Mangan

This lunchdate is overdue already with one of my Kumares/bestfriend, A. It's supposed to be my blowout for my son's graduation last November. Inaanak ko yung panganay nya, 20 yrs. old. Naging student ko din. Her husband is an OFW, a cook in one of the oil tankers traveling for 10 months in a year. Our friendship come a long away na, about the age of our sons. We met at a private school where we used to teach. She's happily teaching now in a public school. 

We finally settled in Mangan. Ang daming plates. Iuwi ko kaya ito for future use...

Over Chicken barbecue and Bopis ni Meily with steamed rice, bottomless Iced tea and Pineapple shake, we updated ourselves in each other's lives. Ang dami niyang kuwento about her experiences as a public school teacher being she's on her second year pa lang. Madalas daw hindi siya kumakain sa harap ng students niya. Kasi yung iba wala daw baon. She ends up giving hers to these pitiful children. Minsan isang kagat kay Nene tapos papakagatin niya din niya isang kaklase. Share sila. Nung Christmas party nagluto siya ng spaghetti para sa mga students niya kaya lang out of 20+ yata na pupils sampu lang umattend kasi nahihiya wala silang pangparty. We can't help but compare with our experiences in our former school much more with the former exclusive school for girls that I last worked for. Ikaw ang susuko sa regalo at pagkain. I always end up giving it to some janitors/office employees or to our staff here at home. The state of our public school system is still in dire straits despite the big budget allocated to them by the government yearly. Ang sakit sa loob.

The Bopis was yummy as always. Though tender to the bite, I like the old flavor of the Chicken Barbecue.