Just sharing one of the activities they did at home during one of their group outings. Sumo wrestling is a fun activity, especially if you have no idea left on what to play during the games Players should be in the center of a circle and whoever will be pushed out of the circle is the loser. In this picture the twins are wrestling each other. I did not even know they are twins.

There are lot of people trying to figure out how to lose weight that is very effective and is best for them. There are many ways in reducing weight. The biggest aspects that are very important to have are self-discipline and determination in good diet, exercise and effective pills if the natural ways are not working. Having extra pound is not good for your health.

Roasted pig, or lechon, is a staple food in the Philippines especially during celebrations, gatherings and big events. There are so many “lechonhouses” in the malls and almost in every streets that is it readily available if you don’t roast your own. To be most crunchy, crispy and yummy, it has to be slowly cooked over a fire for several hours to a day. The pig is completely cleaned and its internal organs are removed for another menus or whatever way one wants to cook them. Inside the pork for roasting are several spices and seasoning for greater taste, especially lemon grass that removes any pungent meat smell and makes it fragrant. The roasted pork/meat is very tender and the skin is very crispy the food is very delicious. It is best served with ketchup or any sauce.

I missed lechon so much, so it will just wait till I go home!

I remember an email circulating around about “only in Vietnam”, featuring the scenes and stuff that happen only in the land, or in the streets of the Viets. Motorists using the motorbikes and loading them like they would a big truck. The more load, the better is the driver, I guess, because he has to have more control and balancing. This also reminds me that in Netherlands, thousands of bicycles are rolling down the streets as much as the four-wheel drives. This is the beauty of going to a lot of places for we will learn new things and about the other people and their culture. And I love it.

Do you let people know that you are in town? And if you do, how do you do it? Today a man in New York was arrested for misdeanor and ticketed for blowing his horn excessively. Of course he is DWI for which he is charged with. He just wanted to let people know that he is in town. Whatever, intoxication really makes one to do unimaginable and unreasonable things. Speaking of horn blowing. The very first thing I noticed while traveling in India right outside the airport was the excessive horn blowing! Horns honking here and there always, and by always it was almost every second. I was surprised at first, but of course, I was entering into a different place with a culture of its own. But when those horns stop blowing, one would definitely kind of miss it, for the roads are not complete without vehicles and rickshaws that don’t blow horns, loudly.

I grew up in a tradition of leaving our shoes or slippers outside when we enter anyone’s house. For respect. And also to prevent dirt from coming into the house. But gone are those days (Spanish occupation in the Philippines) when rich hosts would let their servants follow your footsteps with a rag, that made the guests a ‘bit’ uneasy. In India, there is still this culture of respecting the ground you walk on, especially those old ‘sacred’ structures by way of being barefooted or covering the shoes. This man’s job is to see to it.  Somehow, when I recall those places, I always remember that man by the entrance putting visitors’ shoe covering. It’s a noble job.

I am not a morning person. I am a late sleeper. Often than not, I have morning blues in the morning. When I needed to wake up early, I always set my alarm clock. I have some tricks to avoid such blues.

You can beat the morning blues by trying the following: put your clothes out the night before, wake to soothing music, get up ten minutes early, take deep breaths, eat breakfast and fresh fruit, brush your teeth, drink plenty of water, go for a quick jog, take a shower, set your mind that today is Gonna be a great day! Go easy on the coffee!

My sister told me recently that they were eating durian fruit at home. Dang! It is one of the things I missed about home! The durian is the fruit of trees of the genus Durio. The name durian comes from the Malay word duri (thorn) together with the suffix -an (for building a noun in Malay), meaning “thorny fruit. Revered in Southeast Asia, especially in the Philippines as the “King of Fruits” the fruit is distinctive for its large size, unique odor, and a hard, formidable, sharp, prickly thorn-covered husk. The edible flesh within emits the distinctive odor, which is regarded as either fragrant or overpowering and very strong and penetrating, and offensive, which we locals do not. But it tastes so so good.