April 03, 2014
First let me take a moment to give thoughts and prayers to those hurt or killed senselessly at Fort Hood and to all those involved in the care of the wounded. Thank you to those who defend America and thank you to those who defend our health.
Okay, now on to a much happier topic. Birthday Parties! A few weeks ago, Suzy and I was invited by a friend here, Melvin, to go to his youngest son's birthday party. It was to be on an upcoming Saturday. Saturdays are the toughest day for us. Suzy gets home and she is really in limbo... she can sleep right away, but then she is up at like 8 or 9 at night and there isnt a lot for her then or she can hold out as long as possible, and then sleep and have a more normal Sunday. She chooses the latter, which made me solo for Saturday night.
The party was being held at a restaurant in a mall not too far away and was to be from 6-8 p.m. in the evening. I was excited as besides getting to see Melvin, another friend, Mitch, and his wife Mandy were to be in attendance too. I knew I would have people to talk to during the festivities. So I got in a cab and headed to the mall and then in to the Jollibee restaurant for the party.
Jollibee
Jollibee is like the McDonalds here in the Philippines. I like Jollibee. They are everywhere, they have a cool be mascot/logo, and the food isn't bad (especially for how inexpensive it is). Employees where uniforms that are boy scout tan and then have stripes of yellow, orange and red on one side going from top to bottom. Think Old Houston Astros logo, but vertical instead of horizontal and on a Boy scout looking uniform. Everyone, like most all places here, are very friendly. Great staff. The food is relatively low priced. I can get a burger called a Yum for about a $1 American. Spaghetti is less than that. they have a 2 piece chicken and rice dinner that is like $2 I think. Desserts are good, too. Mango pies, good ice cream... it is fine by me. Jollibee there has a separate party room and I begin to gravitate to that area, looking for Mel or Mitchell...
Quick Aside
The first time I went to ISU to visit Zach Hickman and Bryan Hendrickson, I got to the dorm before they got back from class. Their neighbor, Matt Ralston, saw me in the hall and said, "you must be Chuck." Sure am. Well while looking around at Jollibee, I heard a voice. "Chuck?" "Yes." It was Mel's Mom. I am glad I am a recognizable guy. Although it was probably easy... just let folks know that if they see a bigger white guy walking around... his name is Chuck and he is with the party. Mel's Mother confirmed I was in the right spot and she introduced me to Mel's family, including his father, Ding.
Ding
In the short time I have known Melvin, I have found him a very enjoyable person to be around. He is very upbeat. He is also from Tacloban (area affected by Typhoon Yolanda) and yet, he is always smiling. Pictures I've seen of him and his family are always very happy. I really enjoy seeing that closeness and joy. After getting to meet his father and spend time talking to him, I see where it comes to. What a great experience. Ding and I talked about family and the Philippines and about life. As people came in one could see the level of respect shown. I knew I was with people that were very important in this family structure. I enjoyed hearing stories of his grandchildren and seeing them interact with him. He also gave me advice on a shortcut to tell the taxi driver so that my cab ride home would be shorter. Bonus!
Party time
The room was now filled and it is time to get the party started. Jollibee had 2 employees whose job was really just to be liaisons and MC's for the shindig. One lady was on the microphone talking to everyone and the other was coordinating prizes, games, food, etc. Yes, it was these ladies job, but they attacked this soiree with a passion (like it was their job). It was really refreshing. Being of late teens or early 20s, I'd imagine, I was impressed with how into it they were. Not just going through the motions. They knew names and truly were like part of the group. But first, prayer. My goal for the night was to just fit in, have fun with friends, and learn of new experiences. Because most of the talking was in Tagalog, I was a little unaware of what was happening... such as everyone getting up for prayer. Thank goodness Ding had my back and he said, "Chuck, please stand."
I think a great start of any party, whether it be a wedding reception, a family reunion, or a birthday party is to get the kids engaged early and often. Jollibee excelled at that. Every youngster had crayons and a place mat to decorate. Then following prayer was group kids games. The first one was a scavenger hunt game. The Jollibee leader would yell out a a rhyme and then would say "find me something that starts with the letter...." and then kids would race to their parents and get an item. Letter P-- kids ran and got phones... The first couple back would get little prizes. Very good idea to get them up and active. Then it was time for another game... This one was kind of like musical chairs. all of the kids were in a group. The leader then would yell out a saying and say " get in a group of ..." and then children had to assemble in a group of that number. any stragglers were then eliminated, given a parting gift and the game proceeded until there were 2. Fun and educational games for youngsters and they had no idea they were counting and using letters.
They then had an adult game. 2 teams, guys and gals, 5 to a side, were lined up single file. The object of the relay race was to pass a balloon first backwards between their legs to the back of the line and then forwards handed over the shoulder. Once it got the front, that person had to do a little dance that was kind of a cross between twerking and the chicken dance. That person heads to the back of the line and the balloon goes down and up again until all have had a chance to shake their moneymaker. The gals were much more adept at the relay then the guys, but not as spirited. The Gals won and it was a funny icebreaker for everyone. Fun to see everyone acting a fool and having fun. It was clear that all were comfortable with each other and having fun.
Whats a party without food?
As previously mentioned, I do like Jollibee food. Everyone got a chicken and rice dinner and spaghetti. The spaghetti sauce here is sweeter than in America and it has hot dogs in it. Now, my German friend Rolf who lives down in the Province of Palawan, he will tell you it is the worst food ever. He hates Jollibee spaghetti. he thinks I am crazy for liking it. To me, it is like the flavor of the Spaghetti-o's or Chef Boyardee meals in a can I enjoyed as a youngster. The chicken was good, rice was good and spaghetti very good. One thing I am not adept at yet is using both utensils at the same time while eating. People here are masters. They are wizards with the fork and spoon to cut into chicken and scoop some rice with it prior to a dunk in gravy. It is impressive. Following the food, we had a hot fudge sundae and washed everything down with Sarsi (root beer).
Picture time
Following food... it was picture time. Now I clearly am of the opinion that the Philippines is the selfie capital of the world. The Jollibee mascot arrived and this big bee came in. The bee saw me and pointed to my belly and made a laughing gesture. Thank you Jollibee. I thought to myself, " I'd assault you for that, but I do not want to start an international incident". I can see the headlines on FB... "American man accosts restaurant mascot during 7 year old's birthday party." I just pointed at its belly too and then took a selfie with the Jollibee. During all the pictures we sang an official Happy Birthday and all crowded in for a big group selfie. I had never seen this before, but one person had a telescoping pole with an attachment the phone connected to. This allowed for larger group pictures.
How quickly 2 hours flies by... and what a fun time! Following pictures the party started to wrap up. I extended my thanks to Mel and his family for including me. I sincerely feel it was an honor to be allowed to celebrate with their family and friends. I really appreciated the gesture.
I got into a cab and headed home (the fast way, thanks to Ding) full on Jollibee. It was Saturday night and time to stop by TGI Friday's on my walk to the Condo. Ahhh Friday's... well that will be the topic of my next blog... then I think since we have been here 7 months... time to have another recap of things I love and things I find challenging here in the Philippines.
Take care of yourselves, everybody.
Chuck
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