Our Life in Words and Photos

2004 - The Year that was....

Goodbye 2004 - hello year of the Rooster!!!!

How does someone overseas celebrate the coming of the new year? With dear friends of course! We had a post-christmas get-together here at home on New Year's eve. This has been an ongoing tradition since 1998, and over the years, a few people have been added, but the essence remained the same - to keep each other company for the holidays. We had a table-full of sumptuous food - paella, kaldereta, fried chicken, meatballs, lumpiang shanghai, sotanghon, shrimp, cassava bibingka, macaroni salad, ham - which my roommate and I cooked. Our friends brought mac and cheese, jello, buco salad, jack in the box dessert, kutsinta, and taho! Whew, talk about pigging out! The last of our guests left at 9pm - all were in a hurry to get home in time for New Year.

Filipinos have been known to easily adapt to their environment - wherever they may be. Since our families are all back home, we have learned to depend on friends. We have formed this bond since we first came here in 1997. In fact, I am the godmother to at least one of their kids!

I burned the phone lines at around 12:30am on January 1, Manila time. I had to make sure my husband's fingers were still intact even after firing all those firecrackers to welcome the new year! We reminisced the beginning of 2002 when I went home to spend New Year in Manila. We were together then - in fact, it was on January 3 when he actually proposed! I'm feeling homesick again....

Before the year ended, after the last of our guests left, I lost my voice! To date, I am harboring a little fever, cough, colds. What a way to welcome the new year huh? I guess it's because of the weather, and then of course, I may have gotten it from some of our guests who have just been through flu over the holidays!

Hopefully, 2005 will be a better year! Counting down the days 'til I see hubz again! :)

Lastly, please continue to pray (and help when you can) for all the victims of the deadly tsunami, and the four storms that hit the Philippines before the year ended. May those who passed away rest in peace, and may those who were left behind be able to pick up and go on.