changing seasons

This is my second Halloween in Maine.

When I was still in the Philippines, I have an idea of what Halloween is and how it is celebrated though we don’t actually celebrate it back there. Yes, we don’t “officially” celebrate Halloween in the Philippines the way it is celebrated here in the US, that is. The real Halloween in the Philippines is called All Saint’s Day [which I will have a separate blog about it soon]. But since Filipinos are very adaptable and fond of embracing other culture, Halloween is now celebrated in several key places in the country like the gated subdivisions of the rich and affluent members of the society.

Halloween celebration in the Philippines is also gaining popularity in the corporate jungles where employees come to work in costumes and throw Halloween parties. Well, that is one of the reasons why Halloween is more popular among the rich people. Because they can afford to buy expensive costumes and decorate their houses with Halloween knick-knacks and expensive pumpkins which you can only buy from high-end grocery stores. However, my brother told me earlier that Halloween is also catching up like fire among the low-income children too where their creativity are matched with their resourcefulness by making their own costumes out of their old clothes and what they can find from their humble trunk of junks just to have a share of the Halloween goodies.

My first Halloween experience here in Maine was actually limited to just seeing my step-son Brandon fully clad in Power Ranger costume and climbing in his half-sister’s car to bring him to her friends’ houses for trick-or-treating. And my first Halloween experience was just as ordinary as watching TV and enjoying Hubby’s rhythmic snoring because he was too tired from work.

My first Halloween experience was not so Halloween at all. I have not seen a lot of kids walking in the street in different costumes. I have not seen any kids who came knocking at our door begging for candies and other treats. I have not even seen anyone in our street walking in costume because there are not a lot of houses around here. Our next door neighbor is half a mile away from us and there are more open fields than houses. And with 30 degrees [or lower] tempature around this time of the year, kids in costumes are in their car trekking the road and pulling over only on those houses which their parents know the residents.

My first Halloween experience here in Maine is based on the research I did in google and personal observation. I see that some people decorate their houses with spooky decors like the all-time favorite skeletons, the Casper-ific ghost images made out of white linen/blanket with holes, and witches in black robes and pointed cone hats riding brooms. Some use scarecrows made out of hay and dressed in old clothes. And of course the star of the Halloween manger - the famous Jack-o-Lantern which looks rather cute than scary when lighted up [well, of course it depends on how it was carved anyway] and lots and lots of pumpkins in all sizes and shapes.

Halloween means carving of pumpkins and lots of pumpkins. But for those who can’t carve or don’t have the time to carve pumpkins, they don’t worry at all because they can buy them anywhere. Aside from carved pumpkins, I also see painted pumpkin as an alternative for the good-old Jack-o-Lantern. This comes in different face designs or drawing.

Halloween is associated with everything scary and death. It is celebrated every 31st of October but it is not a non-working Holiday. The tradition was brought to the US in the 19th century by the Irish Immigrants. Halloween celebration and activities are not confined on trick-or-treating in costumes, jack-o-lantern and Halloween parties alone. Ghost stories, ghost hunting and everything ghosts – are common activities during Halloween.

And since Halloween is a celebration, it is now a multi-million business cashing in incomes for big retail businesses. Candies and goodies run fast from the store’s shelves during this time of the year. And from that fact, I am guessing that dentist appointments will also be fully booked right after the holidays. Hahahaha. Happy Halloween to everyone, anyway.

Additional Information:
History of Halloween
History of Jack-o-Lantern

We don’t have fairs that showcased the biggest “thingy” in the Philippines or at least none that I know of. Or maybe there are in some provinces or far-flung barrios, I just don’t know about it. The Philippines if you would look at it in the map is a small archipelago though it is composed of 7,107 islands. There are 3 major big islands, Luzon, Visayas and Mindanao. I live in the biggest island which is Luzon and yet I have not been to all of the provinces in the entire island. That is why my idea of what is going on in my country is very limited to what I see in TV or magazine.

Rice Farming in the Philippines. [Photo credit: United Nations Photos]

The Philippines is an agricultural country too and rice used to be our major produce before industrialization and commercialization took over the once abundant and verdant countryside. We grow rice in terraced rice paddies. We plant them by traditional method of farming – the farmer and his carabao [water buffalo, Philippines National Animal]. And we harvest them by hand and sickle. We still have some rice paddies in our hometown but produce from those paddies are usually for personal use of the family who owns them. The famous Banaue Rice Terraces of the Mountain Province is now just a famous landmark [and declared as UNESCO World Heritage site] that depicts more of our Filipino Heritage and not a source of livelihood.

Kakanin or Filipino Delicacies made out of rice.

SUMAN… the most famous delicacies made of sticky rice. Usually eaten dipped in hot cocoa or plain sugar.

ESPASOL… made out of sticky rice and grated coconut meat. It is most popularly called in our town as Minukmok.

PALITAW… usually eaten with grated fresh young coconut and sugar with roasted sesame seeds.

BICO… made of steamed sticky rice and cooked in caramelized brown sugar. Most popularly called in our town as Sinukmani.

Rice is the staple of the Filipino table. We eat rice at least 3 times a day and even snack on it. I know we cannot live without rice. But since we are now importing rice from neighboring countries [that used to import rice from us years ago], a lot of Filipino families are affected by the price hike. According to my friend back home, they even have to fall in line just to buy rice because of rice shortage. Being a third-world country, we are not spared to feel the crunch of the economic catastrophe that our more affluent counterparts are experiencing.

Different kinds of Filipino Delicacies called PUTO which is made out of Rice.

Puto Kutsinta

Puto Cupcakes

Puto Alsa

I miss rice though I am not a regular rice-eater back home. I cut down on my rice intake a long time ago for dietary reasons. But now that I am here in Maine, I would usually have a Saturday craving for rice. Good thing I don’t have to wait in line just to get my share. Rice is very much available in the local groceries here and I can get it anytime from my favorite Chinese Restaurants too.

Fried Rice… one of the best way to prepare left-over rice.

But then, maybe the reason why I miss rice now is not the taste but the tradition that I grew up with and the culture that I was brought up. Suffice it to say… I miss the Philippines. And I can only relive those special moments I had in my country by eating rice. It is my comfort food. Now, I am hungry!

Additional Information:
Banaue Rice Terraces
International Rice Research Institute

Credits:
All food photos courtesy of my brother Japol who is a food junkie.

Maine has 1.25 million acres of land dedicated to farming and agricultural industry. And one of the most exciting and new things that I came to appreciate here is going to the orchards to pick our own fruits.

Coinciding with the Apple picking season is the Pumpkin season. This is an entirely new experience to me because we don’t usually pick vegetable straight from the garden but rather from the public market. And we are not familiar with pumpkin either but more with squash. The only place where you can get pumpkin is from the high-end grocery stores [according to my cousin] and it costs a lot. They usually use it for carving too for Halloween decorations around the posh subdivisions in Manila where they adapted the American tradition [not too long ago] to elevate their status from the already lower-than-lowest class in the society. It’s a status symbol back there.

Last year I got the chance to see lots of them at the Orchard where we picked apples. I wasn’t able to really go and pick them from the vine though. They were already picked and scattered on the ground near the farm house. But the most amazing event for me was when I went with my in-laws to the Cumberland Fair where I saw all those huge, humongous and gigantic pumpkins weighting over a thousand pounds. That was really a very memorable experience for me.

This year, we were not able to go back there because we were all busy with work. I only see the winning pumpkin weighting 1200+ pounds in the News and that was all about it. Other than eating pumpkin pie, pumpkin cake, pumpkin muffin, pumpkin soup and everything pumpkin from toys to masks… from plastic decorations to real ones… from candies to gummies… and from painted to carved… my all-pumpkin-laden experience is overloaded with fun and stirring comprehension of how important pumpkin is to this country.

Pumpkin season is not just about Halloween here in the US. Pumpkin season is not just about the food and the candies made out of it. Pumpkin season is not just a burst of autumn color and rich American tradition but it is a season associated with rhetorical preparation for the imminent bitter and ruthless season lurking from not so far away distant.

Additional Information:
Maine Department of Agriculture
Maine Pumpking Growers Association
DIY Halloween Decorations at Chiff.com

I supposed to leave the Philippines 1st week of May 2007, the week after I passed my interview at the US Embassy. My then fiancé was already about to book my flight so I could be in Maine as early as the 10th of May. But then I asked him to give me a month to settle everything first before I finally leave the country. And one thing specific that I told him was that… I wanted to vote first.

I hate the Election Season in the Philippines too. And despite the fact that I somehow get extra money during this season I still hate it. Yes, being a public school teacher, we are expected to serve during the Election Day which is scheduled during the 2nd Monday of May. And since May is also school vacation, I hate the fact that I need to report to do my obligation as a Filipino citizen and a public servant.

Don’t get me wrong. It’s not that I don’t want to serve. It’s just that the work is too exhausting and even if we do get paid for the job, it’s not enough for all the trouble that we need to put up with in manning the precinct, counting the ballots, tallying the elections returns, signing of the election returns, reporting the election returns, waiting, waiting and more waiting. Yes, we will open the precinct at 7am and we are “almost” done by 7am the following morning. And we get paid 300 pesos for that (roughly $6) service. You may ask why… and my answer is… because we count the votes manually.

I didn’t serve during last year’s election. I already waived my responsibility to serve in the election because I am officially out of service. But I still stayed to be able to vote. My then fiancé cannot understand why I still need to stay and vote because I will no longer be living there anymore anyway. That’s true but I have reasons. I tried to explain my standpoint but he still he can’t understand it.

During my first few months here in Maine I signed up for myLot a network community to make myself productive. And one discussion about election that I responded to was a topic initiated by one of the members which I was able to get “the Best Response” rating. Here is the discussion and my response.

Discussion:
I am looking forward to the post election relief. Whether the person I vote for wins or not, good lord, I just want it over. People get so edgy, so defensive and nerves so raw it’s almost like a dogfight lol. They should put Prozac in the water during elections.

Whatever country you live in, do you feel a sense of relief after elections? Or just a sense of “we’ve been fooled again?” Do you become hopeful? Or do you just curse?

My Response:
Honestly, the season that I hate most… is the election season. You are right, it is like a dog-fight. Politician vs. politicians. Supporters vs. supporters. It is always chaotic. Last year, when I got my visa, my fiance wanted me to come here right away. But I begged him to let me just vote for our mayor first. He said… what’s the point? You will not be living there anymore. He got a point there right? But for me, I have a sense of responsibility to the people that I will leave behind to ensure that they will have a better future. But of course, I am only one count of a vote. But I was hopeful because, you cannot tell that my vote will make a difference. But worse can always happen. My mayor did not win and the good for nothing incumbent mayor (the crook) won again. I was furious because a lot of those people in our hometown are blinded and ignorant. I did not curse. But when I left, I told my friend. I will not come back in this town, unless that mayor is still in office.

Well, I was really emotional. I am a history teacher and somehow I know how politics is played in our country. It is one of the top countries in the world in terms of graft and corruption. And people know about it. And people don’t care. I hate election season… winter is better even if the snow bank is as high as the roof of our house and the road is icy and slippery.

The Philippines is a very unique country and I am very proud of it. There are lots of things that we Filipinos can be proud of like our People Power or most popularly known as the Edsa Revolution  where we were able to put an end to Marcos Regime… peacefully. I was part of it. I was working on my thesis that time when it all happened in February of 1986. I was a [college] graduating student of AB Asian Studies at that time and my school is just a stone’s throw away from the Malacanang [the White House of the First Family]. I saw how rallyists and demonstrators were dispersed by water canons and tear gas. I joined prayer rallies and joined vigil in Edsa. I was very much involved.

I am proud to be a Filipino. I am proud that the Philippines was able to gain back its freedom through peaceful revolution. I am proud that despite our differences and idiosyncrasies we were able to resolve problems through common understanding and bridged the gap brought by geographical makeup. We are one of the very few countries in the world where equality can be most felt in the highest office. We are able to accept the importance of women and their role in the society just like any other countries in the world. But most importantly we are able to accept the possibility of being led and govern by women whose strength is equally viable as their male counterparts.

Election in the Philippines is both happy and sad. Happy… because people will get one day vacation from work because it is always a “non-working holiday”. It is sad because it is possible that election will be bloody in some parts of the country. Some teachers from far-down south would be threatened or worse killed for protecting the ballots. And there would be a lot of unpleasant incidents that would take place during the election period like power failure, vote buying, ghost voters [where names of dead people are registered voters], flying voters [voters who are paid to vote several times in several different precincts for one candidate], just to name a few.

I know we are not unique compared with other countries. But we are no different too. I know there are countries in the world that are worse than us or better than us. I know we are still struggling as a country but we are surviving. We will survive… and this, I know – is a fact.

Photo Credits:
WIKIPEDIA For: People Power Revolution and Malacanang Palace

The Election will be in a couple of weeks and the American people will make a choice. The American people will decide. The American people will put their trust in the Candidates whose promises are more or less acceptable… feasible and convincible.

I am not qualified to vote yet. I am not allowed to make a choice yet. I am not a US Citizen just yet. It’s neither a good nor a bad thing but all I am saying is that, this election has no particular significance to me whatsoever because of my status. However, whoever the next President will be, his leadership will surely make a big impact on me as a person living here in the United States.

Election Season is not my most favorite season of all. I hate it. I hate to see how Candidates are conducting their campaign. I hate how they uplift themselves and degrade their rivals just to let people think that they are the best persons in the job. It’s so childish.

But one thing I know about election here is that… it’s very educating for me. I learned a lot about election here in the US. I learned how they pick their Candidates. It was different from where I came from. Here, I learned that there are only 2 Political Parties… the Democrats and the Republicans, though they also consider the Independent Party as legit. I also learned that the choice for the Presidency depends on the results of the Caucuses and the Primaries and the one who will win will be the official Candidate for the Presidency. These things that I learned, somehow gave me an idea how organized election in the US is.

However, in terms of campaigning… there is not much difference from where I came from or perhaps, anywhere in the world. All Candidates see themselves as the best persons to do the job. They are all narcissistic. Hahahaha. Sorry about that. I just find it really annoying how the Candidates point out how bad their opponents are than focusing on how they can help the people and the country. All of them are good in pointing out the flaws in each other. And they are all good too on pointing out how better they are than their opponents. All of them are good actors… appearing on Saturday Nights Live… guessing on late night talk shows… hobnobbing with celebrities and whatnot. It’s a circus out there, so to speak. Oh well, all Candidates have both good and bad attributes. And it’s just a matter of time to know which one of the two traits is more dominant.

Election will be in a couple of weeks from now. I just hope that all American citizens will go out and vote. Suffrage is a right and not a privilege. But then, we have to keep in mind that no matter who will win… and what they all say… the economy will not be fixed on day one. It will take a lot of time to fix the economy and so there is no way that we could bounce back right after the election. All that we have right now is hope. All that we have right now is trust. And all we have right now is the confidence that the next President will keep his promise to the American people.

“Please go out and vote. You have no reason to complain if this country is suffering due to the bad decisions our elected leaders have made because you did not vote for the right ones. You have no reason to ask for change if you are not willing to make that change. Let the change begins within yourself. Vote! I would if only I have that right.”  THIS IS “JUST ME”… AND I APPROVE THIS MESSAGE!

If there is one thing I will miss about my little hometown… it’s the Tsinelas Festival or more popularly known as Gat Tayaw “Tsinelas” Festival [which is named to honor Gat Tayaw - the noble founder of the town according to history]. It’s kinda like a “fair” where we showcase the products that our little town is known for – the tsinelas [which means slippers or footwear]… uraro biscuits [arrow root cookies]… lambanog [coconut liquor] … and other locally grown fruits and vegetables.

Gat Tayaw [the founder of the Liliw town] and his dog Bantay [we baptized the dog’s name ourselves].

Liliw is well-known for our slipper industry. In fact, Liliw is dubbed as the “Slipper Capital of the Philippines” because we make the best slippers in the whole country. Our slippers are known for its high quality footwear because slipper-makers use tis-tis… a material made from coconut palm tree… which is known for it’s strong and durable feature… for making those slippers.

Liliw Park where we [my brothers and I] used to play as kids.

Tsinelas Festival is a week-long town affair celebrated every summer [usually last week of April or 1st week of May]. There are lots of different activities during the festival - from parade to cultural presentation… from concerts to street party… from street dancing to beauty pageant. But what is more important about the festival is that… all slipper products are on sale. That is why; lots of people are coming over to take advantage of the low-priced high-quality footwear.

The new Liliw Trade Fair where Liliw-made Slippers are displayed and sold.

Aside from slippers… we are also proud of our uraro biscuit. It is a kind of cookies made from arrow root flour. “Lambanog” on the other hand, is synonymous to Liliw too. Lambanog is liquor made of coconut water. Coconut water is distilled to make lambanog. It tastes like vodka but it doesn’t give you a hang-over like vodka.

Decorations on one of the Slipper stores during the festival season.

A stall selling Uraro biscuits and other Liliw delicacies.

Lambanog barrels.

The Uraro biscuits.

This year, I missed the Gat Tayaw Tsinelas Festival because I am now based here in Maine. And perhaps, I will miss it for 3 or more years until I get my citizenship and the money to pay for my air fare to go back home [*wink]. And since I missed the festival my brother, sent me these photos to give me an idea how the festival was this year. Good thing I have a nice brother… who sent me photos… to make me jealous and miss home more. Hahahaha.

Additional Information:
Liliw, Laguna
Lambanog Making

Credits:
Sherwin of Abby and Win’s Blog for the You Tube Video
My brother Japol of keep of WANDERing for the photos.

Finally we got a nice weather last weekend. It was crappy all week. It was wet, cold and foggy. Despite the awesome foliage, the week totally got a bad rating from me. On the sunny side, it gave me a good alibi to concentrate on my blogs facelift and extreme make-over mode so I was online [so what else is new, anyway?] but I never did any blogging, so to speak. I was in blogging coma the entire week too so I wasn’t able to post any write-up in any of my 9 blogs.

The Entrance to the Fairground.

Anyway, last Saturday we finally got the chance to go to the Fryeburg Fair. It is the last and the biggest Agricultural Fair in Maine. There are different Agricultural Fairs in Maine which starts from the 1st week of July to the 1st week of October. But this year, we were able to go to only 2, the Yarmouth and the Fryeburg Fair.

Agricultural Fairs showcase Maine produce and livestock. It is usually a 3-day to 1 week event. There are lots of activities to enjoy in the fair like parade, fireworks display, music and dance concert, animal races, exhibits, carnival rides, food… food… and lots of food.

Last weekend, Hubby, Me and my step-son Brandon left home early to go to the Fryeburg Fair. It was still early but the traffic going to the fairground was already crazy and up above, the helicopter was already hovering around to let its passengers see the sight below… above ground. That was an amazing ride but for 25$ for a 10-minutes ride… that was too much so we opted to stay grounded - literally. After paying the 5$ parking fee, we went straight to the gate and paid our $20 entrance fee ($10/person and kids under 7 years old are free, so Brandon was free) because it was a Saturday [only $8 for the rest of the week].

It was kinda freezing that morning and most people were already bundled up. As usual and as my self-proclaimed tradition, I got to have my “fried dough”. That is a must for me in every fair that we go to. I need to get a “fried dough”. There were some clowns walking around and Brandon is afraid of them so we need to change location. We found ourselves at the race track where the parade was about to start.

We saw lots of animals… cows, lamas, pigs, goats, chickens, rabbits and oxen. We went to old McDonald’s Farm, so to speak. Brandon enjoyed the animals and even patted some of them. Brandon and Dad love the animals, I… hate the smell! Hahahaha.

The Old McDonald’s Farm.

Brandon checking out the cows.

Bad Hair Day for this roaster.

The fabulous White Naked Neck chicken.

The cute Lamas.

We also enjoyed watching how the animals were groomed, milked and fed.

A sheep having a shave.

Girls milking a goat.

Piglets lunch time.

We went around the carnival rides but didn’t ride any of them. Brandon hates the loud sound. He was able to swindle Daddy to buy him a cowboy hat and pay $1 for the “frog leaping game” and wasn’t able to make the frog leap far enough to reach the lily pond. It was a rip-off anyway just like any dollar-drawing game booth in carnivals. You know what I mean.

Brandon showing off his new cowboy hat.

A real-horse carousel ride.

We also enjoyed watching country dance shows, checking out old farming tools, maple syrup making and what not.

Farmers showing how the old wood chopper [used hundreds of years ago] works.

Fryeburg Fair this year was a-ok compared to the first time I went there. But of course, weather will always be a drawback because of its scheduled date but other than that, it is always the biggest, the most awaited and the most well visited fair in all of Maine’s agricultural fairs.

Additional Information on Maine Agricultural Fairs:
Maine.gov Market and Production Development
Maine’s Fryeburg Fair Website