Saturday 27 December 2008

"In Denmark"

Danes are proud. "In Denmark..." is probably the most common phrase begun with every sentence.


"In Denmark, we display hearts everywhere in honor of our Queen."



"In Denmark, we grow produce organically and drink water straight from the tap."



"In Denmark, we sometimes cut our own Christmas trees."



"In Denmark, it is cold and as a result so are the people."



"In Denmark, the average person has blue eyes and blonde hair."



"In Denmark, we have buildings older than America. This is the oldest building in Denmark." ...and this is a literal quote.



"In Denmark, 5% of the population are church-goers. We rely on logic, reasoning, and science and neglect emotion and diversity to make sense of the world."



In Denmark, the average Danish Christmas dinner takes a marathon to burn off. And during Christmas dinner and opening presents, we sit in a structural circle and are each given individual time to speak and open gifts, respectively."



"In Denmark, we light our Christmas tree with candles and only light them up for two days: on the 24th eve & 25th. We also hold hands walking around the tree singing Christmas songs on the 24th eve, and we only sing them in Danish even if there are English counterparts for guests to participate. It is, afterall, tradition."



"In Denmark, I had one person who could understand and see that Danes constantly promote Danish things."



"In Denmark, I learned Danish humor from Jeppe's brother, but I also learned that I am not Danish, will never be Danish, and have a long time before I stop questioning Danish customs, traditions, manners or lack of."


Denmark is indeed a great society and at the end of the day, of course I embrace the culture and its people because I appreciate its antagonistic qualities from my own. However, the most I can say is that it is a small country and appears to suffer from the small country inferiority complex.

Christmas in a Jiffy

I've been completely out of touch with my blog over the holidays! Just got back from a week in Copenhagen. As some of you know, I lived in the city for 3 months before and was hoping for a different, perhaps better experience. In ways I was satisfied and in others the question is questionable. The city itself had better spirit and I guess it explains that there are two seasons in which Danes are 'sociable' - the summer and Christmas. Tis true, though to American or Filipino standards they are by far far from it. Apparently it is because I don't get the humour, because meaning is lost in translation, because I am biased or what have you. The countryside and its mindset is another story. Nevertheless there is a mouthful of rave as well as criticism I find with the culture and so continues one of my most problematic dilemmas with a country I both admire and despise. Twas my first Christmas away from home and indeed it was an interesting one. For the sake of some of my Danish readership and in honor of obvious cross-cultural complexities, I will leave it at that. I am, however, quite bullheaded about the topic so if it ever comes up, more than a paragraph of words should surely arise. Just ask. Will be posting pictures soon from the trip, most of which will portray the more transparent backdrop of my experience.

Monday 15 December 2008

Christmas Tree, O Christmas Tree


Just wanted to wish everyone Happy Holidays and share my little Christmas tree with you. Hope you are keeping sane with the Christmas crowds and watching thou favorite holiday movies. Seasons greetings, Arctic Puffins! xoxo

Monday 8 December 2008

Pinoy Pride!


That's right. Our hero Manny Pacquiao, by technical knockout, painlessly defeated the Dress Wearing De La Hoya in the 8th round this past Saturday night. Thousands of miles away and about 15 hours later, I was able to watch the fight. We pledged not to open any news tabs the entire day to watch the fight with complete unpredictability and how sweet it was to see a national superman, or shall I say "Pacman", beat the crap out of the Golden Boy, who I thought looked all-show in the De La Hoya vs Pacquiao HBO pre-boxing special. Just because you can afford a lodge at Big Bear to prepare and have your training team wear matching branded t-shirts doesn't mean anything! Pacquiao, on the other hand, humbly trained in an old gym in LA with a head coach who has Parkinsons and bunked with something like 10+ of his friends.

Pacquaio deserves his triumph not only because of his undeniable talent but also because he is a national hero to the Filipinos. Even to Filipino-Americans who have prospered in life yet have seen the struggles of our moms and dads, Pacquiao manages to give us pride and hope for our titos, titas, ates, kuyas, and "boys" abroad.

The Philippines enjoyed their liberation in 1946; this is an independence that has existed only 62 years! After 400 years of Spanish colonization, Japanese occupancy during much of WWII, and about 10 years of an American commonwealth, it was national heroes such as Jose Rizal and Andres Bonifacio who Filipinos adhered to. Unfortunately political turmoil led to a dictatorship of Ferdinand Marcos and a declaration of martial law, which has resulted in a country suffering from violence, corruption, poverty, and diminishing economy.

Today, Manny Pacquiao is the new liberation. He is the answer to the depressions Filipinos face. He represents the strength of the people and their battles to be won. Pacquiao has helped bring attention back to the Philippines giving us a sense of pride aside from our infamous adobo, San Miguel, and expatriat/part-pinoy celebrities such as Enrique Iglesias, J-Lo's ex-hub Cris Judd, Dante Basco (Rufio from the movie Hook), Tia Carrere (sphincter says what?), Lou Diamond Philips, Phoebe Cates, Rob Schneider, and Nicole Scherzinger from the Pussycat Dolls. Pacquiao is the full Filipino monty, however, 100% straight from the PI Islands. You get this in his admirable tongue and the fact he prays and signals the Trinity every 5 minutes.

As Barack Obama does for African-Americans, Manny Pacquiao inspires hope to every citizen despite any negativity that surrounds them on a racial as well as national level. And like America, the Filipino people are not synonymous to their politics. Manny personifies the struggles in each one of us and exhibits that hard work pays off. Whether he is physically small (originally weighing in at 106), uneducated, or just a one-hit wonder, Manny continues to fight and achieve success - the same happy ending and dream Filipinos incessantly seek.



He's done this all without forgetting where he came from, a trait admirable to what I think is important to any minority or second generation immigrant. Like all Filipinos, he sings karaoke whenever he gets the chance and surrounds himself with his "pares". He also gives back to the people in monetary contributions, food donations, charities, community service, and has even personally appeared on the streets to hand out giveaways.

Pacquiao is the symbol of what has been lacking in sports for awhile. Someone who came from the bottom and rose to the top. Uncomparable but most definitely akin to Muhammad Ali, I'd also like to think of Pacquiao as a Thrilla in Manila as he's created such an impact to his country and other places in the world. In America his name is becoming, if not already, a common household name.

My dad emailed me with the simple text, "We should be proud of our kababayan. I did not expect the fight to go like that. Pacman out boxed and outsmarted the golden boy." ("kababayan" meaning to belong to the same bayan, town, or province; on a larger scale, it refers to the country, of being fellow countrymen.) This is coming from someone who has been living in the States almost more of his life than his native home.

We identify with Pacquiao. He gives us optimism and inspiration and shows we won't give up up a fight without that left jab. He is a fast and strong fighter yet smiles like a little boy who just found out dinner is at Jollibee.

I would LOVE to see him fight Hatton next. For all the frustrations I've tolerated in this toothless country, I fancy to see Pacman knock out the overly-confident, Manchesterian speech-impediment-stricken rumbler. Until then, I will enjoy Pacquiao's victory! Hip-hip-horrahhhhhhhhhhhhhhh!

Sunday 7 December 2008

Bad Karma


Just when I said the park was the one place that hasn't disappointed me yet, I was proven wrong. Today a squirrel attacked me and jumped on my leg. I felt its nails dig into my leg as it curiously stared my plastic bag down. See what he or she is eating here? Yeah, that was mine.

Saturday 6 December 2008

You don't get what you pay for.

Forget travelling to underdeveloped countries to help the modesties of less 'fortunate' places. There is no hot water...again! This is the third time in the less than two months we've lived in this flat. How is it possible London landlords are able to ask for the same amount of rent - more actually - than what we were paying to live in a bigger and newer with additional amenities, high rise, 1 bedroom condo..on the Las Vegas Strip no less!? And to have the audacity to deny our offer of £20 less a week from what he was asking when he can't even guarantee essential hot water.

Now, I want to clarify that I am not being a demanding American. If we weren't paying for it or if we were in a place that would excuse such deficiencies (and I have experienced living with a lack of plumbing in the Philippines without complaint), I would have no reason to throw a fit or bitch about the Brits. The problem is, this wouldn't happen anywhere else. And if it did, it wouldn't take 5 days to fix which is how long it took last time this happened. And(!!) perhaps the freaking rent wouldn't be as expensive.

I never have hateful feelings towards specific individuals but when I think abstractly of London as a civil whole, I think they are incompetent and benefit from a prosperous stereotype that they undeservingly possess.

PS In regards to my previous post on incompetent and lazy people, I went to Boots yesterday, was curious about this eye cream (because this city is advancing my ageing!), and asked the young lady behind the counter how much it costs. She walks to the open shelving, at which any customer could look him/herself, to look for the product and price. After about 20 seconds, she walks back to me and says she can't find it but there's a woman who might know how much it costs but she doesn't know when she'll be back. Then....a moment of silence. Hmmm how very helpful, as I was thinking in my head what an idiot she was. I'm glad we get what we pay for here.

Oh, and don't get me started on the Internet, its service and its speed. Seriously, it the worse I've ever experienced.

Thursday 4 December 2008

Incompetent Brits

Last week when my sister was here, on two consecutive days, we went to a trendy young women's store called Warehouse found on most UK high streets. It's somewhere in between Contempo and BeBe but way more on the former lean with prices closer to the latter. On day one, one of the employees was organizing some clothes and a massive glass shelf shattered on her right before all our eyes. Luckily no one was hurt. This is not the incompetency I am speaking of however. This same employee, quite a pretty Asian - or as they call "Oriental" here (yes, like a rug or the type of food) - rung up our purchases. This was after the other employee stood behind the till for like 5 minutes without looking up, said we had to wait, and straight walked away! So the oriental brit chick rings us up after my sister's request of two separate transactions since each would be paid with different payments. The first transaction had my bag, priced at £39. When she disclosed our total price, I thought there was some sort of discount I didn't know about because it was really cheap. To keep the long story short, when we got outside Alyssa checked the receipt. The girl from the orient forgot or mistakenly rung it up. My bag was free.

Watched Changeling a few days ago and was in one of the two lines available. There was one person in front of me and as the last one in the other line walked away, I waited where I was for the ticket handler to give me a nod. But like many other instances where I'm learning about a 5 minutes of nothingness, another patron walked straight to his window where he then assisted in the person's ticket purchase. He blatantly looked at me but didn't offer to help which was, by golly, his job. So, I continued to wait in my original line where I was eventually helped.

On the contrary, there have been times I've encountered complete competency. It's mostly occurred when I haven't had to interact with anyone (then again we were at Sainsbury's tonight at a defective self-service machine and a shop assistant had to come over for some fixing, nay, it wasn't us). I've tried running a bit again at Hyde Park. It's been really nice with all the moisture in the cold air. My joints pop and crack for every vertical movement I make now, but the runs have made all the poor experiences in London go away, perhaps even well worth it. There's something special about a park in the middle of a bustling metropolis. It's big with lakes and endless walking, running, and cycling paths. It's spotted with greenery from head to toe and, touched on before, is currently the site for Winter Wonderland. The park offers opportunity for quiet time with a brush of nature, squirrels, swans, birds, and ducks. Lately it's been some of the best alone times I've had in London. And it's the one place where no one could possibly exhibit multiple examples of ineptitude or laziness I've experienced.

When we walked into Sainsbury's earlier there was a security guard catechizing this little girl for a Christmas stuffed animal he thought was stolen. The little girl was with her younger sister and mom, who was explaining to the guard that this was hers from the forefront. Now, Christmas items at Sainsbury's are currently marked half-off. I haven't seen anything above £10 since the holiday price cut. You would think the security guard had better things to do with his time than bother this family. But there's a briton for ya and yet another example of lacking intuition.

At least I got a free bag out of it...

(note to localites-i'm completely taking the piss ok!)

Thursday 27 November 2008

Pictures worth a thousand words

I've been absent a few weeks now playing around in London and Paris, where we spent my sister's 20th birthday. Here is a slew of pictures of us enjoying holiday festivities. I'll miss my sister :(

Josh Hartnett in Rain Man



Walking Hyde Park



Changing the Guard at Buckingham Palace


Harrod's bear couch :)


St. Paul's Cathedral


Billy Elliot


Sloane Square


Alyssa's 20th in Paris!


Arc de Triomphe



Walking to Eiffel Tower




Soldiers with machine guns on the streets...scary!


Atop the Tower




Toast to her 20th


Last hours on Champs Élysées...


...and so so tired!


Winter Wonderland at Hyde Park - London



Why there was a gorilla going around scaring people at the Wonderland, I don't know!


Uber slide!!!


Thanksgiving at the Texas Embassy


Saturday 15 November 2008

Customer service sucks in Britain

It's as simple as that. I wasn't going to blog about this as I feel it's turning into a rant fest when my experiences here aren't all that bad. However, I woke up this morning to no hot water and this is not the first time it's happened. The fact that nothing works in Britain is a whole other story so I will save that for another time. It did set the mood for the day and reminded me I should just complain about what happened yesterday, what I attempted to ignore.

Yesterday my sister and mom joined my gym as guests. To keep the long story short, after much difficulty getting some customer service but after finally getting it sorted and paying £56 each (!!) for a mere 12 days, the front desk woman asked my sister if she could call me and just have me show her around. Now, for £56 I think they should show their asses around. Pardon my French, but that is just rediculous. That is not even half the story or battle, but it put the cherry on top.

You get what you pay for back home. Things work and if they don't you can get them fixed for a consistent amount of time. Here nothing works, nothing gets done, and nobody wants to work. How has this economy gotten to such a successful state? So frustrating!

Thursday 13 November 2008

Vegas girls come to play


My mom and sis have finally arrived L-town! This is my mom's first time in Europe (even though I don't really consider London traditionally European) and Alyssa's second. I think she'll enjoy it this time around more since she's spending her big 2-0 on the 24th. We're thinking Paris!

My sister's first request was lunch at Pret no less. I then wanted to see the look on my mom's face upon exiting Westminster station where the glorious Big Ben, Parliament, and Westminster Abbey reside. My mom, a very cautious person, seems up for anything these days, one of which includes the London Eye. This is major coming from someone who squirms in an elevator. Should be a fun two weeks.

We ended a long walk through Trafalgar Square up to Piccadilly Circus, where my sister has her name written all over it.

Finally we went to our local major Sainsburys and coming from two American girls who are used to large supermarkets, it was nice to see them have an easy time finding what they were looking for. I often complain because I'm the latter, then again I want a big slab of swordfish for $5, not a diet deprived white fish for $11. I think I'm just missing cheaper, larger portions of anything from home but at least now I have a year's supply of pretzels thanks to my mom.

Speaking of my mom, she has been such a sport considering she had reconstructive surgery on both feet less than a year ago and rarely has elevator options here, except of course -and luckily- at Westminster which is on the Jubilee line ;) ...And as mentioned in my previous blog, you know what I think about London, the diabled, injured, sick and the like.

Having two enthusiastic tourists will be a breath of fresh air. The only thing commented, which will never be surpassed from either locals or tourists - the weather!!!!!!

Tuesday 11 November 2008

Roll Out

Had a very interesting conversation today with a colleague at work. I've recently noticed a lack of accommodating the disabled. There are no ramps. Limited underground stations have lifts. And let's not forget the impatient and rushing traffic in London. There are stairs and there are way too many people that appear stressed to catch a train that will have one proceed it within minutes. I feel bad for the disabled here; well there are none. They wouldn't survive in such a place. Nor would an injured person, someone rehabilitated, or someone recovering from either. I'll even go to the extent of saying someone with the flu. Has anyone here heard of equal opportunity? There are plenty of disabled that are fully capable of the same things we do and have in this city, and I think they are entitled to the same freedoms. A bad strike of luck and unfortunate nature shouldn't say otherwise.

There's a movie called Music Within. Though I'm a flick-o-phile and appreciate just about any movie, it has to be one of my favorites in its genre - the inspriational. It's based on the true story of Richard Pimentel, a gifted public speaker who loses his hearing in the Vietnam War. He befriends a disabled fellow and becomes a pivotal figure in creating the Americans with Disabilities Act. I don't want to give too much away for I hope some of you will watch it after this puffery. Despite the drama and pancake humor (you'll see when/if you watch it), the significant element of the plot is the Disabilities Act and the realization of its importance to Americans and American infrastructure.

The Disability Act, signed by Bush Sr, has 5 parts:
1) Employment
2) Public Services and Transportation
3) Public Accommodation and Commercial Facilities
4) Telecommunications
5) Misc provisions

The law entitled the disabled equal opportunity in all the above stated. It's Title II and III which strikes me as I walk the streets of London.

The conversation with my colleague digressed into any and everything that doesn't really work in London, either because it's too old, the city wasn't built to accommodate such volumes, public apathy etc etc etc. Not to say that Brits aren't today integrating facilities for the disabled or injured. For example, the Jubilee line which runs northwest to southeast London is one of the newest if not the newest underground route and majority of the stations have lifts, Braille, and are more spacious. However, unless one is traveling from Maida Vale to London Bridge, it is beyond me how one would live, work, and be mobile within the city.

Ask anyone over here and they'll tease about the stereotypical people in electric wheelchairs at Walmart or the more transparent existence they have in the States in general. They may wonder why on Earth it's in the States you see these kinds of people - perhaps they're lacking or lacked the health care to prevent them from even being disabled - but I'm also thinking it's because we accommodate them to do the basic things we all do. Even if that means getting up a ramp to eat somewhere, riding the bus with their crutches or wheelchair, or shopping at Walmart. They are apparent in the public sphere. Can't say so much here. (My colleague later told me about a time he walked up Downing Street and saw picketing disabled protesting exactly what I'm talking about.)

Watch Music Within - you'll be amazed at what you notice within your city's framework and the importance of it.

Wednesday 5 November 2008

God Save the Americans

It was a new dawn for me last night as I stayed up until the wee hours of 4am GMT to watch the numbers come in during the presidential race. I went to an election party last night held by Americans Away From Home. Predominantly occupied by Americans, the party felt more British with the catered cucumber sandwiches, pub atmosphere, and lack of organization. Even so, it beat watching CNN coverage over BBC on election day. And who could miss CNN show off all their gadgety things, especially the launch of Jessica Yellin's hologram.

The organizer of the party made a champagne toast soonafter the results of Ohio were released. One of her closing remarks was, "I know this is silly, it's really silly, but I've prayed every night for this to happen...."

There is nothing "silly" about praying everyday for this victory to happen. I often think Americans/religious people/a combination of both feel they have to walk on eggshells when they're anywhere but home, especially when it's an American citing their faith. Granted there's reason to, we should be proud of our values and stand tall. Especially now. When the close race of Georgia was projected, someone - an American - cried, "Stupid Americans!". Though it's a common stereotype, I don't think this is the time to underestimate our intelligence. THAT was a stupid American. I don't think Americans are stupid, per say; I think it is more a matter of being uninformed, to an extent of perhaps ignorance. We are not, however, incapable of processing information, having opinions, and making decisions on our own - being stupid more than anyone else.

This is a time we should stick together and be proud of our country, what we believe in, and aim for progress in our country. Shoot, if there is something out there, he or she sure heard our prayers because history has been made and we're up for a vivid future. Change and Obama - our daily cup of tea from here on out! YES WE CAN.

Tuesday 4 November 2008

Why I Love London


Despite the often depressing, gloomy weather, high prices, stressful living conditions, crowdedness, and impersonal people, London is still one of the greatest places on Earth. And let me tell you why (I pulled an Obama there, like that?!). I think one of its greatest assets is its diversity and culture. For one, I don't think London embodies typical British culture aside from the pubs and individual reservation, although the latter could be a product of any metropolis of mass population. Nevertheless it is this mass population that is rich in diversity and one of the main reasons I'm always driven back to this city. It buzzes with its own history while it makes history with people from all over the world. Unlike many Americans, when a person here says (s)he is Italian, (s)he is not just talking race but also culture. (S)he may know a thing or two about the customs aside from spaghetti, pizza, and a last name that ends in "i". There's something exciting and enlightening about being in a place where there are people from all corners of the world.

I played tourist this weekend as we had guests in town from Denmark. I showed them around a number of places I thought they would find novel such as Brick Lane, an authentic Japanese restaurant (which is hard to find where they are from), Columbia Flower & Spitalfield Market, and Tower Bridge, which okay, the latter three I'll hand to the Brits. Of course Big Ben and the South Bank was in there somewhere, and I'll admit that the House of Parliament is a glorious structure.



The main two occasions that really gave me the London buzz was strolling down Brick Lane. As LondonTown puts it, "Brick Lane Market is pure East End London, which means Jewish bagel shops, Bangladeshi curry houses, Indian sari silks - and Cockneys crying out their wares. This chaotic, bustling market is half way between jewel and junk heap. It attracts lots of young Londoners, in search of second-hand furniture, unusual clothes and bits of this-and-that." It continues to say that the joy of this market is that you never know what you'll find, anything from cheap leather clothes and old magazines to Art Deco. Places like Brick Lane make you feel like you've escaped the city.



The second event over the weekend was when I watched, and don't laugh, "Heartthrobs London UK 2008" at the London Palladium, the original venue for Sound of Music. Heartthrobs showcased what I would describe as a mix between variety entertainment Filipino style and basically the Brad Pitt of the Philippines singing and talking to the audience. Alongside the infamous pinoy audience, I felt like I was back in Manila. I also felt at home despite being thousands of miles away.

Even though London, or any big city, can give you feelings of lonesomeness, at times these big cities like London make up for it in its rich culture and diversity. There are secret places throughout the capital that can make you feel both at home and enlightingly foreign. Now...if only the sun would come out and the dollar go up!

Saturday 1 November 2008

Make me sweat

Today I submitted my first feedback card at my local gym David Lloyds. For the fifth or so time, I had had enough of what seemed like a lack of encouragement from group fitness instructors. Generally speaking, most of them are talented and informed but for the most part they lack any sort of push and challenge towards their students. Most of the time I never break a sweat. In order to do so, I modify movements so I can test my limit and increasingly get stronger. What I've found, however, is many of the instructors have called me out and said something along the lines of "Don't do that yet - low impact first" or "take it easy - you might injure yourself" or "we're not there yet." My favorite: "Don't kick so high." What most of them don't know is that I've either warmed up already, I am very conscious of form, I have much experience in training, and sincerely appreciate their interest in my safety. What I find wrong with this training strategy though is a lack of challenge, a lack of pushing people to exercise to be stronger, faster, fitter, whatever their goals may be. Instructors should encourage such motivation if they see it in their students' actions. Especially if it is at a gym and people come to work hard.

A typical session in a group fitness class in the States embodies a mentality of "You're here for an hour so push yourself!" Instructors are motivating, challenging, exciting, and fun. They do not downplay any signs of inspiration or enthusiasm. The absence and denial of this is really beginning to bother me. And any form of disregard on my part would only make me seem arrogant.

It's a rainy, cold Saturday morning so I took two classes today - step and body sculpt. The first class was good. My only complaint is there was all this twirling and choreography. Where's the workout in this? I tried exchanging twirls with squats and of course the teacher told me not to. The previous mentioned occurred in the second class. The teacher even started class 10 minutes late because a student said her stomach muscles hurt. The teacher put her on a mat and did a little inspection. This cut into our class time. Additionally, before she started class she even insisted this other student spit out her gum. Why? I need gum all the time in aerobic classes. Some studies have shown that it actually assists in breathing. There are too many requirements and babying going on in this gym, and it's supposed to be the "highest end" fitness center in London.

David Williams and Matt Lucas poke fun at two American stereotypes Tom and Mark in the US version of Little Britain.
I agree that certain body builders and American fitness "enthusiasts" are borderline vain and unhealthy, some way beyond borderline. The characters are tongue-and-cheek and undeniably funny. But after experiencing much discouragement in fitness here, I see the existence of challenge and motivation not necessarily a bad thing. They're taking the piss but can they even push themselves?