New Taste?! May 2, 2008

Among the many things that came new to me when I migrated here in NZ is the food. Although I still go to the Asian store(s) to buy stuff that will satisfy my Pinoy taste, there are NZ foods that I came to like/love too. Here are they:

Kiwi fruit

Who wouldn’t like to eat the Kiwi fruit? I love the green ones (kinda sour) better than the golden ones (sweet) though. The latter tastes like Philippine chico which I don’t like.

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Feijoa

This has a similar taste and look as guava but better. I like our guavas back home but I just don’t like the teeny-weeny hard seeds that aren’t friendly to my teeth. Feijoas are softer in texture so it’s perfect for me. Love them heaps!

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Strawberries (and the picking too):

I have had a taste of strawberries before back in PI and I didn’t really like it that much. Baguio/Bukidnon strawberries are kinda sour. Strawberries here are big and sweet! Oh, I love NZ stawberries…and not to mention the delightful smell hmmmm…yummy!

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Pink Salmon

We can’t have a week without this. Never mind the price; it has the healthy and hearty benefits anyway. You can opt to buy just the head and have your tinola/sinigang, that would be affordable.

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Red Snapper

This is a common catch if you go fishing here in NZ but it’s somewhat expensive if you buy it through a fishmonger. Still, it’s worth it! You can bake, fry or whatever you feel like doing to the fish, it’s all gooooddd!

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NZ beef

Of course! NZ is known for its countless healthy cows. They don’t just produce cheap and truly “fresh” milk, they also make tender and juicy beef. No need for a pressure cooker and say goodbye to that odd smell of beef. Yes, NZ has premium quality of beef meat! Two thumbs up for bistik (steak) and pochero (stew) lovers like me!

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Yet, my fondness for lechon, talangka, bagoong, lapu-lapu fish, tuna panga, sweet mangoes and countless mouth-watering Pinoy foods is incomparable! Lami-a gyud (certainly delectable)!!!

3rd world passport =( January 3, 2008

Our world is incredibly filled with wonders that we ought to witness and experience. Travelling and seeing new places interest me big time! It feels like heaven when hubby and I can wander around.

 

I’ve heard that many people from the 1^st world do “contracting” and spend half of their year working and the rest of it wandering. How COOL is that?!!! Gosh, that is an enormous advantage of being citizens of the 1^st world. They can go wherever they want and work there <green with envy>. They simply have a choice. While us, the ones holding 3^rd world passports need to APPLY to enter other countries and unfortunately, denial of entry is a usual scenario. Moreover, finding work abroad is not easy too because assessment of our qualifications is a MUST and further training/exams should be taken first before they can regard us with comparable skills/qualifications <sigh>. Qualms on travelling/working abroad are just even on the surface of the deep-rooted issues of our misfortunes. We simply cannot have the FREEDOM others are enjoying and that’s the bottom-line.

 

Perhaps, this is one good reason why many of us are desperately itching to have our passports changed because it is literally our “passport” to a more privileged life. How SAD is that?

Hopelessly Craving December 21, 2007

 

Nostalgia struck me today. Aside from good friends back home, I truly long for my favourite/comfort foods that I can’t seem to find here:

1. Crabs (haven’t found a well-known and reputable fishmonger who sells good crab; the ones in the supermarket look ‘unhealthy’ and they’re expensive!)

2. Talangka

3. Bangus especially the one from Dagupan

4. Cakes from Red Ribbon especially Ube cake

5. Fresh buko juice

6. Doughnuts from KrispyKreme or GoNuts

7. Sr. Pedro / Andok’s lechon manok

—Only in Cebu—

8. CnT lechon

9. Guadalupe’s sweet mangoes

10. Ice Castle’s halo-halo

11. STK in Capitol especially their tuna panga

12. Crispy pata of Café Laguna (unbeatable)

 

Huh?! It just occurred to me that I’m actually craving for 12 items and I can’t think of anything more…gosh, may I sing the “12 Days of Christmas” and hope that D will read this hehe

 

Really, if I could just have any of the aforementioned, my Christmas would be extraordinary! But then again…I guess it will only remain in my dreams…my, oh my! why can’t I have the best of both worlds?!!

My 2nd month in NZ: an update December 6, 2007

Hello to you all! Long time, no hear hehehe

 

I’m here in Auckland for 2 months now and I love it here so far. The Kiwis (the people here) are really friendly and polite and the place is breathtaking. If you love nature then you will surely marvel over the picture-perfect scenery here – green surroundings and clean air.

When I arrived, I was greatly adjusting to the weather. Eventhough it was spring here, I was in a “winter” ensemble hahaha – gloves, thermal socks, thick clothing and all. Yes, you can feel the scorching heat of the sun (they say that the ozone layer is thin or non-existent) but the wind is freezing…Well, enough of that now because it’s summer here already. The weather is perfect – hot but not humid…yippee!

 

Aside from the weather, they talk different English here too – British terms and all which I am not used to:

• college means “high school”; so don’t say you’re a college grad hehe; say, “university” grad instead
• they don’t understand CR, they use “toilet” and “loo”; “rubbish” instead of trash/garbage
• the letter z is pronounced as /zed/ so NZ is /NZed/
• “have here” instead of dine-in; “take-away” rather than take-out
• strange words like “a box of birds” that you say when you’re feeling great; smoko=short break, etc…you can check out more kiwi words here
• their short e sounds like long e as in /tist/ for test; also, head=/hid/,heavy=/hivy/…waaaahhhh say what???? I surely get confused!…context clues truly come in handy =D
• when asked how you are, use superlatives because “good” is just mediocre (they may think something’s wrong); say “I feel (great, fantastic, marvellous, lovely, awesome, etc.)” hehe

Working here as a teacher is different too. As an Early Childhood teacher, your job entails all-around tasks: feeding, cleaning, changing nappies/wipe bottoms and everything else that in the Philippines, you expect a nanny/janitor will do. It is not a glamorous job but it is fulfilling in one way or another especially if you love kids! As my friend who works as EC teacher in Czech Republic say, she feels like a “glorified nanny” hahaha!!! Doing all the aforementioned, it is quite disheartening that our education is considered not comparable here - meaning, I have to go back to school for further training in order to become a “qualified” teacher. This is a must for me or else I’ll be paid much lower doing the same job as the “qualified” teacher huhu. As of the moment, I need to bear all that. In fact, I’m just lucky enough to have a teaching job even if I’m not trained here.

 

Despite the adjustments and all, I find NZ as a great place if you’re family oriented and you don’t like the hustle-bustle of the city. It’s laid back here and children are still “tamed”. You can’t hear morbid news like shooting in schools or mall (God forbid). For me, life here is comparable to being in a province in the Philippines – with a better government that is! hehe =D

 

That’s all for now! Will write more about my journey here later =D

New life in Auckland, NZ October 12, 2007

New Zealand is indeed a beautiful place and the people I’ve met so far are generally polite and friendly…but being here in more than a week now has been challenging for me. The very reason I feel so is because my body isn’t cooperating with me – have this hyperacidity since I arrived and my back is aching <sigh> and the worst, I feel cold!!! Even if Auckland is warmer than the other regions here, I’m still chilling. For 27 years, I was used to the warm weather in the Philippines – usually around 30 degrees Celsius and above with high humidity…and here, it’s 11-15 degrees Celcius bbrrrrr!!! Omigolly, it’s good that I didn’t decide to apply for a teaching job in Alaska or else I would have packed my bags and go back to the Philippines in no time!

Basically, my life for these past days is just staying at home. I don’t want to go out even if the picturesque beauty of the place is tempting.

Going back to my hyperacidity, I’ve been carefully choosing the food I eat to alleviate my acid reflux but it seems that it is only helping a little. When I googled about it, I suspected something that could have caused this trouble I’m into – and that is, psychological anxiety! I may not be aware of it but the adjustment of getting out from my comfort zone: being in a new place, the need to look for a new job and everything is somehow getting into me – subconsciously perhaps. Even if I consider myself with type AB personality, the type A in me is becoming dominant eh?!

I need to remind myself that “God is always here…just relax!”…hmmmm…I badly need this mantra! Yes, the thought that God put everything in place and brought us here, consoles me that He has plans for us here…Just lead the way Lord and we will follow!