Are You Hungry?

In some ways, Filipinos are like Hobbits: they’re generally content, not very tall, sing a lot, and eat at least five times a day. The word “merienda” means snack and at the Consuelo Home they’re served twice a day between the big meals: one in the morning and one in the afternoon. But the merienda is not unique to CFSPI; fast food restaurants serve merienda menu items which are slightly smaller than other meal deals.

I have stayed (mostly) vegetarian here. While still in Hawaii, I was starting to wean myself off fish; here, once I conceded that I do sometimes eat it, I have found it sitting on my plate at almost every meal: often fried and never de-boned.

The staff and the girls, conscious of my dietary restrictions, will often prepare separate food for me; sometimes too large to finish at one time, but I know that next time there will be a new plate just for me. Solution: eat more.

Not wanting to be an inconvenience at every meal and not preferring fried fish at 6am, I bought cereal, milk, and some other no-skill-required cuisine. However, even when I tell them not to make me food, I still find a full plate at my place. Being raised as I was, I always finish what’s in front of me; and now I have the added task of finishing my purchased food before it goes bad. Solution: (see above).

This past weekend I went on a day-trip with a staff member who was nervous about feeding a vegetarian. Figuring that vegetables were essential and being advised that "we" also eat bread, at merienda time she placed in front of me a pile of hamburger buns, a plate of two large, sliced cucumbers, a squeeze pack of Italian salad dressing, and a block of processed cheese that made Kraft singles seem refined. Honestly, her effort and concern was touching, and the cucumber burgers weren’t all that bad. In fact, the buns were so good, they became a test of my carb-addicted—the plethora of rice here is another issue—willpower to not devour the whole stack, which I, of course, was being encouraged to do.

On a totally separate topic, my clothes seem to be shrinking. It must be the weather or something in the water. If I am gaining weight, I will surely know since Filipinos have the uplifting proclivity towards casually informing others that they’re packing on pounds; so as Kelly (Peace Corps volunteer) put it: “There are two things you can’t get away from in the Philippines: eating and people telling you you’re getting fatter.”