizens attest that it still tastes good even a day after. Some advise to include it in a bowl of ramen, perfect for the gloomy weather we are having. Others recommend using it to make quesadilla or a sandwich. Korean culture fans would definitely love to eat it samgyupsal style with lettuce and a few Korean sides. Now, you don’t need a griller at home to make that happen.

It’s affordable

The listong baka gets a 10 out of 10 when it comes to its price. A 500 grams order costs P320, and it’s not too bad. As netizen Raymond Pasiliao said, “where else can you buy cooked beef in this quantity at this price?”

Tuesday, June 26, 2018

Emma - The Musical ...

...combines local Filipino talent with Second World War tale of love and struggle

Local production by Edmonton Filipino community tells poignant story
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Quick, think of a love story set during the Second World War. Casablanca, right? Or maybe The English Patient?
Actually, the story of note is Emma The Musical — a romantic tale set against the Japanese invasion of the Philippines during the Second World War. If the musical’s local composer Erica Cawagas has anything to say about it, the show, debuting July 7 at the Myer Horowitz Theatre, will soon be on stages from here to the Philippines and back, and on the lips of every fan who can’t resist a heartfelt tune set to a series of body-busting dance moves.
Cawagas, who partnered to create Emma with TV producer and writer Chie Floresca, knows the story will sell within Edmonton’s substantial Filipino community. But she’s hoping non-Filipinos will come, too.
“It’s a musical about the Second World War and the first thing you think about is Germany, the U.S. and Pearl Harbour,” says Cawagas, 25, who was born in the Philippines but moved to Edmonton when she was two. “But there are a lot of things that happened to the Philippines during Second World War. We had a big effect on the war, and it had a big effect on us. These are stories that should be told.”
Jeannine Naboye, left, and Gerald Penaco, background left, Raphael Tolentino and Maicah Macatangay in a scene from Emma the Musical. LARRY WONG /POSTMEDIA NETWORK
Cawagas was raised around music. Her mother is a piano and guitar teacher and Cawagas was drawn to perform at a young age, becoming a member of a Journey cover band when she attended Harry Ainlay High School.
After graduating from MacEwan University with a diploma in musical composition in 2014, the award-winning musician was unsure how to apply her artistic talents. At the time, her family in the Philippines was getting set to celebrate her great grandmother Emma’s 95th birthday, and so Cawagas and her aunt, Chie Floresca, decided to write a musical tribute in her honour.
The musical tells the story of an endearing young school teacher, Emma, who must make difficult choices about life while the war rages around her. It is set in a rural town near Baguio City, Philippines, on the cusp of the Japanese occupation of 1942,
Sadly, great grandmother Emma died before the show could be realized, but the dream was launched. Cawagas moved to the Philippines, where her aunt lives, for a year to get the show up and running, but couldn’t get funding to launch it there. So she came back to Edmonton, where her pitch met with success.
“My artistic family is here in Edmonton and I have a great team here,” says Cawagas.
Funded in part through a grant by the Edmonton Arts Council, as well as the Filipino-Canadian Saranay Association of Alberta, the musical features a singing and dancing cast of 22.
“It’s a big production and everyone has given as much time as they can to this,” says Cawagas.
Max’s Restaurant, a restaurant chain from the Philippines with an Edmonton outlet, has provided support, as well as Loriz Bakery, and the Four Points Hotel.
All the cast members are local talents and the Filipino community performing arts leader, Ida Beltran-Lucila, founder of the Philippine Arts Council, directs the production. Choreography is by JoJo Lucila, who has taught and choreographed with the Edmonton Festival Ballet, at Victoria School of the Arts, and the Ukrainian Shumka Dancers.
“First of all, it’s an original Filipino musical, in English, and based on the true story of the great grandmother, so it’s personal,” says Beltran-Lucila of the production’s appeal. “This story is about love of country, love of family, and hope.
“It’s not full of gory details, we just touch on the war, but it’s a story set within that historical framework. It is also a love story within a tragedy. Just like Titanic.”
Ideally, the producers hope to take the musical across Canada, and eventually to Manilla. Emma The Musical is designed to be portable.
“The set, everything is collapsible, and could fit in the baggage part of a bus,” says Beltran-Lucila, a ballet dancer by training and the former executive director with the national ballet company of the Philippines. “We just want it to have a life beyond July 7.”

Wednesday, May 17, 2017

Buy Filipino and create jobs

by Mario Casayuran and Reuters, Manila Bulletin

Senate President Pro Tempore Ralph G. Recto counseled the Duterte administration to tap local industries in modernizing the military before snapping up a $500-million loan being offered by China to modernize the Philippine military.
“The Philippines must stop relying on foreign suppliers to modernize the military equipment of its armed forces,” Recto said.
Recto gave this advice after Defense Secretary Delfin Lorenzana said the country plans to utilize the loan to procure defense equipment from China.
China has offered to donate $14 million worth of military hardware to the Philippines, plus a soft loan for $500 million in Chinese arms.
But Lorenzana said they plan to use China’s money if the military’s five-year P100-billion ($2-billion) budget for modernization is insufficient.
“There is no need to borrow from China. We should tap our domestic industries for the equipment needed by our policemen and soldiers,” Recto urged.
He cited the existence of a vibrant local firearms industry that has been exporting its products for many decades now.
“Some of them were licensees of world’s leading gun makers,” he noted.
FILIPINO FIRST
There are many of them, from boat builders to vehicle manufacturers to firearm/ammunition makers who can step up to the plate once there are firm orders from the government, Recto pointed out.
“We should look inward and develop our own capability. It is cheaper to produce and maintain them locally, than to import them. That way, jobs are created for the Filipinos and the local industries are given the chance to grow,” he added.
The only equipment or parts we should import, according to Recto, are those which the country cannot produce locally.
“We should not bypass local industries which can provide parts or whole of the defense equipment being sought,” he said.
“Hindi naman pwede na mula helmet hanggang boots (We should not import everything from helmets to boots) imported. If some of the things can be made locally and the products are of the same price and quality as the ones bought abroad, then let us manufacture them here,” Recto said.
Military and police vehicles can be supplied by local car manufacturers. The President’s home province of Cebu , for one can build patrol ships.
“We have a world-class shipbuilding industry in Cebu, but our government agencies have yet to harness its potential as a major source of military and civilian boats,” he stressed.
“Buy local, create jobs. This should be the new mantra of the government,” he added.
CONDITIONS
The United States has provided its defense treaty ally with most of its major hardware, like ships, fighters, helicopters and small arms, but the Philippines is now looking to China and Russia for drones, planes, fast boats and rifles to fight communist rebels and Islamist militants behind an unrelenting spree of piracy and kidnapping, he said.
Lorenzana said acquiring weapons and equipment from the United States had become difficult because the process was slow and there were conditions tied to sales.
“That’s why we are discouraged from getting from them because of these conditions,” Lorenzana told reporters in Beijing.
“We need airplanes, we need drones, we need fast boats,” he said. “We need them in the south so that we can deter kidnappings and bring about development.”
Weapons procurements could also be complicated by bipartisan attempts by some US lawmakers to ban the transfer of arms to the Philippines that could be used in a war on drugs that has killed thousands of Filipinos, and has been condemned by Western governments.
At the sidelines of a Belt and Road summit in Beijing, Philippine President Duterte on Sunday met several Chinese state-owned corporations, including a defense contractor blacklisted by Washington for selling to Iran items that were banned under US laws.
NO DIFFERENCE
Duterte, who is working hard to strengthen ties with China has complained about the useless US “hand-me-down” merchandise given its treaty ally.
Lorenzana confirmed China’s Poly Group Corporation and Poly Technologies were among companies which called on President Duterte and the defense department is sending a technical team to look at the Chinese equipment.
Lorenzana said he signed a letter of intent with state-owned China Poly Group to buy military equipment from but no specific materiel had been decided yet.
“Yes, I signed a letter of intent with Poly Group. (However) there is no specific equipment or arms yet. We’ll let the services decide what they went to acquire from China,” Lorenzana added.
The defense chief assured there is no difference whether Western or China-made.
“The weapons are almost the same now. They are used the same way. Puede namang i-tailor made yung requirements natin (The materiel can be customized according to our requirements). Doctrine and training is peculiar to an Army so it won’t be affected,” Lorenzana said.
He is due to sign a defense agreement with his Russian counterpart next week for possible purchases of weapons and drones. The Philippines is also acquiring drones from Israel. (With reports from Hannah L. Torregoza and Francis T. Wakefield)

Friday, April 7, 2017

Filipino-French sisters shine at Madrid Fusion Manila

By: Ginny Mata, FOOD Magazine


What is cocina avant garde, or avant garde cuisine? It’s a return to simplicity and elegance in cooking, but with a distinctly more sophisticated approach to the manner in which dishes are conceptualized and executed. 
In the spirit of Ferran Adria’s modernist approach to gastronomy, the two Spanish chefs in the afternoon session of the first day of Madrid Fusion Manila discussed the importance of this ethos in their own cuisine: Paco Pérez of Miramar, and Kiko Moya of L’ Escalante. 
Both come from a long line of chefs and restaurateurs, and both did apprenticeships under Adria, so they have a deep appreciation of the role of history, culture, and family values in shaping the way they express their creativity through food.

Pérez has been working in restaurants since he was 12 years old, and is now at the helm of two Michelin starred restaurant Miramar in Llança. Initially founded by his wife Monte Serra’s grandparents in 1939, Miramar has become a reference point for the avant garde cuisine movement today. 
“We’re now the third generation, and we’ve been living there for more than 30 years,” shared Pérez. With an emphasis on using food as a canvas to transmit emotions, Pérez makes sure that his dishes evoke strong feelings and sensations in his customers.
Photo by author.
For instance, guests are welcomed with a drink made with hydro-honey from their very own bee farm, and a first course of “honeycomb” that was been filled with different ecological essences like nasturtium, honey, different leaves, and flowers like sorrell and begonias.
Photo by author.
At the congress, he showed us how to “create this feeling of the easterly wind, of being under the sea.” Out of plastic waste carelessly left by humans in the sea, they fashioned a vessel to look like a beautiful beach scape, which they use as a plate for oyster powder, decorated with algae jelly, clams, an emulsion of mussels and cockles, codium (special seaweed), soaked almonds, blended caviar in cream, with a final touch of foam from the sea – “all of them adding up flavors from our influences and our experiences”, he explained.
Moya is the second generation chef of his family’s one Michelin starred restaurant L’Escaleta (‘Grand Staircase’ in English) in Alicante, Valencia. The landscape – the sea, the mountains, and the land – all play a crucial role in their culinary philosophy. “Everywhere is magical,” said Moya, “and so we pay tribute to our culture and our environment in our dishes.” Locally sourced ingredients from their native Spain such as saffron and rice take on greater meaning when framed in this context.
Photo by author.
“Saffron is very important in Spanish culture,” says Moya, “and we are able to protect it and save it in this way”. Using Spanish saffron, Moya created a sabayon, making a custard with freeze-dried saffron roses, topped with freshly harvested pollen and freeze-dried raspberries for additional sweetness.
Photo by author.
 Given the importance of paella in Spanish cuisine, rice is another essential ingredient in their kitchen. “When we talk about sustainability,” he explained, “it’s best to use different varieties of rice from all over the Spain, because as chefs we have the obligation to make the customer interested in the story behind the dish.” 
Their Sticky Rice with Cod Cheeks and Cod Tripe is one of the more emblematic dishes of L’Escaleta. Here we see the blending of the mountains (rice) and the sea (cod). “We’re also defending our traditional cooking, by giving it a different viewpoint,” he affirmed.

FILIPINO-EUROPEAN FLAVORS

With the goal of long-term sustainability in mind, today’s chefs and restaurateurs are seeking to cut down or eliminate food wastage in their kitchens. Filipino-European chefs Josh Boutwood and the Levha sisters exemplify this ethos perfectly.

Multi-award-winning young Filipino-British chef Chef Josh Boutwood has apprenticed in restaurants in Sweden (Svaneholm), Copenhagen (Noma) and the UK. When he came back to the Philippines, he has since been receiving high praises for his work with The Bistro Group of restaurants, as well as his new restaurant, The Test Kitchen in Makati.

His menu changes constantly, sometimes minute to minute, depending on what ingredients are available. 
“We don’t like to repeat a dish,” he said, “but we will take a tenderloin and use it in five or six different ways throughout the week.” He likes to pickle vegetables and infuse vinegars, to “preserve produce, and allow things to age naturally, thus deepening their flavors.”
Photo by author.
 To illustrate this, Boutwood made a beautifully composed dish of seared scallops with pickled gherkins, pickled cucamelons, lemon cream, cucumber jelly, with a little elderflower, sprinkled with botarga (fish roe that has been salted and dried).
Photo by author.
 He will use “ugly” vegetables too, pickling and dehydrating them, then grating them for texture (carrots) or plating them (pickled radishes) on top of dishes like seared steak which has been glazed with a complex, peppery sauce.

Boutwood is set to open a second restaurant soon. “It will be a zero-waste restaurant,” he said, “so we will be composting on the roof, brewing, pickling, and fermenting.”
Photo by author.
 Much anticipated was the presentation of Filipino-French sisters Tatiana and Katia Levha of Le Servan, a modern bistro in Paris, France that opened to instant acclaim three years ago. 
Tatiana, the head chef, trained at three Michelin-starred restaurants such as L’Arpege and L’Astrance. But they wanted to work together, and so with Katia handling the front of the house, they opted to open a more casual place serving affordably priced meals. 
Their food may be French, but there are unmistakably Asian, and yes even Filipino, hints to their dishes. Tatiana remarks, “Asia is kind of a trend [in France]. People are getting more and more open about spicy food, fried food. We feel more and more people are excited about Filipino flavors and food.” And it helps that they have been exposed to a lot of Filipino food, thanks to summer trips to the Philippines while growing up.

For the sisters, sustainability isn’t a trendy by-word, but a daily concern for them, primarily as a way to maximize the quality ingredients they purchase. They demonstrated this frugality with two dishes—a pork belly with an adobo-style sauce, followed by fried wonton ravioli that used the leftover vegetables from the pork belly dish. 
Tatiana said: “With these two dishes, there’s hardly any trash. This rotation works for us—to buy the most beautiful products and to offer it at affordable prices.” 
She added: “We choose what’s seasonal, healthy, beautiful and sustainably grown always.”

Saturday, April 9, 2016

Smell and the Filipino Identity

By: Ambeth R. Ocampo, Philippine Daily Inquirer
Whenever I see bomb-sniffing dogs in airports or at the entrance of posh hotels, I am reminded of my mother’s highly developed sense of smell that could track down a cockroach that had strayed into her immaculately clean bedroom. When she caught the scent of a cockroach she would not sleep until it had been dispatched by a deftly manipulated slipper. At breakfast she would brag about her successful hunt, such that my father claimed that to make his wife happy he would often bring home a cockroach in a matchbox and release it in their bedroom.
My mother’s sense of smell was perfectly deployed in the kitchen, where she would check on the taste of food simmering in pots simply by taking a whiff, while others needed to take a spoonful to taste. I used to think she was pulling our leg until I heard about Gregoria de Jesus Nakpil, widow of Andres Bonifacio, who was a celebrated cook. I was told that “Oriang” could tell whether something cooking on a stove was good or not simply from its aroma. She took one sniff and knew exactly what was lacking to perfect the dish. This made me wonder in what other ways she deployed her sense of smell during the Philippine Revolution.
But it seems my mother and Oriang would not have been exceptional in 19th-century Philippines, if we are to believe the Frenchman Jean Mallat, who noted in 1846 that:
“Indios have an extraordinarily fine sense of smell; there are servants who recognize the shirts of their master, after returning from the wash, among those of 10 or 12 other persons only by the odor. It is also claimed that if a man finds himself beside a woman of whom he is enamored, she guesses his sentiments from the odor of his perspiration, and vice-versa. As a sign of tenderness, they ask for a shirt which has been worn by the loved person, and when it has lost its odor, they change it with another one; for them it has the effect of a lock of hair in Europe.”
Ferdinand Blumentritt, friend of Jose Rizal, never set foot in the Philippines but wrote a lot about the country and its people. In one of his research papers he said that Filipinos “exchange clothes in order to be near their beloved by smelling the clothes. In cases where the smell of the attire is already lost, other pieces of clothing may be exchanged. According to [Sinibaldo de Mas] from whom I have taken the above information, [Filipino women] are able to find out whether the man near them are sexually excited or not through their sense of smell.”
Reading Mallat reminded me of elderly aunts who greeted us with a different kind of kiss. This wasn’t an ordinary peck on the cheek. It looked like the modern beso-beso (translated from the Spanish as kiss-kiss), where one kisses a person on both cheeks; the same motions are deployed by some who do not actually kiss but merely go cheek to cheek with the other, sometimes making the sound “mwah” with each “kiss.” Elderly aunts performed the second type of beso-beso but they would sniff you audibly, such that you felt they were sniffing away at your soul—or perhaps checking on your sexual excitement? Mallat also reminded me of lovers today who exchange used pillows, towels or articles of clothing when one went away on a trip. I am told there are even websites that cater to this fetish by supplying used socks and underwear for a fee.
As an historian, I have read many travel accounts of the Philippines and Filipinos, from the earliest and most detailed by Antonio Pigafetta, Magellan’s chronicler, who left us with his notes on the country in 1521, to many others in the first decades of the 20th century that historians label the “American period.” Foreigners claim that Filipinos exude a particular scent but cannot describe it, while Filipinos are more descriptive and venture on a typology based on smell: Indians approximate spicy curry, Americans are supposed to reek of beef, Thais exude the aroma of patis (fish sauce), and so on. But ask Filipinos to describe the typical Filipino scent and they will reply that we don’t smell because we bathe every day.
The modern world is filled with perfumes, colognes and deodorants that have changed the olfactory landscape. I would presume that to foreigners, we Filipinos could smell like adobo or sinigang or bagoong. Josephine Craig, sister of the historian Austin Craig, came to the Philippines as a schoolteacher early in the 20th century and in one of her letters home she provides us with what may be the only account I know that documents the Filipino smell: “You may have heard of a brown taste in one’s mouth—Manila has a decidedly brown smell, so I am extra glad that we shall live in a part of the city well aired by sea breezes.”
Craig might have been racist, but what is this brown smell? On her trip from Manila to Calapan that she described as “rough and smelly,” she added copra and coconut to her catalogue of Philippine smells and other “stenches to be avoided.” Her description of the general atmosphere during the Misa de Aguinaldo in Calapan was “very odiferous.” One of her complaints was about Filipino lavanderas (washerwomen) who supposedly returned her clothes tattered “and with an unspeakable odor.”
There is much historical and ethnographic material to keep an anthropologist busy defining not just the concepts of fragrant and foul to a Filipino but also, more importantly, how our smell (what delights or repels us) defines who we are. Smell just might be one way to catch that elusive thing we call national identity.
* * *
Comments are welcome at aocampo@ateneo.edu.