Saudi Sexpat Stories: Tales from the Kingdom

Am sorry but I just have to vent… After several weeks of coordinating with travel agencies in Manila, just got the disappointing news that Keith and I would not be able to go on our planned holiday to celebrate our 10th wedding anniversary in December - can’t believe all local and international trips we wanted were all fully booked! Our travel agent said that the dates we chose (30 Dec to 02 Jan) were “peak of the peak” kasi…so there. Tough luck indeed.

Was looking forward to this trip pa naman as it would’ve been one of the very rare times that Keith and I would be able to spend couple time alone together ever since we relocated here to the Kingdom. It would’ve been perfect as we intended for it to be a sidetrip during our home leave in Manila.  That way, we’re sure that our kids would still be well taken cared of even when we are away. Sigh!

Guess I’d just have to open myself to other possibilities…whatever they are.  Suggestions, anyone?  These would be most welcome right now as I am admittedly stumped.  (FYI, the places we tried were Beijing, Vietnam-Cambodia, HK-Macau and El Nido.)

I always look forward to Thursday mornings.  This is when I could sleep a little bit longer and not have to worry about cooking breakfast or lunch immediately as I know my loving hubby would be there to cover for me.  For those of  you who may not know, Thursdays and Fridays are the weekends here in most of the Gulf countries (unlike what most of us are used to) - hence, I guess it’s TGIW for me while we are based here!

Anyway, after waking up from my looong slumber, I was pleasantly surprised to find this on the dining table…

Yup, what greater way to start the day than with lomi and puto! Another “yum-o” moment, definitely! ;) 

Apparently, hubby thought of buying this for me earlier in the morning when he accompanied Bro Cuz Rinel to the roving Phil Embassy headquarters in one of the hotels in the neighboring town of Al Khobar. Bro Cuz needed to have his passport renewed while hubby needed to inquire about certain procedures in securing documents from the Philippines thru the embassy here.  Since having the roving embassy here is only a monthly event, some enterprising kabayans were allowed to sell home-made food outside the hotel function room - to the delight of a lot of “Pinoy-food-starved” fellow kabayans like us! Syempre, Keith took advantage na and bought arroz caldo (which he craves), lomi and puto for us - having remembered how I mentioned to him several times before how I missed eating these comfort foods from back home. Sweet talaga ng asawa ko ‘no? Hahaha!

It’s amazing how the simplest of gestures can bring so much joy.  Truly, dear hubby’s thoughtfulness earned him bonus “pogi points” from me that day. 

As the much-exploited phrases from Robert Browning’s poem (”How do I love thee? Let me count the ways…” ) come to mind, I must say, included among my personal favorite replies would be a steaming bowl of lomi and puto for brunch on a lazy Thursday morning, served “with love” by my “one and only honey”, Keith. :) 

Hon, salamat sa iyong pag-aalala. Labis akong “lomi”-gaya sa inihain mong agahan, as in it really “puto”-n a smile to my face! Love you lots! Mwah!

Tagged by Weng on this one.  Being the dutiful cousin (hahaha!), siyempre, I oblige.

Here’s my Top 6.  Please note that I’m doing some sort of a “fast talk” here as am writing down the songs as fast as I remember them…  

1. STREET BEAT – Think Aga Muhlach doing his Michael Jackson moves as he struts his stuff in leather and chains.  Definitely “Bagets” era meets “D’Punks” is an apt description!

2. SINATRA’s NEW YORK, NEW YORK – I remember my grandfather relaxing in our living room while my dad plays the cassette tape of Sinatra on our tape deck.  “Sapak talaga si Sinatra,” my Lolo would say (“sapak” is his stamp of approval for the Rat Pack’s most famous crooner).  “Ang lamig ng boses,”he would further add.  Whaddyaknow? Some 20+ years later, I still agree.

3. TEARS FOR FEARS’HEAD OVER HEELS – I distinctly recall the dance move that went with this song…parang nagbubugaw ng langaw ang arms while the legs are stuck in one place na pa-bend-bend lang! C’mon, don’t be shy! For those who were in their puberty or early teens during this era, Huwag nang mag-pretend - I’m sure you know what I’m talking about – hahaha!

4. I WILL – This song strikes a sentimental chord in me as this is unofficially “our song”.  In fact, during our first night as husband and wife, Keith even brought a minus one (gosh, how dated ba? Di pa uso videoke dati e!) of this song so he could sing it for me – how sweet!   Listening to this, I can’t help but remember the “kilig” movie that this song went with - the re-make of “Love Affair” starring Warren Beatty and Annette Benning.  Sigh, how romantic talaga!

5. FALLEN from PRETTY WOMAN – Again, this song is pretty high on the “kilig factor” for me as it was one of my favorites from the film, “Pretty Woman”, which, incidentally, was also the very first film Keith and I watched on our first movie date together.  Haay, to be young and in love nga naman!

6. THE JOURNEY by LEA SALONGA – Re-discovered this song while watching Rafa’s Junior Prep commencement exercises where he was part of a group who sang it.  As I listened to the words more carefully, I appreciated it even more as it seems to tell the story of our lives now as a certified “pamilyang OFW”.  The part where she sings, “Through the darkest desert, through the deepest snow, forward, always forward I go,”is especially touching. Truly a sentimental favorite.

That’s all folks! Thanks for taking this trip with me – thoroughly enjoyed it.

Would Rina, Peachy, Claire and Joy do me the favor of doing this tag too? Sige na, am sure you’ll have as much fun as I did – promise!

Strike 1: While having lunch after mass last Friday, got wind from our OB Gyne friend that there was apparently a bombing in one of the Glorietta Malls in Makati, the central business district in Manila,  where most of our siblings work.  Gut reaction was a text blast to all our immediate relatives to make sure none of them were hurt.  They got back pretty quickly – sensing perhaps the panic in our SMS – thank God they were all okay!  

Strike 2: Just surfing on the net yesterday when hubby brought to my attention the breaking news from MSNBC that students from Pepperdine University (where my sister, Rina, is currently taking up her MBA) were being evacuated due to the brush fires around the Malibu area.  Not noticing that Rina already sent me a text update on her situation, I immediately called her to check on how she was.  She confirmed that she had indeed evacuated (in her haste, she wasn’t able to bring anything but the clothes on her back, her passport, as well as her credit and ATM cards) and that she and her roommate at least managed to drive north the Pacific Coast Highway and ended up in a resto near the beach where they were safer.  Several calls and text messages later, Rina updates that she has at least sought temporary refuge in a house of a friend in Sta Monica (resorting to a back route, she and her friend drove 50 miles instead of the usual 20 miles to get there!) and is at least okay.  Though she still has not been able to return to her on-campus dorm, thank God she’s also safe!  

This has been the story of my life the past few days… It struck me that despite the physical distance, we can never be truly apart from those we love.  We may be somewhat insulated by being in a different place from where they are yet we still can’t help but fret over the dangers which surround them and pray very hard that at the end of it all, they will be kept safe and free from all harm.   

I only hope that there wouldn’t be a Strike 3 waiting just around the corner or else I’d really be OUT (as in out of my mind from panic and worry!). In the meantime, the ball game continues and I remain a most involved spectator…

Look what I had for lunch today…

Yup, was feeling a bit homesick for true-blue Pinoy food that I just to prepare a usual Friday staple (though I am very much aware that Friday was actually two days ago… ).  Presenting, my very own version of Piniritong Hasa-Hasa at Ginisang Munggo (Fried Snapper and Sauteed Mung Beans)! Yum-o!

I was pleasantly surprised to find the hasa-hasa the last time I checked out the fish section at the local grocery.  Good thing I inspected the fishies more closely since they refer to hasa-hasa as “snapper” here… Siyempre, in my Pinoy mind, hasa-hasa o galunggong ang hinahanap ko - not knowing na “snapper” pala ang “international name” niya - hahaha! ;) Eating hasa-hasa again after a long while is truly a welcome change from having the usual grilled hammour and fried sherry (local Arabian fishes) that are so abundantly found in this part of the world. 

 Thanks very much to Manong Ken and CTL of “Feeding the Boys” for providing the much-needed inspiration and guidance in cooking the munggo!  I am happy to say that, for the first time, the munggo came out just right and didn’t dry out.  Now I know that the secret should be pre-soaking the beans at least 4 hours before cooking and adding at least another cup of water while boiling them (I boiled them for another 45 minutes after rinsing out the liquid where I soaked them in).  To make the sauce more flavorful, I also put half a cup of chicken broth in addition to the shrimp paste recommended by CTL.  The only thing missing from my “creation” was the requisite dahon ng ampalaya or sili (bitter melon or chili leaves) since I have yet to find these in supermarket shelves here in the kingdom.  Again, since “oink-oink” is a “no-no” here, I made do with 1/2 kilo of peeled medium shrimps to complete the mix.  Okay na rin since shrimps are considered the healthier alternative naman. :) 

Of course, the ultimate “consuelo” apart from enjoying these comfort foods myself is that hubby and Rafa like them too (Luigi is more of a bread, soup and chicken person kasi)! Ginanahan tuloy akong mag-research at maghanap ng susunod na lulutuin ko.

Till my next cooking (mis)adventure - bon appetit, everyone!

Spending nine days in the kingdom for the end-of-Ramadan holidays proved a bit too much for us so we decided that we should plan for a quick R&R someplace else.  The logical choice? Bahrain, of course!

Since the kingdom of Bahrain is only a 1 1/2 drive from our place and it being an “open city” (translation: no abayas, eat-all-you-can lechon kawali and binagoongang baboy, movies galore OR simply put: ”life as we know it”! ), we hied-off to this neighboring kingdom for a quick 3 day-2 night get-away.  Of course, the trip wouldn’t be complete without our fave cousins, the Megas, traveling with us. ;) We were also joined by Keith’s “uber-showbiz” pal from NCB Riyadh, Raffy Clemente (believe me, meeting Raffy is the closest I may ever get to “rubbing elbows” with Philippine showbiz denizens - hahaha! He is sooo “well-connected” and super-”in” on the latest “showbiz chika” that he kept us entertained for the most part of the trip… ).

Apart from the usual stops in Bahrain (i.e., the Seef Mall and Swan Lake), we all agreed that we should try and explore areas in this kingdom that we have never been to before.  We sure were glad we took this step as this brought us to the UNESCO-listed World Heritage Site of Dilmun, where we saw Bahrain’s ancient capital and the ruins of its old city. If only for this stop, our most recent Bahrain visit was truly worth our while.

On the down side, we also checked out the much-hyped ancient burial mounds, which, incidentally, were quite disappointing, as they actually reminded us of construction debris more than anything else… :( Note that the Moslems bury their dead in unmarked graves in accordance with their religious customs.

We also drove off to see the “Lost Paradise” water oasis (water park) but were also disappointed to find out that it actually hasn’t been finished yet and is still under construction.  Well, at least, this is another thing to look forward to for our future visits.

Next stop was the Bahrain International F1 Circuit, which we visited again to show Ge, Ira and Raffy - who were going there for the first time.  While there, we were pleased to hear (since we weren’t of course allowed to go beyond the stadium gates - too bad!) the revving of race cars in preparation for the upcoming “Australian Challenge” to be held in Bahrain from 01-03 Nov 07.  Keith and I made a mental note to see at least one F1 race before we leave the Middle East…whenever that is!

Pardon the poor picture quality of this shot - our old reliable Sony digicam seems to be getting more and more “tired” these days!

No holiday in Bahrain would be complete without also exploring “uncharted gastronomic delights”.  For our first dinner together, we tried the Portuguese “peri-peri” (apparently a method of barbecueing in Portugal) resto, Nando’s.  Alas, despite the tastefully done ambience, we had a “peri-peri” (very, very) ordinary eating experience which left much to be desired - bland-tasting espetadas, soggy fries and food orders which they initially got wrong and which arrived more than an hour later… :( Definitely not recommended.

A more exciting discovery was Marble Slab Creamery which offered to-die-for ice cream and yogurt concoctions.  Their selling point is actually mixing the ice cream or yogurt and the fresh ingredients (i.e., marshmallows, nuts, chocolate chips - name it, they have it!) with a spatula on a marble slab only as you order it.  I’ve never tasted a more creamy Rocky Road while Keith was equally happy with his candy-sprinkled caramel ice cream. Yum-o!

On our last night, I was able to coerce convince my dear hubby to return to our fave Japanese resto in Bahrain, the Gulf Hotel’s “Sato”.  Though we had to settle for a regular table at the central dining area on this visit, good food, great service and even greater company (nothing beats a good ol’ family meal - without me cooking! Hehehe!) more than made up for not dining at the more spacious tatami room. 

This wraps up the highlights of our recent Bahrain holiday.  I definitely look forward to “re-discovering” more places of interest in Bahrain yet again… till the next visit - will definitely keep you posted!

PS For more pictures, check our related Multiply site here.

This was the scene from exactly 29 years ago that has gone down in “infamy” in our family history. Picture this: 

Aunt (excitedly): “Gising na, nanganak na Mama mo!”

Little girl (sleepily answers): “Ano?”

Aunt: “Baby boy uli!”

Little girl (lets out a whine of disappointment and and promptly falls back to sleep): “Haaay….” 

You guessed it: I was the little girl and the baby boy in question is my second brother, Pippo! To explain my “bratty” reaction, at the time, it was only me and my other brother, Monty.  So, when baby #3 popped out, I was praying fervently for a sister para may kalaro na akong girl (since all my other cousins, save for one, were all boys).  This obviously happened before the advent of ultrasound – an exciting time when parents and siblings relied on a lot of old wives’ tales and “unscientific” approaches (i.e., “patulis tiyan mo – lalaki yan” or “gumaganda ka – siguro babae anak mo”) to determine the gender of an unborn child. 

You might say, Pippo and I did not have the most ideal start.  This “trend”   continued until our childhood and my mid-teens when among all my siblings (yes, dear sister finally came 3 years after Pippo!), Pippo and I just didn’t seem to get along.  In fact, the height of this was when, at 15, I had my final (and most memorable) “belt on the behind” (courtesy of our Papa – waaah!!! L ) after Pippo and I had a particularly nasty fight.  At that time, I seriously felt I was emotionally “scarred for life” – no thanks again to my “pikon” brother… 

Being panganay, I was inherently bossy and Pippo wasn’t exactly the type who was to be bossed around (at least not by any of us siblings – as he can be very patient when it comes to his friends).  In fact, both Monty and Rina, the cooler headed ones in the family, used to tease both of us whenever we had a spat of some sort: “ ‘P’ Team kasi e – kaya pareho!”.  (FYI, Monty thought of dividing the four of us into two teams based on the initials of our names: “R Team” for him (Ramon) and Rina, and “P Team” for Pippo and I).  Little did we know then that the grouping also stood for how alike the team members are in terms of temperament and disposition! 

The good news is, times and people change.  After both of us grew up and matured (or so we’d like to think), the dynamics of our relationship improved.  There was wisdom in the groupings after all! Pippo and I were too alike in many ways - both of us had particularly short fuses and are known to speak our minds – these often got in the way of us getting along.   

I would like to believe that Pippo and I now have a better understanding of and a mutual respect for one another.  We have slowly learned to be more patient with one another and have slowly accepted our quirks, similarities and differences.  Things between us are a lot better now though we both know that our relationship, like all other things, remains a work in progress. 

I do appreciate that Pippo has turned out to be such a generous brother, a caring Ninong/uncle to my kids, a dutiful son and a loyal friend.  He is persevering, simple and child-like and still wears his heart on his sleeve. 

My dearest little big brother, on your 29^th birthday, I say these prayers for you: 

…that the Lord grants you your heart’s desires and much, much more

…that you believe more in yourself and in what you can do

…that you don’t sweat the small stuff too much - when people disagree with you at times, it doesn’t always mean that they look down on you or that they dislike you 

…that you realize you can make a difference in people’s lives

…that your state in life, whatever it may be, should not determine your happiness

…that although you carve your own destiny, don’t be disappointed if the outcome is not entirely what you expected it to be

…that, whatever happens, know you are loved and appreciated 

Just had a major “blast from the past” while I was beside Marga earlier, waiting for her to doze off.  Don’t exactly know why I suddenly remembered the haiku (as in the Japanese-styled poem) I did for my English class in college - yup, in the university where the eagle is king, where blue is the color of choice and most importantly, where Kris Aquino studied (hahaha! gotcha! ).

Oops, I digress… Anyway, this must’ve jarred the long-dormant creative cells in my brain that I came up with two more (o, diba inspired?) haiku-type poems (?) which I will share with you shortly.

Since my initial haiku was inspired by the rainy day “ambience” while I was doing the dreaded homework, I decided to be “in theme” and popped out two more nature/season-inspired haikus.  The second one comes from our ongoing desert adventures while the third was reminiscent of the first time I experienced autumn with our two boys and Keith while on vacation in NY in 2002.

DISCLAIMER: As is the case for my whole blogsite, may I remind you again that these are essentially “bursts of self-expression” and do not, in any way, attempt to present a picture of what a haiku should be (notwithstanding the required 5-7-5 syllabication format!).  In other words, nawa’y maging maunawain kayo at pagbigyan ang isang “wannabe poet” na tulad ko!

I

Raindrops from the sky

quench the thirst of the soil like

tears water the soul

II

Sands of the desert

embrace all in its blanket

We forge our own path

III

Red and orange hues

paint the fallen leaves and bid

adieu to the warmth

All is quiet in the homefront…literally .  Keith accompanied the boys to get a haircut to make sure they look their best for their annual class pic on Tuesday.  He was also kind enough to take the little one out of my hands for a few hours so I could also relax and unwind. 

Don’t get me wrong, I love my kids dearly but there are just times that I feel I have to take a step back and be by myself – if only to regain my sanity and perspective.  And honestly, I am loving it!

Times like these have become so precious in our life here in the kingdom, where we basically rely on our own devices in keeping house and home in good, working order.   

They will be back soon and I will surely have to step up to my “diva shoes” again.  Till then, I thank God for letting me enjoy this momentary bliss.

My Lolo would’ve turned 86 today.  He passed away 18 years ago, 10 days after celebrating his 68^th birthday.

I know it has been a long time since he moved on to “the better place upstairs”, yet he is kept alive by all the precious memories he left behind and by all the lives he has touched.  I’d like to think of this post as the eulogy I never had the chance to say.  I just thought it appropriate to remember and celebrate the life of my grandfather, Edgardo Crescini Hernandez, with much fondness, on his birthday.

Lolo Gang was born to a physician father and a homemaker mother in Sampaloc, Manila.  He was the youngest of 6 children (2 boys and 4 girls) and was thus the “baby” of the family.  He would later tell me that he had lived a comfortable life up until he was about 8 years old when his father suddenly passed away.  From then on, he relied on the support of his older siblings for most of his material and educational needs. 

He married my grandmother, Gloria Suarez Zamora (Lola Goly), in 1944.  This union bore 7 children, 4 boys and 3 girls (of which the eldest daughter is my mom, Petite).

Being the eldest of all his 14 apos, I knew Lolo Gang the longest.  I’ll even go out on a limb here and say, among all the apos, I knew him best, too.  Of all the special traits that my Lolo had, the one I remember most is his simplicity.

It’s amazing how what we consider “cheap thrills” truly made him happy - bringing him sweet corn from my college campus (yup, the “Sweet Corn University” of Loyola Heights!), my mom treating him out for merienda at the old SM Makati foodcourt, or even him receiving a harvest of Indian mangoes from our backyard, were examples of what can make his day.  There were also the lunch time calls to my Lola from his office (and, later, to my mom, when he already retired) that he religiously made just to keep in touch.  These simple gestures showed us he cared and that he loved us deeply.

On the lighter side, he was a die-hard fan of SMB (nope, not “Pareng Miguel” that most Filipino males have a very strong “bonding” with, but of the basketball team).  Whenever SMB made it to the PBA finals, bawal ang hindi kakampi sa loob ng kuwarto niya or else!  He also loved sweets (guess that partly explains why all my kids turned out to be such ice cream monsters!) and could finish a heaping portion of dessert in one sitting.  He was obsessive-compulsive even before we all knew what the word meant! Imagine, he put numbers on his undies and made sure that they “rotated” (i.e., freshly-laundered ones at the bottom of the undies pile please!) in his cabinet (para huwag daw maluma agad ).  When he stored the groceries in his pantry it was always the older stock that had to be in front (first-in, first-out, kumbaga) and all the labels HAD to face front - bawal ang nakatalikod!  If only for these, he will definitely stand out in my memory for a long time…

Lolo Gang lived his life with passion. He had an explosive temper yet he also was man enough to let others see him cry.  I distinctly remember how he was the first one to visit me in the hospital when I had my appendectomy.  Since he was there even before the surgery, he saw how I was in pain.  Although he kept on reassuring me that everything would be okay (”Okay lang yan, baby”, he would say - he calls everyone “baby” when he comforts us), I found it hard to believe it would be so since he actually was crying with me! Talk about empathy to the max! Hahaha! What can I say? Apo talaga ako ng lolo ko!

He was a gentle soul, my Lolo.  During my younger years when I spent two to three-week vacations during summer in their house in Mandaluyong, he always brought me to their mini-garden to pick sampaguita and jasmine flowers which my Lola would later thread together and offer at their altar.  On weekends, he would do the “Spot the Difference” section of the weekend paper with me and would let me play “baby mahjong” with his precious mahjong set long after the adults have finished their game (much to the consternation of my youngest uncle, Tito Ramy, who would have to clean up after me!).

I could go on and on with my stories and memories to let you have a glimpse of the wonderful person that was Lolo Gang yet I feel that all these can never entirely capture what he was in totality.  To borrow an old cliché, he was certainly much more than the sum of all his parts.

My only regret is that Lolo never got to meet Keith, since Keith and I got together almost a year after Lolo Gang died.  I’m sure he would’ve loved him - after all, they were both Bedans and even had the same major in college.  How’s that for a coincidence? I guess that I have to comfort myself with the fact that in a weird sort of way, Lolo and Keith still know one another through me.

Lolo, I know that you are now having the grandest time of your life where you are, especially that you are now reunited with Lola Goly.  As you watch over us in your heavenly mansion (I reckon while enjoying your never-ending supply of ice cream and playing mahjong where you always win ), know that I have never forgotten you and that I will always cherish all the times we spent together.  I love you dearly and miss you.  Thank you for sharing your life with me.  Happy birthday.