Hi Everyone!

Last week, we traveled to Baguio City and had a great time. We visited a lot of nice places and did a lot of great things. Before we left, Mama took me to the public market to buy “pasalubong” for the rest of our family. I asked Mama why we do that whenever we go somewhere.

Mama said pasalubong is a Tagalog word which if translated in the American language would be “keepsake or presents”.

She said that pasalubong is a “gift for a relation or friend brought by” a “traveler returning from a trip,” and could also refer to “anything given as a gift to someone on the way home to a certain place. These returning travelers are known as balikbayan.

Pasalubong is usually local foods or things from the country where the Filipino traveler came from. For example, someone from Hawaii will bring macadamia nuts while someone that came from the Philippines might give decorations that are made up of kapis shells.

She told me, In the Philippines it has acquired the meaning of a gift or souvenir from someone traveling either visiting or upon returning home or someone who happens to be away from  the house for a period of time or just a day out of the house. The literal meaning of pasalubong is to “greet”, “surprise” or “meet with”. It is often suggest as “salubong” or refers to the act of meeting someone who just arrived and the one arriving, having been warm welcomed, compensates them with a pasalubong. It is not really the pasalubong that matters to a family, but the person who comes back home after a long time.

Mama said that pasalubong is very popular among Filipinos as it keeps the bond with friends, family, relatives or someone who does have a close relationship with you. The gesture of handing out “pasalubong” conveys that loved ones are being remembered while away. Pasalubong can range from food items such as fruits, imported confectionery goods and other sweets (i.e. chips, canned goods and the most common are chocolates). Pasalubong can also be other items such as shirts, novelty items, knives and toys among others. Pasalubongs are often not wrapped and given to someone as it is.

Mama said that a Balikbayan box is sometimes considered as pasalubongs by Filipinos. But unlike the traditional way of pasalubongs, it is sent as a box full of items/gifts. These gifts are usually packed in a balikbayan (which literally means, “return to town or nation”) box, which are large standardized carboard boxes.

She said that pasalubong may or may not be a souvenir from another place. It could be anything, either wild, native, gadgets as long as it is given to them as present.

I am really happy that we, in the Philippines, have such great traditions that show how much we care for our family and friends.

Good-bye for now!

Technorati Tags: balikbayan, family, friends, gifts, pasalubong, Philippines, souvenirs, Traditions, travel

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Hi Everyone!

Yesterday, we started our trip to Baguio.

We left early in the morning and we spent a long time in the car. Dada was driving and we passed many fields and small towns along the way. There were many cars, trucks, buses, and tricycles. Sometimes, our travel was very slow because Dada had to watch out for all the traffic.

We went through two big cities. First, we went through Tarlac City in Tarlac Province. It is a very busy city with many stores and markets. Dada stopped at Starbuck’s Coffee Shop to get his favorite coffee. I just had a fruit juice. The next city was Urdaneta City in Pangasinan Province. Dada stopped there so we could eat at Jollibee restaurant. I had burger steak and rice plus some very large french fries. That is my favorite meal at Jollibee. Oh, I, also, had some of Mama’s fried chicken!

When we arrived in the town of Rosario, Dada decided that it was safe to travel up Kennon Road. Kennon Road is a road that cuts through the mountains. Dada said it can be very dangerous in the rainy season because of rocks falling on the road. Dada has traveled this road many times so he knows everything about the road. He decided to take this road because he  wanted to show me the Lion Head.

 At the bottom of the road is a gateway sign that welcomes everyone to the province. A little further and you have to stop at a toll gate to pay money to use the road. Dada said that this money is used to repair the road. The road goes over many bridges and climbs and climbs up the mountains. We drove a long time and we went through many small towns that are called Camps. Dada said that these places were called camps with a number, like Camp 1 or Camp 4. These were the work camps where the people who built the road used to eat and sleep. Many people worked on the road for many years and the road is named for the American engineer, Army Engineer Major Lyman W. V. Kennon, that directed the building of the road.

We, finally, arrived at the Lions Head stature. Dada said the the Lions Club of Baguio commissioned the Lion Head to be carved out of the natural limestone rock. He said that many people do not know that the idea came from a “second” lion head that was formed by nature out of the local rocks that existed prior to 1972. There is a place to park your car and get out to look. There are a few small stores to buy souvenirs.

After the Lion Head, I was very tired and I took a short nap. Mama said I wouldn’t miss anything because we would just continue up the mountain on Kennon Road until we came to the city. I woke up as we were going up the road to Camp John Hay. Mama said that Camp John Hay was built by the United States military as a place for the military people to rest from the heat in the rest of the country.

We arrived at the gate to Camp John Hay and drove to the John Hay Manor where we will be staying. I am very tired from the trip so I will write more tomorrow.

Technorati Tags: Baguio City, Lion Head, travel, trip, vacation

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