A drive out the road by my
house leads to the golf course,
the airport, and then quite
quickly to the depths of
Mindanao's natural beauty.I was just sitting down to work this morning when the power went out. It stayed out to the point where I got the impression that it wouldn't be coming back immediately, so I put Epril and Susan on the back of the motorcycle (leaving Ednil at home) and went for a ride out in the country. (The electricity came back as we were pulling out of the driveway, natch... but I kept driving, already committed to seeing some scenery.)
I drove out away from town along the road to my house, which also leads to the golf course and airport, about 3 and 4 kilometers from my house respectively. After passing the airport, civilization becomes much more sparse. The road drops down into the Cagayan River Valley, and the mountains close in on either side. The lush vegetation becomes much greener and thicker.
There is a cave, and some of the best white water rapids in the world are out along this road.
We drove out for about 15 kilometers, until the road wound back up into the hills and turned away from the river, and then came back, and I got to work.
Susan made rosemary chicken in balsamic marinade for lunch, and a pork and capsicum dish for dinner. She's really churning out some great meals.
Ednil's parents put the kibosh on Ednil going to study in Manila. That's too bad: Missing out on a free education at the best culinary school in the country. I'm not sure what else I can do for the girl: She wants to be a chef, but there aren't any schools for that in Cagayan. In America, there is only one obvious answer for those struggling to improve and not finding opportunity right outside their front door: Go someplace else. In The Philippines, for some people, there is one obvious answer to that same problem: Set your sights lower until opportunity is the same as what has always been right outside your front door.
Sometimes poverty explains itself.
Too bad about Ednil & the cooking school. Dunno how far Manilla is from your place (I could look it up but I'm too lazy today), but maybe you could take her parents on a week-end trip over there and show them the school and so. Maybe you could take them to a restaurant in Manilla where graduated students work, or give them an idea about the income of a well-trained chef?
ReplyDeleteMaybe they're worried about the gweilo taking their daughter to
the Big City for god knows what?
Sounds like a terrific opportunity you're offering the girl. I hope it works out.
Peter, those are very good ideas.
ReplyDeleteImplementing any of them wouldn't be something that I could do on a spur of the moment though: We are far away from Manila and would have to take a 90-minute plane flight to get there.
I actually don't know what a well-trained chef makes in the Philippines, but it is something that I could try to find out.
Again though: Good ideas.
I do think that their main problem is going to Manila. I think they are of the opinion that it is a dangerous place, and that it isn't a good place for their daughter to be.