We only have a few days left in Calamba and Kit has told us to expect a busy time. Last night we had dinner with Dr Joel Lazaro who is a Developmental Paediatrician and one of the speakers at the seminar on Saturday, 2nd. He has a beautiful house (designed by Kit’s son, Raoul) and decorated with Chinese artifacts inherited from his grandmother. We ate Italian and it was a great night.
Marilyn had offered to teach Kit’s cook, Winnie, a few simple meals so decided that spaghetti bolognaise was a good place to start. It was arranged that they would go out together to the supermarket to get the food and it would be prepared for tonight’s meal.
However, Kit announced that we had been invited to the Induction of RC Sto Tomas, dress formal. Marilyn had sent all her formal clothes, including the one she bought in SM Department Store, back to Australia so there was no other answer but to go back to SM and find something else.
I was going to the Calamba Rotary meeting at lunchtime so she and Rhoda set off in the Peugeot sports car to find a dress and do the shopping. They didn’t get back until 6 and then had to start the cooking. Everyone was involved: Marilyn, the three helpers, Rhoda and Rex. There was chaos in the tiny kitchen. Kit wisely went for a nap and my contribution was to put together a plate of antipasto. All good stuff!
The bottle of Italian red was opened and I sat back to enjoy the fun. It was a great meal and Winnie took careful notes so that she can reproduce it in the future. It’s certainly a change from rice although when the overnight guard was offered a serve, he refused the pasta and had the sauce with rice. It’s hard to change the habit of a lifetime.
Tonight, the Rotary Club is having a party to farewell us. Each time they do this the karaoke machine comes out and we have to embarrass ourselves by singing. Oh well, its only once a year.
Tomorrow we’re going to Villa Escudero, a famous tourist attraction, and Sto Tomas Rotary Club in the evening. Marilyn will have a chance to wear her new dress but I will wear the barong tagalog which is very simple.
Saturday is the seminar and we’re expecting between 60 and 100 participants, and on Sunday we will head up to Santa Rosa to meet Geoff and Chit who will take us to their house in Manila before we get the plane back to Australia on Tuesday. We know that Rex will miss us so I’ve written a social script for him with a countdown of the last few days.
Because Marilyn off-loaded about 12Kg of books and clothes (including all her formal gear) to Siaren, we’re not expecting to have trouble with packing but that task is still to be addressed.
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