She Gathers No Moss

The Power of Pasta

Posted on 11 June 2014 by sheg4184

“Life is a combination of magic and pasta.” ~ Federico Fellini, Italian film producer

I love that quote. As an Anglo-Australian, pasta was never a significant part of my culinary upbringing – we were more of a meat and three veg family. Then I met my One & Only and Proper Pasta almost in the same week. Not the limp, overcooked spaghetti and grey Bolognese of my occasional childhood, but al dente spaghetti and simple tasty, red-rich sauces. I watched and learned from my father-in-law and eventually I would make it at least twice a week for the kids, my variations on traditional sauces the perfect disguise for any vegetable. My children grew up on it, and are all experts at twirling spaghetti on a fork, (a skill I still find as hit and miss as chopsticks). We even had a favourite holiday jigsaw of pasta!

Pasta is to Italy what rice is to Asia. It is the most well-known Italian food, and the most popular ingredient for any Italian dining experience. It is also the one unifying ingredient in a country long divided by regional culinary diversity. And it takes so many forms and has so many lilting names: sheets of lasagna and wide ribbons of papardelle; spaghetti shoelaces in different widths; the generic macaroni in a multitude of forms from rissoni to penne. To paraphrase Jamie Oliver: how amazing that three everyday ingredients – flour, water and eggs – can be mixed and kneaded, rolled, cut and squashed, flavoured and coloured into countless shapes and sizes.

The origins of this popular ingredient are murky. Popular legend suggest that pasta was derived from the noodles Marco Polo brought back from the East, while others claim the Romans were eating a version of it hundreds of years before that illustrious, thirteenth century merchant went a-wandering. There are tales of merchant Arabs introducing wheat cultivation and dried pasta to Sicilian shores. The first written reference to pasta, however, came from Sicily in the Middle Ages, and the recipe gradually moved north.

Originally a dish only for the wealthy, by the late 18^th century pasta had become a popular street food in Naples, eaten simply with cheese and pepper, and the Neapolitans had been nicknamed “mangiamaccheroni” or maccheroni eaters. Here the weather provided the perfect conditions for growing wheat and drying the pasta, and the streets were soon lined withspaghetti stalls.

Pasta took on a variety of forms, and its popularity spread across Italy as economics, modern agricultural practices and Garibaldi colluded to make it a cheap dish for the masses. Twentieth century Italian emigrants took the habit with them, so much so that, in whatever corner of the Mediterranean pasta was born, there is no doubt that it journeyed all over the globe with every Italian migrant since, until it became synonymous with Italian cuisine.

Pasta, as a staple, is enormously versatile. It can be served as a prima piatte or a main
course. It doubles as a cold salad for a barbecue, or it can be tossed into soup as pasta in brodo. It can even be baked into puddings and cakes or stuffed with sweet fillings for dessert. Pasta simply goes into wherever your imagination and ingredients can unite to invent. Some cooks still choose to make their pasta from scratch (pasta fresca), and I have tried, but I have neither the patience nor the knack, and must resort to the shop-bought variety, pasta secca, which are perfectly good, although obviously some brands are better than others.

Also note that some pastas work better with particular dishes than others. While the rules are not set in stone, decades of experimentation have led to the following generalizations: fresh pasta is best suited to creamy sauces, as are pasta ribbons like fettucine or tagliatelle. Rigatoni, farfalle (butterflies), penne (quills) and fusilli with their ridges and edges, capture chunky meat sauces, while long, thin pasta like linguine or spaghetti (from ‘spago’ meaning cord) are best eaten with fine sauces like pestos or ragus. For broth, use the tiny pasta shapes such as orzo (‘barley’), alfabeti, and nelli. And stuffed pastas like ravioli or tortellini are best with simple sauces such as butter and sage or a plain tomato passata.

I have also discovered some stray orchietta of trivia I would like to share with you:

Apparently Parmesan is not traditionally sprinkled on a fresh tomato sauce, and is never added to a fish sauce. Oops! We, sacrilegious souls that we are, love to throw it on everything.

Sophia Loren famously stated of her curvaceous figure: “Everything you see I owe to spaghetti.”

When Elizabeth David, British culinary expert, discovered Italian cuisine in the early fifties and introduced it to the ration-bound post-war England of powdered egg and grey bread, it was a revelation of simplicity and quality ingredients.

Those famous tomato based pasta sauces came into existence less than 200 year ago, only after the tomato arrived in Italy from South America.

Chef Giorgio Locatelli, of Locanda Locatelli in London, claims every Italian is two-thirds pasta.

Yet some Italians tried to quash the tradition: Mussolini planned to convert the Italians to rice, saying “A nation of spaghetti eaters cannot restore Roman civilization!” And a now infamous – and probably fascist – poet in the 1930s denounced pasta for making the nation sluggish, and called for its abolition. Tradition and popular opinion was outraged. Pasta remains undefeated on every Italian menu in the world.

So there you have it. Love it or hate it, pasta looks like it’s here to stay. But as a grande finale, do any of you remember the tale of that infamous BBC April Fool that convinced half the British nation (at least!) that spaghetti grows on trees in Switzerland, with its spoof documentary on the harvesting of pasta? We, in our internet wisdom, may feel supercilious, but in 1957 spaghetti was almost unheard of in Britain, and the hoax was a huge success. Apparently many even wrote in to the BBC to discover where to buy a spaghetti tree!

*Adapted from a piece written for Newsflash magazine, April 2014. With thanks to Google for the photos.

Posted in Cooking, Lifestyle | Tagged Elizabeth David, Garibaldi, Italian cuisine, Mussolini, pasta, pasta fresca, pasta secca | Comments Off

The Exquisite Pleasure of Afternoon Tea

Posted on 5 June 2014 by sheg4184

“Weary, after a dull day, with the prospect of a depressing morrow, I raised my lips to a spoonful of the tea in which I had soaked a morsel of cake… And at once the vicissitudes of life had become indifferent to me.” – Marcel Proust, 1913

At this time of year, the round of farewells amongst the expat community can make a girl a little melancholy. But I am over-riding the sadness of endless send-offs with a number of inevitably cheerful, chatty afternoons of tea and scones and quite possibly champagne. Today, however, I am alone, sipping tea and nibbling on bite-sized mini burgers at 1837 TWG. And nothing could be nicer, except perhaps the unexpected appearance of a good friend….

You have probably noticed my penchant for afternoon tea by now, and ‘TWG’, with a list of teas more extensive than any wine list I have ever experienced, must surely be the tea connoisseur. With a current selection of more than 800 varieties, the choice would be daunting, except that they have been conveniently classified according to region, country, and time of day. And as if that were not enough there is even a separate tea book with vivid descriptions of the various teas.

Fancy a London High Tea to accompany your cakes? “A demure blend of nostalgic taste, this whole-leaf black tea pays tribute to a cosmopolitan city by showcasing the best of Chinese and Indian savoir-faire in an enduring cup.”

Or a Literary Tea? “Aromatic, this blend of fruity green tea shields a strong and lingering taste of
moonlit nights and secret trysts. A tea of fairy tale endings.”

Emperor’s White Garden Tea perhaps? “To instill the palate with harmonizing fragrances, freshness and warmth, fine white tea, green tea and highly aromatic roses and jasmine blossoms are blended to evoke a sense of appeasing serenity after the day’s upheavals.”

And I thought the winemakers had cornered the market on evocative adjectives!

Despite an initial reluctance to be wooed by such pretentiousness, I have been converted. Who needs wine, coffee or chocolate when so much adventure can be found in a simple cup of tea? So I am working my way through the list, with a decided preference for the black teas. It is a lucky dip of poetic names likes Ace of Hearts, Royal Orchid, Smoky Russian and Chittagong Hill. And who knew there was more than one type of Earl Grey? TWG lists fourteen. Tea even makes its presence felt in the food menu, flavouring cocktail sauces, macaroons and ice creams and infused into vinaigrettes and jellies.

Whether you feel like breakfast, lunch or afternoon tea, tea is the star of the menu, blending everything together in a fanciful conceit.

So from whence came The Wellness Group and its expertise in tea? The story goes back to the founding of modern Singapore in 1819 by Sir Stamford Raffles. Established as a trading post of the British East India Company with the permission of the Johor Sultanate, it rapidly developed into a flourishing free port at the crossroads of the SE Asian sea routes, trading in tea and coffee, cotton, sugar and spices. In 1837, the tea trade in Singapore was formalized with the creation of the Chamber of Commerce. In recognition of the role Singapore has played in the tea trade, The Wellness Group set up 1837 TWG Tea in 2007, continuing a tradition that it claims to have ‘spiced with a touch of sensuality and originality.’

The history of tea itself begins hundreds of years ago in China, where it was first mentioned around 300AD. The Chinese came to consider it an exotic cure for almost everything and even believed it might be the key to eternal life.

Tea did not arrive in Britain until the mid-seventeenth century, when, thanks to its popularity with the wife of Charles II, Catherine of Braganza, , tea developed an image as a feminine drink, served with a plethora of silver and porcelain accoutrements, and the added bonus of numerous unproven health benefits.

Due to excessive taxes, the price of tea made it an upper class commodity, until prolific smuggling forced the government to lower the taxes, so much so that its connotations of affluence dropped accordingly and it became the drink of the masses.

Tea has even influenced the course of history. In 1773, it played a lead role in America’s fight for independence from Britain, when rebellious colonists emptied hundreds of tea chests into the sea, thus instigating the American Revolution at what came to be known as the Boston Tea Party.

In the nineteenth century, the British obsession with tea led to the Opium War with the Chinese, who resented Britain’s refusal to pay for their tea in silver, as requested, instead paying in that addictive drug, opium. The war, eventually won by the British, led to their acquisition of Hong Kong.

By the 1930s, tea had become a national institution in Britain, glorified by the Lyons Tea Houses, whose waitresses – or ‘nippys’ – were renowned as the most efficient service staff in the country.

Today, tea is the panacea of the nation and an integral part of British culture. Writer George Orwell described it as “one of the main stays of civilization in this country, as well as in Eire, Australia and New Zealand. “ And it has retained its reputation as a cure-all, in a country where every illness or family tragedy is dealt with by immediately putting on the kettle for a cup of tea.

Early Australian settlers became some of the most prolific tea drinkers in the world. ‘Billy tea,’ now a popular brand of teabags, also refers to the tin can used to make tea over a campfire; the bushman’s kettle, and stars in such national songs as Banjo Paterson’s Waltzing Matilda and in the writings of Henry Lawson’s and D’Arcy Niland.

And so this Australian upholds the habits of her countrymen and women in the Philippines by drinking two pots of tea quite happily in one sitting – although I would perhaps prefer a large Aussie mug to the dainty, shallow tea cups that can be emptied down a thirsty throat in a single gulp.

Posted in Food & Wine, Philippines | Tagged 1837 TWG, billy tea, Boston Tea Party, China, Lyons Tea Houses, Opium War, Proust, Singapore, tea | Comments Off

Manila International Schools: part II

Posted on 30 May 2014 by sheg4184

Continuing to explore international schools in Manila, I have met some truly inspiring educators in surprising corners of Manila…

The Australian International School (AIS)

‘Like a seed, in every child lies the promise of a fruitful tomorrow’ ~ E.P. Esteban, Founder

The Australian International School, formerly Esteban School, is a non-denominational, family-run, private school, the only international school in the Philippines to offer the Western Australian Certificate of Education (WACE), recognized by both the Australian and Philippine Departments of Education. AIS even observes the Australian school year in Grades 11 and 12 (February to November), in order to make transition to Australian universities easier.

The Australian school was originally a pre-school born in Dasmariñas in 1964. Founded by educator Eleanor Esteban, she initially ran it from her front porch. As the Eleanor Esteban Learning Center, it was one of the first schools in the Philippines to focus on early years education and it t ran exclusively as a preschool for over thirty years before opening its first Grade 1 class in the 1990s. In 2000 the school moved over to the current campus at 2332 Chino Roces Ave, Taguig in 2000 and since then has been growing up, one grade at a time. Today there are 180 students from Kindergarten to Year 12, and the first Year 12 group graduated in 2012. The student cohort has strong representation from the Philippines, as well as an eclectic mix of Australians and Americans, Uzbeks and Koreans. There is even a family from Sierra Leone. Teachers are hired locally, so the staff is mostly Filipino. Eleanor Esteban is still involved in the school as one of the Directors, but she leaves the day-to-day running of AIS in the capable hands of daughter Christine Norton (School Administrator), and sons David (coordinator of WACE), and Antonio (Business Manager).

For Australian expatriate Anastasia, AIS has been the best choice for her two daughters, Tyler and Sophia. The price was right, and they decided that following the Australian curriculum would be useful if they were to head home before the girls finished school. It also meant the sisters could stay together, while any available alternatives meant sending them to different schools.

Anastasia says she has a good relationship with Ms Norton, and always feels comfortable to approach her if they have any issues. “Tina listens to your concerns and addresses them well,” she acknowledges.

Anastasia is also pleased that this family team has a vested interest in the school. She has watched closely as the school has developed over the past five years, and while she admits the location is not ideal, and ‘the facilities are not at all impressive’ compared with many larger schools, she is delighted with the high academic expectations, and says the girls have been very happy. They love the tiny, tight-knit school community, and feel safe here. And the smaller class sizes means greater individual attention from the teachers. Sometimes, Anastasia confesses, she worries that the small cohort can be a bit limiting, but says it has been a really caring environment for the girls.

Tina Norton and David Esteban, a warm and welcoming team, are also keen to promote the advantages of a smaller school: the family feel; the sense of belonging, and the one-on-one attention the children get from their teachers is a great bonus, they tell me.

And of course, AIS students, parents and staff are involved with community development projects that not only provide help to those in need, but teach students about being generous and involved citizens.

The recent acquisition of extra buildings and a potential sports field will give them a lot more space and allow them to increase student population to around 250, but the school has grown slowly over the years, and they say firmly that there is no sense of urgency to expand any faster, and risk losing the intimacy of the campus.

The Esteban focus on achieving international standard teaching methods at AIS has developed over the years. It began when they were establishing MBA programs from Australia and the UK here in Manila. In 2011 the school took on the Australian curriculum as a way of ensuring quality education and a clear pathway to university for their students.

“Australia is widely recognized as having one of the best educational systems in the world… and the [Australian] government ensures that quality is maintained and that research is continuously conducted to develop curriculums and best practices for learning.”

david explains that the Perth link was an obvious choice, as Perth is in the same time zone as Manila, and this allowed easy communication with curriculum moderators in WA, as well as allowing exams to run concurrently with high schools in Perth.

In 2014, AIS is not only celebrating fifty years of Esteban education, but has also received the AUSTRADE-Australia Business Alliance Award from ANZCHAM in recognition of its successful efforts to forge strong links with Australia.

The Beacon

Veritas et lumen ~ truth and light

The Beacon is an independent, non-profit, co-educational school, for both local and international students from Kindergarten to 8^th grade that opened in 2001 just next door to AIS on Chino Roces avenue.

The founding trustees were a group of parents who wanted something different: they designed a small school to provide an innovative, inquiry-based global education within a community that would foster a love for Filipino values and culture, and service to society.

Thus the student cohort of 280 is largely Filipino, with less than 10% transient families. Yet there are still severeal expatriate families who, for a number of reasons, chose to send their children here, and have been pleased with their decision.

I spoke with Linda, a New Zealander who has already spent four year in Manila, and has a daughter at Beacon, in Grade 3. Waiting list issues originally led her to Beacon with her four year old, and she has never looked back.

Thanks to the small class sizes (limited to sixteen in the lower years, and a maximum of twenty in grades 6-8) her daughter, Teuila, settled in quickly. Linda likes the strong foundation of Filipino culture, and the fact that all the children learn Tagalog from Kindergarten to Grade 8. “I didn’t want [Teulia] to grow up in bubble,” she says honestly.

“Some people will make a judgement on looks,” she admits, but she believes aesthetics is a Western hang-up and shouldn’t be the deciding factor when choosing a school. Beacon “has everything, except swimming,” she adds firmly, and she is happy to supplement when necessary with outside clubs.

The school is also very inclusive of parents, who were recently involved in a unit on migration, several parents coming to speak to the children about why they moved countries. In recognition of Manila’s first migrant population, this unit also included a trip to Chinatown, the Chinese-Filipino museum, and a Chinese temple, as well as an opportunity to taste Chinese food. Beacon consciously seeks out the wider community for its students, and takes a number of classes off campus.

The school is non-secular, so all students study either world religion or Christian Living Education. The school can also prepare children for first communion and confirmation. Given that we are living in a Catholic country, Linda likes the fact that religious education is part of the curriculum. While she says there is no pressure on her daughter to follow Catholic strictures, she thinks ‘it’s nice to say a prayer,’ and is happy that her daughter is learning different ways people celebrate Christianity ‘without any judgement call.’

The gently spoken School Dean, Ms Mary Catherine Chua, explains later that students are taught sensitivity and awareness of differences, but also explore an awareness of commonality.

As I follow Community Relations Coordinator, Amaya Aboitiz, through corridors filled with bright and cheerful student artwork, she laughingly tells me she cannot stay away from the school. Amaya has worked at Beacon as both a teacher and in administration, and keeps coming back, after several stints abroad. She takes me on a tour of the school that finishes in the auditorium, where the year sixes (11-12 year olds) are completing a research project in which the children may choose to research anyone who has made an impact on the world. Tonight they will all be making a presentation to staff and parents entitled Night of the Notables.

Long-term American expatriate, Mary Chua, arrived at Beacon in January 2012 to work as Assistant to the Headmaster. Just over eighteen months later, in August 2013, she was made Dean. Mary explains that Beacon celebrates learning, and firmly believes in expanding the children’s capabilities. “Kids are more open to learning, and we cannot limit them by dictating what they can learn or telling them how much they will understand.”

The IB based Primary Years and Middle Years Programs originated in Geneva and Singapore, and provides a curriculum framework based on eight subject areas, enhanced by concepts of intercultural awareness, integrated learning and communication. The program is rigorous, but inclusive, she explains, and there is no ranking, to avoid competitiveness. Nor is the curriculum content-driven, but is, instead, a conceptual linking of cross-disciplinary skills and knowledge which help the children to retain more and stay more enthusiastic and engaged.

At the end of Year 8, many students choose to move on to the High School. Beacon Academy, forty five minutes away in Laguna, travelling down on school buses to this beautiful, purpose-built campus.

The British School Manila (BSM)

The British School began its life in the old Union Church in 1976. It travelled to Merville in 1980, and finally settled in Taguig in 2002, on a new, purpose-built campus. Almost forty years since its humble beginnings, BSM has grown exponentially from a tiny primary school of thirty six students to a thriving school of 930 students, aged 3-18. While BSM has always given priority to British passport holders and families from Commonwealth embassies, there is also a strong local cohort.

In 2013-14 it is full to capacity and sporting a smart new logo. Headmaster, Simon Mann, assured me that there is no desire to expand either the population or the school building any further, and risk losing its sense of a close-knit, family community. The building of a new library with learning support and multi-purpose space is currently underway, but any further growth will simply enhance what already exists, and while there are plans afoot to develop the site over the next two or three years, there will be no building on the existing recreational land. He acknowledges that the school is well-equipped with classrooms, but he wants to see existing classrooms adapted to reflect a far more open environment, to enhance opportunities for a more collaborative education style. And he admits he would also like to add an auditorium.

Simon Mann had already spent a decade in South East Asia when he took on the role of headmaster at BSM in 2012, and has proceeded to broaden the horizons of the school with the aid of staff, parents and students, with a firm eye on redesigning the school for the future. Students and parents have always cherished the sense of family and community that is an inherent part of life at BSM, and Mr Mann is keen to make the education as inclusive as the environment.

“It’s not about facilities and it’s not about image,” Simon says, “it’s about learning, and taking the children on a journey.”

To this end, he has held forums with parents, including them in the process of developing the school, and has taken heed of the feedback. Already he has worked with staff and parents to broaden co-curricular opportunities, and integrate all the students into the various sports programs, previously considered a little exclusive.

Mr Mann believes the twenty first century will need to introduce a more skills-based curriculum, one that works at developing interpersonal skills, problem-solving and collaboration. “We need independent, problem solving, critical thinkers who have a breadth of opportunity previously unrealized.”

He has therefore started introducing these concepts, already inherent in the IB curriculum in years 11 and 12, to all year groups, ‘so that these things come naturally to the kids by the time they reach the top of the school.’

So why would parents choose BSM? I ask. “Why wouldn’t you?” is his simple, smiling response.

Diana moved her daughter Aurora to BSM in Year 3 (2nd Grade). She felt that the British school would provide a good education for their daughter, even though she will eventually go to the USA.

“We had heard BSM had an excellent primary department,” she told me, and says they have been “pleasantly surprised and impressed by the quality of education, and continue to be impressed by quality of teachers and their credentials.”

She tells me that in past couple of years there have been several positive developments at BSM. Firstly, the career counselling with Paul Yap and his team is great and it seems that BSM is no longer predominantly focused on British universities but is also happy to facilitate applications to American colleges.

Secondly, BSM has started to set up procedures and mechanisms to facilitate communication between parents and school about syllabi, marking guides, assessments and homework. It has a long way to go, Diana says, as it’s still not consistent or updated regularly, but it is getting there.

She also praises the availability of teachers to discuss any issues, and the fact that they always respond immediately.

Her only real complaint is that parking continues to be a nightmare – “it is not getting better and it has yet to be properly addressed.” She says she has watched the sudden growth of the school in the last couple of years and does worry that the higgledy-piggledy campus seems to have grown beyond its capacity.

Yet fifteen year old Aurora still believes the smaller size of BSM compares favourably to larger high schools. She says she loves the fact that the teachers know all their students so well, they give really good feedback. And it cannot have grown so large, she feels, as she still knows every kid in the school.

Posted in Lifestyle, Philippines | Tagged Australian International School, British School Manila, Esteban, Taguig, The Beacon School | Comments Off

Mad About Malls

Posted on 24 May 2014 by sheg4184

Bill Bryson once wrote “Where once we created civilizations, now we create shopping malls.”

Nowhere is this more apparent than in Metro Manila, where new shopping malls seem to pop up daily, and like the Once-ler they ‘are figuring on biggering and biggering’ (Dr. Zeus, The Lorax). Creating malls seems to have become a national passtime in the Philippines, and a global mania over the last century. Yes, I am exaggerating, but only a little.The old-fashioned high street with its individual butcher, baker and candlestick maker has been replaced with increasingly enormous enclosed malls full of franchised diners, cinemas, coffee shops, bookshops, skating rinks, department stores, designer shops and bowling alleys. Indeed the mall has become as much a social and entertainment venue as a shopping centre, shut off from the bother of weather, be it either too wet, too hot or too snowy for outdoor activities. In Manila, you might even find a chapel amongst the stores, at Greenbelt, for example, where the open-air dome sits quietly in the centre of the park, encircled by no less than five malls, both indoor and outdoor.

The first shopping mall in Metro Manila was Crystal Arcade, an art deco building designed by Andres Luna de San Pedro y Pardo de Tavera and opened in 1932 on Escolta Street in Binondo. The first modern shopping mall arrived in Quezon City in 1976, and since then Manila seems to have gone mad for malls.
I loathe shopping, so, despite sympathizing with Mr. Brown’s sense of irony and his underlying aversion to malls, I am not totally averse to having everything I need in a one-stop mall. Get it done and get out has always been my motto. And why walk yourself into a melting puddle of perspiration dashing between street front shops, with the added bonus of choking on black jeepney fumes when you can lose yourself for days down the walkways of the ever-expanding Glorietta in Makati, the SM Megamall in Ortigas or the vast acres of SM Mall of Asia at Manila Bay instead.

One of the latest additions to the local landscape is SM Aura in Bonifacio Global City, an upmarket mall overshadowing the older, more down-to-earth Market! Market! (so good we named it twice?), with its air-conditioned market and its outdoor, covered fruit and flower market. Described on its website as being ‘at the forefront of sustainable design and energy efficiency; actively taking bold steps towards a cleaner and better environment for the future’ SM Aura truly stands out with its futuristic design. Supermalls have become an addiction for SM – or Shoe Mart – who now has almost fifty shopping malls in the Philippines, and branches in China as well. Starting out in 1958 as a simple shoe store owned by businessman Henry See, it became a chain in the 60s. By the 1970s, Shoemart had changed its name to SM with a full-line department store. The first SM supermall opened in 1985 in Quezon City. SM Malls have since become an empire.

Our own Power Plant Mall at Rockwell is one of the cozier malls in Manila, which suits me down to the ground. While the endless, winding queues and the snail-like pace of the cashiers drives me mad, I have learned to duck down early and get everything done before business really gets started. Well, early in Filipino terms, where malls don’t open till 11am and stay open till 10pm! I guess the shoppers amongst you think I am missing the point, but it works for me. That way, I maintain my equilibrium, and some poor defenseless shop assistant doesn’t have to tolerate me grumping because I can’t handle the crush. An added bonus if you live at Rockwell: the staff provide a door-to-door delivery service, by pushing your trolley all the way home.

Dashing over to Rustan’s supermarket on a frantic Sunday, I found the mall choc-a-block with families who meet for church in the fourth floor chapel, followed by a family lunch in one of the plethora of restaurants, and maybe a trip for the ladies to Dashing Divas for a manicure. I had left it too late again! I finally arrived with my trolley in front of a sweetly smiling cashier. Swallowing my Scrooge-like ill-humour, I reminded myself that she was only doing her job, and it was hardly her fault I don’t like crowds. We had quite a chatty, friendly exchange as she slowly sorted through my shopping. Thank you so much, I said, for once sincerely, and leaned forward to read her name tag. “Dimple.” I couldn’t have said it out loud without giggling, but I smiled all the way home.

*With thanks to Google images

Posted in Lifestyle, Philippines | Tagged Bill Bryson, Greenbelt, Metro Manila, Power Plant Mall, Rustans, shopping malls, SM malls | Comments Off

Manila Interational Schools: part I

Posted on 17 May 2014 by sheg4184

As the expatriate community in Metro Manila continues to expand, many of the better known International Schools are bursting at the seams, waiting lists are growing longer and parents are struggling to find places for their children. So I have been exploring beyond the obvious choices and have compiled a list of international schools available to expatriate – and local – families, talking with staff and parents as to what makes their particular school a good choice.

My first stop was the Mahatma Gandhi International School (MGIS) in Pasig, just round the corner from Nomads Sports Club, where I was greeted in the entrance hall by this message from Gandhi’s own lips painted on the wall: ‘In a gentle way you can shake the world.’

Despite it’s name, MGIS is not specifically an Indian school, it has quite simply been named for a wise man, recognized by the world for his high ideals and his vision of peace and universal brotherhood.

The new Headmistress. Rebecca Warren is a vibrant, intelligent, committed young English woman, boundlessly enthusiastic about developing Mahatma Gandhi in every area: curriculum, structure, staffing and facilities, not to mention expanding the student population by thirty percent.

Soon after arriving at the school, Ms Warren made a detailed analysis of the schools strengths and areas for improvement. Having gained the support of the Board for further development, she is jumping into a hefty planning schedule with glee.

MGIS currently has 138 students with a maximum capacity of about 220, from kindergarten to year 12. Even with such small numbers, the school has a full range of specialist staff with which to provide a quality and a very personal education. The children learn Mandarin from kindergarten and there are the seeds of a Stephanie Alexander style kitchen garden in the grounds.

Rebecca knows all her students, introducing them confidently as we walk the corridors. The children I chat with all agree that the smaller class sizes are great and the school has a warm, family feel to it. No pack mentality here: staff and students all interact, and parents too: a flagging PTA was revived last year with Rebecca’s full support and encouragement.

“The kids here feel happy and safe,” Ms. Warren tells me. Many senior students run lunchtime clubs for the younger students and sports teams cross year groups to build numbers for full teams. There are also many individual sports, such as fencing, tae kwon do and archery – the archery coach is a former Olympic silver medalist.

Four percent of students with special educational needs are in the full time Learning Support Program at MGIS, and there are several more in mainstream classes, who receive extra time for dyslexia or other learning challenges.

Gayle, Australian mother of three, enrolled all her children at MGIS in 2010. Her older son Remy is fifteen and has Downs Syndrome, and although he is high functioning and used to mainstream schools in Australia, Gayle found other international schools in Manila did not have the teachers to support special education programs for him. Advice from home was that this move would be too hard and she shouldn’t come. Gayle ignored the advice, determined to keep her family together, and went to work to find an acceptable international school that would be happy to take Remy. Purely special needs schools were not an option as Gayle wanted her children to be at the same school. Mahatma Gandhi International School ticked the boxes.

It hasn’t always been easy, she admitted. Her daughter found the move difficult and Gayle and her husband have had to work hard with MGIS to create a program for Remy that she feels gets the best out of him. “It has been a learning process,” she explained, “for the staff to understand our expectations.” But she feels now that they were lucky to have found MGIS. Remy loves the school, and their younger son, Cassidy, aged 10, is blissful at MGIS, and has a starring role in the school’s sports program, which Gayle feels has been wonderful for his confidence. “It doesn’t have all the bells and whistles [of larger schools],” she told me, “but it does have the benefits of a small school with international level education.” And Gayle is obviously delighted with the new Headmistress, her leadership qualities and her vision for the school.

International School Manila (ISM) is one of the best known options for expatriates in Manila, but I wanted to take a look beyond the website.

High School Principle, Bill Brown, is a friendly, assured New Zealander. Prior to his appointment at ISM, Bill spent eleven years at Jakarta International School, where he watched ISM ‘rise from the ashes’ as the school relocated from downtown Makati to a purpose built campus in the Fort in 2001. David Toze was employed as the new Superintendent about the same time as the new school opened its gates, and Bill says he has been leading huge improvements in structure and discipline ever since.

Mr. Brown describes how ISM was once perceived as a private Filipino school, and there is still a strong core of local students. This has the benefit of providing a sense of continuity that many international schools lack, where the student turnover is more fluid. This also means the local culture has a strong presence, recognized by an annual Filipiniana Day. Bill is also very aware of the positive student culture at the school, which has a good reputation for diversity and tolerance.

ISM really broadens horizons, he says. Expatriate children acquire a wider vision of the world by default, but he feels ISM takes this global vision to new heights. With more than 70 nationalities amongst the students and faculty (with names I can’t even pronounce, like Kyrgyz Republic) he believes there is true international-mindedness amongst both staff and students.

His wife Rena O’Regan, parent and teacher at ISM for seven years, agrees. “Our kids grow up as real international kids,” she says. Also, as so many are used to moving home regularly, she has noticed that the students here recognize how hard it can be to resettle, and seem much more accepting of differences in each other.

But the thing she loves best about ISM is that it’s cool to be sporty and smart, which is a completely different cultural ethos to many schools in Australia and New Zealand. “One of the Varsity rugby players even plays the cello” she says.

‘At ISM there are opportunities and encouragement for the kids to excel in whatever interests them,’ Bill adds. And the list of extra-curricular activities are impressive: a full sports program, robotics, film, United Nations, dance and drama. There is even talk of developing an on-line chess tournament.

Mr. Brown says that initially he planned to stay at ISM for three to four years, but ‘we saw no reason to move.’ As a parent and Headmaster, Bill is very proud of the high quality of education at ISM, which he describes as outstanding, and ‘a world class facility.’

Suzi moved to the Philippines from Sydney at the beginning of the 2013-14 school year, and enrolled all her four daughters at ISM. She says she ‘couldn’t be happier’ with the school, and the girls have generally settled in well. ‘The school community has been so welcoming and informative,’ she enthuses, although she admits that the resulting numbers of emails with four children at the school can get a bit overwhelming. That aside, she is happy with all aspects of the school, especially the extensive extra curriculum options – although as the mother of four girls she has noticed that they need more dance classes. But they are also enjoying the opportunity to explore new things, she adds.

Suzi also likes the school’s community service program. A first visit to a local orphanage proved a little confronting, but she is pleased that the girls get exposed to poverty far more than would have been the case in Australia. There, schools raised money for various charities, but the kids never saw where that money ended up. here it is a real hands-on approach.

The King’s School, Manila is part of the British Schools Foundation, a network of international schools that promotes high quality British-style education from Brazil to Burma. It is the new kid on the block in Manila, but it already has a reputation for high quality, exclusive education, and they are so far filling the classrooms just by word-of-mouth.

Peter Lindsay has been Headmaster here for twelve months. A quietly spoken New Zealander, he has spent time teaching in the UK and is therefore familiar with the British system of education. I asked him what attracts families to Kings. “We are relaxed, and we have high expectations of the children’s behaviour,” he told me. When I query this apparent oxymoron, he explained that children need to know the boundaries, and then they are able to relax within the security of those boundaries.

Mr Lindsay doesn’t believe kids wake up intending to be badly behaved, they just get bored. He claims that between Kings discipline, interesting study programs and high expectations of the children, they have very few issues with bad behaviour as there is neither the time nor the inclination to be bored and misbehave.

Parents and children love the intimate class sizes and the ratio of teachers to students. Classes average fifteen children to two adults, and if the year groups grow much larger than this, the class is split in two. At the moment there are just over 90 kids from Kindergarten to year 7, and each year they will add a grade until the current year 7s make it through to A levels. And there is plenty of room for this expansion.

“We don’t try to compete with the larger international schools,” the Headmaster explained, “just with ourselves.”

I arrived on the last day of term to find Sports Day in full swing. Parents had gathered beneath a marquee on the side of the playing field, and the kids were having a 4-team tug of war. Excitement was high – and loud.

“Parents are always welcome here,” Peter tells me. The school even has an online portal where teachers can communicate with parents on a daily basis – a kind of class Facebook page. “There is lots of communication,” he says.

School events for the whole family are frequent, and always include food. Like our Filipino hosts, Mr Lindsay firmly believes that eating together builds community. Watching the interaction between staff, parents and kids on Sports Day, it would seem Kings already has a strong sense of community.

British mum, Jo, is really pleased with the decision to send Rory and Esme to Kings. She feels that the kids settled much more easily into smaller classes – a serious consideration for one small four year old who was initially very distressed about moving from the UK.

Kings ‘has a lovely family feel’ she tells me ‘and it’s not overwhelming for the parents or the kids.’ She also believes that Kings provide a great quality education: ‘better than they would get at home.’ Any problems they anticipated were never realized, and they have found it a surprisingly easy transition. Even the journey from Makati has not proved too problematic, as they can travel to and from school in just 20-30 minutes. And ‘the school bus system seems really good too.’

Jo loves the benefits that come with smaller classes, and the interaction that occurs between the different ages in sport, in the classroom and in the canteen. ‘The whole school was involved in the school play,’ she says, ‘they loved it!’

*Adapted from an article written for ANZA News, March/April 2014. With thanks to Google for the images.

Posted in Local Culture, Philippines | Tagged education, expatriates, International School Manila, King's School, Mahatma Gandhi International School, manila, Philippines | Comments Off

Indonesian Dining

Posted on 7 May 2014 by sheg4184

So there we were in Jakarta, hot, hoarse and exhausted after hours of cheering for the Athletics teams at the International School, in desperate need of sustenance and somewhere to celebrate our host’s birthday. Where else would we go but to the restaurant touted as ‘one of the best Indonesian restaurants in Jakarta?’

The Lara Djonggrang restaurant is named for a legendary Javanese Princess, who was immortalized by the gods after her father’s murderer turned her to stone, furious when the beautiful princess rejected his advances.

It was dark when we pulled up in front of a large house that was set back from the road in the shade of a huge and ancient banyan tree that had been strung with welcoming blue and green lanterns. The courtyard entrance was full of Hindu statuary reflecting a time in centuries past when Java was ruled by Hindu kings.

Weaving together history, legend and culinary splendour, this upmarket and gracious restaurant dwells in an historic Indonesian house decorated with genuine antiques, artwork and statuary from all over Asia. As soon as we stepped out of the taxi it was like stepping into another world, or taking a journey back in time, far from the hue and cry of central Jakarta. There was an almost palpable sense of mystery and mysticism, as we wandered through the maze of lamplit rooms, atriums and gardens, each creating a different atmosphere. Through the air swam the hypnotic scent of musky incense. The artwork on the walls and the looming statues were eye-catching, often leering alarmingly and unexpectedly through the shadows. There was no loud music, and dinner table conversations were muted to match the peaceful serenity. It felt as if we were rambling through someone’s private home, with its vast art collection reminiscent of Jim Thompson’s house in Bangkok.

We were led to one of only two tables in a private room, and assigned a waitress who was happy to answer our questions and proffer advice. A large green leaf lay on the table cloth and welcomed us with the message “selamat datang” painted across it in white. Drinks arrive promptly. The menu was extensive – and heavy! I soon gave up trying to lift it and cheerfully left the ordering to my companions, apart from a request for that popular favourite beef rendang served on a banana leaf, moist, rich and mouth-wateringly delicious.

At the Lara Djonggrang the chefs serve Imperial Indonesian cuisine. Each dish is carefully researched to reflect both the long history of Indonesian cuisine and the ninth century culinary expertise of the imperial kitchen staff of the Majapahit ruler Hayam Wuruk, who would accompany him on long processions across his kingdom. The legend of Lara Djonggrang is reflected in the story of Hayam Wuruk and his betrothed, Sundanese princess Citra Rashmi, who committed suicide after Majapahit troops decimated the Sundanese royal wedding party as it arrived in Jakarta.

The menu contained a whole page of soups, intimately described: a bouquet of tempting flavours and spices. But we wanted to share the feast, and soup can get a bit messy to share, especially when I am involved, so we moved on swiftly to the appetizers. If you are used to placid Filipino flavours, be prepared for a shock. Indonesian food can be fiercely hot. The sambal (chilli sauce) we chose – on the recommendation of our helpful waitress – was accompanied by a basket of woven prawn crackers, spicy-hot enough to ignite your taste buds and send them to the moon and back. Gratifyingly moreish, if somewhat death-defying.

I did select one other dish – otak-otak ikan assam pedas – just because I liked the name. Sadly, despite the poetic turn of phrase, this turned out to be a rather lacklustre bowl of bite-sized fish cakes steamed in banana leaves, then fried in egg batter and served with a hot and sour sauce that tasted much the same as the deep-fried shrimp balls.

Then the culinary artistry kicked in. Our rice arrived, as individual serves, moulded into the shape of an elephant’s head with the trunk up for luck, while crunchy lumpia tanu (tofu spring rolls) lay, sunbathing in a clam shell, served with a zesty sweet ‘n’ sour chilli sauce. The red curry prawns (grilled individually, then inserted into a lemongrass stalk), were presented in a conch shell to look like a giant hermit crab. The tenderloin satays were marinated in caramel, tender and hot, presented on a mini grill and accompanied by the inviting aroma of the marinade dripping onto the hot coals. Less artistic, but appetizing nonethless, was a bowl of soupy greens, spiced up by the stop-light red of whole chillis.

Our birthday banquet was perhaps more a feast for the eyes than the taste buds, as unfortunately the chefs seemed to have the same penchant for cooking with aged palm oil as their Filipino counterparts, but then I would also thoroughly recommend taking your time to order and seeking advice from the staff for a higher success rate. We were hungry, and we rushed. We loved it, anyway, for the great service and the glorious setting, especially when visiting from a city of shopping mall franchises and standardized modern decor. And I must admit, none of us went home hungry!

Posted in Food & Wine, Indonesia | Tagged beef rendang, chilli, Imperial Indonesian cuisine, Jakarta, Lara Djonggrang, sambal | Comments Off

An Arctic Anniversary

Posted on 29 April 2014 by sheg4184

We had an anniversary recently, and sadly it was a bit of a fizzle, as I wasn’t feeling well and pretty much slept through it. So I am going to reminisce about a past anniversary instead, somewhere cool, as the temperatures in Makati trudge up into the mid-30s and the humidity weighs down on weary heads. Although the sunrises have been glorious, an almost unearthly orange through the gentle pall of pollution.

Far from the heat and the hue and cry of Manila, I once discovered the perfect place for an anniversary dinner. Imagine a secluded English country hotel; a cloistered avenue of tables for two, set far enough apart to allow a little privacy; arched windows overlooking rolling hills, woodland and fields; candlelight, deep pile carpets and heavy wooden furnishings that encouraged voices to stay hushed and sensuous; an open fire you could roast a pig on; a menu so tempting I wanted to try everything on it, and of course a delectable selection of wines.

Nutfield Priory Hotel is a Victorian manor house in Redhill, Surrey – apparently inspired by the Neo-Gothic design of that Palace of Westminster that is no longer inhabited by princes, but by politicians. It is built on 12 acres high on a ridge overlooking the fields and woodlands of the Surrey and Sussex countryside.

Normally overdressed, overheated, and glowing like a good Shiraz before we reached the entrees, I had for once thought to bring a light evening dress and a thin wrap. We were staying for the weekend, and had arrived early so we could avail ourselves of the Spring gardens and still have time to make the most of the luxurious bathroom, away from the invasive interest of small children. My One & Only had ordered the champagne and brought me scented bubble bath as well. The perfect setting for a romantic anniversary escape…

…but the curtain rose on quiet mayhem. The central heating had broken down earlier that day, and nobody had thought to warn us. Imagining the hot water would eventually kick in, I ended up washing my hair under an icy waterfall, before reception finally acknowledged there was a problem with the heating and the hot water they could do nothing about ‘at present’.

The Cloisters Restaurant offers delicious modern British cuisine, but unfortunately the dining room was almost as icy as the water – especially in my summer frock and still shivering from the shower. By the time we reached dessert, my lips were blue and my teeth clenched to stop them chattering. “Could we perhaps do coffee in the lounge in front of the lovely big fire I had noticed when we came in?” I asked desperately. “Certainly!” smiled our lovely attentive waitress. But oh dear, the fire had died down and was sulkily smouldering, and the draught from the corridor was arctic. My jaw was aching, my back cramped, I had had enough. I wrapped myself in a thick hotel bathrobe, feather duvet and blankets and hibernated till morning like a grumpy badger.

So there you have it: the beautiful promise of romance and luxury spoiled by a simple power cut. Just my luck! The hotel was sumptuous, the dining room beautiful, the food quite superb, and the service excellent – except for the part where they failed to warn us about the cold. It was a shame, because it is a real gem in the right temperature, and I really hope to visit again some day, with greater success.

My tip? Don’t get married in Northern Europe until at least May, and always remember to take warm pyjamas, just in case. And definitely give this glorious hotel a chance… on a warmer night!

Posted in England, Food & Wine | Tagged anniversary, Nutfield Priory Hotel, the Cloisters Restaurant | Comments Off

Easter: More Fun in the Philippines

Posted on 24 April 2014 by sheg4184

As a Protestant child growing up in Australia, I remember Easter as a fairly dull affair. The shops were shut for days, friends went away, and my mother always insisted we went to Church on Easter Day, so she had time to prepare lunch without a gaggle of kids underfoot – and of course to give the Easter bunny time to drop by and hide our Easter eggs in the garden. Hunting for eggs was fun, but Church was never wildly exciting for a bunch of rowdy kids, although we enjoyed belting out the Easter hymns at the tops of our voices.

In the Philippines, on the other hand, Holy Week is a frenzy of colour and celebration. Like all Filipino fiestas, food and drink, dance, music and prayer play equal parts. Many communities hold processions, pilgrimages, and passion plays, and stage crucifixions. While some say these religious traditions are fading, you can still discover a variety of events around Metro Manila and beyond.

Holy Week is possibly the most significant religious holiday for Christians in the Philippines, as Christmas loses the race to commercialism. Metro Manila empties as if by magic, as hundreds of thousands of workers head home to the provinces and local Manilanos head to the beaches. Roads to the airport are blocked with traffic jams that have become infamous, and those on the runway are worse. But the holiday mood is catching, and Filipino patience is notorious.

Apart from tiny East Timor, the Philippines is the only Christian nation in Asia and the majority of Filipinos – approximately 80% – are Roman Catholic, converted by almost three and a half centuries of Spanish rule who, after forcefully purging the Iberian Peninsula of Jews and Muslims, saw itself as the bulwark of Catholic purity, and came to save these remote islanders with Christianity.

Apparently the Filipinos showed an initial reluctance to accept this strange new religion, but were gradually won over by the more festive side of Catholicism. Cheerfully blending their original traditions and beliefs with those colourful rituals of the Catholic church they have taken it to their hearts and made it their own. Five hundred years later – and even after a century of American secularism – most Filipinos still have a strong and visible faith in Christian doctrine and values, that is nowhere more apparent than in their enthusiasm for Holy Week.

Holy Week begins on Palm Sunday, when parishioners bring palm fronds to the church to be blessed by the priests, before hanging them from doors and windows at home to ward off evil spirits.

Holy Wednesday (Miyérkules Santo) is the night of the Passion of Christ, the first procession for Holy Week. This is followed by Maundy Thursday and the Chrism Mass, in which parishioners join their parish priest for morning Mass in the Cathedral, and the various holy oils are blessed.

The Mass of the Institution of the Lord’s Supper is the last Mass before Easter. It includes a re-enactment of the washing of the apostles feet, and is followed by the procession of the Blessed Sacrement which is then placed on the Altar of Repose. “

The highlight of Good Friday is the procession of the Santo Entierro, a supine image of Christ’s body on a calandra or bier that processes though the town, followed by a retinue of ‘saints.’ Beware the traffic jams as a result of these lengthy processions. It once took us six hours to get back from Tagaytay, as the traffic tried to squeeze past the multitude of saints processing up the hill. To avoid a similar occurence this year, we stayed put in Manila, only wandering as far as the Fort to find dinner on Friday night, only to find High Street choc-a-block with locals, and they weren’t just looking for food. This holy week, Church Simplified mounted its sixth installation of the Stations of the Cross, an interactive art exhibit in the centre of High Street that attracted thousands.

Holy Saturday or Black Saturday is also a day of solemnity, ending in the Easter Vigil, celebrated into the night.

In contrast, Easter morning, or Paskò, is a joyous celebration. In Parañaque, for example, parishioners re-enact the reunion of Christ and his mother Mary after the Resurrection, at the dawn ceremony of Salubong. The Virgin Mary is dressed in black to symbolize the loss of her son. A girl dressed as an angel stands on a scaffold or is suspended in mid-air to sing the Regina Coeli, before dramatically removing the black veil to signify the end of Mary’s grieving. Balloons or doves are then released into the dawn sky. The Virgin, now ‘Our Lady of Joy’ is showered in confetti and flower petals accompanied by pealing bells and fireworks, and followed by the Easter Mass. After mass, locals dance the bati-bati, an original Parañaque welcome dance.

Highlights of Holy Week include:

The procession of the Black Nazarene occurs every Good Friday in Quaipo. This large wooden statue of a black Jesus was sculptured in Mexico during the era of the Galleon Trade, and landed miraculously on the beach at Manila Bay after a storm. The statue is carried through the narrow streets of Quaipo on the shoulders of male devotees, as thousands will try to touch the Nazarene for luck. It can get extremely crowded, but it is worth watching.

Still the most renowned Easter events, reported in news articles all over the world, are the various voluntary crucifixions, extreme displays of religious devotion by penitents. While the ritual is frowned on by church authorities, it still attracts thousands of tourists as devotees carry wooden crosses through town, before having nails driven though their hands and feet in remembrance of Christ’s final sacrifice. Meanwhile, others recreate the mediaeval practice of self-flagellation, to scourge away sins. These penitents strip from the waist up and walk barefoot, whipping themselves with ropes and broken pieces of glass attached with strings to bamboo sticks until the blood flows. It sounds a little gory for me, but apparently it’s a memorable experience! I may just stick to the streets of
Parañaque and see if I can find the dancers – as I have had no luck finding Easter eggs!

*Adapted from a article written for the April issue of Inklings and with thanks to Google images.

Posted in Local Culture, Philippines | Tagged Black Saturday, Catholicism, crucifixions, Easter, Good Friday, Holy Week, Maundy Thursday, Palm Sunday | Comments Off

Just Another Manic Monday at TNK

Posted on 18 April 2014 by sheg4184

Another Monday morning in Manila, and a group of regular volunteers is en route to Tulay Ng Kabataan, a home for street kids, armed with crafts and books and merienda. We arrive to the usual excited welcomes and so many kids that the small courtyard is bursting at the seams. Our usual bundle of boys, which has grown as graduation approaches, has been expanded further by a lovely group of girls from the neighbouring girls home, and a few of the older, carpentry boys have also showed up for the morning. The neat and orderly lines that Teacher Neil had organized dissolve as we walk in and they all come rushing to greet us – heart warming moments of hugs and “mano po” (your hand please, Sir/Ma’am), that purely Filipino gesture of pressing the back of an adult’s right hand to the forehead as a sign of respect to an older person, or acceptance of a blessing from a priest.

Ma’am Hema calmly restores order with a long session of clapping rhythms and patterns, which always seems to work magic, settling the kids down and getting them to focus on the morning’s activities. It never ceases to amaze me how quickly even the smallest children pick up the routine and eagerly join in, standing in neat rows across the courtyard in order of size, the tiny kids turning to watch the older ones, or clambering up the steps and into our laps for extra cuddles.

This is followed by a singing session: a few old favourites from popular musicals and Play School (will they never grow tired of the frog song?) and I throw in a new one my own kids used to love, about a rainy morning and big umbrellas. They pick up the actions and echo the words and, after only two rounds, most of them have the hang of it. We also have a go at playing ‘Simple Simon’ at which they prove far too skilled, and we struggle to trip them up. When we occasionally manage to catch out the odd one or two, they all dissolve into giggles.

Exercises and stretching follow and then we split the group into juniors and seniors. Hema is having fun creating origami with the older kids in the upstairs classroom, and when I pop up to see how they are getting on, all of them are totally engaged and determined to get it right. They have even written down some instructions and background information in their notebooks, and proudly show me what they have achieved.

Downstairs, a larger bunch of rowdy smalls squeeze into the narrow desks, and we begin with story time. They quieten down quickly as Elise reads to them in Tagalog.

While she keeps them rapt in the story, I chat with Teacher Neil about how such a big group is working. He says the addition of the girls has been a great success. The boys really miss them when they aren’t there, and get very somber and solemn. The older group has been having all sorts of challenging conversations about life experiences on the streets, sexuality and emotions, which he says is fantastic, and all part of their greater education. He agrees it is good to know they feel safe enough to discuss these things together, as there is little other opportunity in their lives for such in-depth talks.

Story time at an end, we hand around the colouring-in sheets, watching and helping as necessary as the kids, large and small, manage the dot-to-dot with alacrity and then set about colouring the pictures with quiet enthusiasm, after some initial squabbling over the crayons. This week we have brought a couple of pictures, one slightly less complicated for the Littlies. Angelica, one of the smaller girls prefers to create her own scribbles on the back, and even tiny Matthew gives it a try for a while, mostly in heavy black crayon. By the end of the session we have cellotaped a lovely display of bright artwork to the blackboard, and a lot of them have moved on to round two, eager to try out both pictures, reassigning colours and clutching their favourites to their chests.

Merienda, biscuits, milk and bananas, is ready and waiting when they are done and we urge them to line up and file in neatly, the older kids leading them in a prayer, before we wave goodbye till next week.

Posted in Lifestyle, Local Culture, Philippines | Tagged mano po, merienda, origami, Quezon City, Tulay Ng Kabataan | Comments Off

“I’ve Been to Bali Too!”

Posted on 12 April 2014 by sheg4184

In the Redgum song of my youth, Bali was a land of monkeys and mercurochrome, Bali belly and mozzie coils. Kuta Beach was full of surfers and Ubud was a hippy haven in the hills.

My first trip to Bali, however, was spent in the lap of luxury, swanning around in a five star villa near Canggu, with no call for mercurochrome, only a brief sighting of those overfed monkeys (and let’s not mention Bali Belly), but with thanks to the generosity of a dear friend who was celebrating her fiftieth birthday in real style.

I knew very little about Bali before I arrived, other than the song, but I can tell you that this popular and predominantly green island off Java is a ninety minute flight from Jakarta. It is approximately 95 miles long by 70 miles wide. Predominantly Hindu, Bali has a population of more than 4 million, and I guess that doesn’t count the deluge of tourists that have been pouring through the Denpasar airport for decades.

My destination was not a hostel full of backpackers, nor a beach-side resort, but Villa the Sanctuary, a small slice of heaven tucked away down winding lanes, between village temples and camoflagued amongst the trees. It is, undoubtedly, the most luxurious place I have ever laid my hat, and I enjoyed every glorious moment.

Situated on a steep two hectare property, a river gushes effusively at the bottom of the hill, winding its way round lush lawns and between leafy trees. Stone steps lead down to the dining pavilion with its high peaked ceiling and its vast, polished, teak dining table, down and down again to the narrow eternity pool and the games room with billiard table and bar, across manicured lawns to a thatched bale for a peaceful, post-prandial massage as the river burbles away below.

Several opulent villas are scattered across a property that can accommodate up to thirty five people, including a bunkhouse for twenty kids. With only seven of us in residence, there was enough space for everyone, without any sense of overcrowding.

My villa sat high above the river, the stately four poster bed wrapped in a sheer mosquito net, so that I could lie, safe from insects, and listen to the river rushing past the window and watch the leaves quivering outside the eight foot windows. It was like camping in a luxury tree house.

There was water everywhere: river; moats; ponds; pool; waterfalls trickling gently in the background; a sudden downpour from heavy clouds that battered the surface of the pool, as the landlubbers scuttled for cover and the bathers revelled.

Wine and cocktails flowed like the rain, and hilarity was constant, apart from the quiet times, when the heat drove us home, heavy and sleepy, for a nap amongst a mountain of pillows, gentle aircon breathing a cooling breeze across hot shoulders.

Then there would be show-and-tell in the pavilion, amidst shrieks of childlike enthusiasm over successful shopping trips to Ubud for lamps and shoes and quilts and dresses, and prayers that suitcases would miraculously expand like Mary Poppins carpet bag. Friendly staff brought snacks of nasi goreng or hot chips and pecel sauce (spicy satay sauce) to top us up until dinner time, and we all looked forward to trying the local speciality: babi guling, or roast suckling pig.

When the evening closed in on party night, candles and lamps were lit, while bowls of hot coals threw fiery reflections across the surface of the pool. A huge feast – enough to feed half the island – kept us all quiet for a while, as satays and steak, prawns and salads were piled high on groaning plates. Later, as the music was cranked up – a playlists of Australian anthems and hits of the 70s and 80s – frogs, crickets and geckos set up an alternative orchestra, and well-oiled guests added to the chorus. I won’t say we danced till dawn – well, let’s face it, none of us is seventeen – but it was a party night and the cocktails seemed bottomless.

On our last night Marcel drove us down the road through acres of terraced rice fields to a resort on the edge of the sea, where we floated across the golf course, twirling like Julie Andrews at the opening to Sound Of Music, to watch the sun set softly into the waves, casting its final pink and gold beams on Tanah Lot Temple perched on a rocky outcrop beside the sea. A fitting finale to a wonderful weekend.

Posted in Travel | Tagged Bali, Canggu, Kuta, Redgum, Villa the Sanctuary | Comments Off