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There's no place like Home.

This was my interview with my godmother Shindy Aureo. She settled in Qatar last year with her husband, also my godfather, Joel Aureo together with their son. A few questions tackling the differences and positive points regarding food and places were asked and I am glad that she answered willingly in spite of her busy schedule. She even said that this interview will serve as her christmas gift to me. (Depressing, I know. Hahaha). Oh, and just for the sake of telling, she graduated in PUP and took up Broadcast Communication.

1. How do you find Qatar so far?

Well, I must say that the weather is extremely hot, unlike in the Philippines where we used to expect monsoons after summer. It is a good thing that only my husband goes out for work and I go out only when I'm fetching my son from school.

2. Can you name at least 3 factors in Qatar that you find completely different as compared to the Philippines?

This place is a lot different compared to the Philippines. Although cleanliness is also an issue, their government's extensive efforts are noticeable. Knowing that your blog aims to highlight certain points about food and travel, I'll jump into it, inaanak.

streetbites0928_1

Sa food, ghastly sa tingin ko ang food dito. Unlike in the Philippines where you can buy and consume streetfoods without worrying, dito you'll think twice. Grabe, maybe I'm just not brought up to this place kaya hindi ako sanay, and considering that it's gonna be our first year staying here, kaya siguro di pa sanay si Ninang mo. Good thing meron pa ring mga food hubs dito na katanggap tanggap sa panlasa nating mga Pinoy pero be sure that you bring with you a lot of money 'cause medyo costly ang food kapag sa mga exclusive restos and stalls ka bibili. Like the Lebanese Shawarma.


Yung place, yun naman ang commendable. You'll notice that Doha has become an industrialized country despite their issues on Religion. People here are mostly Muslims. 
My Ninang Shindy and cousin Justin, their first vacation  at Doha, Qatar 3 years ago.
 Just recently, we visited Aqua Park here in Doha and nag enjoy ng husto si Justin. Together with his cousins, they played and played the whole day. Their services and accommodation were agreeable and commendable too.




Justin Edward
3. Upon seeing these factors, what are your reasons if you are still planning to come back to the Philippines?

Of course I still want to go back there, inaanak. Paano ko maaabot sa'yo gift mo? Pero seriously, there will still be lots of reasons why, and these are too many that it will take a month long interview para ienumerate. Pero yung main reasons ay, kahit na dito kami nagsstay ng family ko, may family pa rin naman ako sa Pilipinas, which is kayo.

And to wrap it up, there is really no difference among countries or places. Each one has its off factors and positive points. In the Philippines, sure we are a bit problematic about pollution and discipline, pero there are countries naman which shares the same dilemma. Qatar will only be a 'place'. But the Philippines still is my home. And siguro dapat maging ganoon din ang poin of view mo, 'tian" (tian is my nickname). Na lahat ng mga mapupuntahan mong lugar and maeencounter mong food, wag laging compare. Instead you must savor the moment till it lasts. Magiging part yun ng mga experiences mo and later on, will define the man you will be in the future.
                                                                         ###


Photo References:
facebook.com
http://www.timeoutdoha.com/restaurants/features/18269-dohas-best-street-food


Irving Kristian S. PeƱano
BCR 3-1

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Ang Papa Cook!


“The way to a woman’s heart is through her stomach”, an overused line that caught the heart of many. The 16 years of successful marriage of my parents can prove it. My father, Leopoldo Sevillano, would like to share his experiences in cooking and how his passion helped him on what he had become right now.

How long have you been cooking?  

                I started cooking in 2008 for a small business I ran in Kamuning. It was my first time cooking and serving other people so it was a bit exciting yet heart-pounding not knowing whether customers would like it or not. Our business ended in 2010 due to some location problems. Because of my burning passion at cooking, my boss and I decided to put up a business. We first had a store at Claret School last 2011 and then branched out at Merriam College, now we also have a new put up store at Ateneo University.

Is it your choice or just merely a need?

                Yes, it’s my choice to do cooking as a business but partly because it is also a need. At first, it was just my sideline, for me to earn extra income but eventually I enjoyed it.

What brings you in this kind of career?

                Instinct? Experience? Instinct in a way that even though my line of work is different from cooking, there’s a part of me which pushes me to cook. There’s something that tells me I can succeed in this career. And since I have experience in cooking, I thought that I could use my passion as a business.

How does it feel when people patronize your dishes?

                Masaya, exciting, and encouraging at the same time. Especially kung binabalik-balikan, haha. Their smiling faces and satisfaction is a better reward (than the profits) for what I worked for.

What do you usually cook?

                Beef Salticao, Buttered Chicken, Chicken Fillet, Tapa and Pork Delight. Those were the dishes we usually serve at school canteens.

 What is your specialty?

                Beef salticao, it is our best seller. Gawa sa sariling timpla. It is strips of beef sauted with our secret ingredients. High school students usually order this and sometimes even if there’s no left, they look more.

What is your personal favourite?

                Crispy pata, sinigang, tinola, basta more on Filipino dishes.

So far, what is your most memorable experience in cooking?

                                Haha, should I really answer this? Well, it was the day when I caught the heart of my ever loving wife. I cooked her a Karekare which happened to be her favourite. Pumasa naman sa panlasa nya, so ayun!

What/who inspires you to cook?

                Of course my family. Sila naman yung dahilan kung bakit ako nagtatrabaho eh. So every dish I cook tastes good because it came from the heart. <3

For you, what is cooking?

                Personal enjoyment and fulfilment. J

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INTERVIEW WITH MR. WATASON

An interview with Mr. Toru Watason, a 24 years old Japanese man. He's an English Teacher at his home town, Japan

Questions:

1.) What are the places you have been? What place did you like most?
2.) What places do you want to visit? Why?
3.) What is your favorite food?
4.) What foods are you craving to eat? Why?




-Lei Anne V. Quinto
BCR 3-1D
PUP-COC

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A Day with a Call Center Agent inspite of their Zombie Schedule

Melon
 
One of the most trending jobs in the Philippines today is the Call Center Agency. Philippines still holds the first choice of BPO companies as their destination because of its less expensive work force as well as having highly skilled force in American-style language on top of that are above IT repair skills of the Filipinos.
I’ve known for so long that in the future I will meet some call center agents in my life but not myself! I was once a call center agent in SPI Global in Sampaloc Manila and Pasig City, my experience on the whole month was fun but very tiring yeah, that feeling was what we called “sabaw feeling” this days. Why? It is because Filipino time frame is extremely in contrast to the American time frame so it’s like morning in the Philippines but in USA it’s the night time. I joined in the American flower shop account named 1800flowers.com and then and there I experienced extreme happy and romantic customers but it is not new to this career to encounter also extremely stressful scenarios. My experience for me may have been too much but how much more to the call center agents who have been in this industry for a year or even more?
Meet  Melon, a call center agent in Teleperformance, she does not deny the fact that being in this field is sometimes stressful but what her company does is to innovate them to perform well in their job and that what makes her job more enjoyable than being “sabaw”. In her case, her maximum sleep is 5 hours in day time here in the Philippines but being a single mom for his 2 sons, her maximum sleep was a segmenting 3 hours. So, the company where she belongs held a raffle draw to excelling agents and there she won a trip to Boracay for 3 days inclusive of lodging, food and airfare plus Php 2,000 pocket money.
There she stayed in La Carmella Boracay and ate so many foods. She said that the food in Boracay doesn’t differ in Manila but in Boracay, seafood are less expensive.  She and her team had different adventurous activities like walking in the seabed of Boracay encountering different kinds of fishes wearing 25 kilos of helmet that made walking there possible. They also rode ac motors and sailed the stormy sea (literally stormy sea because on the time that they sailed in the middle of the sea, typhoon Julian cross the Visayas region affecting directly the Islands of Boracay) using banana boat.
After their adventure, they are back again in their zombie schedule, answering every phone call that their avaya (name of the phone they are using) receives. Back to real life, back to work, well at least they had the time to relax and forget all the stress that is caused not only by their callers but also the factors that contribute to it. What’a day with the zombies! Oooppps, I mean agents! :3 Thank you so much for letting me post your pictures in my blog Melon! Hope you are doing fine and good luck!



                                                                           -Jillian Patrixia Manlangit
                                                                                       BCR 3-1




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