I recall very well, as if it were only yesterday, when I first moved to the Philippines in 1986. I have shared the story many times about my living with a Filipino family for one year duirng that time. I also vividly recall many things that happened during that year so long ago. The members of the family I lived with spoke English to me but when communicating with each other, they mostly spoke Tagalog. Sometimes, for my benefit, they spoke Taglish. The first couple of weeks with the family, I often heard them talking about Baboy and referring to Baboy. After several weeks, I decided to ask just who Baboy was.
“When will I get to meet Baboy?” I asked one evening during their family conversation. Everyone in the living room, who heard me, looked puzzled with my question. I added that I often hear everyone referring to Baboy and I would like to meet him or at least know who he is. Everyone burst out laughing. Baboy! Diego, one of the children, told me he would introduce me to Baboy the next morning, right after breakfast. This brought more laughter from everyone. Katrina, one of the family’s daughters, told me they were not laughing at me but laughing about my wanting to meet Baboy.
That night, before drifting off to sleep, I was thinking about meeting this very important person. Baboy. I thought he must really be an important family member. Or maybe a local politician. Or maybe even a celebrity. The next morning, I woke up, showered, shaved and dressed in my finer polo shirt. I always wore jeans, shoes and socks, even back then when going out in public.
The Meeting
At the breakfast table, no one mentioned my meeting with Baboy. Maybe they had forgotten, I thought. Finally, Diego spoke up. “After you finish your coffee, we will go meet Baboy.” “Great!” I was ready to go.
I followed Diego outdoors and we walked down the subdivision road a bit. “This way,” Diego told me. We went down a path between two houses. We walked right up to a pen. As we approached the pen, a large hog raised its head and seemed to look me right in the eye. “Gary, meet Baboy. Baboy, meet Gary.” I burst out in laughter and so did Diego. It finally dawned on me. The family had been talking about pork all this time, not a person.
This, which I have shared with you, is only one of my many memorable occasions in the Philippines during the last 28 years. I have many more to share with you in the future.
I was reminded of Baboy this morning when I heard my wife talking about our upcoming Noche Buena menu and she mentioned baboy. For sure, pork is one of the staples of the Filipino diet, especially during holidays and special occasions.
haha thats hilarious gary,miss my hometown bacolod,hoping you are all ok there ’cause of the storm coming 🙂
Thank you, king x. We are fine in Bacolod. We had moderate rain but no wind. We were able to go shopping and dining out. No rain for the last several hours.
Take care,
~ Gary ~
Lol very cool story! I can’t wait for the day when I have stories like this to tell.
I hope you are here soon, Calvin. You will gather many stories every day.
Take care,
~ Gary ~
Great story Gary. Reminds me of the time we were traveling on a special jeepney we hired for a trip to Pagsanjan. We were a group of four blokes with our girlfriends and we pulled up at roadside stop for a bite to eat. We knew a few Tagalog words and phrases.
One of the blokes, and this is true, actually had very piggy features. We used to refer to him as the pig. Not so nice but there you have it. Big red headed fellow.
We sitting in the jeep and a couple of young Filipinos, would have been about thirteen years old were passing and of course were peering at us. They made a comment about the “baboy” and we’re looking directly at our mate.
He jumped out of the jeepney and chased them down the road. Blooming funny. Still makes us laugh every time it’s brought up.
Funny story, Greg! Thanks for sharing.
~ Gary ~
Been married 5 yrs to a wonderful women she very tight with money.. All the other Philippine women I know none are like her. The reason is she work 2 jobs to support her brother, she sent him through school. She said she did without had to duck tape her shoes to walk. When she lost her job she was very ill nobody would give her 200 dollars for medical help. Her dad did and that was hard for him. Her sister husband at the time had a very successful business they didn’t help. They still don’t talk and they wont help her mom or dad now. Its sad her mom
cried cause they wont answer her phone call. So we do help her mom and dad like we bought a refg and tv. Send 100 dollars about every 2 months. I belive peoply here try to impress their family their make them think they have a lot of money. My wife tells all its not easey to make money here. Thanks Gary for what you do, we hope to be their in 2016.
Trkphil,,
Congrats on your 5 yrs marriage to q wonderful woman, Thank you for your comments and for sharing your experiences. 2016 will roll around before you know it.
~ Gary ~
Scenario: I’m in a hurry to be somewhere. My street buddies spot me and suggest I buy the pint of rum I’m usually good for whenever they ask. This time they also suggest I sit a while and taste the “pulutan” (a snack to have when drinking). They say it’s “aso”. I nibble a bit, say “masarap” (tastes good), reach for a bit more and go about my business. Some time later, I came to understand that “aso” means dog in Tagalog. Aso is an expensive delicacy in some parts of the Philippines. My buddies had considered me worthy.