Monday, December 25, 2017 December 25, 2017

SUMMER PICNIC UNDER THE GRAPEVINES

(Originally posted on  August 30, 2016 in an online community in Japan)

Summer in Japan is almost over, yet it seems to me that the activities related to this season of the year in this side of the planet refuse to come to an end. My usual idea of summer is beach and sand, although I have mentioned in an earlier blogpost that they are not my thing. For a recap, I have tried 'halo-halo' which I think is the best summer cooler in town these hot days. Thankful that I got to visit some nice places, too. Just when I thought that my summer escapades officially ended along with my 2-week straight summer holiday, I have received a message from a friend inviting me to a picnic...not by the sea or a pool, but under the grape vines. 


Back home,  I heard about a town in the next region where they grow some grapes but I have never seen the place yet. Since the movie A Walk in the Clouds, a romance-drama which could have been my number one all-time favorite if not for Schindler’s List, I've always had the desire to see vineyards in my hopes to find the kind of love which the lead stars in the said film have found in a romantic setting within the surrounds of that vast cloudy and lovely vineyards.. Please forgive the musings of a hopeless romantic here. Anyway, back to the topic, I joined the picnic cum PICK-AND-EAT-GRAPES-ALL-YOU-CAN ALL-DAY activity as per invitation by a Brazilian friend whom I've met in one occasion before. With her friends and my co-trainee, we headed to one of the grape farms in Okazaki City. We were a group of nine (including a 4-year old dog named Mimi chang). I admit that at first, I was pretty much hoping to rather experience apple-picking (not season yet) than grape-picking, simply because we do not have apple trees in my country. But when I arrived at the grape farms and started to see from a distance the grapes hanging and dangling from the vines, excitement and thrill suddenly overflowed in me! The whole area, which is filled with plenty of grape clusters in paper wraps, looked so inviting to me that I felt I couldn't wait anymore  :-).  I wanted to take pictures then pick and eat grapes right away! 


Inside the paper wraps are sweet grape clusters ready for harvest. Oh, how I love this place!!!



The vast vineyards are surrounded by mountains. The farm that we visited grows a variety of grapes, both seedless and not seedless, from the small variety to the big ones; from red to purple; green to yellow (I supposed the yellow ones are over-riped green grapes but they tasted real nice and sweet, nonetheless). My first taste went to the yellow clusters freshly picked by one from our group. My first pick were the usual oblongated red grapes and to me they tasted real sweet as well. At first I didn’t have an idea that I could peek through the paper wraps to see and check the actual fruits inside before picking.  

Unlike the big grape clusters, the small grapes are not covered.  I don't know why.

These are the small grapes. The only varieties that are exposed to direct sunlight and moisture. Some clusters have started  to turn into raisins. I suppose they were the varieties to grow first; ahead of the rest.  They come in little sweet, little sour-y taste. I think these are the clusters that might have probably been overlooked for a couple of days or so because of the presence of big and seedless varieties, which taste much sweeter. The big ones are more expensive than these varieties when sold in the market. I picked one cluster or two of these kind, I think.


Honestly, I didn’t have too much grapes of different varieties all in one day as much as I had that day.  Luckily. I didn't get drunk :-)

MORE THAN GRAPE-PICKING

Yes, this is actually more than grape-picking. It's actually family bonding. It is a lovely sight to see Japanese parents and their kids spending time together; eating together,  doing some barbecue under the grape vines! I was happy to see some parents helping the little children do the grape-handpicking!

We were surrounded by families who were  grilling some meat and I  was made to crave for some barbecue:-(.
By  the way, this area has been "ripped off" that you won't see grape clusters anymore


It's heartwarming to see Japanese families together 


Come on kids, let's make some pizzas! 


The big oven for pizzas!



A crib under the vines!




Kids enjoy catching fish in a creek at the vineyards. The water is clear. It's just that the sand/soil is brown giving it a muddy look. How I wish for clean rivers and creeks such as this in my own country for kids to enjoy! 


So far that's all about last weekend. I really had a wonderful time under the grape vines, in the company of good people. By watching the Japanese way of spending summer, I now have a broader concept about how to deal with this season. The best way to cope with hot weather is to make the most of it, anyway it won't linger...for long. So enjoy it while it's here. Go out and have some fun under the sun...with your loved ones. And if you would ask if I found LOVE in the vineyards like that from the movie A Walk in the Clouds, yes, I did.  And it's here with me to stay...FOR ALWAYS. ❤️❤️❤️




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Saturday, November 25, 2017 November 25, 2017

THAT THING CALLED 'SAVING YOURSELF FOR MARRIAGE'

(Part 1 of 2) Foremost, this blog post contains my deep thoughts about sex and virginity. Honestly, I almost held back from posting something like this on my blog, but I'm happy to finally have found the courage to do so today. Throughout this article, I hope to share some insights about the topics by delving into scriptures, reminiscing some of my personal stories and fond memories that are topics related, and quoting excerpts from one of my top favorite books to illustrate various points especially concerning virginity. This post comes in two parts, Part 2 will be dedicated to the topic on virginity including the very reason why I've decided to come up with this blog entry, and why I consider this post special to me. While writing this, I'm aware that not everyone would agree with me on my views, whether in parts or in whole, but I'll continue to write anyway with the purest of my intentions to impart my thoughts and show respect to my readers, while maintaining my stance on the subject matter.




We live in this age they call millennial, an era brimming not only with high-end innovations and technology but also with modern, liberal and radical minds. From Generation X through the birth of Generation Y or the so-called millennials, so much transitions and changes have been taking place especially in regard to thinking and culture. Today's generation paints a culture different from yesteryears - a culture embracing new sets of trends, beliefs and yes, even sets of values. In this fast paced and ever changing world, how do we regard sex and virginity? Is staying virgin until marriage still important these days? Does a couple need to be united first in marriage before they can have sex? Do we really have to wait? What If one never gets married - would that mean he or she should never experience sex - ever at all? Is that so?


I grew up in an environment with 3-parent figure: both my parents and my uncle. My uncle was someone very strict and protective toward my older female cousins. He was never married and he stayed all his life with my family until his death a few days before I graduated from college. My uncle had his own set of major rules which, I may say, were subtly imposed upon my cousins. Rule No.1: do not hang out alone with guys in the street corners or anywhere especially in the dark. Rule No. 2: Do not engage in public display of affection. I would see him scolding my cousins or confronting their parents whenever he felt these rules were broken. There was a time when he caught sight of a guy’s hand resting on my female cousin’s lap. I heard my mother and my uncle seriously talking about this above whispers, and as a child I didn't exactly understand why, but I never had the courage to ask because in the first place I barely had an idea of what was going on.  All I knew that time I often played the role of a helpless and unwilling spectator whenever tensions broke out between my uncle and my cousins or their parents. In my own family, we hardly talked about 'matters of the heart' or about falling in love to be specific. We found it awkward to discuss such things in the family especially in the presence of my parents and my uncle.


If you would ask me if my cousins obeyed the rules I've mentioned above, I really didn't exactly know. But most of them have run away - with men who have become their husbands. As for me, I didn’t grow to be the prim and proper type. Yet at a young age, I developed a certain degree of boundaries when it comes to level of physical closeness and intimacy towards men.  I grew up to the idea that it is not right for unmarried lovers to hold or kiss or touch. I am not saying that this is something right, but my point is, this is my uncle's personal memories and legacies to me from childhood.  


SEX: ITS BIBLICAL DESIGN AND PURPOSE 

The Lord God said, “It is not good for the man to be alone. I will make a suitable helper for him….So the Lord God caused the man to fall into a deep sleep & while he was sleeping, he took one of the man’s ribs and closed up the place with flesh. Then the Lord God made a woman from the rib he had taken out of the man, and he brought her to the man. (Genesis 2:18; 21-22)


God designed man and woman as sexual beings - that is, they have longings, desires and need for sex. Apparently, God has instituted marriage so that these sexual longings, desires and needs are fulfilled and met. The first union of man and woman happened in the Book of Genesis, when God himself brought the very first male and female, Adam and Eve, into marriage.

"Then the Lord God made a woman from the rib he had taken out of the man, and he brought her to the man." (Genesis 2:22)
 
"For this reason a man will leave his father and mother and be united to his wife, and they will become one flesh." (Genesis 2:24)

The statement “they will become one flesh' reflects the celebration of sexuality in marriage: a gift for man and woman to unite in mind and heart. It best describes the oneness attained by the husband and the wife through physical union, during  which they are able to ultimately and fully express their fondness, affection and love toward each other while allowing them both experience and enjoy the pleasures that can be derived during the intercourse. Sex allows the married couples to connect (or reconnect), it binds them, keep them drawn toward each other. It helps them know each other more and to give themselves selflessly and completely to each other on a higher physical level - by being one flesh.


The Song of Solomon is one book in the Bible that contains allegories about love between a bridegroom and his bride. Various interpretations have been rendered on the book, such as some interpret it to be love of Christ, the groom, toward his bride, which is the church. Amidst these varying interpretations, we can see this book as one reflecting and describing love and romance among humans sprouting and blooming from courtship to marriage. Here, we see the lover and his beloved who has been brought together in the holy matrimony extolling each other, expressing their longing and desire and adoration toward each other and giving hints and glimpses of intimacies and pleasures derived from marital love.


In the New Testament, sex is defined as part of the marital duties between husband and wife. Paul gave the hint when he addressed the husband and the wife in 1 Cor. 7:3-4:  

" The husband should fulfill his marital duty to his wife, and likewise the wife to her husband. The wife’s body does not belong to her alone but also to her husband. In the same way, the husband’s body does not belong to him alone but also to his wife.”


Apart from these, sex is used as a means to reproduce or procreate. When people get married and decide to have their family - that is, dad and mom plus kid/s (this is not always true and applicable to all, because I know some people who are open to having children yet prefer not to have one, once they marry). So we basically say that if two individuals want a child/children once they settle down, sex serves a higher purpose to the husband and wife; it becomes an instrument for them to fulfill their mutual dream and plan to build a family.


WHAT ABOUT PRE-MARITAL SEX (OR SEX OUTSIDE MARITAL RELATIONSHIPS)?

If sex was designed by God as a "gift" for sexual gratification of two people bound together by Holy Matrimony, what becomes of sex before marriage and sex outside marriage? Are they considered sins?


One scripture which clearly implicates sexual immorality as sexual activities involving people not husband and wife is found in 1 Corinthians 7. Here in this letter by the apostle Paul to the Corinthians, he was exhorting the brothers and sisters at the Corinthian Church to have their own wives and husbands because immorality was so prevalent among them (1 Cor. 7:2). Sexual immorality is among the sins, and in fact comes number one in the list of sins that the Bible warns us against in Galatians 5:19-21 and Ephesian 5:5.

"But since there is so much immorality, each man should have his own wife, and each woman her own husband.”


 Above scripture does not intend to show that people ought to marry just in order to satisfy their sensual and fleshly urges and desires ; it does not seek to implore that marriage is a "cure" to sins specifically sexual sins. Sins, whether sexual or not sexual in nature, run deep into man's soul and human nature that marriage cannot ever guarantee an individual or two individuals to be spared from sexual temptations and sins once they get married. Rather, the scripture ultimately shows that the legitimate way to enjoy and celebrate sexuality is within the confines of marriage. Sex between girlfriend and boyfriend or two persons not husband and wife, is definitely not sanctioned by God. When two people enjoy the (sexual) pleasures not intended for them,  they are likely committing a violation of God’s will and design of sex. I remember someone giving an illustration that we are likely committing robbery (or theft) when we take or possess something not ours. That really makes sense. Imagine taking, possessing or owning something not ours or not given to us (yet) - will not that constitute theft or robbery? In the same way, having sex with someone before or outside marriage - is like robbing or stealing a good and beautiful gift meant only for married couples; and trampling this gift with disrespect and dishonor. Interestingly we see another teaching in 1 Corinthians 6:18 that when we commit sexual immorality, we are sinning against our own body which is the temple of God. 


Unless case of prostitution, premarital sex or sex outside marital relationships  do not usually happen right there and then that you wake up naked one day and realize you've given yourself and have lost your virginity to someone. No, it does not usually work that way. Perhaps it starts with small things, a little touch, a little kiss, and felt these little things oh-so- right - then you completely give it all away.


Some suggest that the sexual sins of King David found in 2 Samuel 11 did not happen right away. Maybe he watched Bathseba bathing from a distance not only once, maybe twice, thrice, and his lust grew more and more until finally he committed adultery with her. After that, David committed sin of murder by devising a scheme to kill Uriah, Batsheba’s husband.

David wrote a letter to Joab saying “Put Uriah in the front line where the fighting is fiercest. Then withdraw from him so he will be struck down and die." (2 Samuel 11:14-15)


We refer to this as progression of sins. The New Testament illustrates this in the Book of James, in Chapter 1, verses 14-15 like this: 

"….but each one is tempted when, by his own evil desire is dragged away and enticed. Then, after desire has conceived, it gives birth to sin…”


Relating it to sexual sins, we may not be aware how little compromises can deceive us. A little touch, a little kiss, a little indulgence, - they do not look like a big deal after all. So why give a care about these little stuff? 


One time a friend told me that relationships are messed up sometimes. I agree with him. Not only in the context of our discussion that time; but with respect to love relationships or boyfriend-girlfriend relationships. Today, there seems to be a great confusion with regard to sex. Being in a relationship for quite a while and you're getting really along well and in love with each other yet you do not have sex. That sounds impossible. In this age, how could that possibly be? Who would believe such a thing? Today, it's  easier for people to believe you're in a relationship and you are having sex than you're in a relationship yet you (choose to) stay out of bed. In such case, what would have become of virginity? (With Part 2)
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Tuesday, November 21, 2017 November 21, 2017

HALO-HALO: THE BEST COOLER IN TOWN THIS SUMMER

(Note: Originally posted on www.city-cost.com on August 27, 2016 in Japan)

Yes, this is the best cooler this summer. But mind you, I may be a little biased about this, but as you read on, you will see why I think this way. And may I add, this is not an ordinary shaved ice. This is a bowl of concoction that can surely cool you down and give you that truly refreshing feeling now that the weather is hot. 

This is Halo-Halo, a popular dessert / refreshment snack that has been around for so many years in the Philippines and is now available in some Filipino restaurants in many different countries like Japan. Halo-halo has been a popular cooler in the Philippines since time I remember, usually during summer, but it has evolved into a well-loved dessert or oftentimes a refreshment snack available to all Filipinos from all walks of life almost all-year round from the small cafeteria or eateries in the street corners to high-end restaurants and dining shops in various places across the country. Halo-halo (pronounced as hah-lo’ hah-lo’) which literally means “mixed”, is a bowl or a tall glass of shaved ice that comes with portions of yummy native ingredients. Fruits and sweet treats tossed in one glass or bowl, with shaved ice, topped with ice cream, a scoop or two, and with lavish sprinkle of evaporated milk…Imagine all that, Uhm, what can you say? 

         Well, what do you think about this bowl?

Halo-halo evokes fond childhood memories, when I, along with other children in the neighborhood, would run across the unpaved road in our village, scratching my head under the sweltering heat of summer sun, towards the small space along the street, where a wooden bench and a small table were set up, to buy a glass of halo halo from an auntie. You would know that someone was selling halo-halo in the street corner because the ingredients, usually in clear canisters, were neatly and carefully arranged on the table. Back then (oh until now) we call everyone older than us auntie or ate (atche in my own dialect) even though we are not related to each other by blood. There, with all the child`s wonder, innocence and excitement, I would order a glass of halo-halo and eagerly watch the auntie put the ingredients onto my glass one by one, first the sweetened saba (a local variant of banana),  then the sweet potato and so on and so forth including the well-loved ingredient when I was a kid, the sakobi (small rounded chunky - munchy gel usually in red color). That time, I think it would be kind of special when you would have other ingredients like purple yam and the pinipig (pounded immature rice grains). After putting all the ingredients, she would manually shave ice from an ice block with all her might, place the shaved ice onto the same glass, on top of the ingredients and then pour on some coconut water and then the most important ingredient: evaporated milk. I think those were the times then when I often secretly wished that the auntie would pour an extra amount of milk onto my glass. ehe. I would then pay the auntie seven pesos (P7.00) for my glass of halo-halo (that is, if my perforated memory serves me right about the price). Seven pesos is approximately 15¥. My childhood memory is like that, enjoying this summer delight at an affordable amount!


    This is me holding my bowl of halo-halo. Can you get a glimpse of that smile on my lips?


Perhaps my fondness for halo-halo is intertwined  with sweet memories when I was a child that it has grown to be one of my faves. This is why I think I maintain some prejudice when it comes to summer coolers wherever I go. I have tasted shaved ice here in Japan and other summer concoctions but nothing comes close to the taste of halo-halo, in my own opinion. In Singapore, there is this called bo-bo chacha, a shaved ice dessert that is closely similar to halo halo except of course for some local ingredients and the main ingredient used. Halo-halo's main ingredient is evaporated milk; while Singapore's bo-bo chacha uses fresh coconut milk extract, giving the cooler a more distinct creamy and yummy taste than halo-halo. Likewise, Malacca's ice cendol tastes really nice, and it is a very famous ice cooler in the said part of Malaysia, but because halo-halo is close to my heart, I would say that I love halo-halo more than Bo-Bo chacha and ice cendol. Now you see, I am very biased.


When I heard that a Filipino Restaurant near my place here in Japan is serving this Filipino specialty, I was so delighted! Along with my colleagues, two Japanese and one Brazilian, I went to the restaurant where we feasted on some Filipino dishes called caldereta and sinigang. Then we ordered halo-halo for our dessert! We have assumed that each of us could not finish one bowl, because it looks big on the photo. So what we did was we ordered only 2 bowls for sharing - and yes we had enough, and actually, even more than enough! One bowl is big for someone who eats moderately (surprisingly, I am a moderate eater...oops, am I? ehe). A bowl of halo-halo served at that restaurant where we dined can be shared by 2 to 3 people :-)  This time I have affirmation for my personal taste because my colleagues liked the halo-halo, too! It's oishi katta desu!


Halo-halo is served in many different ways in the Philippines with prices ranging from P20.00 (approximately 50¥) to --- well, I could not actually tell the price for an order of halo-halo at an upscale restaurant. The most expensive halo-halo I have tried so far in a good restaurant cost around P200.00 more or less, but then again, I don't rely much on my 'photographic' memory for the price accuracy.  But one thing is for sure: the higher the price, the more ingredients that a bowl or a glass of halo-halo contains; and the more ingredients and the more special the ingredients become, the higher the price of an order of halo-halo becomes. Oh just now I remember having halo-halo (create your own) over some buffets in some nice hotels. But I could not exactly remember the details, please forgive me for my poor memory :-(

Usually, a regular glass or a bowl of halo-halo contains the following ingredients:
* sweet beans
*coconut gel
*palm nut
*boiled sweet potato 
*boiled saba (a local variant of banana; not the usual banana that we know)
*young coconut shreds/meat (but if you want it more special, you can use macapuno, a a special coconut variant)
*sakobi (this is how we call it in Tagalog) but I think most people now don't use it for halo-halo anymore, so I say this one is optional
To make the halo-halo special, you can add these ingredients. Take note that the following are optional YET CAN MAKE THE HALO-HALO REALLY SPECIAL AND MORE DELICIOUS: 
*pinipig (pounded immature rice grains)
*ube or the purple yam
*leche flan (a delicious sweet dessert in the Philippines which is like a caramel pudding)
*ice cream (preferably ube flavor or vanilla)
*fruits, usually jackfruit, fresh or sweetened (not all people like the taste of jackfruit so I say this one is optional)

And don't forget the shaved ice and the evaporated milk. These are the two main ingredients :-)

So what are you waiting for? Go to the nearest Filipino restaurant in your area and ask if they serve halo-halo or you can make your own. Toss the ingredients and enjoy :-)
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