Music and Plenty of Pasalubong

Thanks Faithful Readers,

How does one entertain oneself for an 8 hour bus trip from Bicol to Manila? By listening to music and eating snacks!

Music plays a vital role in daily living here in the Philippines.  In fact singing is highly revered.  Singers are idolized.   In a mall, a great voice singing simple karaoke songs can stop people from whatever they're doing.

In my cousin's neighborhood, some extreme singers will sing karaoke until the late hours; then they'll take a nap, and sing again before the sun rises.  Whether they can hit the note or not, is another matter itself.

I remember hearing my godchild singing "Nothin' On You" ( by B.O.B. ) in the bathroom; some of the lyrics are slurred, but she's got the tune and melody down.  I sing in my head and in my own time.  As I bob my head to the songs in my playlist, coconut trees blurred into rice fields and other vehicles.

In every stop, a vendor would hop in the bus to sell goodies.  He'd yell: "Buy your pasalubong!" According to a source, giving pasalubong helps take the guilt away from having a fun trip ( in a way, a pasalubong is a way for the receiver to share in the giver's adventure ).  Generally, items, which are bought as pasalubong are food.  The destination traveled is usually short so the food wouldn't perish.  With technology and global expansion, the idea of pasalubong started to incorporate souvenir items, such as key chains and magnets.

I munched on peanut tarts, oranges, and boiled quail eggs leaving enough for my cousins to give as pasalubong.  I'd fall asleep and I'd wake up to the soothing voice of Jack Johnson singing: "And this moment keeps on moving, we were never meant to hold on ..."

Food perishes in the present moment ( unless jacked up with preservatives ), and maybe this transient quality makes food as pasalubong a sweeter treat: glad for a safe return and a happy reunion.