Our First Kiwi Christmas

December 2006

Merry Christmas and Happy New Year, dear family and friends!

I’m sure everybody is curious about how we spent our first ever Kiwi Christmas. Let me then start by reminiscing how we spend our Christmases back in Malaysia and Philippines. Since I’m in a nostalgic mood, I’m going back to my earliest memory of Christmas. I think I was about ten (I have a short memory!) and we were living with my aunt and uncles. It was a cozy two-level house with several rooms. We occupied a big portion of the first floor while the other rooms were being rented out. The second floor was where my aunt and uncles lived. During Christmas Eve, my brother and I would tie our socks on the window (we figured it would be easy access for Santa there). The day before Christmas was a busy day for the adults. My lola (grandmother) would be up in the wee hours of the morning for the simbang gabi (Church mass at 4 am). Christmas for them are either spent in Manila or Bicol province but it would always be with all of us as we either go to Bicol or they would come join us in Manila. That year, my grandparents took the train early to celebrate Christmas with us in Manila. My grandfather usually is not so accommodating as he has to forego all those probable customers (he has a thriving bicycle shop in Bicol at that time). My lola would be in charge of cooking her special sinukmani (sticky sweet rice) and natong (taro leaves in coconut milk) while my mother usually prepares the food for us kids—fried chicken and spaghetti. I would be busy then cleaning the house so that it would be sparkling clean during Christmas Eve (I really don’t get that, I mean, it’s not as if we’d have guests, so why does it have to be clean?). My cousin, Vic-Vic, who was also my best friend at that time, was also busy cleaning their house and helping her mother cook their own Noche Buena (literally translated Good Evening but it actually is our Christmas Eve dinner). My cousin Vic-Vic lived a few steps from us as their family rented the other room in our small compound. It’s funny that we don’t just have one Noche Buena, instead, each household had to have their own. I never asked why, but it has always been like that. So on Noche Buena itself, Vic-Vic and I were the messengers as we brought plates of food from our respective households to the other. A rule in our household that time was that nobody touches the Noche Buena food until the clock strikes twelve but since our stomachs wont be able to last that long, my mother prepares a separate pre-dinner food so that our stomachs wont growl when we attend the Christmas mass at ten. After the mass, we would all go back to the house and re-heat the food. Only then we get to eat and open our presents. Our stockings would still be empty as Santa is only scheduled to drop by on the wee hours of Christmas. Everybody would end up burping as we fill our tummies with ham, queso de bola (edam cheese ball), sinukmani and other food we’d only have for this special day. I was the first apo (granddaughter) then so I’d have lots of gifts from everybody but my brother was becoming the baby of the crowd as he charmed them with his toothy smile (he was five then and way cuter too.. haha). I indulge myself by thinking that my uncles considered me as their favourite niece (they had no choice, I was their only niece at that time). I got great gifts from them, a bubble watch, game watch and my melody stationery. I’d go to bed with my Christmas presents beside me. On Christmas morning, my brother and I will race up to the window to get our socks to find out what Santa has left for us. In the previous years, Santa has given me a wallet, a watch and some nice stuff so this year, I was expecting something even nicer. Actually, I knew who Santa really was but of course I didn’t want to ruin it for my brother. But still, I was surprised when I opened my sock and found an apple and a note which said, “Dear Yeng, You’re a grown up girl already and you probably know who Santa is. I hope your gift last night was enough. – Love, Mama and Papa” As the selfish kid that I was, I wanted more than just an apple. My brother got a new toy to add to his collection. But then, come to think of it, I have been enjoying gifts from Santa for several years now while he has just been here for about five years and this is his second gift from Santa I suppose. So ok, I didn’t feel bad anymore. And at least I got an apple, right? The next year was different for us as there was a big fire in the house that we lived in so we had to move to another place. (I’ll tell you about the fire in another entry as it would ruin the jovial mood here). But we still made it a point to spend Christmas Eve or Day together with the big family. It was that way until I got married, well, minus the socks on the window, even my brother got a note too when he turned ten, I think.


When I got married, I was worried that I’d have to face the dilemma of choosing where to spend Christmas Eve—with my side of the family or with Ronnel’s side? I guess this has been solved for me when we had to leave for Malaysia. I didn’t like the solution to the problem but at least not one side would think we’re partial to the other. So, for the two years when we were in Malaysia, we spent our Christmas with our Filipino friends there. We would still have our exchange gifts but we added a twist to make it a game. We would pick a number, choose a gift from the pile and open it in front of everybody. If your number is higher than the previous one, you get the chance to stay with your gift or get the other person’s gift. It was always a joint effort for me and Ronnel. I guess we were lucky as he always got the higher number so even if somebody already took the gift I was interested in, he would just take it back for me. For two straight years, we always went home with the gifts we chose. When we left Malaysia, I remember giving that same gift I got to the other person who really wanted it during that exchange gift session but had a low number so had to give it up to Ronnel. I always felt bad for taking that gift away from her so I gave it as my parting gift.

Ok, so now, let’s stop reminiscing. I’m sure what you really want to know is how we spent our Christmas here in New Zealand. Let me start at work then. We had our team party at a colleague’s house. What can I say? It is definitely different from the Christmas parties I am accustomed to. For starters, this is the first party that we didn’t have rice on the table. What do you expect? This is a whole new world and rice isn’t part of it. Not that I was looking for rice, anyway, I am an Atkin’s advocate anyway so that’s ok with me. A colleague of mine prepared dinner for everybody and it was really nice. I made macaroni salad for dessert which actually became one of the main dishes since it was so heavy for the tummy. We had a painting game and I introduced them to the wonders of the magic mic. I think they enjoyed it since it was a huge improvement over PS2 singstar which only had about 30 songs in one disc. Well, of course, you had to ignore the cumbersome graphics and the minimal grammatical errors in the magic sing. I was really embarrassed when the magic sing flashed, “What A Excellent Singer!” in big bold letters. We were using a projector then so it was glaring big but it didn’t matter to them, my Kiwi officemates just laughed and enjoyed every song in magic sing – even Macarena!

Aside from the Christmas Team Party, we also had Secret Santa, which to us Filipinos is actually the Kris Kringle. We had it for nine straight days and the trick was to put the gift on the person’s desk while the person is away. For the nine days, I only got one gift while some of my colleagues had one every day. My seatmates would tease me and show off their gifts in jest and I would always tell them that my secret santa was probably planning a big big gift for me on the last day. It was only later did I know that my secret santa was actually indisposed so I had to be forgiving. It was no big deal for me, Christmas was all about giving anyway, right? And I have received so many gifts and blessings already that I have no right to ask for anything anymore. So I was really surprised when one day, I found lots of trinkets on my desk and a note from my other secret santa. Apparently, a seatmate of mine felt bad that I didn’t receive any gift during the Secret Santa period. Well, I eventually found out who my surrogate not-so-secret Santa and thanked him with a poem via email. Soon, everyone showed their poetic prowess at work and thanked their own Secret Santas with a poem too. Here are some poems they sent:

To my Kris Kringle……

You have outdone yourself
You really are the best
Your presents were so good
I can forget about the rest

Every day a new surprise
I could not believe my eyes
I don’t care what the others say about you
I know they are all lies….()

The vouchers were great
The chocolates were sweet
Finding such a variety of pressies
Really was a feat

Christmas is not over
Don’t feel like you have to stop
You are more than welcome
To continue to shop

And don’t forget my birthday
The day is approaching nigh
Actually, it is not until July
But that gives you plenty of time to buy!

When Xmas comes around next year
I will give a great big cheer
“I hope you will be my Kris Kringle”
But you probably won’t I fear

That is the end of my poem
I hope it finds you well
Have a Merry Xmas
I hope your head does not swell

Another one...
To my Secret Santa...

For all they said and more, cheers,...
But I really just want to thank you for the beers!

And another one...
Roses are red

Violets are blue

My dear Secret Santa
Who rocks??? YOU!!!

Mine was this one...
To My Other Secret Santa...
Thank you from the bottom of my heart,
For all the goodies, the tea, the earrings, and Christmas tart,
I know that you are really really smart,
To take the place of my real Secret Santa who now can't take part,
Of this Christmas game that Ailua had us start,
You didnt really have to do this, no need to go to the mart,
But just the same, I'd really like to thank you from the bottom of my heart.



----> My Surrogate Secret Santa's gift to me


On Christmas Eve, Ronnel and I had an early dinner as I prepared roasted Chicken wings and mac n cheese. We also opened the fruitcake given away by ANZ to its employees plus the half bottle of Chardonay in the fridge. I think my tolerance for alcohol now is a bit low as I’m face flat on my bed at 10 pm. But before that, we called our loved ones who were in the Philippines preparing for their own noche buenas. Thank God for cheap call cards…


On Christmas Day, I woke up early to prepare my specialty – Carbonara. I knew that this dish would never fail me. Countless of friends and party acquaintances have asked for my recipe so I had named it SEC (Special Einge Carbonara. Narcissist, am I?). I used reduced cream and light evaporated milk this time to lower the calorie count. I set my SEC aside as Ronnel and I went to attend the 9 am Christmas mass. The church was filled with people as everyone wanted to get that special blessing on the day Christ was born. My eyes were filled with tears once more when I remember how much blessings we received for the past years.

At about 1130 am, I got a call from Kuya Nestor that he was on his way to pick us up from our place. We were going to spend Christmas with his family and that was the reason I prepared my SEC. At Kuya Nestor’s, his wife, Ate Soc was busy preparing for our Christmas lunch. I met their kids, April and Philip. Aside from their looks, you wouldn’t think they were Filipinos. They definitely sound Kiwi already. Ronnel and I will probably have kids like them and we smiled at the prospect. We really like Kiwi life here and we are looking forward to raising our kids the Filipino way in a Kiwi environment. The meal prepared was scrumptious! My SEC paled in comparison and I thought of dropping the “S” as it wasn’t so special anymore. We had Kare Kare with a kiwi twist (Ate Soc put in broccoli instead of the usual Kare Kare veggies), caldereta with a kiwi twist again (Kuya Nestor put in olives), ham, baked mussels, shrimps, and sweet tarts made by April. I think I weighed 10 pounds more when I left their place. I whipped out my magic sing (What is a Filipino party without it?) and we sang Christmas carols and old songs. I made good friends with April that day while his dad belted out his rendition of Abba songs. I bonded with her as she was the only person in my age group during that time (except for Ronnel but he was busy singing as well). She showed me her collection of books and I was impressed with how mature she was. While I was stuck with my fiction romance-mystery novels, she was reading non fiction autobiographies. I was five years her senior but it felt like the other way around as I browsed her book self. She lent me a book to try reading and I promised to burn her a copy of Asian movies. I learned a lot of things about Kiwi teenagers life from her that day and I bet she learned a lot of Filipino stuff from me as well. What’s more, she also reads signatures! I’ve always read other people’s signatures and I haven’t had mine read so it was refreshing to hear her analyse how I sign my name. She still had to hone her skills as she missed some points but hey, what are the odds of me meeting another Filipino in Wellington who loves to read, enjoys shopping and reads signatures? It’s just too bad that she’ll be leaving for Auckland next month as she found a teaching job there. (If that wasn’t enough, she also has my dream job!). So we made an appointment to go shopping the following Thursday so that she can show me her favourite shopping places.

While I bonded with April, Ronnel bonded with the youngest Velasco, Philip, as they played NBA live in his PS2. It was a close match, but what do you expect, the younger, the faster, the better prevailed. I think my husband has to stick to playing with me if he wants to win. Haha.

Kuya Nestor and Ate Soc packed some leftovers for us (tapaws, we call that in Malaysia). This is very typical of an Asian, and I think it also says something about how thoughtful Filipinos are. Imagine, you already had people coming over to your house to eat and that wasn’t enough, you also pack food for them to bring when they leave. Very nice, isn’t it? That is why Filipino parties are overflowing with food as we make sure that there is something left for the guests to bring home. They brought us home via the scenic way which made me dizzy for a while (I am still not used to the winding roads here) and it was a good thing we stopped to admire the ocean or else I would ruin Kuya Nestor’s car mat. At home, Ronnel and I spent the rest of Christmas day dozing off.

On Boxing Day, Ronnel gave me the best Christmas present. He told me he won’t be going out shopping with me and that he’d be staying home to play his Wii. He gave me shopping money and told me to enjoy my time alone. At that moment, I realized (once more) how I loved my husband so much. (Told you I was easy to please) Imagine, a whole day for me to indulge in my addiction – shopaholism! I heard bells and birds chirping and Ronnel’s voice in the background warning me to spread my shopping money until Thursday since April and I will still be going out to shop. I went out at about 930 am. The streets were still deserted but when I reached Lambton Quay, one shop called Country Road was teeming with shoppers. As curious as I was, I checked out the merchandise but didn’t want to queue anymore so I left the shop empty-handed. I went to the shops on sale and was delighted to find out that prices were really slashed. I bought heaps from the shops I’m familiar with – Body Shop, Esprit and Farmers. I bought a shirt and shorts for Ronnel, make up and lotion that I intend to send home to my little sister. It was only half past noon when I realized that I had no more shopping money left so I texted Ronnel to wait for me as I was going home to have lunch with him.

The day after Boxing Day (27th) was a working day for Ronnel. As for me, I was on leave as I was preparing myself mentally, physically, emotionally (and all those –allies) for the upcoming years I’ll be spending with BNZ. Yup, I have officially decided to stay on with BNZ. Remember in my previous post, I mentioned that I only had a 3-month contract with BNZ? Well, I am glad to say that I am now a full pledged permanent employee. It was a hard decision to make as there were a lot of complexities in the package, plus the market out there for BA’s is really thriving. For the past weeks that I’ve been checking out the market (ergo job-hunting), I learned that there’s so much out there to learn and to experience for someone like me. But in the end, after much deliberation with Ronnel, we decided that I stay with the Bank. As I’ve told my boss, in the end, the only thing that matters is where I am happy—and I am happy where I am now. So I chose to stay. So starting Wednesday, January 3, I am no longer on contract. I don’t want to speak ahead of myself but I think I’ll be staying with this Bank for a long time. I mean I am loyal and faithful, remember? If it weren’t for the reason that I had to leave the country, I would still be with my banks in the Philippines and Malaysia. Plus, my friends know how loyal I am to Ronnel, so there you go…

Anyway, on the two days after Boxing Day, while Ronnel went to work, I spent my mornings jogging. For the first time in my life, I jogged alone. And I loved it. I do not have to pressure myself to jog faster. I can just stop to catch my breath whenever I want (Ronnel hates it when I did this a lot the last time we jogged). I jogged along Oriental Parade and got to appreciate the things around me – the cool breeze of the ocean, the warm streaks of the sun, the soft cries of the seagulls and pigeons in the sky. With the loud voice of Fergie from my Ipod (a gift from my mom before we left Philippines), I jog happily, thinking of all the blessings I have received thus far. I couldn’t ask for anything more, well, maybe that the few tummy flabs will disappear after this round. After jogging, I cooled down in the library. I read the book, “Nice Girls Don’t Get the Corner Office” by Lois Frankel. I highly recommend this to all career women out there. It gives pointers to women at work on how to further their careers while having a balanced life. Great read! The next day, after jogging, I went home and prepared for another shopping session – this time, with my new friend, April. We met at Kirks and had lunch at Wholly Bagels. That was the first time I had a bagel for lunch and it was filling, not quite what I expected. Since I finished up all my shopping money during Boxing Day, I was on a tight budget (Ronnel upped my limit a bit but I couldn’t bear to spend so much anymore). April and I circled Kirks and Cuba street a bit but saw nothing that would interest us. We just stopped by a home shop where I bought a pillow (haha! Still couldn’t resist) and a CD shop where April picked up a new CD of a Kiwi band. Since we were near my home, I showed her our tiny place and rested for a while. As she had to catch the bus home, she went on her way while I had to buy Ronnel’s dinner. I gave her a small collection of Asian movies to watch when she gets home. I enjoyed the afternoon with her and felt sad that she had to leave for Auckland soon.



On the 29th Friday, Ronnel was on leave as we wanted have a New Year couple day-out. We took the Wellington Cable Car to view the city from a breath-taking angle. The cable car wasn’t what I expected as I had a different notion of what a cable car was. Cable car in the Philippines and Malaysia meant a melon-shaped car suspended several meters up the air using cable wires. It would literally take your breath away as you fear that the cables would snap and you’ll fall into an abyss of rock and dirt. I remember when Ronnel, my brother and I rode a Cable Car when we were in Genting Highlands, Malaysia and the cable car stopped for a few seconds. Prior to that, there was news that a cable snapped so the cars were out of commission. That ride was one of the few given out after the fix was made. I was scared and thrilled at the same time. I said a silent prayer then and I think Ronnel and my brother did too, but of course, were too “manly” to admit. Anyway, the cable car here was nothing like that. It was a tram hooked to cables and a long rail to bring its passengers up the hill. It was a short ride but the scenery that awaited was enough to compensate for the not so-scary/thrilling cable car. There was a botanical garden and a museum where the guests can stay for a while. After loitering a bit, Ronnel and I went back to the car and headed to a restaurant as our stomachs were growling in agony. That same night, I gave Ronnel a haircut. Yup, you read it right. I cut Ronnel's hair! Well, it was actually more of a shave as I used an electric shaver to give him his New Year clean look. Actually, we were still thinking in Pesos and Ringgit and he couldn't fathom how a haircut here could cost 60 dollars. I think we're still in the comparing currencies stage and we still can't let go of how cheap things were back in Phils/Malaysia. Maybe we need a few more years here. In the meantime, I will be Ronnel's personal hairdresser.




On New Year’s Day, Ronnel and I just stayed at home. We forgot to buy a phone card so we failed to call our loved ones back home. We just texted them our greetings and wished them a prosperous new year. I miss the New Year celebrations in the Philippines, especially the yearly reunions we spend with Ronnel’s family. Their family is really extended but close-knit as they all live nearby (imagine, four families within steps away from each other). Every New Year’s day, they have this all day celebration where each family brings food and presents. But what I miss most is the grocery game. They have this game where you will have to bring some stuff (preferably new) for “sale” in the game. All participants must have at least two items I think and you get to buy from the other participants based on the cards dealt to you (i.e. Kings would give you the chance to choose 3 items, Queen – 2 items and so on). I forgot the details but it’s something like that. I enjoyed being part of this as everybody brought really nice stuff and I get to practice my shopping skills without actual exchange of currencies. Hmm.., maybe, time will come that I can play it here with my friends too.

So on New Year’s Day, we are just cooped up in our place, surfing the net for new movies and dramas to download. I installed new software in my phone (I got the Handi TV so that I can watch TV in my phone – how cool is that!) while Ronnel ironed our clothes. He does ironing twice a month now to save power so he ends up with a pile of clothes fortnightly. Since it was New Year and I am a Filipino with superstitious streaks, I cooked pansit (rice noodles) which was deemed to bring prosperity and long life. I also wore polka dots so that money would pour in. Well, I’m not sure how effective this is but my family has been doing this for all the new years and so far, we are all still alive and kicking.

So there, that’s how we celebrated our first Kiwi Christmas and New Year. On Wednesday, both of us will be back at work and will be doing our very best to ensure that the blessings we’ve received so far won’t go to waste. I know Ronnel is now settled in his role and is getting more and more confident everyday. Who knows, he may be the “sifu” just as he was back in Maybank. As for me, I have still so much to learn in my role in BNZ and I am excited to go in full throttle. You know me, when I am into something, I put my whole heart into it. That’s why you have to bear this epic-proportions blog as I couldn’t just tell you what happened with just a few words… I hope you enjoyed my entry and now, you can close your eyes for a bit, they probably need a well-deserved rest…