Postcards from the Philippines

Postcards from the Philippines

For the month of August [and maybe September, if I don’t finish on time], I’ve decided to offer cards that showcase different aspects of the Philippines because… I just feel like it, and my tenth offer is of food. In my maternal grandparents’ house, people eat meals six times a day. I say meals because others may consider them as such, but we really only think of them as snacks or *pampagana* (appetizer). First thing in the morning, we have bread, banana and sweet potatoes with *tsokolate* (Filipino hot chocolate). This isn’t breakfast yet, it’s what we eat while waiting for actual breakfast, which is egg, soup, rice (because any meal without rice is a snack in the Philippines), a vegetable dish and one to two kinds of meat. At nine am and three pm, my grandmother or one of my aunts would try to convince me to eat bread/biscuits/banana/*lugaw*/*kakanin* before I starve, and lunch and dinner would be similar to breakfast minus the egg. Food is a big part of our culture and I don’t remember there ever being a time when visitors came by and the older adults **didn’t** ask if they’ve eaten yet