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| Fig 1. New menu offerings at Starbucks |
It's strawberry reason in the Philippines; well, at least in the Northern part where it is abundantly grown. I'm so happy to see it paired with other healthy ingredients like granola and yogurt. It's a rather unique combination to most Filipinos, but I think it'll be a mainstay on their menu.
The tea was familiar to me, as I've had it in the country of its origin- Japan; but this was served with milk and sugar. I didn't hate it but I'm not used to having those additives in my cuppa. I tried it only because I'm a big tea afficionado and am a sucker for Starbucks' Chai Latte. In fact that's the only drink I order there. I figured that maybe another tea drink of theirs would appeal to me.
2. Feng Shui / Chinese Horoscope
I'm not sure if that's what it's called, but for some reason these huge red banners printed with some person's forecasts for love/business/family, greatly beckoned the people's attention. It was unbelievable! The picture below isn't clear but I surprised to see even businessmen taking out their iPads just to take pictures of what the walls had to say for them.
Once upon a time, there were twelve animals summoned by a Chinese emperor to race each other. The order in which they arrived at the palace, corresponds to a person's birth year. 2013 is supposed to be my year, but I don't really believe what they predict about the future. I think the future is unpredictable, so astrology, zodiacs and horoscope are the things I'd least like to know about.
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| Fig 2. Chinese horoscope believers at the mall. |
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| Fig 3. The newly renovated confession chamber. |
I saw this while paying for my electricity bill yesterday.
Good thing I pay in cash (LOL).
Isn't it enough that I confess my sins to God? Now I have to confide in my electricity provider? Just kidding...
I completely understand what sin tax means. I just never expected it to be required at a billing office.
4. The beautiful view while jogging
....Aaaaaaaaaaaannnnnd we're back to the summer season. It had been pretty chilly in the past month. I had to wear a denim jacket sometimes to keep warm, especially during the night. But yesterday, the sun had not yet set by 4:30PM. It was still bright by the time I finished my third lap and it was less breezy compared to last week. Maybe it'll be a good idea to celebrate Valentines at the beach this year.
Because it was fitting to the humid atmosphere, I chose to listen to Grease Lightning's Summer Nights while jogging back home.
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| Fig 4. My campus during my afternoon jog. . |
Arts and Humanities 2 is a subject where we study and do contemporary art. It was my first time to see the students' masterpieces displayed outdoors. They would usually be hung in one of the halls of the buildings on campus; otherwise they'd be mounted on the walls of one of the dark cellars of a fifty- year old facility, temporarily transformed into an art gallery. Since it depicted historical scenes, I thought it was a good move of the Arts professors because a lot of foreigners were taking their pictures with the canvasses in the background, and were inquiring the Filipino students about the story behind them. The statue of a naked man in the foreground is our university's symbol meaning freedom. We refer to him as Oblation; Oble for short.
6. A Promil Kid on Skype
There is a connotation in the Philippines that talented kids drink a certain brand of milk (Promil). My first online student last night was an impressive five year-old, who left me in awe after he insisted on showing me how well he could play his keyboard. I didn't know the piece he played but it sounded really good- he's definitely not an amateur. After he played, he wanted to hear me play. So I sang while playing Love Song by Sara Bareilles, which was of course unfamiliar to him. The whole lesson time was spent showing off our skills, which wasn't right for an English lesson but he and his mom asked me to...challenge accepted :D
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