Our New Normal

I just walked into the house again with my helmet still on my head. Having a helmet on my head has become a daily do for me here in the Philippines. So has a lot of other, previously strange, things…

Again, back to the helmets. Since all the other South Africans that were with us for a while has left the Philippines, we are the lucky owners of a bright orange Vespa. Love it. With riding the Vespa comes wearing a helmet. Still one of the funniest sights for me to see myself and Stoffel look like lollipops. A red one and a black one.

Driving in the rain on the Vespa while holding an umbrella, is also normal. It’s funny, you see the locals do it and you don’t even think twice before attempting the same stay-dry-method.

Renting the flat here in “The Courtyards” from Mr. Ong, has also made us the (un)lucky owners of bright orange curtains. Shiny bright orange curtains. We couldn’t bare the orange glow in the living area for too long, but having them in our bedroom has become a normal sight for our sore eyes;)

People we didn’t know by a bar of soap, we now see almost every day. Having them in our lives is a wonderful, welcoming new normal.

Having his hair cut by a “I -look- like- a- dentist- barber”, was new to Stoffel. He was somewhat nervous during the session. Not just because the barber looks like a dentist, but also because the guy never spoke a word and we weren’t sure whether he understood Stoffel’s instructions. Everything went well in the end. Soon, this will also be normal:)

Of course, eating funny looking food is a given to become normal while living in a different country. We’ve tried some, and the lechon (the piggy with an apple in it’s mouth…) and turon (deep fried banana), for example, were both liked.

I now clean the house with my little “liewe Heksie besem” without thinking it’s weird. It’s wonderful. No… it’s not, I would like a normal one…

When you’re cooking with new ingredients, brands and just different tasting food, it’s sometimes soooo nice to have a little normal in our lives to spice it up with! Another orange friend owned by us…

What a treat when the new normal is just plain amazing goodness in the form of TIMTAMS!!! slam slam!

The fact that I don’t have an oven in the kitchen, calls for innovative no- bake cookie recipes. I am working on my food photography skills….;)

Although I’m driving the Vespa like a pro in our neighborhood, driving down-town on the Vespa was a first for me today. We bought wood to have a braai in our new normal barbeque thing. And we did it Filipino style. This picture was taken in the safe streets of our security complex, that’s why I don’t look so nervous…).

For some reason, even I drink a beer whenever the occasion is there. Probably because of the lack of good…no, affordable…South African wine.

So, cheers! To “new normals” and the adventure that comes with it.