Cucina Zamboanga
Wednesday, May 20, 2009
Food Lover
Tuesday, February 24, 2009
The Jeepney Chronicles

Hello world...
I have been a passenger of jeepneys ever since I learned to use mass transport as a means of travel. In Zamboanga City, there are only two means of public transport, the tricycle, which is sort of taxi in our part of the country, and the jeepney. The tricycle is like a taxi here. The drivers charge an expensive fare and once you flag one down, you become the exclusive passenger. Unlike in other parts of the country where the tricycle can pick up several passengers along the way. I am not fond of riding tricycles. My preferred means of transport is the jeepney. I only ride the tricycle only when absolutely necessary.
This post is the start of a series of post about adventures in riding the jeepney. I rode the jeepney everyday, except Sundays. I ride it on my way to work and in going to town. When I started working in an agency (short for government agency), particularly in our local university, I was fortunate enough to ride just one jeepney on my way to the office. The minimum fare way back 2001 was still P4.00. When I got married in 2002, we moved in a barangay which required me to ride the jeepney twice, once in going to town then another one in going to my office. When my pregnancy was near its full term, I had no choice but to ride the tricycle. But, the fare back then was cheaper than it was now.
We moved to a barangay where my parents live. I only have to ride the jeepney once in going to the office. The fare became P5.00. Today, the minimum fare is P7.00. The fare to my destination is P8.00. So you see, the fare has doubled in seven years. This is mainly due to the rising price of oil in the world market. But I won't delve much into that.
According to Wikipedia and its related sources, Jeepneys are the most popular means of public transportation in the Philippines. They were originally made from US military jeeps left over from World War II, and are well known for their flamboyant decoration and crowded seating. They have also become a symbol of Philippine culture. The word jeepney comes from two words, "jeep" and "jitney". Accordingly, it is called the "King of the Road."
Well, this is all for now. More stories from a jeepney ride to come...
Mabuhay!!!
Sunday, February 1, 2009
Sweet Reunions
Here is a picture of me with my cousins. At last, they invited me to join them on their night out...Actually, I invited myself...hehehe. It was a Saturday night. I attended our high school alumni homecoming when I saw my brother at the school. He told me that after the homecoming he will join my cousins for some cocktails at Catribo. Since I don't have a ride home, I joined them. Wow...I did not regret my decision. Being the eldest among all cousins present, I relegated myself to being an observer and let them run the show...With our generation gap, I find it strange that they enjoy this kind of entertainment. My brother warned me beforehand, no comment please. I would have nejoyed a more relaxed and quieter ambience. Oh oh..I am getting older...hahaha.
Well, this is a sum of my reunions with my family and friends. No matter how short the time that we spent together, it's much better than not having spent time at all. To my family and friends, thanks for making this Christmas season one of the most memorable time in my life.
Thursday, October 25, 2007
Food for School Program of the DepEd
In one elementary school in Zamboanga del Norte, the teachers served the same rice to us for lunch, paired with sardines for ulam. We not only inspected the rice but ate it as well. For others, they are bothered by the yellow specks in the rice, but it is these yellow specks which gives iron in the rice. It is an eye opening experience talking to the teachers and recipient families about the program.
For SY 2007-2008, the recipients were expanded to grade two to six students. But it is still limited to one family per kilo of rice. Meaning, even if you have two kids, one in grade 2 and the other in grade 5, only a kilo of rice will be given, usually to the older child.
I hope that such program will continue and it will not be open to abuse and corruption by the people in government.
Thursday, April 12, 2007
WELCOME to My City, My Kitchen...
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