Probinsiya hospitality

Yesterday, my son and his group went to Tarlac to perform for free. They were quartered in a comfortable inn and were fed several times, he was impressed. He who is very choosy about food has learned to eat whatever is served them, and this time, he ate goat meat. Caldereta, I guess. He wondered, though, why they weren't at all served dessert so that the first time they had the chance, they stopped at Starbucks to get their sugar fix.

Anyway as my son kissed me, he handed me a package wrapped like a Christmas present. I asked, "you bought pasalubong?" He sometimes does. But no, he said, the present came from their hosts. It contained three types of kakanin. All very sweet. One had a chocolatey taste, another tasted like cassava to me (alupe) while the other had coconut. Very chewy native desserts. Very thoughtfully given. I hope the practice and the underlying hospitality of the provincial Filipino are not lost on my son...