Shindig

Last Sunday was my host parent’s anniversary, so the whole family came over for a big lunch. As far as Filipino families go, theirs didn’t seem that big; Eley family get-togethers have more people at them. But there was tons of food! The only person in this picture that I really know is the girl at the end of the table, that’s my host sister, Rachel. If you’re interested in the food we’re eating, I’ll tell you what each thing is, starting at the top. You can hardly see it, but there’s a tray of ‘barbeque’, which is grilled pork on skewers. It tastes really good, but more than half of it is pure fat, so I have a really hard time eating it. Next are two chickens stuffed with lemongrass and seasonings. In the white bowl is the rice. On the tray is lumpya, fried lumpya on the left, fresh lumpya on the right. Lumpya are basically egg rolls. They’re pretty tasty. Then there’s a bowl of some variety of sud-an. Sud-an is the general term for the food that goes with the rice. I’m sure this dish has it’s own name, but I don’t know what it is. To the left is the spaghetti that is prepared for every special occasion here. I don’t know what the origin of special-occasion spaghetti is, but I’m willing to bet it has to do with American troops that used to be here. The Filipinos have adapted it though, so the sauce is much sweeter than the sauce we’re used to. I can eat it, but it’s not very good. Most of the other Peace Corps Volunteers can’t stand it.