Tourist Guide Mode

My cousin Emil's wife, Rhoda, is here for a project till end of August and since I stay in Makati and she's staying at Makati Shang, I've been tasked to show her the usual Filipino hospitality. And it's been fun showing her around Manila and showing her her roots (she is Filipino but was born and raised in Toronto).

My parents and I already brought her to Rockwell where I showed her the Archeology and the HIP section which she loved. Then seafood dinner at Dampa sa Libis.I made a conscious effort to bring her to the shops I know she wouldn't find in Toronto, and she could only exclaim: "Man, you sure know your fashion!" Well, am not a consummate shopper for nothing! Because of the great time we had shopping in Rockwell, she wants to drag me to Bangkok with her to shop, too.

Last night, accompanied her to get custom-tailored jeans made at Defacto in Amorsolo. At just P1,000+, she was all raves and is planning to get another pair for her hubby as soon as she gets his measurements through email.

Dinner was at this small Jap restaurant in Jap resto row. Was planning to bring her to Aling Lucing's for sisig but at the last minute, changed plans since she wanted to go where I usually go. After I explained what sisig was, she kind of got scared of eating it no matter how much I explained that it was practically fastfood for Filipinos. The thought of pig's head and pig's cheeks stopped her. I guess I should've chosen a different way of explaining what it was hahaha.

I forgot the name of the Jap resto but it's beside the Korean restaurant and the Japanese P68 peso grocery and Master Burger. The food was fabulous (better than the last time I was there) and Rhoda raved over it. It was also the first time she had green mango shake which I made her order.

We had a good talk about Pinoy culture and how different it is growing up as a Fil-Canadian in Toronto. How everyone's so respectful and polite all the time. And how at work, Filipinos are non-confrontational and have a tendency to say "I'm sorry" all the time. She wants to go to Saturday market and buy Civet coffee to bring home.

Since she's staying at the Makati Shangri-la, I've naturally steered her away from Glorietta and the Greenbelt area (she can readily explore those places on her own) and promised to bring her to Malate soon so she can see a different side of the Philippines apart from Makati.

I'm arranging a Carlos Celdran tour for her this Sunday: Intramuros in the morning and Bindondo in the evening. She is so fascinated by the quirks of Filipino life, it's making me reexamining it again in a different light.

Gives me an excuse to finally take the tour and learn more about our country for a change. As I always tell my friends, the more I travel, the more I love the Philippines to bits. Really, we have a beautiful country and culture which we often take for granted. We should be proud of being Filipino.

Take it from Rhoda who, after just a few weeks working with Filipinos here, tells me she has never been so proud of being Filipino after seeing how hardworking, enthusiastic and passionate Filipino employees can be. She says she has never seen anything like it in Toronto!