Welcome to Seattle, my home away from home. It's been exactly 6 months, 8 days, 12 hours (Yes, like the song) since I left The Motherland, but it feels like a million years ago already. I have never been this far or this long away from home. I have changed in ways I never thought I could. I have done things I never thought I would (like wash the dishes, do my own laundry, clean the bathroom!). I miss all the people I love to love and love to hate. I miss all the people, period. I miss the sunshine. I miss the sunset. I miss the blue and pink and amber skies. I miss the beach. I miss the noise. I miss the traffic. I even miss the pollution (can you believe I'm this homesick?). I miss late-night movies. I miss the tiangges. I miss the jeepneys and the tricycles and the taxis (even though I don't commute). I miss texting. I miss the soap operas and game shows and the evening news. I miss being carefree and irresponsible, not thinking about tomorrow, only what I'm going to do this weekend.
Most of all, I miss the food-- Jollibee. Crispy pata. Lechon Kawali. BBQ. Bagnet. Bagoong. Dampa. Even the small stuff that I used to take for granted -- Skyflakes, Century Tuna, Mang Tomas, ChocNut. That is why I was so happy when I discovered a pseudo-Filipino grocery near the Filipino restaurant where I buy ulam sometimes (this deserves a separate post). I say "pseudo-Filipino" because it isn't owned by a Filipino but rather a Chinese/ Vietnamese/ Taiwanese. I will reserve it for the next entry.
That is when I realized that there is really no one source on the internet (as far as I know and as far as Google knows, in Metro Seattle anyway) where a homesick hungry Filipina like me can find a listing of restaurants and groceries selling homemade goodies. Sure, sooner or later one can stumble upon an ethnic store or native eatery. But like most people here in the US, no one really has time to drive the streets of Seattle in search for sinigang or adobo. So I thought that it would be nice if I chronicled my discoveries on a blog, which is what I am trying to do here!
I have made a list of potential Filipino groceries and restaurants that I can visit. I hope I can find my suking tindahan soon. Also, I hope to share with everyone my adventures and misadventures here, my thoughts and desires (to go home!) and ramblings and what-nots (a favorite expression here, I noticed).
So, I hope you enjoy my site and please drop a line or two. It is always nice to hear from someone back home:-)
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