1. First I had to learn to sleep like a Filipino.
Filipinos sleep with at least 4 pillows, one between their legs, one between their arms, one behind them and one under their head. Trust me I have done extensive research on this!
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| Drew in El Nido |
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| Lee in Bahrain |
I could give you more examples, like Vin in Villa Escudero and Vigan, but I will spare his blushes!
2. Next I had to learn to wash up like a Filipino.
In the UK ( the country , not the Pinoy second hand shop, Ukay, Ukay!) we put everything in to soak in hot soapy water, then clean it and put it on a draining board. Pinoys are taught in Elementary school to wash up like their Kabayan. You first rinse off any food that is left, then you take a small container, add washing up liquid with a little water and dip your sponge in it and then apply soap suds to every item , putting them into a second sink ( or in the provinces, a bowl). Then you rinse each item and leave it to drain on a windowsill covered with a tea towel in the sun. The result is shiny clean plates without having to dry up, which I have been doing for the last 10 years! Thanks to my Kabayan for teaching me this elementary Pinoy skill!
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| British washing, Pinoy drying |
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| Ready to rinse having been soaped |
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| Waiting to be washed |
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| Job done the Pinoy way |
3. Perhaps the hardest lesson for me to learn was how to host a birthday party like a Filipino.
In Britain we provide jelly and ice cream and cake and expect the guests to bring gifts and cards. In the Philippines they have cold sweet spaghetti and halo halo and the party host has to supply take away containers so the guests can take all the party food home to feed their families.
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| My 2019 Birthday lunch with Lee and Andrea |
I say it was a hard lesson because back in 2017 , the last Christmas I celebrated in Bahrain, I held a Pinoy Christmas lunch and then an expat Christmas dinner. Only 3 people turned up to the latter event and my Pinoy friends waited in the spare room. When it was over they took all the food home, all 69,000 pesos worth . ( As this is now a Pinoy blog there will be no more currency conversions Mr. Gregory, so use Google!) . There were two whole sides of Ham , a huge Stilton cheese, Christmas Cake from Harrods in London, Mince pies and so on.
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| Corleen checks the Christmas dinner Expat buffet to see how much is left for him to take home |
In 2018 I had a birthday party and sadly hardly anyone turned up,
apart from, of course , the Filipinos. I was delighted when Corleen
and Joshua said they would clean up after I went to bed exhausted. I had to spend 24 hours making the Indian, Thai and Phillipino food after my Thai
and Pinoy Chefs let me down. On the day of the party the decorators were late
finishing and the cake was not delivered on time and the Pinoy Chef had
to go and collect it and wait several hours.
So I told Corleen and Joshua to take home any food that would go off. When I got up the next morning they had cleared my fridge taking both birthday cakes ( which I did not even get to taste and which I had promised to give to my coworkers the next day) . Unbelievably they even took the unopened Pomegranate juice , and my food for the following week. They will tell you it was not them but the Pusa. However the CCTV pictures show a different story as they were caught ion camera leaving Awali at 2 am in Corleen's car with a trailer behind full of my food. It took me a year to forgive them during which time Lee took over cleaning and ironing.
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| My 58th birthday party banner made by Ate Sheryl- that's another thing I had to learn, all parties must have BANNERS! |
Lesson learnt, no more parties, or don't invite Pinoys to your party!
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| Banner by Ate Sheryl, Balloons by Kuya Joshua and Ate Jaydee |
My Physiotherapist is a Pinoy, Maganda ate Aravelle, Kamusta po? Miss you so much! When I was researching this blog and she was massaging my ass, I asked her what differences she noticed between the Phillipino's and Bahrain. It was she who reminded me about Birthday parties and take outs! She also reminded me that no Pinoy birthday would be complete without
4. KARAOKE! - I was telling her about my friend Ate Marz in Sibaltan who, when she retired from the hotel industry ( she first did my massage in 2014 at El Nido Cove where she was a waitress) she set up a massage business in Sibaltan. Before long her business Empire included a hairdressers , Karaoke bar, Karaoke rental and the sale of alcohol and cigarettes!
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| Marz- the Karaoke queen of Sibaltan |
One of my early houseboys in Bahrain , Ate Patrick, was the Karaoke Queen of Bahrain and regularly competed in competitions, danced with Chester's mum, and sang as he swept the floor with a Wallis Tambo!
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| Patrick, the former Karaoke Queen of Bahrain |
When I was on vacation he organised a surprise birthday party for my return complete with Karaoke, Balloons, rose petals and floating candles, Birthday banner and Chef with Cake and light show!
5. Another lesson I had to learn was how to hang out washing like a Filipino.
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| The English way to hang handkerchief out to dry |
In England we are rich and have lots of clothes pegs and washing lines, It is windy and rains often so we use lots of pegs to secure each item.
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| The Pinoy way to hang handkerchief out to dry |
In the Philippines, and when Pinoys work in Bahrain where it is hot and sunny they want to get the washing in and out quickly, so they only use one peg per item , sometimes none at all!
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| The Pinoy way to get a heavy or large wet item to dry by draping it over two lines so the hot air can dry the inside as well as the outside |
They do, however, hang comforters ( duvets) and double bed sheets over two lines so the air can get in between and dry them faster, which I thought was a great idea.
In England, where it's cooler, we take time to fold each item and put it in the washing basket ready to iron.
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| Lee, wearing a cloth over his head to protect him from the sun , takes the washing in |
Pinoys hate to be in the sun so they just grab everything off the line and take it inside to fold. Corleen, who is from Mindanao but wants people to think he is from Manila ( Sosyal, Maarte Corlencia!) even puts on a basketball cap, sunglasses, trousers and long sleeved tee shirt and uses an umbrella to put the washing out or take it in! I do it just wearing shorts so I can top up my tan!!
6. I also learnt how to clean slippers and trainers like a Filipino
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| Another pair ruined in the garden |
I had a terrible habit in Awali of going straight out into the garden when I woke up at 3 am . Because the temperature was cooler then I would potter around in my slippers or trainers doing this job and that . When I return to the house they would be covered in mud and sand. It used to drive Patrick mad when he was my houseboy- "TATAY- Look at your slippers, what did you do????" He would get out my old toothbrush, sponge, washing up powder and start scrubbing and in an hour they would be hung out to dry looking like new! In case you are wondering why we had to wash our stolen hotel slippers rather than just steal more new ones, just ask Joshua! He is very good at stealing my food but lousy at stealing Swiss Bell hotel slippers from his workplace!
7.Sweeping the floors with a Wallis Tambo
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| I had big wooden floors in Awali so that was a lot of sweeping |
In the UK we use a brush to sweep floors, it has a long handle so we don't have to bend over. However my Pinoy houseboys will not use it and made me go to Baguio to get a Wallis Tambo. It's much shorter, like them, and you use it with one hand behind your back singing the "Wallis Tambo" song ( well that's what Patrick tried to trick me into believing. In fact it was a farming song in Tagalog about scattering the seeds on the land- Makulit Patrick!). Corleen will tell you that I found another use for the Wallis when he is late for work, or as they say in Tagalog "broom pamalo sa puwit"
8. Refilling Shampoo, Bubble bath and washing up liquid containers
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| When its running low add water and shake |
In England when something runs out we throw it away , but my Pinoy friends taught me how wasteful this was. They showed me how to add water to any nearly empty bottle ( shampoo, conditioner, foam bath, washing up liquid etc.) and shake and you get another half a bottle full for free- Magic!
9. Using Vinegar to clean the toilet
For many months I had a bad stomach and this would leave marks in the toilet- so I was getting through bottle after bottle of bleach and toilet cleaner. Then one of my Pinoy friends said "No, No , Tatay, Use vinegar" . So in Awali I had a 5 liter container of white vinegar by the toilet and used this - much cheaper and just as effective.
10. and finally, I learnt, how you must have a shoe rack at the back door to be a true Filipino
I briefly dated a Pinoy Anesthetist called Clyde and he was horrified that I did not have a shoe rack at the back door for him to put his shoes on. All my Kabayan take off their shoes when they visit. He told me I would have to buy one , so off I went to buy one, but he never came back !
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| My Pinoy shoe rack- all my Pinoy staff deposit their trainers here and take a pair of slippers to clean the house |
As usual , special thanks to Ara for the ideas for this blog, and to Corleen, Patrick, Vin, Lee , Marz and everyone else who has taught me to be Filipino on the outside as well as in my heart
Mahal Kita Kabayan, Ingat, Kita Kits!
Since I wrote this I have been taught a lot more things so you can find them in part two by clicking the link below po:
41 ways to become proudly Filipino part two
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Hello, I am The British Kabayan! Feel free to read my stories.
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