Goat, Dog, and Videoke

Goat, dog, and videoke. Go ahead, take three guesses - what do all of these have in common???

I'll give you a clue. Today is the 28th birthday of Manang Norma's son, Andy. She is having a big party at our house tonite in honor of him. The entertainment: Videoke. The food: (You guessed it) - Goat and Dog.

Yes, I must admit that it was a bit disheartening to awaken to the sound of a bleating goat. I looked outside and saw that they had the little goat tied down and were washing the neck. I couldn't watch them kill it. After that, I heard a dog squealing . . . I didn't even look. I didn't want to know. It's a whole other world. What can I say?

As far as videoke goes. It's rampant here! Filipinos LOVE to sing videoke! They rented the videoke machine yesterday, so last night we stayed outside while many of the kids and several adults sang their hearts out. Some songs were in English, some were in Tagalog. I went inside around 9pm and I think they sang until around 10. Tonite will be the big event, so no telling how late the party will go. The men like to drink gin. A few of the women drank beers last night (I had one to be social). But for the most part, the men drink and the women don't. Women who drink very much are considered "loose" - so protecting the reputation is important.

I'm sure the party will be interesting. I'll let you how it goes . . .

The meeting and merienda at the Baranguay Captain's house was a success. Thankfully, we had Paul, our instructor, to interpret for us. We were asked a few questions in Ilokano, which we were able to respond to (for the most part). And between the four of us Americans, we could understand most of the answers to our questions. They served us spaghetti and Pop cola for merienda. Living here has made me realize that spaghetti is a "universal" food. The only difference between Filipino and American spaghetti is that the sauce is meatless and much sweeter here. It's actually pretty good.

Well, that's it for today. I'll let you know how the party goes. (And how the food is! :-o) Sige, baybay!