I'm back just sayin hi and hope all you guys are doing great.

[evoltnvii]

 

[SkyNorth]

What's up !!!!!!!!!!!!

[evoltnvii]

Doing Great!


Coming up on 2 years married to my beautiful wife Sept 8th (shes survived 2 winters in [size=78%]Wisconsin). Thinking about taking a trip back to Bulacan early next year.[/size]

[size=78%]Shes about to have the conditions removed from her permanent residency.[/size]

[size=78%]Also taking inspiration from my experience a good friend that I work with found himself a beautiful girl from the PRC and married her this year.[/size]

[size=78%]Ive been lurking a bit reading all of the trip reports. its great to read about everyone's experiences abroad.[/size]

[robert angel]

Nice to hear back from you. Are there many other Filipinas there--if so, do you guys 'socialize' in those circles? How's the cooking--is it a mix of hers back home and USA style? Dried fish?



Wow--Wisconsin winters are tough--she's a trooper, although I've met plenty of Filipinos in Chicago, which has similar weather. I am pretty sure there are Filipinos just about everywhere on the planet, regardless of the weather. We rarely get snow where we live and my wife really, really wanted to experience it. We even went to Michigan a few times in Nov. & December, but it never snowed for us. After about 5 years, we finally got some where we live and she was sooo happy, playing in it and all that. Inside, I thought it was kind of silly, but I tried not to let off--I was happy to see her get such a huge kick out of it

 
Surely you remember Piglett. He and I talk occasionally and his bride got over here this past June. They are doing just great and I'm pretty sure she'll be just fine with the New England winters--she's already driving and all.


 Your wife a a Packers fan? Most Filipinas are, if nothing else, practical and that extends to football....

 
One Filipina, not accustomed to the extreme roughness of the sport, was taken aback a bit, but nonetheless had some suggestions she thought might bring more peace to:



                                         'All that fighting over that funny shaped ball'.



She suggested that things would be nicer if they used TWO balls!



Anywho, congratulations on two years--she's a lovely lady and again, nice to see you back--maybe your posts will give some other 'lurkers' the incentive to finally get up and 'just do it' --like you and your buddy!

[evoltnvii]

Nice to hear back from you. Are there many other Filipinas there--if so, do you guys 'socialize' in those circles? How's the cooking--is it a mix of hers back home and USA style? Dried fish?

- Well there are a lot more Filipinas here than i thought we actually have a small grocery called Mabuhay on the west side of madison. Owned by a filipina and her Kano husband. Its nice she can get treats from home and we can ship boxes home from there rather than driving all the way to chicago.

- She dosnt really socalize with most of the circles that are here seems they tend to be to stuck up for her but she has a few friends she met here that are from pretty close to her home in the phils. Her Aunt lives just across lake michigan. And she has friends in california texas and st louis that we visit when we can.

- As far as cooking its a real mix. I get off early in the day so i normally do the cooking and we generally stick with basics like Adobo, caldereta etc I do make my own longanisa from scratch which all of the filipinas and my co workers go crazy for.

Wow--Wisconsin winters are tough--she's a trooper.

-She swore she was gonna die the first time it went -20F but it dosn't bother her now

She a Packers fan?

-God yes a girl after the heart of every cheese head im telling you. shes got her Jersey on every game we watch.

Anywho, congratulations on two years--she's a lovely lady and again, nice to see you back--maybe your posts will give some other 'lurkers' the incentive to finally get up and 'just do it' --like you and your buddy!


-Thanks its been the best 2 years of my life never happier. I'm glad to be back and anything in my experience that can help someone deal with an issue they are having or question they have im happy to help.

[robert angel]

Nice to hear back from you. Are there many other Filipinas there--if so, do you guys 'socialize' in those circles? How's the cooking--is it a mix of hers back home and USA style? Dried fish?

- Well there are a lot more Filipinas here than i thought we actually have a small grocery called Mabuhay on the west side of madison. Owned by a filipina and her Kano husband. Its nice she can get treats from home and we can ship boxes home from there rather than driving all the way to chicago.

- She dosnt really socalize with most of the circles that are here seems they tend to be to stuck up for her but she has a few friends she met here that are from pretty close to her home in the phils. Her Aunt lives just across lake michigan. And she has friends in california texas and st louis that we visit when we can.

- As far as cooking its a real mix. I get off early in the day so i normally do the cooking and we generally stick with basics like Adobo, caldereta etc I do make my own longanisa from scratch which all of the filipinas and my co workers go crazy for.

Wow--Wisconsin winters are tough--she's a trooper.

-She swore she was gonna die the first time it went -20F but it dosn't bother her now

She a Packers fan?

-God yes a girl after the heart of every cheese head im telling you. shes got her Jersey on every game we watch.

Anywho, congratulations on two years--she's a lovely lady and again, nice to see you back--maybe your posts will give some other 'lurkers' the incentive to finally get up and 'just do it' --like you and your buddy!


-Thanks its been the best 2 years of my life never happier. I'm glad to be back and anything in my experience that can help someone deal with an issue they are having or question they have im happy to help.

Wow--alot of what you write is the same for us. We don't really mix much w/ the Fil-Am groups here, or in the next state over, which is close and full of Filipinos too. We almost dread the invites and having to come up with new excuses for not showing--but hey, any dirt gossip they have on us is completely fabricated and they pretty much know it! A bunch of them are stuck up and/or into malicious gossip and we like to lead a pretty 'drama free' life, so polite distance is wise. It's too bad that some immigrants kind of accelerate some already bad, all too commom USA characteristics after a while here.
 
Funny how my wife's 2 best Filipina friends (and Filipinos she associates w/ in general) also come from the Visayas and speak Cebuan (Visayan) even though that's not the most common dialect in the Philippines.
 
We can ship the big and the little balikbayon boxes from our city, but we pay about $140--$150 for the two sizes tohether, w/ maybe once or twice a year specials--more $$ than if we drove to Jacksonville, Florida a couple hours away. Jax, and Atlanta both have better Asian groceries, but NOTHING beats NYC's Chinatowns--eight major ones, last time I heard. We loved going there this past summer. If you didn't know, Kfc and his lovely wife had a healthy, handsome son! Kfc was in OUR neighborhood on business, while we were up in his Manhattan neighborhood-- a 14 hours drive north, ironically--so no meet up--but he told us the best places to go. Much to our surprise, we found seafood FROM our area to be cheaper in NYC's orginal Chinatown----along Canal St. I want us to vist Toronto and Chicago--they have a lot too from all over the world--real 'foodie' towns
 
Creds to you for cooking! I mentioned it to my wife-- and how you can whip up longanisa, etc and she thought it'd be a GREAT idea for me to do likewise! Her parents never really pushed her to learn a lot about cooking--it was always school, school, school and the future for my wife as a kid growing up. Even though they had no maids and the kids had plenty of chores to do, including making sure they always had rice cooked, her Mom and one very talented bro who loves to cook did most of it. They just were at really a very basic income level and into trying to improve their kid's lot down the line thru education first and foremost, but they all did a lot of community (barangay and church) service.
 
 She can cook some Filipino dishes, but we both are pretty basic cooking wise and it's a Philip--USA mix. At least she learned how to cook leche flan. She really didn't know that or even lumpia until she got over here, but she cooks a mean baked ziti and other Italian dishes, excellent BBQ, etc--bakes pretty good too. Anyways, we both cook.
 
We have a Filipina friend who's also a diehard football (college mostly) fan, who even guy Kano sports nuts turn to when they need info on the 'better team', but my wife's sports viewing is sorta like mine--the Olympics and maybe the last part of a championship series.
 
Sad to say, but two years staying together and being happy most of the time is a pretty good test these days--I bet you guys will fine down the line.
 
We're about seven years married now and knew each other almost 4 years before that. While the seasons have been pretty darn good overall, like any roses, there have been a few thorns along the way, but we still have a beautiful thing going on. I am really thankful that when we do 'fall out' and 'disagree' or quarell, we still get over it really fast. That and her 'sticktoituvness' makes for a good relationship, age variance not being the big issue most Americans seem to like to expect--really it's my kids from my previous marriage that gave her the hardest time and that's gotten better for the most part, as the boys got older.
 
Weatherwise, we typically get a handful of hard freezes a year and the 2 or 3 months where we might need to turn on the heat---those are among the BEST times in bed!!

[michaelb]

Surely you remember Piglett. He and I talk occasionally and his bride got over here this past June. They are doing just great and I'm pretty sure she'll be just fine with the New England winters--she's already driving and all.

I wondered what happened to the Piglet, glad to hear they are doing well. He really should post himself and tell us everything is going well.

[evoltnvii]

those are among the BEST times in bed!!


-HAHA!! cold weather and thunderstorms are the best am i right? i got a feeling my kids will all be made during blizzards in the future.




Its good to know me and my wife are not the only ones that notice the attitude on a "some" of the filipina that have been here a while. they seem to think they are better than everyone else from the phils and look down on you. whatever though i can live without them and so can my wife.


BTW making homemade longanisa makes you a king around the house its so worth making (especially if she has friends from the phils she will get compliments). it also dosnt have that odd aftertaste i seem to get from all of the factory made ones.

[evoltnvii]

I wondered what happened to the Piglet, glad to hear they are doing well. He really should post himself and tell us everything is going well.

Thats great he finally got her here. I wanna hear about how shes adjusting.

[thekfc]

-20F....ouch that is cold especially for her.
I remember one winter we were going out  and my wife put on slippers. I told her that it was "freezing cold" outside & she replied "but it is sunny".  I opened the window & and she went and put on her boots. 


My wife is slowly learning to cook "western" food. She prefer the Island's cooking/recipe & I have been showing her - she is getting good at it. 


Yep, stuff in NYC Chinatown are cheaper than outer area. I went there today for lunch & had some pork buns @Mei Li Wah Bakery (I think RA & his wife enjoyed them too).   


We are starting to prep the Balikbayan Boxes - we will send them off earlier this year (September). We will be hitting BJ's this weekend to get some last minute stuff. We plan on sending some items not available in the PI (or they haven't tried yet). It is only $55 per box to Manila from NYC.


My wife also socialize with a selected few. Her family in California did talk to her about the attitude "thing" & she sees it in some of the people she encounter.


My wide do watch sports but she is more into Basketball (she thinks baseball is boring  ). Last season, I  took her to the Garden & to the Knicks Bowl-A-Thon. We plan on going to a few games this upcoming season. She do watch football & have her Victoria's Secret NY Giants outfits.   


As for movies - she is all into it & can't wait for the new "Resident Evil" to open (neither can I). 

[evoltnvii]

Maddy loves going to movies we have a theater just south that has theaters filled with tables comfy chairs so you can have dinner while you watch. Best part is $6.00 to watch a new release movie no matter the showtime.

[thekfc]

$6.00 - that is cheap price.  Cheap tickets have long gone in the NYC area - it's $13/$14.


Our Optimum Rewards gives us free movies on Tuesdays & 40% discount other times.
 

[robert angel]

We enjoy a movie/dinner date a lot. When there's a really big flick we want to see, there's two other couples we might 'group date' with. For example, we had to see the new 'so so' Bourne Legacy flick, as part of it was filmed in the Philippines--and not all flattering.
 
Theaters here are a mixed bag here, w/ one major chain multiplex theater charging full price after 3:00, while another major chain multiplex theater that has two locations, doesn't charge above matinee prices till after 6:00 and only charges $5.50 from 4:00 to 5:30--at least for now. One of them's next to a fav. restaurant of ours, a mom n pop Asian place called 'The Noodle Bowl". They sell $25 'gift cards' for $20 and that covers a pretty good, spicy and filling 'made to order' dinner for two.
 
So $30 for a first run movie and a nice dinner for two is pretty good, at least here and now. Too bad the screens usually got smaller as the ticket prices got bigger, with 3D and iMax prices a separate category. Sporting events are usually ridiculously expensive. We do have a 'A' level NY Mets affiliated minor league baseball team that has cheap admission, but my wife finds baseball about as exciting as listening to my hair grow, which isn't very, so we don't do that much.
 
The places Kfc knows in Chinatown are so good, words don't do them justice--we still talk about the roast duck and pork 'side dishes' which at about $5.00 each, filled us up pretty good and man, those pork buns from the Mei Li Wah Bakery were so good! We brought a big box of em back, but the pork and duck a few doors down were maybe the best, even if my wife had to point out and request that we get complimentary orange slices like the Chinese 'regulars' were getting. Not too many places know how to do duck right--I usually don't even bother ordering duck in most places--if you see it already roasted fresh and hanging, that's sometimes a good sign. I might even see if Fed Ex still will do express 'hot packs' on food from some places we ate at. I have a friend who occasionally orders a NY pizza and it makes the 14 hour drive and is actually still warm when it gets here!

Lombardi's in 'Lil Italy'is pretty good if you like really old style 'za'--they've been doing it the same since 1905, but the best, more contemporary (thin, semi crisp 'foldable' crust, sheen of olive oil, great cheese) NYC style pizza we had probably came out of Greenwich Village, NYC.
 

[evoltnvii]

Chicago has an amazing china town best dim sum ive had outside of cali and you cant forget Gino's pizza, sorry to say while a NYC pie is good a deepdish in chicago is the best ive ever eaten. Hate me all you want I said it.


I still miss california though Maddy wants us to move back to be close to my family but job market sucks there and cost of living is insane. Madison has good points its clean, reasonable cost of living, not as many hipsters as you would think and the capitol building sits on an isthmus between two good sized lakes it looks freaking amazing at night.

[evoltnvii]

Capitol Building at night

[robert angel]

Chicago's Chinatown is very cool. I really didn't realize that NYC has at least 8 'Chinatowns' spread around the five boroughs and how diverse they are---how they vary in languages  spoken and Asian nations of origin therein, other than China itself.
 
I worked in north Chicago for a while and Gino's for sure and deep dish pizza in general thereabouts, is about as good as it gets. It's been a while, but there's some place right downtown in the high rent area, that's famous for German food--it had real dark wood paneling, oil paintings--kinda spooky almost, but great German food.
 
Chicago's probably THE place for sausage and hot dogs too. I used to go to a few hot dog 'joints' there , but I guess the best was "Flukies"--they've been around since the 1920's. I never saw things like dill pickles, sliced tomatoes, hot peppers, celery salt etc., on a dog until I hit "ChiTown" and I took to them pretty good. There was another place, near the Chicago Hines V.A. hospital, called 'Floogies' that was killer too. Other states have places that've caught on, with imitators from Fuddruckers to the 'Sonic', but I don't think any of them match up to Chicago's 'dog style' or the meat quality therein their 'sausages'.
 
NYC always had good kosher dogs 'straight up', maybe with some sour kraut and Gulden's mustard--rarely relish--but Hebrew National and Nathan's are pretty good still and I don't recall New Yorkers back before the late 1970's EVER putting catsup on a hotdog, never mind vinegar on french fries or chips--I think we got that from the Canadians and Brits. NYC and the north east coast was different with their 'Soda' anyway--they never called a coke or anything but "soda"--maybe a champagne cork or a punch in the face would be called 'pop'--but when I moved to the midwest, soda's were all being called 'pop' and they were drowning their hotdogs in catsup.
 
Wayyy up in north Wisconsin, I recall, I think it was Swedes and Norwegians and some baked, some seem kind of fried, meat filled thingie--'pasties'  I think they were called, in a lot of places--that was kind of interesting to me. One summer we 'road tripped', camping out all the way around Lake Michigan, stopping by Lake Superior for a quick, chilly swim and making a beer run into Canada, when the currency exchange was still way in the favor of the USA dollar. We bought so much beer (I think we threw out the stove to make more room for that 'essential camping item') that the rest of the trip down Wisconsin's coast is still kind of foggy!
 
Near or far, one of the most interesting and often best parts of traveling, is the food AND, sometimes the beer too!

[indaycare]

Its good to know me and my wife are not the only ones that notice the attitude on a "some" of the filipina that have been here a while. they seem to think they are better than everyone else from the phils and look down on you. whatever though i can live without them and so can my wife.

Hello Evoltnvii,

I agree with you completely. I experience the same thing 6 years ago when i was in the State. They look at me from head to toe and roll their eyes. I wish they could remember we all come from the same place.

Indaycare,