The Philippines' Rachel Ray

I have so many memories of the lanai of Nancy Reyes Lumen. I was thinking of that not long ago when I visited her at home, where she had a cooking demo going. I call her the Philippine's Rachel Ray, cause she is all that. A TV personality, publisher of COOK Magazine, food stylist, author of many books, food consultant, advertising personality, you name it, she's it. Her latest stint was in London where she had to publish a book, and then she and hubby Bob went to Paris to do a TomKat on the eiffel tower.

Nancy is also a scion of one of the country's oldest food families, the Reyes family, whose restaurant, The Aristocrat dates back to prewar days. She grew up spending summers with cooking contests among her cousins, where Matriarch Aling Asyang would be the judge of who came up with the best recipe. She can cook anything.

Recently Nancy transformed her lanai to become the set for her cooking show. And in between, it is used for cooking classes and demos. This time, she got her staff to cook all kinds of dishes. And being multitasked by nature, she photographed each dish when it was completed, for her magazine. The staff enjoyed the occasion because Filipinos LOVE to cook (except for me) and they did their dishes exceedingly well.

Nancy also has a big heart. I can't count the times she's visited friends in hospitals, gone to funerals, counseled those in pain or in trouble. I can't count the times she would help a waiter in Aristocrat or someone who had less than she, giving this person opportunities that would go a long way in improving someone's quality of life.

No one is perfect, not Nancy and she would be the last person to say that of herself. But certainly, she has contributed abundance to her patch of the world. Come to think of it, I don't think she is the Philippines' Rachel Ray at all. No offense Rachel, but she is simply Nancy Reyes Lumen, an original individual.

She is an Unnamed Hero

I live in a gated village, not one of the top ones in our country, more middle class. We have lived here for 14 years, and always, I had heard stories about this mysterious heroine who lives among us.

To this day, i don't know her name, but have this feeling that she would prefer it that way. She lives just a few houses down from where my brother lives. And the first i had heard was of a young boy she had adopted, who would sometimes drop bye my mom's house to take a nap.

Strange, i thought, but mom told me of the doctor down the road who had adopted him. The boy in due time became a friend of my daughter, but he was always a little on the strange side. In due time i came to see how the doctor and this boy would find each other in a world not always kind.

The doctor's house became popular among the househelp of our village, because she would treat anyone who came by, for free. Among her beneficiaries where the two little children of my mother's maid. Yes, at one time, this wonderful maid of my mom had her husband and children living with mom, and while there was only so much mama could do for them, the doctor down the road did her share, too, caring for the children whenever they were sick.

when mom became very, very ill, sometimes my brother would need immediate medical advice, and the doctor down the road always came through. But she would also advise my brother the next day to immediately call on mom's primary caregiver.

In my own house, about 5 blocks away from mom and the doctor, one morning i saw the daughter of my maid, ashley, just 6 months old, with skin riddled with bumps. i thought it was prickly heat as the weahter was quite warm, and my own daughter had it big time as a baby.

then i went to work. later that night, i saw ashley (the baby) again. her "prickly heat" became splotches, and she looked rather distressing to see. but the maids (who are sisters) were not worried at all. you see, that afternoon they consulted the doctor -- the one who lives near my mom. it was all free and just a short walk away. the doctor made a prescription, which they immediately filled. and the following day, ashley baby's face was clear and smooth.

i was so thankful for this unnamed heroine in our village. we all try to do our share, i do spend on ashley for diapers, milk, food, and sometimes medical help. but this time they took care of their baby by themselves, for free. and they felt so reassured to know there was a doctor so nearbye they could count on, who would never charge and always make them feel well.

and make ashley baby get well, too.

A Patch of Spain in Manila

I love this knight, and i wish the vacuum cleaner weren't situated beside it. I think this knight has something to do with the Knights of Rizal. But don't quote me on that. I just thought so because i also saw a bust of Rizal in this place, where you will find Instituto Cervantes, the Spanish Embassy's cultural center, which shares a piece of land with a Spanish restaurant (I can't remember the name of it) where there was quite a bit of memorabilia of Jose Rizal here and there. He did live in Spain for awhile, anyway.

Below was a former pelota court. But in Manila we used to have a Jai Alai building -- not anymore. So people use this pelota court to play jai alai. Go figure. i was told this is the only place where you can play jai alai now. don't quote me, ha...

This is a wall tile. A portion of the patio has a collection of tiles like these, I just took a close up.

There ya go, the full display.

And then, there's the grand piano. I was lucky to spend a day with my hubby, who is taking Spanish lessons at Instituto Cervantes. In the morning he had his classes, while I played on my laptop. Then we had lunch, and went back in the afternoon. We both worked our laptops while someone played this piano. Nice way to spend a quiet afternoon, quietly and constructively.

That's my buff. Kasi, after his classes he can do his work here -- assignments, office work, etc. preparing English lessons and the like since he is also an English trainor. He does it all here while waiting for our kid to get out of school. Don't you love technology?

He has a nice laptop, but i wanted a notebook, cause i just need something to do research and to write my articles on. cause aside from my day job as a medical editor with a transcription company, i write articles on the side...am also writing 2 chapters of a book, and sometimes the hubby and i do publicity for the occasional client. and we do writing and english seminars and tutorials, shall i continue with the resume?

This is the library. you can connect your laptop here and do some real work in a very quiet environment. But even more interesting are the people the hubby meets at Instituto. One is a fellow, a high school grad who has a gift for languages. He couldn't afford college but he can teach himself languages on the computer, and he beefs it up with spanish classes here. he is already of level 8 quality. and he does this while holding the day job. Filipinos are really amazing, always able to achieve more with less.

He's such a buff guy, my guy. And he likes dogs, too:)

Here's the frontage of Instituto. A lot of the students here work in call centers. It bugs me more than a bit when people say a call center job is a dead end job. or when people look down on it. because it's a step, an opportunity. a lot of my hubby's classmates work in call centers. You can get a pretty good salary there, but if you work in a foreign language call center, you can earn triple, even five times as much depending on the language. Spanish is easier cause it's closer to English and Tagalog. But the highest paying is if you speak Finnish, you can make P 100,000/month. So please, don't put outsourcing down in front of me. I'm very proud to say one of my officemates at STU (my day job) has also enrolled in Instituto. If you are determined, one step very easily leads to another.

And then there are those who study spanish with plans only to reach up to level 3. These people usually are hopeful of working as a caregiver in Spain someday. Some just study to kill time. They tend to drop off after the first level. There are 18 levels at Instituto. By the 8th level you are eligible to work in a call center. by the 18th, i guess you can shoot for the moon? ha ha ha.

Lobby shot. I think now they made a little canteen hereabouts.

That is the swimming pool where no one swam the day i was here.

Courtyard.

This is the bar of the restaurant next to Instituto. I had 2 cups of coffee here.

Wall plate.

The restaurant is really quite beautiful and I'm told the soup is particularly good, the ajos, a friend told me (hope i got that right).

I totally loved this tilework on the floor.

Well, i never promised you organization. here's the restaurant again.

Good Knight:)

Posh Mall

I am dealing with Christmas by pretending it's not there. Because this will be my first Christmas without my mom, who passed away some months back. so although the Philippines is very beautiful with all the Christmas decorations all around, i don't plan to do any shopping and i'm not photographing much of the scenery. But this is a posh mall i shot many months ago, Rockwell so maybe it's like a compromise for a Christmas that is not. I took this photo because of the store's name. obvous ba?

White heads.

Actually, the look of the mall reminds me of the Pentagon mall in DC, all very white and posh and pretty. Lots smaller though.

This is a local store that has beautiful clothes, but they are verrrryyyyy expensive. I am so glad my daughter likes Tyra Banks. When we shop I tell her, "don't shop expensive, shop smart like Tyra" and she feels very good about that. But if you have the cash to spend, here's a really good place to go.

The mall is beside the very posh Ateneo law school. Funny thing, when I took this shot a security guard told me I couldn't take pictures. Which I found very strange. Which makes me think that it must have to do with the fact that it is a very posh mall. whatever.

I took some photos before the guard got to stop me though, like this daycare center in Rockwell.

And then, this store was being launched. Which in retrospect makes me wonder why the guard stopped me from taking photos. True, he was very polite and respectful. But when a store is being launched, that means that there will be media and photographers. So what was the big deal?

WHATEVER......

What i wish for my country

I have a lot of wishes for my country, but there are the doables and the nondoables. But more than anything i would love for us to have a strong middle class and equal opportunities for all. i would like more children in our country to enjoy the benefits of living in a world they can conquer when they are grown.

More than anything, i have come to know people who are offspring of farmers. my maids, some people i work with, and most of all, seamen whom i once taught english to. Most of them lived and/or grew up in the farm. in teaching them english, i would often ask them to talk about the farm and things they were familiar with like how to plant rice, that sort of thing. and it was a great learning experience.

of all the types of students i had teaching english (and the varieties is stuff for another write up), i was particularly fond of the seamen, because they were the most disciplined. no matter how hard things were for them, they worked hard. they wanted to learn. there was no one quite like them.

recently i read a column by Augusto De Leon where he talked of pro-poor financial policies, and i think he has good ideas. Here's what he proposed:

1. Try to restructure our debt payment. Currently P45.6 billion of our national budget goes to paying these foreign obligations. With a restructure of the loan, we could use the money to develop good pro-poor policies.

2. Focus on agriculture by rebuilding and building new infrastructure. Primarily, through investing in irrigation. Out of 3.6 million hectares of land that can be irrigated, only have have some facilities and most need rehabilitation. The additional 1.3 million hectars of rice land, if irrigated, could generate P16.6 billion in annual agricultural output, benefiting 889,000 farmers.

But to make sure the money really goes there (and not into some greedy official pockets) De Leon also proposes safeguards monitored by international financial institutions whose loans amortization will be deferred -- and quick prosecution of the corrupt cases discovered.

3. Recondition the acidic soil of most rice lands. this would require quarrying, transporting and adding limestone in rice fields, and heavy equimpemntand machinery that most farmers don't have. Organized contractors would have to do it employing farm labor, which would provide large scale employment for a time and start a new economic cycle of farm productivity.

4. Build seedling beds so traditional seedling preparation can be modernized, thus increasing the potential production output per hectare.

I am writing down his suggestions because hopefully in my own small way others could think about it. Hope Fully!!!!!

Food For Thought

Some things to consider if you are a retiree overseas on a pension:

We have great doctors in the Philippines. And treatment is cheaper here. A coronary bypass surgery with ehart valve replacement would cost US $11,956 to US 17,391 over here. In the US, the same would cost around US$70,000 to US $133,000.

It's also a good idea to come here for cosmetic surgery. A facelift here is US $3,913 to US $4,347. In the US, the same service would be US $10,500 to US $16,000.

I know of a retired Filipina here who is living off her pension from the US. It's something like US 1,500 monthly. But she is comfortable with that. It pays her bills and she gets to save, too. With the current rate at 49 to the dollar, that would be about 73, 500. She rents a nice unit for just P10,000 and that's good enough for her. I guess if she wanted to, she could afford a facelift easily, but that is not her style. And she could save enough for a rainy medical day, too.

Life in the Philippines is Good for Foreigners

My sis recently sent me this piece. It explains why a lot of foreigners like living here:

'WHY RETIRE IN THE PHILIPPINES '

By Jose G. Caedo
PUBLISHED IN SAN FRANCISCO CHRONICLE

Considering retirement?

For many Americans, retirement time is just around the corner. The prospect of trying to live on a pension, in old age is a daunting one. For some, moving to retire in another country such as Mexico (for North Americans) or Portugal and Spain (for Northern Europeans) is an option which has been successful. But why not consider retiring in the Philippines ?

Over the last decade, the Philippines has become a retirement haven for thousands of foreigners, particularly the Japanese, Korean, and Northern Europeans. Along with Thailand and Malaysia , the Philippines developed communications, infrastructure, and service delivery systems specifically geared to meet the needs of foreign retirees.

The principal appeal for retirement in the Philippines is the lower cost of living. As of May 2008, the Philippine Peso ( PhP) exchange rate is approximately PhP43 to $1.00 . Housing, food, and labor costs are quite reasonable. A two bedroom condominium in one of the posh "villages" in Makati City costs about $400 per month. and one can dine out on average at a three star restaurant for less than $10.00, including tax and tip. If you plan to hire domestic help, a private driver's salary is approximately $200.- per month, while a trained housekeeper will earn approximately $100.- month. These salaries are lower if you live in the provinces.

Watching a film in a first-run movie theater there costs only 25 cents, with a good light meal called ("merienda") afterwards for about $2.00. One can hire an air-conditioned taxicab for eight hours for less than $25.00. Or take the MRT monorail from end to end for less than $1.00.- And a pair of locally made blue jeans costs less than $ 10.- In a country where a provincial Governor's salary is PHP 28,000 per month, and a Presidential Cabinet Under-Secretary earns PhP35,000, your pension can go a long way. So, if you have an individual retirement income of approximately $1,500 to $2,000 per month ( Ph 80,000 to 100,000.-) you can live quite well there.

Incidentally, Peso-denominated Time Deposit interest rate now is 4.5% for forty-five days.

As for health care, most U.S. Health Management Organizations pay for medical expenses incurred in the Philippines. Check with your HMO. The Philippine Department of Foreign Affairs presently has a task force headed by former Secretary Roberto Romulo working to have the U.S. government accredit a number of first class Philippine hospitals for Medicare reimbursement. The Makati Medical Center, one of the nation's best already has such accreditation.

Unbeknownst to many is that for years, citizens of nearby countries such as Thailand, Nauru, Tonga, Indonesia, and Malaysia have flocked to the Philippines for medical care, particularly sensitive surgical procedures. The quality of medical care at the better Manila hospitals such as the Asian, St. Luke's, Medical City, Cardinal Santos, Philippine Heart Center for Asia, National Kidney Institute, and Makati Medical Center meets international standards. I have been treated by American Surgeons in San Francisco who have been to the Philippines where they performed surgical procedures. These surgeons have a high opinion of the Philippine doctors, nurses, and facilities they worked with.

Heart, Liver, Kidney, Pancreatic, and Cornea transplants are done routinely in the better Manila hospitals. A Japanese company will be building a medical facility in Tagaytay City exclusively for Japanese nationals within the year. There are now close to 10,000 Japanese retirees in the country, and the number is growing annually.

The British government recently acquired a large tract of land in Fort Bonifacio to build a large Embassy. The British ambassador explained that larger facility is meant to help serve the growing number of British nationals retiring there as well. There are also Japanese and Korean investment groups buying homes and condominiums in Manila, and tracts of provincial land for retirees. This has caused a mini-Real Estate boom in the country. A retirement village exclusively for Japanese nationals already exists in Tagaytay, and more are planned. These are strong indicators of what is on the horizon.