Sunnysideup Perspectives: Goodbye to China (for now)

I’m back! My hubby and I left Mainland China last March 26 so here I am back in my hometown and back to blogging. My blog posts have been intermittent, well even nonexistent since the blocking of blogspot late last year.

In China I learned and observed much about their people, food and culture. There were times when I had to adjust and adapt to some of their ways but overall the experience was interesting and worthwhile. As a newlywed who decided to settle in a foreign land with a language I am not able to speak nor understand, my first few months were challenging. I initially felt like a fish on land, but looking back I will always value these moments because it made us closer as a couple. At the same time the relocation taught and reminded me of wifely values and traits like humility, adaptability, selflessness, openness and thankfulness. I am grateful to have had time to experience and focus on being a wife - a fulltime housewife - with lots of quiet and relaxed time on my hands. It actually felt like a 2 year summer vacation for me.

Anyway this entry marks my return to blogging and soon corporate life. There is so much to share having missed blogging for months. That said, expect that some of my upcoming posts will be about the experiences I had during the half of last year.

And so, let me end this article by enlisting the top 10 things I will be missing in China.

#10.Cooler Weather. Being back in my home country -one that is located in the equator, I definitely miss the fact that I don’t need airconditioning for months.
#9.Our rented apartment which became our home for a while, I just love everything about it - the glass windows, the view of the nearby mountain, the man-made waterfalls below us and the noisy frogs singing at night.
#8.Photo perfect places and things. I think I took thousands of photos during my stay here in China.
#7.My evening walks with hubby. It’s daily our time to bond and talk while exercising.
#6.Shitake Mushroom and KiatKiat Oranges. I just can’t enough of this.
#5. Their yummy steamed dumplings and meatballs which we usually buy at the grocery on weekends.
#4. Bread, Bread, Bread. I don’t know what it is with Madeli and Cai De Xuan but everytime we pass by these stores the smell is just so good. It’s like the Pied Piper hypnotizing the rats.
#3. Pasta by Papponi and Cheese cakes (especially the Japan Cheesecake and Cappucino Cheesecake) by Tiramisu.
#2. Our new friends and Catan playmates Victor, Janna and Jonette

and...

#1. Milk Tea/Nai Cha. My ultimate favorite drink. I’ve tried several brands from MTR, Comebuy, AH-2, EDO. Each one with it’s own distinct taste I’ve come to adore.

sunnysideup finds: Ka-blogs

Calling on all fellow Pinay/Pinoy bloggers living abroad!

I just found Ka-Blog (Blogs ng mga kababayan sa abroad) , it's a blog that aggregates and collects Filipino blogs for listing.

Join and be part of this group. As Jim Paredes said on his blog, "Our OFWs can be the storytellers, narrators and witnesses of how the lives of ordinary Filipinos can move ahead if the system only allows them to. Their very lives are testimonies to this. Where for years, their dream of becoming something had not been possible in their homeland because of the social inequity and lack of opportunities, now they are proud, productive and prosperous people."

Let's share our stories!

(PS. I also read that they acknowledge and award inspiring bloggers. Read the details here.)

Thank you series: Macau becomes our second home

As Filipinos, my husband and I grew up with a strong inclination to the western ways - specially for (fast)food and entertainment. Although I have adapted more to the food and culture here in Zhongshan, my husband has more difficulty. He still craves for the food and environment he has grown into and although we pledged on eating healthy, a once in a while a fastfood meal is always a treat.

There are several McDonalds and KFC branches here but it doesn't taste the same. As expected the food they served has been slightly modified to appeal to the Asian/Chinese taste. For example:

• KFC's chicken is still good but is served without the gravy. (Again what is KFC without gravy?)
  
• KFC's gogo sandwich sauce has been updated to take on the chinese taste.

Also I have still yet to find a Starbucks store here in our area. Although there are a lot in Shanghai or Beijing, I have not found one here in Zhongshan. The nearest branches are in Macau or Guangzhou.

Thankfully we are blessed with the visa and capacity to travel to Macau regularly. Most of the things we crave for is just 2 hours away from us. Everytime we visit Macau we feel better and less homesick. We get to have the once in a while treat of eating fastfood we crave for. Just this week I got to eat Mcdonalds breakfast meal and my husband also discovered donuts that tasted the way he wanted. We have yet to find a nearby Dunkin Donuts or Krispy Kreme but the patisserie in Macau Tower is good enough. The bread and food they serve is really superb!