It's a boy!

This may be old news to some, but it's a boy! We got the call on March 9th and are so excited to welcome a wonderful boy who will be 2 in May into our family. We have so much to do - paperwork, preparing the room, photo album, and more - but we are thrilled each minute.

We hope to travel sometime this summer to bring him home!

Pacman Fever

While Keith heads to the Wrestling State Tournament this weekend, and as Villanova gets ready for NCAA post-season basketball play, I thought I'd write about the Philippines' favorite son as he prepares for his next boxing challenge.

Manny Pacquiao - or Pacman to his millions of fans - will defend his WBO welterweight title against Joshua Clottey this Saturday. The ultimate card, which might come next year, is Pacquiao v. Floyd Mayweather. If the fight comes together, it could be one of the highest purses in boxing history.

Pacman is undoubtedly the Philippines most famous athlete and probably one of its most famous citizens. In 2008 he served as the country's flag bearer during the Olympics opening ceremony in Beijing, even though he was not a competitor in the games themselves. He was listed at #57 in the 2009 Forbes Celebrity 100 - between Jim Carrey and Sarah Jessica Parker.

Also in 2009, he was a finalist in Time magazine's Top 100 list of influential people. Endorsed by Nike, Manny is also a frequent product pitchman, and sometime singer/actor. There is speculation that he will run for public office upon his retirement from boxing.

While I have heard of Pacman, I didn't understand the passion associated with his fans. That is until one of my coworkers, a native Filipino, kept asking me each day if I had seen the pre-fight press conferences of his last fight, the fight itself, the post-fight interviews, Hilary Clinton's prediction that Pacman would win, etc. He was so enthusiastic, and I found myself getting more excited just listening to him, so I started checking the internet for bout results and fan reaction.

Read more about Pacman at Manny's Official Site:
http://pacman.craveonline.com/

CNN.com

Just thought I'd share this nice feature from CNN.com. Certainly Filipinos have suffered more than their fare share of natural and man made disasters in 2010, but this article focuses on hope for the future.

Despite disasters, Filipinos upbeat, survey shows
read more...

Jeepneys

About Jeepneys
Very Colorful Public Transportation of the Philippines
(I hope we get to ride in one!)

I found the sites below describe them best:

"When American troops began to leave the Philippines at the end of World War II, hundreds of surplus jeeps were sold or given to local Filipinos. The Filipinos stripped down the jeeps to accommodate several passengers, added metal roofs for shade, and decorated the vehicles with vibrant colors and bright chrome hood ornaments.

The jeepney rapidly emerged as a popular and creative way to re-establish inexpensive public transportation, which had been virtually destroyed during World War II. Recognizing the widespread use of these vehicles, the Philippine government began to place restrictions on their use. Drivers now must have specialized licenses, regular routes, and reasonably fixed fares."
Source: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jeepney

"The undisputed King of the Philippine Roads is the jeepney. Since it first emerged after the Japanese occupation of the Philippines, it has become a fixture in roads all over the country so much so that it is now considered a symbol of national pride. Jeepneys are adorned with colorful designs that distinguish them from one another, with themes ranging from the serious to the outright silly, but all uniquely Filipino."
Source: Republic of Philippines Department of Tourism

Newer versions of the Jeepney are not repurposed vehicles and include air conditioning. Electrical Jeepneys are also hitting the streets of the Philippines. Read more...

Photo above courtesy of http://www.traveladventures.org/

Jollibee!

Jollibee is the McDonalds/KFC of the Philippines. The Jollibee mascot appears to be very popular with children! Jollibee restaurants can be found in several other countries. In the U.S., check out Jolibee's in California, Nevada and New York.

The menu consists of burgers, hot dogs and chicken, as well as noodle and rice dishes.

I don't think I'll be able to find much here (or at McDonalds) that is in sync with my new healthier eating plan. But I may have to try the Chickenjoy. According to the website, it's both "Crispylicious" and "Juicylicious". Who could resist?

Filipino Language

I've been trying to learn a few words in Tagalog (Ta-GA-Lug), which is the basis for Filipino, one of the 2 official languages of the Philippines. Thanks to translation books we received for Christmas and birthday presents, and with the help of a few Filipino colleagues and You Tube, I've been attempting to practice a bit.

While English is the other offical language, given the age we except for our child (0-36 months at referral) and depending on the Child Care Agency or Foster setting, he/she may not have been exposed to much English but may know a litte Tagalog. If our child lives on an island that speaks a different dialect, we'll at least have a few basics for our travel while in Manila.

We hope to learn a few basic words to help express our gratitude to our child's care givers and others who will be helping us while we are in the Philippines. A few words to start...

Please - the prefix Paki is attached to other words, so this varies

Thank you - Salamat po

Hello - Kamusta  (Ka-MOO-Sta)

Mom - Nanay, Nanang or Ina (mother)

Dad - Tatay

Sister - Ate (used for older sister)

Younger Brother or Sister - Kapatid

Magandang araw! - Beautiful day!

Mahal kita - I love you

Click here for more useful phrases.

As with the English language, there are many different ways to express the above. Some videos for your viewing pleasure, no tests, I promise!

Videos
Teach Your Kids to Count 1-10 in Tagalog/Filipino

Learning Tagalgo - Basic Phrases

Wikipedia on Tagalog: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tagalog_language

Some of the many dialects can be found at: http://www.seasite.niu.edu/Tagalog/languages_and_dialects_in_the_ph.htm

About Pearl S. Buck

Hi everyone - no news on the referral front, so I thought I'd post a few links about Pearl S. Buck, the founder of Welcome House - our agency. She was a remarkable woman:

"Our founder was the first woman to win both the Nobel and Pulitzer Prizes. Upon her return to the United States after forty years in China, Ms. Buck dedicated her energy and resources to promoting tolerance, human rights and inter-cultural understanding, as well as fighting the impact that discrimination, prejudice, and bigotry can have particularly on the lives of children." from Pearl S. Buck International Website.

Additional info about Pearl S. Buck:

http://www.english.upenn.edu/Projects/Buck/
http://nobelprize.org/nobel_prizes/literature/laureates/1938/buck-bio.html

PSBI is comprised of Welcome House, Opportunity House (coordinates child sponsorship), and The Pearl S. Buck House. The grounds at PBSI are really quite beautiful. We are members, so if you ever would like to tour The Pearl S. Buck House, visit the gift shop or attend any of their events, please let me know!