Saturday, July 25, 2009
ang maynila
“Ako mismo, hindi ako magbblog ng makakasama sa bansa ko.”
-A linefrom the guy in the “ako mismo” tv ad.
What? I can’t help it. There's freedom of expression and this is expression of freedom.
Alam kong maaari itong makasira sa bansa ko, pero, para sa kapakanan ng kalusugan ng mga mamamayan, at bilang
public health student, naniniwala ako na kailangan kong ipamahagi ang aking mga nalalaman.
So, here goes.
When you’re tired and feeling hungry when walking down the street, food and drinks are
always there. When you get out of school and office premises, food and drinks are
always there. Ahhh... thank
GOD for their presence. Oh! No, not the fast-food chain in there. I wasn’t talking about them. I was talking about the
fishball and gulaman stands.
You know they’re uhm…
dirty. But you go and buy some. Fishballs. First timers eat them with doubt, second timers eat them with feelings. Gulaman (sometimes melon). Thirsty people sip the drink till the last drop. Hmmm. Refreshed. Satisfied.
I’ve got two yummy… errr, I mean
icky stories to tell. I wish you’ve already had your meal before reading this.
FISHBALLS FROM THE P.FAURA PAVEMENT
This happened last Wednesday, after our NSTP classes.
My friends and I were walking along the sidewalk, on our may to Robinson’s. As usual, it was full of all sorts of people- students, professors, people who’s got an appointment at either the supreme court or dept of justice, beggars, lost kids, pirated DVD vendors, newspapers and candy vendors, ilam and kanin vendors, and the most famous of them all: the fishball vendors.
At the end of this crowded pavement is a pedestrian lane to the mall’s entrance. At that corner is a man selling, of course, fishballs. Lots of people love his fishballs. I see a troop of fishball lovers swooning over his casserole before and after we go to Rob’s. Lots of people know they’re
dirty. But lots of people eat like there’d be no fishballs for tomorrow anymore.
I know how fishballs from the street vendors taste. And yes, I admit that they are truly
delicious. They are juicy on the inside and quite crisp on the outside, best eaten with the sauce of your option. I like them with the sweet sauce, the one that looks like gravy.
Now, where was i? oh, yeah. There. My friends and I were about to cross the pedestrian lane when I saw
fishballs scattered along the pavement. I don’t know how they got there, but I bet someone hit the casserole of fishballs placed on the floor. I stopped walking and noticed that one friend of mine was at a stop too. We know why we stopped. We know what we were expecting. We know what we were waiting for. And I know you know what we know too.
Manong started picking up the scattered fishballs with his
bare hands. My friend and I watched, not caring whether we’ve already been left out by the others. We waited.
Oh, guess what.
Looking around if someone was watching, he returned them into the casserole of other uhmm…
"clean" fishballs waiting to be cooked.
Good one, eh?
Geesh. What I saw played in my mind repeatedly like hitting rewind several times. I can’t get it off my head. X((
Here’s another story. =)
THIRST-QUENCHERS ON TAFT AVENUEEvery weekday, I ride the jeepney to the university. I cross the Sta. Ana Bridge, pass through Taft and Quirino, and travel the long-and-always-jammed Pedro Gil (formerly known as Herran). UPManila is in P.Faura.
Now, before you get to where UPManila is, the jeepney crosses Taft Avenue from the corner of (I think that is) Manila Science High School (
cry during rainy days, darling, it easily gets flooded).
At that corner, there is a refreshment stand. The man sells what I think is melon juice.
Oh, a cold, refreshing juice. They are being contained in plastics with straw. Good to have one after or during or even before a long, tiring walk along the noisy and chaotic roads of Taft, P.Gi and Faura. Cool, refreshing liquid that runs along your dry throat. You're tired. You perspire because of exhaustion, but the drink perspires because of being cool.
I was eager to alight the jeepney because school’s already near. Then, as usual, traffic started to build up on that corner. As I waited eagerly on my seat, I looked around. A boy just got his drink and left.
That wasn't an ordinary drink. (*wink*) And the story isn't as simple as that.
Manong poured the orange-colored beverage through a
red plastic funnel. He placed in the straw then gave the boy his change. The boy left, sipping his drink. I do think he’s quite satisfied.
Yes, I mentioned about a
red plastic funnel. What about it??
We all know very well that
the funnel is used everytime someone buys a drink from Manong.
And after Manong has used
the funnel, he washes it. Good
sanitation practice, huh? =)
Do you know how Manong washes his
ever-dependable funnel?
Oh, simple. He dips it into a small pail of
water. Or was that really
water?
The pail was not opaque, rather, it is translucent. I could see the
color of the water quite clearly from where I am.
Water- a
colorless liquid made up of two hydrogen atoms and one atom of oxygen…
Colorless.
Colorless.
When and how, even in the simplest of ways, does water change its
color?
How did Manong change the
color of the water where he washes his
little red funnel?
From what I saw, the water was, sort of,
greenish.
Yes, he washes his
funnel by dipping it in there. Oh.
How did it ever get so
greenish?? Why is the
water greenish???
I remember the time when I was on my way home from school. Yes, just as I’ve said,
Taft gets easily flooded during the rainy days. I remember… that the
water was also…
greenish.
I'd like to end this post by saying, "God bless the people who drink and eat street foods and street drink. God bless both Manongs. God bless the people who are reading this post and now feels like throwing up. " ---
Labels: college, food, icky, manila, ugly, upmanila
ianne ended @ 6:37:00 PM
this is one... HECK of a story.. =)). gave me shivers to tell the truth. whooo.. nice post. :D
