Customs

It's not very often we are faced with strict customs in Vancouver. From what I've experienced, cultural traditions in Vancouver are fairly flexible. And then you fly twelve hours over the Pacific Ocean to Manila, Philippines --- a completely different world it seems.

I think every time I come here I experience culture shock, the intensity of it varies per trip. This time I traveled to Manila (my birth home) with my siblings and my brother's girlfired so the intensity wasn't too high ... or maybe I've started to become accustomed to the poverty and shanty homes that line the busy streets? I hope not. Immediately after arrival we were faced with 'Customs'. I was a horrible travelerand I didn't check the expiry date on my passport therefore risked deportation. Since I made it within the two day grace period, I was allowed into the country (I hope they will let me return home)!

Upon arriving at my uncle's place we were greeted with an abundance of food -- a Filipino norm. I hit them with a surprise of my being vegetarian after I had of course nibbled on what I could for breakfast ... which was plenty since there was a plethora of food to choose from.

It's been very difficult when we go out as I can't just have a random salad. It's hard to find a healthy quick bite, like an apple, while my siblings and cousins eat a pizza. I've been carrying around a bag of nuts -- although peanuts are on my 'do not eat' list.

My cousin's wedding at the Sofitel Hotel was pretty amazing though! She had a SALAD BAR ... yes, not just one salad but various kinds AND there were steamed vegetables ... which almost looked to be garnish for the roast lamb but I took them anyway, hahaha. I guess that's all I have to blog about for now. My lack of photos stem from my lack of motivation to take photos of my food (a combination of both the humidity and jet-lag).