Tuesday, September 20, 2011
misspellings.. gahhh.. stupid mac!!
so i meant nanay not nanny!!!! the stupid autocorrect with mac messed up!!! gah doesn't recognize filipino words. just wanted to note that! and i meant pinay not piney!!!! sorry!
new sisters, new foods, new haters
So i finally met my teammates!!!! i have almost met all of them!! before i even met them they had already been all over Facebook and had been randomly calling sam (the daughter of coach ernie where i am staying) and asking to talk to me... haha meanwhile the nierras are teaching me tagalog to say to them.. all i got was sino itich (spelling?) meaning who is this? and of course they all gasp and burst out laughing... and so when i finally meet them in person.. they are exactly that lol. bubbly, energetic, and animated. there is never a dull moment with this group. i was very excited to have such a great welcome! there was no judging, no spite, no bitterness, no negativity!! just warm-hearted, determined, passionate girls and we shared the two most important things in common.. filipinas and footballers.
well, now i had to see what this team could do. before i even came to the philippines for this trip i didn't even think about how good or bad or mediocre the team would be. because at that point i didn't care. this experience was exactly that.. about the experience. how often do u get the chance to see where u come from and what ur heritage is all about while doing what your most passionate about. this was an insane deal! i almost expected the team to be awful just because everything had seemed so perfect.. well, our team may be on the younger side, but do they have potential!!!!? they certainly do. not only that i firmly believe we can win this tournament in october. i don't think some of the girls give themselves enough credit. there is some quality soccer going on matched with some great attitudes. i mean i show up to games and practices and enjoy my teammates company and have fun with them. there were times when i didn't have that where soccer was soccer and i was playing only for myself.. now i can say i play for malditas, my teammates, my family, my country, and God. WOW!!! does that sound amazing.. i play for my country!!
anyway, i couldn't ask for a better group of girls. don't get me wrong we have a lot of work to do in the next few weeks. though we certainly have a fighting chance. i just hope we can rise to the occasion. we are underdogs, but i like it that way. everything tastes a little bit sweeter when ur proving everyone wrong ;-) .
---
as for food!! i have had some interesting things.. and gahhh i don't remember names so feel free to comment and tell me again lol. so i had "banana leaf" and u ate on banana leaves.. haha it was good! and at the house i had like meatloaf with egg, cheese, and hot dog in the middle. this was definitely a new twist for me. it wasn't bad and was actually pretty good but then i just started thinking about how i was eating a meat loaf with a chickens egg and a cows cheese and a hot dog.. was just weird to think about all the animals i was eating.. but its actually very clever way to get multiple food groups and not waste any food!
i also OMG.. tried fish today!! milkfish.. first time in maybe 17 years lol when i decided it was cool to eat fish and rice for breakfast when everyone else got lucky charms and captain crunch!!! but yea it was actually good! lol
mom i ate some fish!!! the one on the lefttt!!!!
---
ok and lastly.. gosh.. got heated in the interview today lol. some guy was just asking such annoying questions. i knew he was just trying to start stuff but seriously .. unnecessary.. especially with such a growing sport that is fairly new to the country.. who is gonna think filforeigners are bad. its like I'm a freakin muggle.. i wanna be a wizard but I'm half human.. so now the wizards think I'm not as cool.. so i wanna embrace being a filipina and the filipinos say I'm not filipino enough! okay.. i could go forever on this topic but ill keep it short..
filipino blood runs through my veins.. i can't stand when people think I'm some really tan white girl. and for the people that kno theres something special i love sharing with them that I'm pinay. why wouldn't!? i may have never lived in the philippines but my nanny did for half her life.. and she obviously made an impact on me if the second half of her life later guess who's knocking at the philippines door!? me! it really at times can be hard to be half and half. at times there is a loss of identity or a confusion or just a feeling ur missing something. this experience has already began to fill that part i am missing. why deny the people that have the blood, the pride, and the passion to be a pinoy?? are we halfsies supposed to make our own country our own land. if we have two halves we have two halves. if we like both we like both!
my cousins!
i had a nick name in college in my asian cultural alliance. it was "hapa" which means part asian and part something else. this guy did studies on hapas, being a hapa himself (can't remember his name), and wrote about the identity crisis hapas run into and mixed races for that matter. of all places in the world.. the philippines would be one of the most accepting and grateful for a person to want to embrace their heritage. so for the haters or those who just like to question and start stuff for dumb reasons.. i kno what i am and i kno this is a part of me. u can't take it away from me. only i can define myself and kno where i belong. and right now, i kno i belong here in the philippines, playing for my country! #pinaypride #malditas #hapa
ps sorry if this is all over the place!! tired lol~!
pps for those who can't tell at all that I'm piney.. COUGH COUGH!
loveee cooke
well, now i had to see what this team could do. before i even came to the philippines for this trip i didn't even think about how good or bad or mediocre the team would be. because at that point i didn't care. this experience was exactly that.. about the experience. how often do u get the chance to see where u come from and what ur heritage is all about while doing what your most passionate about. this was an insane deal! i almost expected the team to be awful just because everything had seemed so perfect.. well, our team may be on the younger side, but do they have potential!!!!? they certainly do. not only that i firmly believe we can win this tournament in october. i don't think some of the girls give themselves enough credit. there is some quality soccer going on matched with some great attitudes. i mean i show up to games and practices and enjoy my teammates company and have fun with them. there were times when i didn't have that where soccer was soccer and i was playing only for myself.. now i can say i play for malditas, my teammates, my family, my country, and God. WOW!!! does that sound amazing.. i play for my country!!
anyway, i couldn't ask for a better group of girls. don't get me wrong we have a lot of work to do in the next few weeks. though we certainly have a fighting chance. i just hope we can rise to the occasion. we are underdogs, but i like it that way. everything tastes a little bit sweeter when ur proving everyone wrong ;-) .
the first field i ever played on in the philippines!!!
---
as for food!! i have had some interesting things.. and gahhh i don't remember names so feel free to comment and tell me again lol. so i had "banana leaf" and u ate on banana leaves.. haha it was good! and at the house i had like meatloaf with egg, cheese, and hot dog in the middle. this was definitely a new twist for me. it wasn't bad and was actually pretty good but then i just started thinking about how i was eating a meat loaf with a chickens egg and a cows cheese and a hot dog.. was just weird to think about all the animals i was eating.. but its actually very clever way to get multiple food groups and not waste any food!
i also OMG.. tried fish today!! milkfish.. first time in maybe 17 years lol when i decided it was cool to eat fish and rice for breakfast when everyone else got lucky charms and captain crunch!!! but yea it was actually good! lol
---
ok and lastly.. gosh.. got heated in the interview today lol. some guy was just asking such annoying questions. i knew he was just trying to start stuff but seriously .. unnecessary.. especially with such a growing sport that is fairly new to the country.. who is gonna think filforeigners are bad. its like I'm a freakin muggle.. i wanna be a wizard but I'm half human.. so now the wizards think I'm not as cool.. so i wanna embrace being a filipina and the filipinos say I'm not filipino enough! okay.. i could go forever on this topic but ill keep it short..
filipino blood runs through my veins.. i can't stand when people think I'm some really tan white girl. and for the people that kno theres something special i love sharing with them that I'm pinay. why wouldn't!? i may have never lived in the philippines but my nanny did for half her life.. and she obviously made an impact on me if the second half of her life later guess who's knocking at the philippines door!? me! it really at times can be hard to be half and half. at times there is a loss of identity or a confusion or just a feeling ur missing something. this experience has already began to fill that part i am missing. why deny the people that have the blood, the pride, and the passion to be a pinoy?? are we halfsies supposed to make our own country our own land. if we have two halves we have two halves. if we like both we like both!
my cousins!
i had a nick name in college in my asian cultural alliance. it was "hapa" which means part asian and part something else. this guy did studies on hapas, being a hapa himself (can't remember his name), and wrote about the identity crisis hapas run into and mixed races for that matter. of all places in the world.. the philippines would be one of the most accepting and grateful for a person to want to embrace their heritage. so for the haters or those who just like to question and start stuff for dumb reasons.. i kno what i am and i kno this is a part of me. u can't take it away from me. only i can define myself and kno where i belong. and right now, i kno i belong here in the philippines, playing for my country! #pinaypride #malditas #hapa
ps sorry if this is all over the place!! tired lol~!
pps for those who can't tell at all that I'm piney.. COUGH COUGH!
I'm the one on the right
my awesome family :)
loveee cooke
Thursday, September 15, 2011
photos i forgot to upload!
and thats it for now!
-cooke
food, food, FOOD!
i have already had some amazing meals both filipino and elsewhere. yesterday for lunch i had beef and mushroom over rice with asparagus. for dinner we had chicken, vegetable lumpia, and rice. the lumpia was paired with this spicy vinegar sauce. the chicken had a spicy soy sauce with the juice of a filipino lime (calamansi). these simple addition really add flavor to the dishes!
this morning i was healthy and ate cereal and fruit again. thought i did have a taste of fried banana!! yum! i also realized that milk isn't necessarily in the cold aisle and that most of it actually is found in dry ones! u refrigerate after opening of course, but still! very different. i mean i understand like rice milk or coconut milk or other milk but regular milk! i think i prefer it being found in the cold section. the one i had was supposed to be a version from new zealand. it still tastes the same i suppose lol so I'm not worried!
for lunch we ate at a japanese restaurant and i ordered a california roll. the filipino spin on it was that the avocado was replaced with mango! it was actually a great addition and added a little sweetness to my sushi. i also go orange iced tea and that was delish. i found a pretty good replacement for my sweet tea back in the south. the flavored iced tea here is extremely fresh just like everything else here! and since i loveeee fruit i picked a great place to be. then for dinner we ate at an italian restaurant. one of the dishes we got was pizza. it was rectangular and very very thin crust. it was cut into strips rather than squares. my family called it "italian lumpia" because u take bean sprouts and a type of lettuce and roll the slices up into a lumpia thing (lumpia is the filipino version of an egg roll btw).
i thought it was creative and nonetheless delicious.
other than eating.. i have been resting.. haha.. and sleeping.. but i feel a lot better this evening and i think i am almost over the jet lag! gym tomorrow morning and then a game in the afternoon. i can't wait! til then i need to up my learning of the language. i still don't even kno the anthem!! :/
paalam,
cookie
this morning i was healthy and ate cereal and fruit again. thought i did have a taste of fried banana!! yum! i also realized that milk isn't necessarily in the cold aisle and that most of it actually is found in dry ones! u refrigerate after opening of course, but still! very different. i mean i understand like rice milk or coconut milk or other milk but regular milk! i think i prefer it being found in the cold section. the one i had was supposed to be a version from new zealand. it still tastes the same i suppose lol so I'm not worried!
for lunch we ate at a japanese restaurant and i ordered a california roll. the filipino spin on it was that the avocado was replaced with mango! it was actually a great addition and added a little sweetness to my sushi. i also go orange iced tea and that was delish. i found a pretty good replacement for my sweet tea back in the south. the flavored iced tea here is extremely fresh just like everything else here! and since i loveeee fruit i picked a great place to be. then for dinner we ate at an italian restaurant. one of the dishes we got was pizza. it was rectangular and very very thin crust. it was cut into strips rather than squares. my family called it "italian lumpia" because u take bean sprouts and a type of lettuce and roll the slices up into a lumpia thing (lumpia is the filipino version of an egg roll btw).
other than eating.. i have been resting.. haha.. and sleeping.. but i feel a lot better this evening and i think i am almost over the jet lag! gym tomorrow morning and then a game in the afternoon. i can't wait! til then i need to up my learning of the language. i still don't even kno the anthem!! :/
paalam,
cookie
Wednesday, September 14, 2011
First Day
So I woke up this morning and met my new fam! or should i say pamilya :) all very very nice. i had a pretty normal breakfast. cereal and fruit and freshly made apple, orange, pineapple juice. i was relieved to find out my sister here is a picky eater like me and doesn't really eat all the filipino food. so now theres less pressure and worry about the food! i am definitely willing to try, but baby steps!
this morning i got my passport processed and i should have my philippine passport next week ::smiles::
i got a few looks because i was wearing a tank top and was supposed to be wearing a collared shirt. i had one in my bag, but i didn't want to wear it until i had too. it's so hot here! i discovered the umbrella and decided i need to start using one. i love the sun, but when I'm not in soccer clothes sweating is not pleasant nor flattering. we were in and out of the passport office in less than an hour. thank you philippine football federation!
we ran some errands today and went to the philippine version of cosco, sam's club, bj's etc.. s&r was packed from a sale! i wanted to take a picture because i couldn't believe how packed it was, but i didn't want to be rude lol. also, it was so weird being able to see everything. i am taller than all the females and a lot of the males! it is weird being the tallest! we left because we were not waiting in those lines! we went to the grocery store instead which was empty since everyone must have been at the s&r sale. we also got a drink at the juice bar to keep me energized. my family doesn't want me to sleep so i can adjust to the time. i really feel alright, but the yawning is getting annoying and it just feels weird having my body trying to shut down on me in the daylight lol. working night shift at the nuclear power plant helped because i feel better than the last time i came to the philippines. i had no chance of staying up the whole day! and now in half an hour i get a massage :) the last time i had one was the last time i was here (6 years ago). lol. they are so cheap!
also i forgot to mention earlier about how my flight went. wasn't as bad as i thought and i was sitting in the middle and traveling alone! the man next to me though got up a lot so i was able to too. and he was such a sweetheart and was just helping and being nice when he could. by the time we were flying from japan to the philippines the newcomers had thought he was my dad and had asked him if he had a white wife lol. he was told them that i wasn't his daughter obviously lol. that just shows you how generous and genuine these people are. what a great country to be a part of. on that note. it is a bit different traveling here knowing I'm going to be here much longer than any trip i have taken outside the US and because things aren't as temporary everything feels different. i feel myself trying to adjust instead of just experiencing and observing its more like I'm trying to fit in and belong here. its not all that weird because I'm used to hearing my mom talk on the phone or to her friends in another language. it is again comforting to here the language. I'm beginning to see this other side of me that wanted to exist, but couldn't fully in the US. i hope to learn and pick up on the language, culture, and customs. After all i will be representing the Philippines now and i don't even know the anthem!! on that note I'm going to practice and learn some more !!
toodles,
cookie
this morning i got my passport processed and i should have my philippine passport next week ::smiles::
i got a few looks because i was wearing a tank top and was supposed to be wearing a collared shirt. i had one in my bag, but i didn't want to wear it until i had too. it's so hot here! i discovered the umbrella and decided i need to start using one. i love the sun, but when I'm not in soccer clothes sweating is not pleasant nor flattering. we were in and out of the passport office in less than an hour. thank you philippine football federation!
we ran some errands today and went to the philippine version of cosco, sam's club, bj's etc.. s&r was packed from a sale! i wanted to take a picture because i couldn't believe how packed it was, but i didn't want to be rude lol. also, it was so weird being able to see everything. i am taller than all the females and a lot of the males! it is weird being the tallest! we left because we were not waiting in those lines! we went to the grocery store instead which was empty since everyone must have been at the s&r sale. we also got a drink at the juice bar to keep me energized. my family doesn't want me to sleep so i can adjust to the time. i really feel alright, but the yawning is getting annoying and it just feels weird having my body trying to shut down on me in the daylight lol. working night shift at the nuclear power plant helped because i feel better than the last time i came to the philippines. i had no chance of staying up the whole day! and now in half an hour i get a massage :) the last time i had one was the last time i was here (6 years ago). lol. they are so cheap!
also i forgot to mention earlier about how my flight went. wasn't as bad as i thought and i was sitting in the middle and traveling alone! the man next to me though got up a lot so i was able to too. and he was such a sweetheart and was just helping and being nice when he could. by the time we were flying from japan to the philippines the newcomers had thought he was my dad and had asked him if he had a white wife lol. he was told them that i wasn't his daughter obviously lol. that just shows you how generous and genuine these people are. what a great country to be a part of. on that note. it is a bit different traveling here knowing I'm going to be here much longer than any trip i have taken outside the US and because things aren't as temporary everything feels different. i feel myself trying to adjust instead of just experiencing and observing its more like I'm trying to fit in and belong here. its not all that weird because I'm used to hearing my mom talk on the phone or to her friends in another language. it is again comforting to here the language. I'm beginning to see this other side of me that wanted to exist, but couldn't fully in the US. i hope to learn and pick up on the language, culture, and customs. After all i will be representing the Philippines now and i don't even know the anthem!! on that note I'm going to practice and learn some more !!
toodles,
cookie
Tuesday, September 13, 2011
Im HERE!
20ish hours later and I am finally here in the Philippines. As soon as I stepped outside I picked up the memorable scent of my second home. It's kind of this warm burning smell, but surprisingly it's comforting. Someone started to talk to me and I began to tell him that I was here to play for the Malditas, the Women's National Football Team. He seemed confused and I explained to him that it was like the Azkals women's team. That seemed to help. I quickly reaffirmed that we were the Malditas, however. I was proud to tell my story of how I ended up in the Philippines. And I cannot wait til the story begins to unfold so I can tell more.
Shortly after my convo with the airport employee, I met up with my Coach. He told me I was going to get interviewed. The time was just a little after 11pm and after over 20 hours of traveling and the greasy sweat ball I had become did not want to be interviewing in this state lol. But I couldn't say no! We went to some sort of plaza which reminded me of the Bellagio or Casear's Palace in Vegas but on a smaller scale. There was a casino, shops, restaurants, and clubs. You couldn't even tell you were in the Philippines other than the fact there was minimal white people. We had the interview in the Philippine version of Starbucks (i forget the name). I was not hungry on account of being fed 4 times in the plane lol. The interview was fun and Coach and I went to the house. I'm set up in a beautiful house made out of concrete and marble and more. I need to get some rest though! I just wanted to get something down before I went to bed! Paalam! Bye!
Love,
Cooke
Shortly after my convo with the airport employee, I met up with my Coach. He told me I was going to get interviewed. The time was just a little after 11pm and after over 20 hours of traveling and the greasy sweat ball I had become did not want to be interviewing in this state lol. But I couldn't say no! We went to some sort of plaza which reminded me of the Bellagio or Casear's Palace in Vegas but on a smaller scale. There was a casino, shops, restaurants, and clubs. You couldn't even tell you were in the Philippines other than the fact there was minimal white people. We had the interview in the Philippine version of Starbucks (i forget the name). I was not hungry on account of being fed 4 times in the plane lol. The interview was fun and Coach and I went to the house. I'm set up in a beautiful house made out of concrete and marble and more. I need to get some rest though! I just wanted to get something down before I went to bed! Paalam! Bye!
Love,
Cooke
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