Category Archives: Local Culture

Christmas: a time for giving

Posted on 22 November 2012 by sheg4184

It’s mid-November and the shopping malls in Manila are filling up with Christmas trees, Santas and arctic animals, while the air vibrates with schmalzy Christmas songs. As we reach for our Christmas lists, you may think my title is stating … Continue reading →

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When the Elephants Dance

Posted on 17 November 2012 by sheg4184

It is the last weeks of World War II in the Pacific. Food is scarce, ordinary Filipinos are forced to scavenge or starve, and many have gone into hiding: in caves in the mountains; deep in the jungles, or simply … Continue reading →

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From Paddock to Plate

Posted on 10 November 2012 by sheg4184

Sandra Lyn Hataway is a graduate from Le Cordon Bleu in Texas and a devotee of both Slow Food USA and iconic restaurateur Alice Waters. Slow Food proclaims it is redressing the balance of our fast food life by preserving … Continue reading →

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Passionate about Pampanga

Posted on 17 October 2012 by sheg4184

It was a dawn gathering, outside Starbucks, in Makati. Armed with coffees and cameras, we climbed aboard a minivan and headed north, past rice fields and lakes full of water hyacinths, sugar cane and wild grasses. Our tour guide, Bryan … Continue reading →

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Of Anthuriums & Fiddle Head Ferns

Posted on 24 September 2012 by sheg4184

In the extreme heat that hit Manila last May, we drove south from the city to Los Baños, to meet a group of provinicial businessmen and women who benefit from a local micro-financing program, partially supported by a social welfare … Continue reading →

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Reviewing the Situation

Posted on 27 August 2012 by sheg4184

Back in Manila after a summer abroad, I was recently thumbing through a guide book on moving to the Philippines – new arrivals needed some information I didn’t have the answer to – and as I wandered through the pages … Continue reading →

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The Culinary Heritage of the Philippines

Posted on 16 August 2012 by sheg4184

Filipino food was prepared by Malay settlers, spiced by Chinese traders, stewed in 300 years of Spanish rule and hamburgered by American influence… Monina A. Mercado  Filipina food historian Doreen Fernandez calls this culinary fusion ‘indigenization’ – the process of … Continue reading →

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An End to the Affair

Posted on 11 August 2012 by sheg4184

I first went to Florence on a decidedly pedestrian bus tour in the mid-1980s. We struck it lucky with the most magical tour guide, however, an English expatriate who was besotted with Florentine art. Sadly, I don’t even remember her … Continue reading →

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Walking in the Rain

Posted on 8 August 2012 by sheg4184

When a new friend in Manila asked me to go walking with her at 5.30 a.m., I was aghast. Good heavens, I thought, if I am even conscious that early, I am still hunched over my English Breakfast tea,  trying … Continue reading →

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Sunday Market in Legazpi Village

Posted on 6 August 2012 by sheg4184

When my husband and I wake up early on a Sunday, with nothing much on the day’s agenda beyond a strong urge to get out of the house, we find a taxi and potter down to the Legazpi Market.  Like … Continue reading →

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