July 31, 2008
Nikko came to the flat with Toni Rose in tow, and he said that his stomach hurt. I asked if he wanted to go to a pharmacy or Chinese of Filipino herbal remedy store or a physician’s office. He wouldn’t express a preference. The quickest and cheapest thing to do is to go to a pharmacy and buy Pepto-Bismol or Maalox or Tums. These can’t be had in grocery stores and convenience stores in the Philippines. more →
July 30, 2008
Nikko came to the apartment yesterday to do homework. As he and Mack have done previously, he asked to go downtown to buy specific educational posters for images and captions to use in his homework. I don’t know why they can’t rely on their textbooks and schools’ library books and municipal library books. I offered the use of my computer, asking, "Can we find that on the internet?" Nikko replied, "I don’t know." Maybe he doesn’t know that almost everything is on the internet (try Wikipedia and GoodSearch). more →
July 29, 2008
Today Nikko came uphill to visit because public schools in Benguet Province (and ten others) aren’t in-session today, following days of deluge. He asked if we could buy student supplies for his classwork and homework and rice for his family. So I took him, downtown, we checked my mailbox as we have done innumerable times to look for his birth certificate from National Statistics office. It hasn’t arrived yet, 21 days after requesting it; 20 days after paying for it.
July 27, 2008
Tropical Storm Fung-wong has been sending alot of rain here for days, so I’ve no news to report. I’ve been hunkered-down at home. I watched the Edmonton, Alberta Indycar race on TV. This wouldn’t have been a good day to travel from Baguio City to Sagada by bus as we had thought of doing.
July 26, 2008
Not much to report now. Working on getting electricity to the A/V/A/C family’s home and buying birthday gifts for kids (August 1, 2 and 3). Dominic and I found a modern, 24-lane 10-pin bowling alley with computerized scoring on the fourth floor of Baguio City’s Center mall, so we bowled 10 frames. more →
July 22, 2008
When Dominic and I returned from Baguio City, Nikko and Toni Rose were waiting in the garden for us. Nikko wanted to do research on the internet into nutrition and make a poster for his grade six class. Dominic is using his PC to write articles for his weekly job, so I helped Nikko use my Mac and Firefox browser to search for required information. And I got out watercolor pens and paper that I’d bought for such poster projects. more →
July 20, 2008
Audrey didn’t come from Aurora Hill to visit this weekend. But Nikko and Mack came uphill from Baguio Gold to go to 4:30 Mass and to get the weekly allowance for jeepney fare, lunches and snacks. Dominic and I took the boys by jeepney to Session Road and we treated them to dinner in Pizza Volante. Dominic and I like pizza. The boys wouldn’t state a preference for Filipino cuisine in Solibao, Sizzling Plate, Andok’s, Jack’s or a turo-turo dive.
July 19, 2008
Unlike last Saturday, Nikko came to the apartment before 8:00, and he brought his little sister, Toni Rose. I had advised him yesterday to come any time between 7:30 and 8:00 so that we could depart no later than 8:00. I said that I’d arise at 7:30 and if they were to come early enough they could eat breakfast here, and perhaps look at Saturday morning cartoons, while I prepared to go. Last night I set my alarm clock for 7:20. Wouldn’t you know it; Nikko rapped on my bedroom window at 7:18.
July 18, 2008
Today the kids didn’t have to go to school in Baguio Gold, so Nikko and Toni Rose came to visit. They were dressed nicely, so I asked if they’d like to accompany me to Baguio City to check my mail box for their birth certificate copies and have lunch. Of course they were more than willing. more →
July 16, 2008
Motor Vehicle Code of the Republic of the Philippines
July 16, 2008
Nikko came to the apartment do do homework -research of the nutrition pyramid on the internet then drawing his own chart to take to school. He didn’t want to eat anything offered to him, and we learned later that he had a loose tooth. I saw him standing in the bathroom and trying to yank out a ‘baby tooth.’ He succeeded, and I had him rinse his mouth with saline water then Listerine/water solution.
Brian writes of
misadventures in
the Philippines
