Entries from July 2008 ↓

This is a tag for all Filipino bloggers. Join TEAM PHILIPPINES and spread the word to vote for our representative’s national costume at the Miss Universe 2008 beauty pageant in Vietnam. You guys have been tagged!

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A tag for ALL Filipinos!

The 2008 Miss Universe comes to Vietnam for a night of stars and glamour in search of the most beautiful woman in the world! The winner for Best National Costume will be decided by online votes. So now, the main objective of this tag is to increase awareness for all Filipinos regarding the online voting. Let’s VOTE for our very unique Philippine National Costume worn by our representative, Jennifer Barrientos.

General Instructions:

1. Go to THIS LINK!
2. In the Menu Bar just above the thumbnail pictures of the delegates, click ASIA/AUSTRALIA.
3. Look for the Philippines’ Costume (like the picture above & it’s actually in the page 2).
4. Click its thumbnail.
5. After clicking, a preview will then appear on the right side of the page. Click “SELECT THIS DELEGATE” located just below that preview.
6. The bad things is, we are to choose 3 delegates! So be sure NOT to vote for those countries that will surely be a strong competitor for the AWARD!
7. After choosing the Philippines and the “other” two countries, click on “SUBMIT VOTE” located just below the thumbnail pictures.
8. Follow the SIMPLE instructions after that!
9. You’re done! Go Philippines!
   • As much as possible, TAG all your FILIPINO friends.
   • Copy this post from ***start here*** until ***end here***.
   • Also invite your foreigner friends to vote for our national costume! LOL.
   • Add your blog link below as a proof that you are one of the TEAM PHILIPPINES!

IMPORTANT REMINDERS:

The Team Philippines

Miss Universe 2008

1.) Marky - Tiklaton

2.) Aeirin’s Collections

3.) Biz-N-Honey

4.)joanjoyce

5.) Buhay sa Korea

6.) Apt 1014

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Nakagamit ka na ba ng “chopsticks” o kubyertos na gamit sa bansang Tsina, Hapon, Korea at Vietnam? Naiiba ang “chopsticks” na gamit sa Korea dahil ito ay gawa sa metal. Ang nasa itaas ay gawa sa “silver” (ipagpaumanhin, nalimutan ko ang tawag sa Tagalog). Para sa akin, pinakamadaling gamitin ang “chopsticks” na gamit dito sa Korea.

Have you used chopsticks, traditional eating utensils in China, Japan, Korea and Vietnam? Korean chopsticks are different in that they are made of metal. The ones pictured below are made of silver with ornate decorations at the tip. IMO, Korean chopsticks are the easiest to use.

I couldn’t be luckier that I’m living in this day and age. I just can’t fathom living life a hundred years ago when things were done manually. As a stay-at-home mom, I thank technology for the washing machine, microwave oven, refrigerator, rice cooker and of course, the vacuum cleaner. There are some things I prefer bigger - like a bigger TV and refrigerator. However when it comes to things I should carry, I prefer them smaller - like with the vacuum cleaner.

Luckily, there’s a new a Dirt Devil in the market - the Accucharge cordless hand vac and stick vac. This vacuum is easier to handle since there are no cords that could trip you and is also easier to use and store because it isn’t as bulky as ordinary machines are.

What makes the Accucharge different from other cordless vacuums in the market is that this is the first to get Energy Star approval. This means it helps you save money and protect the environment because it’s energy efficient.

Why should I get Dirt Devil Accucharge in the future? It’s smaller. It’s cordless. It’s energy efficient. Takes less time to charge and uses less electricity. Smaller is sometimes indeed better!

My son is 25 months old. I talk to him in English (and sometimes Korean) while his father speaks to him in pure Korean. We had a lot of opposition when we decided to teach our son two languages. The women in my husband’s family were afraid that he might not learn enough Korean since I spend more time with him than my husband. They were worried that by the time he goes to school, he might not be that fluent in the language and he might end up a “wang-ta” or an outsider. The men in the family thinks he’ll eventually learn the language later.

I did a lot of reading on raising a bilingual child. All are in agreement that the best time to teach a child a language is when he’s still a baby. I don’t remember my son’s first word now but he can speak more Korean than English although he understands instructions in both languages. He isn’t as verbal yet as the other kids his age. I’m not worried though. He’s only 2 years old after all.

A great resource for parents who are teaching their kids two languages or more is Multilingual Children’s Association.

When I first had my child, I noticed that some parents are intentionally or unintentionally always competing. It’s like their children are the affirmation of their being. I would think it’s specially true in Korea where competition is so stiff. Parents expect a lot from their kids, pushing them to study hard, get into a really nice university and land a job at one of the big conglomerates in the country. (In the hope that they’d be taken care of nicely when they grow old?)

My husband and I often talk about how we’re going to raise our son differently, he isn’t an average kid here after all. His parents are from two different countries with different native languages. We often talk about our son’s future and what we’d like him to be when he grows up. When we see him dancing to Baby Bop Hop’s song (of Barney’s fame), we thought “ah he’s gonna be a dancer like Bi (Rain).” When we catch him disassembling his toy car, we’d say “maybe he’ll be an engineer someday.” And when we saw him imitating the news anchor on TV, we conclude that at his early age of two he’ll be a TV personality.

What do we really want our child to be when he grows up? It’s his life so it’s his choice. We’ll just gladly guide him and proudly cheer for him whatever he decides to be just like what our own parents did with us. Whether he decides to be a doctor, lawyer, teacher, social worker, engineer or a traveler, we’ll be there for him as long as he’s happy and he’s not hurting anyone.

Posted for the 5th Pinoy Parenting Blog Carnival

Pasensiya na po kung medyo mahaba na naman ang aking lahok ngayong linggo. Medyo nahirapan ako sa tema ng “Tatak Pinoy” dahil masyadong malawak. Pero dahil kami ng mga kaibigan ko ay nagkita-kita noong Sabado, naisip ko na ipakita kung paano naipapakita ang “Tatak Pinoy” dito sa Korea.

Kami man ay nakatira sa ibayong dagat, dala-dala pa rin namin ang pagiging Pinoy lalo na sa mga kita-kits, EB o handaan. Gaya na lang ng handaan at pagtitipon sa mga litrato sa ibaba.

Please forgive me if my entry for this week is a little long. I had a hard time deciding on the theme on “Filipino trademark” because of its wide scope. However since I met my friends last Saturday, I decided to show how we Filipinos in Korea celebrate our trademark.

Even if we live overseas, we still carry with us our Filipino identity through our meetings, EB or parties. Just like the ones below.

Handaang Pinoy. Bagamat ang iba dito ay hindi talaga lutong Pinoy, karaniwan na inihahanda ang spaghetti (o pansit), lumpia, fruit salad, pritong manok, menudo, chopsuey at kanin. Syempre lahat ay angkop sa panlasang Pinoy.

Anim na K ng handaan o pagtitipon na may Tatak Pinoy:

Kodakan ^

“Kol”dilocks ^

Tribiya: Ang isa sa aking mga kaibigan (yung nakapula sa huling litrato) ay nakikita sa TV dito sa Korea sa isang palabas sa KBS, pambansang istasyon, tuwing Martes ng gabi. Lumabas din siya sa isang patalastas para sa isang sikat na organisasyon. Psst! Wala po silang kamalay-malay na na-extra na NAMAN sila sa blog ko.

I bought sweet potatoes (고구마 go-gu-ma) last week as I was craving for fresh lumpia. I have the other ingredients inside our fridge. I was shocked to know how expensive it is now. I never had to buy them for the past two years, since my 아가씨 (a-ga-shi - my husband’s younger sister) has been supplying us with boxes for the past two autumns. I have tried different recipes for them. I had made sweet potato pies, steamed sweet potatoes, brown sugar coated and pan fried sweet potatoes, mashed sweet potatoes… and the list goes on. Redundant but I’d rather eat those tubers than let them go to waste.

Going back to my purchase last week. 100 grams of sweet potato at the supermarket I frequent cost 530 won (US$0.50 or 22.78 PP) so the total for three pieces I picked, all 340 grams, is 1,820 won (US$1.73 or 78.20 PHP). Expensive, isn’t it?