Category Archives: Local Culture

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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Living it Up with a Personal Shopper

Posted on 29 July 2012 by sheg4184

One of our local expatriate magazines had picked Beauty as a theme for our May edition, and I was asked to interview a personal shopper at one of Manila’s most popular department stores. At first I was appalled, for I … Continue reading →

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El Baile Flamenco

Posted on 9 July 2012 by sheg4184

Café de Chinitas is located in a back street near the Royal Palace in Madrid. Chinitas apparently means little Chinese girls, which is somewhat at odds with the fact we were hoping to watch some Spanish dancing. As we settled … Continue reading →

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To Taormina, with love…

Posted on 21 June 2012 by sheg4184

Almoezia. A three star B&B on Sicily’s east coast. A broad sunny terrace flanked with colourful pots overlooks the coast from Siren’s Bay to Capo Sant’Alessio on one side, and the seemingly inaccessible mountain top town of Castel Mola on the … Continue reading →

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