Rome was not built in a day ...... but our new house was

Maligayang Pasko at Manigong Bagong Taon

Tomorrow it will be Christmas eve again … and it won’t be a white one so we will just have to dream about such an event.

It’s been a year full of major events. We sold our house in New Jersey and are now going through the approval process for our new home in Silang Cavite. If all goes well, it should be finished by August. We had planned or hoped to start construction in October but things can move a bit slowly … and so the completion date is somewhat up in the air.

Obviously, it was a major decision to make this move and change in our lives but so far no regrets at all. We are enjoying life here and are both in relatively good health. Can’t say the same about Nikko, who will be 16 in January and shows his age; he’s gone blind and does not hear very much anymore … though he still eats well.

Some of our activities have been documented on our blog and we hope you will visit the site from time to time to look at what we are up to.

We had planned to go to Boracay, an island resort, for a few days, right after Xmas. However, when we tried to make our plane reservations, we found out that there was no space available. C’est la vie. Instead we may go to Calatagan where friends of our have a nice beach house [and they are still in New York].

In January, we have scheduled scuba classes … that should be nice, given all the great diving places here in the Philippines.

We’ll keep you updated on the progress of our house.

Maligayang Pasko at Manigong Bagong Taon.

Hans & Noel … and Nikko

East meets West ..... in a seed company

East meets West

At Ponderosa Leisure Farms in Silang, Cavite, where we are building our new home, there is a store in the development that sells various items, including vegetable seeds. As I looked over the selection of available seeds, I noticed their origin, the East West Seed Company. What an amazing coincidence, as that firm is owned by one of my cousins from Holland [our fathers were partners in a family-owned seed company].

Early in November, I decided to contact the firm, intending to pay them a visit in Bulacan, just north of Manila. Another fortunate coincidence – the firm was about to celebrate its 25^th anniversary a few days later and, of course, we were invited to this landmark event.

East-West was set up by my cousin to develop hybrid vegetables that would be particularly well suited for growing in Southeast Asia – the firm now has branches in the Philippines, Indonesia, Thailand and India.

An overflow of farmers from throughout the Philippines attended the 25^th anniversary event that included tours of the farm, laboratories, and processing facilities and, almost needless to say, the firm is making a major contribution to the agricultural development of this part of the world.

THE PICTURES. Siem or Simon, my cousin, is shown in one of the pictures addressing the crowd at the firm’s base in the Philippines. We bought seeds that day and planted some at our condo in Malate; the picture at the top right shows the development of our vegetable patch in Silang.

Philippine Holiday Season

Christmas in the Philippines would be incomplete without the PAROLE or Christmas lanterns. they come in all sizes, shapes and colors. December 15 we drove up to San Fernando, Pampanga, for its annual Parole Festival, reputed to be one of the best in the country. Eight barangay took part in the contest of giant paroles, each about 15 ft in diameter and within each a network of wires and computer to provide a fascinating show of music and lights. These pictures do not really do justice to the show of constantly moving lights of so many colors and patterns.

BATANES - a unique province in the Philippines

At a recent party, I was asked if I wanted to tag along with a small group fraternity brothers planning a trip to Batanes, the northernmost province of the Philippines consisting of three larger islands and some smaller ones located about halfway between the tip of Luzon and Taiwan. I had always wanted to see the place and this seemed to be an opportune time.

The leader of the group, originally from Batanes, had been asked by the current Governor to help the province plan an eco-tourism plan. Hence, upon arrival we were met by the Governor who then promptly invited us to breakfast. He took time to explain a bit about the province and suggested places to visit. Thanks to the consultancy, we were provided with van and driver to take us around.

After breakfast, we drove south from the capital, Basco, along a very scenic coastline road that wound around mountains and had steep drop-offs to the China Sea. The area is very rocky and reminiscent of the drive from Santa Barbara to Monterrey in California.

Near the first town, an artificial cove had been built as protection for boats during storms and the not too infrequent hurricanes that visit the area. That day, the cove had just two smaller boats in it and looked inviting as sheltered swimming pool. We didn’t stop.

The first stop was in Mahatao, were we got to see our first typical old-time Batanes home – built of rocks and coral, with limestone acting as cement and roof made of woven cogon. They are solidly built to withstand any kind of storm, with walls that can be up to 3 ft thick.

We stopped in the next town, Ivana, as that was where our tour organizer had relatives, some of whom happened to be home, providing us an opportunity to look inside some typical houses. We visited one more town and then cut across the mountains, through “Marlboro country.” It’s hill country with cattle and areas with hedge rows that are reminiscent of what you might see in the English countryside – in this case the hedgerows protect against erosion and serve as property boundary lines.

One day we took a banca ride to nearby Sabtang island to look at two barangays [villages] that still had a lot of the traditional stone houses. Many showed the ravages of time but there also was enough left to be worth the visit. Given the many storms that visit the area, it’s not too surprising they build houses that way.

Batanes’ relative isolation may help explain how one business establishment managed to operate, the Honesty Café, a place where you take what you want and just leave money behind on a box on the counter – not too many places in the world where this ‘business plan’ would survive.

Batanes is unique – the coastline is beautiful and the traditional stone houses dating back to the Spanish era are unlike anything you can see elsewhere in the country. It's a place well worth visiting but be prepared -- tourist facilities are scarce and transport is hard to find.

Jeepneys

Jeepneys are an important mode of transportation here in the Philippines; the basic ride is 7 pesos or about 15 cents. The original ones were essentially converted surplus jeeps from WW II. Today's models, though still recognizable for their "jeep heritage" bear little other resemblance to the original. They are much longer and I've even seen one that was airconditioned and had buslike seats facing the front, instead of the traditional benches facing each other. In some areas, there seems to be competition in jeep decor -- I really should have my camera with me all the time so that one day I can publish a coffee table book on jeepney design and decor.

Ponderosa Facilities

Our house may not yet have been built, but we certainly can begin to enjoy some of the development's facilities.

Ponderosa requires homes to have a Mexican/Spanish style or architecture. It also has an important restriction that we like -- you can build on only 25 percent of your lot, the rest has to be garden area. This is very unlike other subdivisions where homes typically occupy 80-90 percent of the lot and the houses are close together.

Ponderosa Leisure Farms

Here are some scenes from Ponderosa Leisure Farms in Silang, Cavite. The development is located along the Sta. Rosa to Tagaytay Highway [kilomer 63] and is about a good hour's drive from Manila, assuming moderate traffic.

The pictures show the raw lot, the lot after it's been cleared.. In a separate posting we will show you some of the facilities.

Manila Bay Sunsets

From our 10th floor condo terrace, we have a front row seats to the famed Manila Bay sunsets. No wonder friends like to be invited at cocktail time.

Labor Intensive

When you come to the Philippines from a relatively developed country, you cannot help but think that some things can be done a little more efficiently, like using a lawnmower to cut grass. After a while, however, you come to realize that what may not seem to be very efficient is, in fact, reasonable given the high unemployment rate. We have a small patch of grass on the road divider strip in front of our condo on Roxas Blvd. and three different groups seem to be involved in maintaining it -- the green uniforms, the blue uniforms and the picture shows the yellow/red group -- note how the grass is being cut.

learning new communication tools

I suppose one is never too old to learn. When I first came to the Philippines, back in 1961, radios were scarce, phone lines hard to come by, and now everyone seems to have cellphones -- and I have had to learn how to text. Some of my friends happily text away while driving; I don't -- Manila traffic is challenging enough so I limit my texting while my driver 'drives.'

I'm not yet ready for u-tube but thought I's give blogging a try; it might offer a better way to keep friends and relatives informed about what is going on with us. I'm told you can even include pictures; as some here would say, "wowowee." Another interesting feature of a blog is that it allows a certain amount of interaction -- readers can post their comments or questions.

Last week [mid-October '07] I visited my old department [Department of Agricultural Information and Communication] at what used to be the University of the Philippines College of Agriculture -- it's now the College of Development Communication at the University of the Philippines at Los Baños. They asked me to come back to give a seminar or series of seminars. I'm considering it and certainly not because of the stipend. No, it should be a challenge and it will force me to update myself on recent developments in communication. The picture on top is well known to UPLB visitors -- centennial of the carabao.