Whetting our appetites

Welcome back to the GSE Philippines 2009 blog. I'm your host and writer, Max Bowen.

Today we sampled the authentic Filipino cuisine at JNJ Turo-Turo, a lovely little restaurant in Quincy. Being relative newbies to Filipino dishes, the staff was more than willing to make some recommendations, including pork spring rolls, pork in peanut sauce, deep-fried pork (are we sensing a pattern here?) BBQ chicken (best I've ever had), beef stew and delicious noodles. We topped off the meal with some sweet fried plantains. While we ate (and ate, and ate, and ate) we had the chance to speak to Alyssa, an exchange student from the Philippines who had been staying with a host family in the U.S. for the past four months.

Alyssa generously answered all our questions, which ranged from fashion to culture to holidays. We learned that while high school classes in the Philippines can have as many as 40 students, younger grades may only have a few. Geckoes are apparently not uncommon in the area, and if it's really hot one day, get ready for rain the next. Like Marla, Alyssa is a wealth of information, and we left with full stomachs and full minds.

We also talked about the presentations we'll have to make while we're over there. Along with a short three-minute presentation about who we are, we'll need to do a longer one on our own culture, since many of those we'll be speaking to will know little about the New England area. We were encouraged to each pick a different topic, such as education or geography, so we won't be stepping on each other's toes. A good idea; I've got some big feet! Photos and Power Point presentations will go a long way to improving our lessons on our homeland.

Well, that's all for now, but not for good. See you next time!

Max B.