The summer heat is here.
So, off we went to the nearest clubhouse in the city.
Little Dynamo and cousin had so much fun. He showed his swimming skill (he doesn’t know how to swim *wink*) to Lola and confidently believed that he was teaching his lola and cousin to swim.
I believe in instilling inner confidence. This will bring them a long, long way and allow them to see the world as their playground… they go about conquering one feat after another - stress-free.
As soon as Little Dynamo arrived at the house this afternoon, he was excitedly asked by his nanny:
“Are you going to vote for Gibo?”
Little Dynamo nonchalantly answered:
“No. I only shake hands with him.”
He actually did. He was clueless as to who this man was in his Lolo’s office. Gibo below pointing to Little Dynamo saying:
“Naka-green ka” (You’re in green). Little Dynamo was wearing a green shirt.
And they shook hands right after.
Presidential candidate Gilbert Teodoro was in Cabanatuan City this afternoon for his campus forums. He had a courtesy call in the University President’s Office where his presidential forum was held. The whole family, including Little Dynamo, had the chance to have a photo opportunity with the presidential candidate. Thus, the anecdote above.
Gibo had been doing the rounds of campuses nationwide and this brings him nearer to the young, and first-time voters.
What’s amusing about the most dominant question everytime Gibo faces the students is the seeming impatience of the students to punish the current president and the desire for Gibo to say that he will. Good thing, he has perfected diplomacy on this topic.
Oh well, there is a need to listen to the voices of the youth…
but there is also a need to curb youthful arrogance.
On the lighter side, Little Dynamo noticed that his Lolo had already spoken on stage. Then Gibo did. And so, he exclaimed:
“Mommy, I want to have a microphone.”
“Mommy, I want to perform on stage.”
His Lolo just arrived here in the house, Little Dynamo welcomed him with:
“Lolo, why didn’t you give me a microphone?”
Little Dynamo bugging one of Lola’s angels who is in charge of watering the plants every afternoon.
Me and Baby Dynamo taking some fresh afternoon air in the garden.
Ahhhh… when do we go back to live permanently here in the Philippines?
We have an account in Chinabank in Manila. I deposited some money in Chinabank here in the province. I was asked to pay a service fee of P50 for interbank deposit. I asked why? That’s the policy. I said no, I won’t pay. I’m depositing a good amount of money in the same bank. Said they would refer me to the manager. They didn’t charge me with P50.
But why the interbank deposit fee? It’s a deposit, not a withdrawal. It’s money for the bank as a whole. Each branch has its own target, I know. But depositors should not be charged for the service one branch does for their other branch.
Little Dynamo has many cousins to play with. But the cousins are here only on weekends. His constant playmate, another cousin, comes to the house for 2-3 hours every night.
Who does he play with the rest of the day?
Kuya Ryan. His day time playmate.
I got our own driver for the duration of our stay here. When he is not driving, he entertains Little Dynamo in any way possible. My son brings his toy cars in the garden for them to play with. My son would insist on also having his lunch in the bahay kubo where Kuya Ryan eats. Sometimes, I would just see them talking in the swing. Little Dynamo would panic when he starts the car without him. I have to answer many questions why he has to go home every afternoon.
The household angels (mother in law’s helpers and Little Dynamo’s nanny) are available 24/7 for Little Dynamo to bother. One time I heard him questioning one of the ates, “Why don’t you want to play with me? Why? Play with me. Now!” And I heard laughter after. Oftentimes, I hear shrieks and I would see Little Dynamo playing with one or all of them, whoever and whenever he fancies.
Then, night time comes…
Kuya Randy. His night time playmate.
Aside from the arrival of his cousin every night, he anticipates the arrival of the security guard on night time duty in the house. In his security guard uniform, Kuya Randy would be prodded by the boys to play with them and run around the garden. Long after Little Dynamo’s cousin has gone home, my son still freely roams the garden. A little more convincing needs to be done before he goes inside the house for the bedtine routine. When he feels like it, he would ask the guard to carry him so that Mommy could not easily bring him inside the house. tsk. tsk.
My son would surely miss his kind of life here in the Philipines when it will be time to pack up our things for Seoul in March (sigh). But we are a family who should stay and live together wherever destiny brings us to. In the meantime, he still has more than a month to enjoy here…
In Cabanatuan City, tricycles rule!
Tricycles are three-wheeled vehicles that are commonly seen in Philippine provinces. These vehicles take routes that cannot be penetrated by the big jeepneys, at least that’s what I thought. In Cabanatuan City, it’s a different story. Tricycles are the kings of the road!
One can never miss the presence of tricycles on the road in Cabanatuan. They are everywhere. They push their presence even in the major roads. They strut their wheels in the busiest section in town. They patiently wait in the gates of schools and univeristies. They line up just outside of malls. They represent the hustle and bustle of the city.
Welcome to Cabanatuan City!
Christmas carollers who go from houses to houses enliven the Christmas season.
Check this out:
I need a new nanny!
My current one, who I brought from Iloilo and who has been with my Mom for five years, suddenly needs to go home. Duh!
Finding a trusted yaya is already hard to do. My dilemma is aggravated by the bias attached to my son’s language preference. Nobody seem to want to take care of him when they learn that he only speaks English - not Taglish, as is commonly used by most Filipino kids and toddlers. What the…?
He’s learning Tagalog bit by bit. But most of the time he would ask “What are they talking about?” or “What are you saying?” I never thought the English language could be THIS intimidating! And they will just be dealing with a 3 year old kid!
I mentioned in my previous post that I have constantly been to malls here in the Philippines… charge it to lack of safe and clean parks and playgrounds.
But hey, wherever I go I only get to enter SM and Robinson malls. Is there anything else? Okay, here are the non-SM and non-Robinson malls I’d been to since I arrived here in the Philippines: there’s Marquee in Pampanga, Serendra in The Fort, Greenbelt and Glorietta in Makati and… and… and… I give up.
SM and Robinson malls dominate!
In Iloilo, the only mall I went to was SM City Iloilo. In Manila, I am only familiar and comfortable in Robinson’s Galleria but I also made the rounds of SM Megamall and once in Mall of Asia. In Cabanatuan, there’s a small Robinson’s mall. Clark, Pampanga still brought us to SM. And yesterday, we drove to San Fernando, Pampanga and you got right! There was nowhere else to go but SM and Robinsons.
Hubby, who was then a boyfriend, once floated the idea of having a hair salon for kids. Several months after, the Hair Kid’s Salon in Robinson’s Galleria opened. As expected, the place was always full of parents with their tots. After all, a child’s first haircut should be memorable.
I only had the opportunity to go inside Hair Kid’s Salon early this week with my toddler who was excited to have his monthly haircut. Aside from the car-designed seats which my son loves so much, the place has several toys that would entertain the waiting kids. It has entertaining walls and ceiling for the child’s curious eyes. What I love about the place though are the small TV screens just beside the mirror. The child can choose his favorite show and the CD will be played right on.
Although I knew it was going to be an expensive hair cut, I didn’t expect that it was that expensive:-). P270.00 for an ordinary hair cut?
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