What I really wanted to write about was how I found myself slipping back into a more commercial/American mindset when I left the Philippines, which manifested itself in the fashion magazines that I pored over and many additions to a mental wishlist of wants. And also when I found myself back in the States at Honolulu International Airport facing an array of eats at the food court. My first instinct was “I want McDonald’s.” Which is not a rational decision because I rarely feel the need to go to McDonald’s and indulge in a Big Mac. I usually indulge in Pringles when I feel the need for junk food – another story for another time.

For me, choosing to eat McDonald’s or some other American fast food chain is (usually) more of a capitulation to what that meal symbolizes (e.g. American culture) as opposed to actually wanting to eat fast food. The fact that I didn’t actually end up eating at McDonald’s in Honolulu because there wasn’t one that I could see, or because I saw mapo tofu instead (way too tempting to give up after 2+ months of no tofu) is irrelevant. I can only shake my head at the commercial success of American fast food companies that makes me crave “something really American and easily accessible” with more regularity when I’m traveling to and from the U.S. – despite the fact that fast food is trashy.

Another thing that struck me when I left the Philippines was how I immediately slipped back into the American mindset of constantly weighing the (perceived) value of my time and how much that time gets wasted on a regular basis. At Hawaiian Airline’s check-in line in Manila Airport, I was stopped by airline employees no less than three times because I had let slip that I was carrying a lithium laptop battery in my check-in luggage. When I finally capitulated and laid my suitcase down to pull out the offending battery, another gentleman slipped past me and cut my place in line. After I quickly pulled out that damn battery I then proceeded to spend the next 15 minutes glaring and feeling generally pissed off at the world. Yes, I had just waited in a line that snaked across the concourse for almost an hour. But was it really worth it for me to spend the last 15 minutes in line feeling angry and sorry for myself? Not really.

As an American who’s just spent a few months abroad, the “commercial” aspect of the American psyche really stands out in high relief when I returned to the States. And this aspect of the American psyche is something I’d like to ditch in favor of something a little more zen. I think I found my zen in the Philippines – now I just need to figure out how to retain it.

Maybe a more fitting title for this post would be it’s harder to be Christian in the commercialized environment of the States, period?

To wrap up with something completely non-related and has absolutely nothing to do with Christmas (since tonight is Christmas Eve) – but will make you laugh – check out the octopus video below!

At any decent celebration, party, or fiesta in the Philippines there will always be lechon baboy, or roasted pig. The first time I had it was in Cebu, where it’s a local specialty. I had met up with fellow KF9er Ed Coambs one weekend and made a point to try out lechon baboy, since all my HSPFI co-workers kept telling me that Cebu has the best lechon baboy in the Philippines. We ended up getting a tame, chopped-up version in a restaurant recommended on Wikitravel. It wasn’t bad, but it wasn’t amazing either. I much preferred lechon manok, or roasted chicken. And to be honest, on that Cebu trip Ed and I gravitated towards American comfort foods. Like McDonald’s and pancakes.

I think this was Ed’s favorite meal in Cebu. He seemed a bit distraught when he learned that there’s a Pancake House in Cagayan de Oro, but not in Bacolod where he’s currently serving as a Kiva Fellow. Sorry, Ed. If it makes you feel any better, I haven’t gone to the Pancake House in Cagayan at all

But I digress. After returning to Cagayan de Oro, I got to eat lechon baboy at a HSPFI project officer’s son’s birthday party; at the after-party for HSPFI Illigan Branch’s 15th anniversary (and Christmas) party. Then I had it at the fiesta this past Tuesday. Twice. During lunch at a HSPFI co-worker’s house, and then during dinner at the HSPFI Executive Director’s.

I actually love eating lechon baboy, despite it’s somewhat… intense… appearance. I’ve always thought that you should call a spade a spade. If you enjoy being a meat-eater, you should be able to stomach eating meat that retained its original form and looks like the animal that it actually came from.

…Although I do admit these “after” pics of lechon baboy looks like complete carnage. Which never strikes me while I’m busy stuffing my face with roasted pig.

And actually, my downfall at the fiesta meals on Tuesday wasn’t lechon baboy. It was fatty pork. Large, gooey, oily, delicious chunks of pork meat and fat. I’ve always loved eating Chinese fatty pork dishes, so I was ecstatic when I found out that Filipinos like to eat fatty pork too. I ate so much fatty pork with rice on Tuesday (in addition to lechon baboy) that I ended up suffering from the “goldfish syndrome” – a favorite pet theory of mine. If you keep feeding goldfish, they’ll eat until they die. However, I used to have these amazing goldfish that would flip over and helplessly float stomach-up near the top of the tank when they overeat. (In case you were wondering, as my boyfriend sardonically asked when he first heard this story, they WEREN’T dead or dying.) They’d wiggle their little tails trying to flip right-side-up, but they won’t succeed until their stomachs finish digesting. Hence, the goldfish syndrome, which applies to humans too. I suffered from a particularly bad bout of goldfish syndrome after stuffing myself at the fiesta this Tuesday.

Apart from lechon baboy, I’ve sampled a variety of meats and offal in the Philippines. The most exotic dish that I’ve tried by far here though is balut – boiled duck egg with a partially developed “chick” inside.

I almost never say no to any dishes that my co-workers tell me to try, but I had been desperately hoping that I could get out of eating balut while I’m in the Philippines. I had read a previous Kiva Fellow’s encounter with balut before I ever thought of becoming a Kiva Fellow, and I honestly didn’t think I could stomach this dish. But my co-workers kept telling me how delicious it was, etc. It almost seemed like eating balut is an unofficial initiation rite for Kiva Fellows in the Philippines. So I was resigned when Corroi, HSPFI’s Kiva Coordinator, finally dragged me to a balut stand. I watched her eat one, and then she promised that she would pick one out for me that had a younger, less developed chick.

When Corroi cracked it open though, I could see the duck fetus all too clearly. I could see a little duck foot. I managed to suck the balut juice, then begged Corroi to eat the chick for me. I ate everything else – yolk, whites etc. which tasted pretty normal. I will admit that the juices, with a dash of vinegar, was pretty tasty. But yeah – I’m glad I can cross balut off my list and put it behind me.

Lechon baboy and balut aside, the main eating mishap that prompted me to write this post was actually me accidentally biting into a chili pepper thinking that it was a string bean during lunch yesterday. It was a pretty painful first experience – but you can thank that innocent-looking chili pepper for this long post on roasted pigs and duck fetuses.

Bizarre is probably not the best word to describe this client interview, but without a doubt we were intrigued and utterly fascinated by the alien-looking blob we saw sitting pretty before us. Corroi, HSPFI‘s Kiva Coordinator and I found ourselves staring at a live (or semi-live) sea cucumber during a visit to HSPFI client and Kiva borrower Ann Lagrada on Camiguin Island.

(This is the second part of my “most memorable client interviews on Camiguin” series – check out “The Most Beautiful Client Interview (Part 1 of 2)” if you haven’t already!)

(If you have a soft spot in your heart, an ongoing and lasting fondness for sea cucumbers like the one above, and the thought of chopping/prepping a sea cucumber for consumption would cause you much undue stress, do NOT click on the “more” link.)

We peppered Ann with questions. I had eaten sea cucumbers before – it’s fairly common in Chinese cuisine – but I had never seen a live one before. Corroi hadn’t known before this that people actually eat sea cucumbers – so I tried my best to describe the slightly glutinous yet crunchy taste of sea cucumbers for her. A little bit like the seaweed dish that we had eaten earlier in the day.

Ann explained that her husband dives at night to catch the sea cucumbers. There are places in the Philippines where sea cucumbers are protected, she added, but there are currently no restrictions on harvesting sea cucumbers in Camiguin. After her husband returns with the catch, she’ll leave the sea cucumbers in small basins until they spew out any leftover sand and innards, then boil and dry them. Every two weeks Ann and her husband sells the dried sea cucumbers to a Filipino agent for $1,500 pesos/kilogram. She said that the agent will then export the dried product to Korea.

Ann estimates that she and her husband sells two kilograms of dried sea cucumbers to the agent every time they meet. At $6,000 pesos a month, this business is bringing in solid income for their family. John, the HSPFI project officer (or loan officer) who brought us here later told me that this business had successfully found a niche market and was one of the client businesses that he was most proud of.

Seeing our continued and somewhat lurid fascination for the sea cucumber, which had by this point of the interview ejected its innards, Ann asked for a knife and proceeded to saw the now completely dead sea cucumber in half. It had hardened much more than what I would’ve expected from its slimy exterior.

(Watch the below video at your own risk! Although I assume if you’ve gotten this far, this is probably what you’ve been waiting for…)

Ann’s husband had joined us towards the middle of the interview, presumably to find out why a foreign bumpkin interviewer was getting all excited over his sea cucumbers – joined in some of the answers and showed us his diving flashlight. We wrapped up with a few more questions and thanked them both. As we walked out to another interview, this time with Ann’s mother-in-law Perpetua Lagrada, John joked that Koreans liked to eat sea cucumbers because they’re believed to increase sexual drives. To which I laughed and replied, if that’s the case, sadly they haven’t worked on me at all!

Eva Wu is a proud member of KF9, and she’s still head over heels in love with the Philippines and her host MFI, Hagdan sa Pag-uswag Foundation, Inc.! Support HSPFI by lending or by joining the HSPFI lending team today!