Most of my friends have gone to work abroad. I think I am the only one who refuses to leave my beloved country. Anyway, they are quite happy there and what's good about it is I have many places I can crash in whenever I travel hehe.
And the top 5 things you can bring for Filipinos working abroad (and stuff you can share with colleagues from other nations) are:
1. Chocnut - very expensive at the Lucky Plaza at Orchard Road. So, don't take that Chocnut for granted.
2. Boy Bawang - my colleagues and friends said, "Sasambahin ka when you bring this."
3. Dried Mangoes - ahhh, last Monday my boss complained that someone stole my pasalubong for him. Hahaha. No worries, I'll bring more next month. Dried mangoes, still one of our best export products.
4. Datu Puti Toyo and Suka (vinegar) - the secret must-have ingredient for adobo.
5. Purefoods Hotdog - believe me, my Mom requires me to lug around hotdog and tocino whenever I visit my Kuya... at least 5 kilograms of it!
And well one bit about having friends and relatives abroad is teaching them how to send money to the Philippines online, that, and teaching them how to purchase load for their Philippine prepaid number. Well, ahem ahem to my Ate and Kuya now you know how to do it hehehe. I'm still the bunso after all.
I started writing when I was 8. My mom got me a journal where I could rant (prob so I won't be an annoying brat). I stopped writing for 8 years until the pen and then later on the keyboard called on me again. I blog because I like writing and that's just about it. Hope you get inspired though... Bite the apple!
When I was studying in the states, I'd ask my mom not to forget to bring me:
ReplyDelete1. Jack 'n Jill Potato Chips, Vcut and Chippy
2. Dried Mangoes - Next best thing to fresh Pinoy mangoes!!
3. Tocino and Tapa
4. Kikkoman Toyo - Mahal kasi ang soy sauce dun sa NY!!
@andrew - hehehe! i can just imagine my suitcase next month! hahaha.
ReplyDeletechocnut? eh kahit dito sa pinas hirap na ko makahanap nyan ah! hmmm... my cousin always asks for longganiza. the small ones that are made in guinobatan, albay. hahahhaha!
ReplyDeletegeez! i want your job... you travel a lot. at bunso ka mam aileen???? wow!
@andianka - SM Hypermarket always has inventory for Chocnut hehe. Longganiza? Hindi ba mahirap dalhin yun??? I love Albay for its bags! Hehehe. And yup, bunso ako kaya makulit ako hahahaha.
ReplyDeleteFor your friends living in the US and Canada, there's really no need to bring the items you mentioned as pasalubong. Just about every Pinoy store has them in stock. A better pasalubong would be local tsismis magazines. haha
ReplyDeletehahhaha! nakaka-relate ako! yup! i really wanted to have kakanins-esp. ngaun I'm craving for that Purefoods Hotdog. Dito sa BKK, we don't have kalamansi- truth is wala sila dito! imagine ang tilapya-with kamatis at onion kung wala non? hehe! instead, they have lemon lang "Manaw" as they call it.
ReplyDeleteI'm a first time commenter, but have been checking your blog regularly. You have a very cool and interesting blog! Sunny singapore is such an awesome city, huh? :-) I've been a resident here here for 4 yrs. I'm originally from manila. True, the pinoy products in Lucky Plaza are frightfully expensive. I only go there whenever I run out of suka & mang tomas. Other than that, wala na. I can survive with chinese soy sauce, thai patis, heinz catsup etc. (w/c, in my opinion, are way better.) But purefoods hotdog vs. the local ones in SG, it's purefoods hotdog hands down! Bakit ba wala nun sa Cold Storage? :(
ReplyDelete@bong - really? tsismis magazine? i'll bring `em some! haha. i noticed that they watch wowowee a lot and i don't, they even buy CDs of the songs played there! yikes!
ReplyDelete@kazzi - pardon my ignorance but where is bkk? hehe. na-lost naman ako. purefoods hotdog! the best! di bale i'll tell the gm of san miguel about that problem. i think they have an online store though hanapin ko ha.
@zoe - purefoods hotdog! the best ever ever. i'm going to bug `em to export it better, bet tayo when that happens sales of other imported hotdogs will definitely go down haha.
I'm asking my parents to bring me a few liters of Tanduay Rum the next time they visit me!
ReplyDelete@wysgal - whoa! tanduay rum! hehehe. best with coca-cola :p
ReplyDelete@bong: Yes that's true, but they're way too expensive when sold in the US. I remember buying J&J Potato Chips for $2 and a Royal Tru Orange (in can) for $3.
ReplyDeleteHahaha.. I got hit by item no. 3. I will be bringing my Japanese boss and omiyage (presents from your country). Just bought it kanina. I will be going to Japan next week. Huhuhuh. Wish me luck!
ReplyDeleteHuwaw mahal ang Chocnut du'n? Gaah akalain mo nga naman.
ReplyDeletePero ate, it's pretty interesting that you actually choose to stay here in our Motherland when most of our people are really pushing through to work and live outside. I also choose to stay and die here here, helping this nation through my own small ways. Abah, Batang Maynila ako. Nyehehe. Medyo pangarap ko nga lang makabisita sa Japan.
Siguro kung nasa ibang bansa ako, hahanap-hanapin ko ang tapsilog tuwing hatinggabi, dried mangoes din, at ang isa sa mga simbulo ng Pinoy era: Haw Flakes.
I can relate. Every time I visit my family I bring home tocino for my siblings, conik from Emy's Malolos for my mom.
ReplyDeleteAnd when my family visited, my mom brought back with her back issues of pinoy tabloids. Haha. She hid them from my dad pa.
My mom went to Rome with half her maleta filled with Eng Bee Tin (tama ba yung spelling?) HOPIA! hahaha.
ReplyDeleteAnd when my cousin went to New York, my friend begged us to bring her loads and loads of Chippy :)
i wrote in my blog about 'imagine a world without filipinos' feel free to copy or repost or share them.
ReplyDeleteIts great to find your blog here at the bloggernacle. its good to find people who actually care and share what's the best they got! Keep doing great!