Miya Daldal: I love you, Mommy

Miya has learned to say 'I love you' on her own. Sometimes she says it in the middle of breastfeeding. But most of the times, she says it when she knows she did something wrong. Like tonight, I reprimanded her because she tore the books that her Lola gave her over the weekend. We stood in the corner and I talked to her. She knows I'm sad because of what she did. I've been teaching her to take care of her things because she tends to destroy her things.  So while nursing she told me, "Sorry Mommy. I love you. Di ko na uulitin yung punit ng books." Anak, I love you too. Please grow up to be a good and obedient daughter. :)

Pakistan 2013: Going Home

13-14 April 2013

 

After 5 nights away from my family, it was finally time to headback home. We left the site in the morning and again travelled to the nearest airport by land for two hours. It was already late afternoon by the time we arrived at Islamabad again for our flight back home to Manila. As I've shown you here, we stayed at the client’s own accommodations for guests. It’s very fortunate that they had connections because we were able to bypass all the security checks going inside the airport. I think, we were led to a different lounge area of the airport. The only thing we had to go through was the immigration check. Our hosts checked-in our luggages for us. Here we are lounge area.

 

Sorry I was really so happy with this top that I bought in Islamabad, hence, the medyo OOTD photo.

 
This business trip hallmarked my first time away from my husband and family since I had them in my life. I wrote here before my anxiety about this trip. There wasn’t a time during this trip that I didn’t cry after talking to them over the phone. I wasn’t able to access the free wifi at the hotel we stayed at so we weren’t able to facetime as we had planned. My phone bill amounted to P6000 after this. You can just imagine how excited I was to finally head on back home. As with the flight going to Islamabad, the flight back to Manila also had a stop in Bangkok. Was able to roam around the airport for a few minutes before going to the gate.

Finally with these two again!!!

Eating the chocolates I brought back home. Don't they look alike in this photo.

As with anything, there are good things and bad things. I missed them so much but there was still a good thing this trip brought us. They bonded during the time I was away. Miya was finally able to sleep without direct feeding from me. When I got back home she was able to sleep on her own without nursing (will make a separate post on how we sleep trained her). And I guess in a way, I got back on the groove of being me again. Being my own being.

Pakistan 2013: Project Site

12 April 2013

Although the night (more like morning) before, we slept very late because of our flight and land transportation (we slept at around 2am!), this was a very loooong day for all of us. We started with a 10am meeting and then had a walk through inside the plant just before lunch.

Under the scorching heat of the sun

We were able to have some rest time after lunch while our clients had their Friday prayer (Pakistan is a predominantly Muslim country). Good thing we had some downtime because it was still a full afternoon and evening for all of us.

Playing a local game

Afterwards, we went around the site to check the nearby areas. I was with our safeguards team and they had to interview the locals. This was inside one of the residential compounds in the area. Their houses are made of bricks and in a rectangular shape. In this compound, there are four families who live here. This maybe the poorest of the poor. This is in contrast with the wealthy residential areas we saw in Islamabad.



 

We're wearing shawls because it was just sooo hot!!! Imagine it wasn't summer when we went there but the temperature was at 37 degrees much like the summer here in Manila. During summer, the temperature there can go up to 50 degrees.



 

 

More photos of the locals and the surrounding areas after the jump...

Pakistan 2013: Islamabad Airport

11 Arpil 2013

On this day, we didn't really have any meetings set because we were schedule to fly out of Islamabad and go to our project site. Unfortunately, Pakistan's national carrier PIA is known for it's delayed flights. Our flight was supposed to be at lunch time that day but was delayed later that evening. While at the airport, our flight was delayed again. Oh well, Cebu Pacific and PAL prepared me for these conditions :) Our group actually went shopping again that afternoon before heading to the airport. I was able to buy a Pakistan cricket jersey for Joema (he uses it when he's jogging) while my colleagues bought other pasalubong items.

Let me share with you what I saw in their airport.




This was one of the bathroom stalls. Not every stall has this, most have toilet bowls. The last time I saw this was in HK.

 

They had a crib inside the bathroom for mommies to use when changing baby's diaper.

Departure area for local flights

We arrived very late at our destination. After our flight, we had to travel for 2 hours by land. We all fell asleep during the ride. 

Pakistan 2013: Dinner at Monal Restaurant

Continuation from here...

10 April 2013

After our meetings with the client, we were able to go back to the hotel to rest for a bit. I wanted to take a nap before again going out for dinner but I wasn't able to. Must be jet-lagged. We were picked up at the hotel around 5pm. But before going straight to dinner, me and my lady colleagues went to the F-6 market. We went to this handicraft store where they sold everything you can think of that was made in Pakistan - from clothes to home decors to shawls. I was able to buy a few local tops (the embroidered ones) and a shawl. We then went up Margalla Hills again to eat at Monal Restaurant. The gentlement in our group decided to hike going up to the restaurant. We were so glad we didn't come with them hehe.

 

 

The view from the restaurant was amazing! And you can just imagine how cold it was since we were almost at the top of the mountain. This was higher than Daman-e-koh.

 

This was also the first time I was able to try Islamabad's local dishes. For our lunch the day before, we went to a Chinese restaurant and then for lunch that day they ordered Pizza Hut (I know right?). The night before at The Polo Lounge, the food was continental. But really, one of the other things I was worried about for this trip (yes I had many anxieties for this trip) aside from security in the area was the food. I'm not really fond of curry-based food - well, I thought their food was curry-based. Boy, was I so wrong. I loved their food! I just coudn't take how spicy their food was! I wanted to eat more but my I felt that my tongue would explode from my mouth, it felt that it was getting bigger and bigger by the minute because of all the spice!

 

 

Here's our whole group with our client.

Panorama shot of the restaurant

Pakistan 2013: First Two Days

Sorry for not blogging as often these past couple of weeks. But to make up for it, here's a rather lengthy and picture heavy post - a continuation of my Pakistan posts.

*******

8-9 April 2013

 

As I’ve mentioned, we arrived in the late evening of our first day/night in Islamabad. We didn’t do anything but check-in to our hotel. Along the way to the hotel, we saw some campaign posters. It was campaign season too in Pakistan at that time. Their elections were held May 11, I think, while we had ours (Philippine elections) on the 13^th.

Looks like Manila, right? With the campaign posters and concrete barriers along the road.

 

The next day aside from our meetings with the client, we were able to go around the city. Thanks to our very generous client. After our meetings, we were able to freshen up in our hotels and then they picked us up for dinner and some sight seeing. We first went to Pakistan Monument.

 

From Wiki: “The Pakistan Monument in Islamabad, Pakistan is a national monument representing the nation's four provinces and three territories. After a competition among many renowned architects, Arif Masood’s plan was selected for the final design. The blooming flower shape of the monument represents Pakistan's progress as a rapidly developing country. The four main petals of the monument represent the four provinces (Balochistan, Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa, Punjab and Sindh), while the three smaller petals represent the three territories (Gilgit-Baltistan, Azak KAshmir and the Federally Administered Tribal Areas). The Monument has been designed to reflect the culture and civilization of the country and depicts the story of the Pakistan Movement, dedicated to those who sacrificed themselves for future generations.”

 

Then we went up to Margalla Hills to visit Daman-e-koh. But before going to Daman-e-koh, we stopped by the road to take a photo with the Faisal Mosque.

 

 

From wiki: “The Faisal Mosque is conceived as the National Mosque of Pakistan and named after the late King Faisal bin Abdul Aziz of Saudi Arabia, who supported and financed the project.

The largest mosque in South Asia, the Faisal Mosque was the largest mosue int he world from 1986 until 1993, when it was overtaken in size by the newly completed Hassan II Mosque in Casablanca, Morocco.”

With my colleagues and client

Explore Daman-e-Koh after the jump...

A to Z

Thanks to Marsy for tagging me and sorry it took me a while to do this hehe. Here are my A to Z.

A. Attached or Single? Attached.
 
B. Best Friend? My dear husband.

  

Totoy and Nene in 2001

C. Cake or pie?  Cake

D. Day of choice? Friday and Saturday!

E. Essential Item? My eyeglasses – I am legally blind whatever that means hahaha. But true I’m blind without my eyeglasses. I think my grade now is 5.00 and 5.25.

F. Favorite color? I don’t think I have a favorite. But for clothes, now I prefer the neutrals like black or grey or navy blue.

G. Gummy bears or worms? Gummy bears

H. Hometown? Lower Antipolo

I. Favorite Indulgence? Spa with the hubby

J. January or July? January, my birthday month and my daughter’s birthday month. It’s also my great grandmother, grandmother and brother’s birthday month. And my parents’ wedding anniversary month. January is pretty special in our household J

K. Kids? One at the moment J

L. Life isn’t complete without? Family. You know I’ve been telling Joema, we should live in a far away place like in the province (near or at the beach) or a country, just the three of us. I can live without my work, without the material things as long as I have them with me.

M. Marriage date? 8 November 2008. We’ve been married for almost 5 years! Wow! Ahahaha! 

 

 

 

N. Number of brothers/sisters? 1 brother. But my brother and I should have had 3 more siblings. My mom had 3 miscarriages in the 90s.

O. Oranges or Apples. Oranges

P. Phobias? I’m afraid of heights. There was this time when my friends and I went to Ilocos and went up the Cape Bojeador Lighthouse. I was with friends and I couldn’t chicken out of going up so I went up with them. I was able to smile for the camera while we were up there but I was crying halfway down the lighthouse. I felt like my legs were melting like jell-o.

Q. Quotes? Time is gold ahahaha!

R. Reasons to smile? My daughter and my hubby.

Love waking up with these two beside me

S. Season of choice? Summer. I love going to the beach!

T. Tag 5 People. Anna, Anj, Dins, Liz and Pepper.

U. Unknown fact about me? I'm afraid of lizards. As in! This started in college when once during our "tambay" periods a classmate of mine put a toy lizard at my back. I thought it was a real live one! I freaked out and cried!

V. Vegetable? Okra. I know a lot of people don’t like okra because it’s slimy but that’s actually what I like about it hehe.

W. Worst habit? Scratching my head and plucking out my hair haha.

X. Xray or Ultrasound? Ultrasound

Miya's first "photo"

Y. Your favorite food? Sinigang

Z. Zodiac sign? Aquarius

First Day in School

Yesterday was Miya’s first day in school. We were there early but there were already a lot of kids with their companions inside the classroom when we got there. I immediately gave her requirements to her teacher which include plastic envelopes and folder and a box with all her things – extra shirt, shorts, socks and underwear. And then I went back to my little girl and removed her shoes. I showed her where I put her shoes and her lunch bag and then said goodbye. But the moment we were out of the classroom, she cried and called out “Mommy!” Haaaay! I had to go back inside the room and stayed with her the whole class.

 

This was when we arrived in her classroom. That's a smile, don't worry :)

 

Intently listening to her teacher

 

The moment she doesn’t see me she starts to cry. So that’s two times she cried. Because after the second time, I made sure she knows where I am. Although, she felt the need that I had to be there with her and check up on me every once in a while, she stayed with her classmates and teachers the whole time.  She even ate by herself although a teacher helped to feed her because she kept on dropping her spoon hehe. At home, we usually spoonfeed her although she always insists that she eat on her own. I was so proud of her and at the same time a bit sad when I saw her eating on her own. She’s no longer a baby, but she will always be my baby.

 

Eating on her own. OT: one of my pasalubongs for her from my KL trip is that water tumbler (more of my KL trip in my next posts)

She’s such a brave kid. She tackled the playground by herself with no care to the other children. In Gymboree, we were always there with her inside the play area. So this was definitely a first for her. I think one of the teacher aides was more worried because she kept on assisting Miya going up and down the slide, which I think was really good for the school and for my child, as well. On one trip to the slide, Miya headbutted a little boy. Miya just kept on playing while the little boy went to his mom to tell that he’s hurt. Oh my!

My brave little girl

What I noticed is that even though she was with other kids, she didn’t really interact with them. And as with her previous first classes in Gymboree, she preferred to just observe on the first day. She listened and watched, not really actively participating. By the time the class was ending, she wasn’t with the group anymore. She preferred to take some blocks and played on her own. All in all, I still think her first day was a success! J

++++
 
Today, when I called home after her class, her yaya said Miya agreed to be left on her own inside the classroom. Although there was one time when she cried, and asked for her yaya. The teacher carried her and told her that yaya won’t leave her behind. As soon as she saw our yaya, she was pacified and again sat on the chair. The other only time our yaya was asked to be inside was during recess, when she had to wash Miya’s hand and because Miya didn’t want to let go of her lunch bag. But after washing her hands, Miya ate on her own. Our yaya also reported that Miya was so talkative during recess. The teachers were amused by her. I’m a little sad I didn’t witness this because as I’ve said, yesterday Miya preferred to observe.

Don't grow up too fast, little girl!

Miya Daldal: Big big big big big

Sharing with you another video, this time Miya's video. See how kulit my mini-me is.

Going to School

My little girl will be going to school this June. And it only dawned on me during the parents' orientation last Saturday that we are “letting her go”. Waaah! I had to keep myself from crying when they were showing this clip. I was teary-eyed when the clip ended. I had to hide it coz for sure my hubby would have teased me hehe.
 

Hay! You know, my initial thought in finding a school for her this coming school year was I was concerned that she was getting more and more restless at home. I was a little bit concerned that our yaya might not be able to handle her and lose her temper with Miya. Don’t get me wrong, our yaya is very patient and has been with us since Miya was a few months old. But you know how children can be, sometimes you wonder if they’re really trying your patience. So I thought, we need to put Miya to school so that they have a few hours of the day apart from each other (Miya and the yaya). My friend laughed at me saying I was more concerned about the yaya hahaha! So I was a bit late in finding a school because hubby was thinking it’s too early for Miya to go to school. I had to convince her that Miya needs an outlet for all her energy. And once a week of Gymboree just won’t cut it. Last April I started researching for schools. I asked around what are the schools near our area (shoutout to Marsy who was very candid in answering my questions). I’ve only convinced Joema to look into a school last May because as luck would have it, the nearest preschool from our home was having an open house. I’ve researched on the different types of schools for young children – traditional vs progressive. Here are the links that have enlightened me.

 Teacher Tina's What is a Progressive School?
My Mom Friday's A Closer Look at Progressive and Traditional School Settings
 

Teacher Tina’s blog was really helpful in introducing me to progressive schools, she even gave guides on what to consider when choosing a school. If budget permits, I would enroll Miya in Explorations. But they don’t have any more slots for Miya’s age for this coming school year and Joema found the tuition fee a little steep. So I had to find an alternative. As I’ve said, we went to the open house of the preschool near our place. I was so happy that it fit the bill (pun intended) – it’s a progressive school, very near our place and the tuition is, I think, very reasonable.

Here are some of her photos during the open house after the jump:

Where to Stay in Pakistan: Islamabad Serena Hotel

Warning: Photo heavy post

I stayed in two cities while in Pakistan. The first city we went to was Islambad. After two days in Islamabad, we flew to Daharki in the Sindh Province and then flew back to Islamabad for our flight back home. Just in case you happen to find yourself visiting Islamabad, I hope you find this helpful.

Where to Stay: Islamabad Serena Hotel

This hotel is the safest place in place in Islamabad for a foreigner. It’s in the same compound as other international organizations such as UN. So you can also just imagine the security. We arrived in Pakistan around 10:30 pm but I think we arrived at the hotel before 12midnight already because of airport immigration and security. Travel time from airport to hotel is around 30minutes. You can imagine our apprehension upon seeing the tight security for the first time that time of the night. I think we passed by atleast 3 guarded gates before arriving at the hotel parking lot.

 

But once I entered the hotel, I was amazed by the sheer elegance of the place.

Hallway leading to the elevators from the reception area (edited in Instagram)

Main lobby

I was booked in a Deluxe room (room 399) for my stay there. Photos of my room are from my iPhone 5.

When you enter the room, to your left is the cabinet. Yes, that's my yellow luggage from Samsonite which I love to bits :D

 

Two lavatories for his and her :)

 

This is the bath tub on the right side of the bathroom. Behind me, is the shower stall and the toilet area.

 

Shower stall

The throne heehee

Toiletries

The living sleeping area

The desk area

TV area

Wonderful bed. If not for the jetlag, I would've slept like a baby here.

Lovely couch

 

Took this photo the next day (edited in Instagram)

Clockwise from left: side table has the main control in the room (lights, aircon, etc.), snack bar, welcome message flashed on the TV set and laundry bags

More photos of the exterior of the hotel after the jump (photos taken from my Canon point-and-shoot camera except for the security).

Pakistan 2013: Travelling Business Class

Last month, I had the opportunity to travel for work. I went to Pakistan and travelled business class. Okay, one of my fears is the fear of the unknown so I’m always weary when it’s my first time to do something especially if I will look stupid because I don’t know what to do hehehe. So if it’s your first time to fly business class too then let me orient you on how it goes. Flying business class is different from flying economy (aside from the price you pay), first difference is that business class flyers can wait for their flight at the lounge and not at the gate. Second, business class flyers get free food and overflowing drinks (even wine). Okay, I’m a budget flyer so I always fly without the free food hahaha!

For this trip, we travelled by Thai Airways. All international flights to and from Manila is in NAIA Terminal 1 except PAL I think. Although Thai Airways has a lounge in NAIA 1, since it is NAIA 1 the lounge doesn’t look as businessy or as sophisticated as the one in Suvarnabhumi airport. Sorry I wasn’t able to take a photo. But anyway, the lounge in NAIA 1 still offered free food and drinks. When you check-in at the counter, they will give you a voucher for your stay at the lounge. After checking in for your flight, you need to pay for the terminal fee (only in NAIA) then go through immigration. After immigration are the Duty Free shops. Just follow the signs at the airport to get to the lounge. At the lounge, there is buffet of different food and drinks. I remember there was arroz caldo, pizza, fish fillet and other appetizers. And then for drinks, they serve juice, softdrinks, water. I didn't notice if they offer alcoholic beverage.

Once boarded, we were immediately given hot towels and drinks (you can choose whatever you want). And then we given this menu cards where we chose our main entrée for our inflight meal. 

 

After take-off and once the seatbelt sign is off, the food was served. First was the bread, salad and appetizer. By this time you can also choose your beverage of choice – juice, coffee, red wine, white wine, etc.

Then main course.

Then a cheese and fruit platter. You can choose what type of cheese and/or fruit that you want from what they offer or of course you can have everything.

And then dessert and coffee.

Everything was delicious. Yes, even the garlic bread they served was yummy hahaha. 

I flew from Manila to Bangkok and was served this full meal. And then we had a stop-over at Suvarnabhumi airport where I ate again at the lounge.

And then on our flight from Bangkok to Pakistan, I was served another full meal again hahaha. I was so full by the time the dessert was served on that flight. I guess that’s one of the reason I didn’t get to sleep during the flight. On our flight back to Manila (Islamabad-Bangkok and then Bangkok-Manila), I had to remind myself that I don't have to finish everything they served if I'm already full hahaha. Or I can ask not be served dessert at all, which I think I did on the flight back to Manila.

After eating you can choose to sleep, watch TV or listen to music. On the way to Pakistan from Bangkok, I really wanted to sleep since it was a night flight. I even ordered red wine with my cheese (photo above - I’m no wine connoisseur). But as much as I wanted to sleep I didn’t even sleep for a second during the flight.

I had to ask for a blanket because this wasn't automatically offered to passengers

For the budget travellers like me, this is how the business class part of the plane looks like. See how roomy?

Di ba kakulay ko lang ang Thai Airways flight attendants? LOL Photo was taken during the flight home back to Manila. I bought my top in Islamabad for P350. =) 

They also give out toiletry kits on the flight. Well, they don't actually give it out because it's already there on your seat when you get on the flight. On our way there, our BKK-ISL flight was the only one which had a toiletry kit. But on our flight back to Manila, the BKK-MNL provided toiletry kits. The kit includes socks, a mask, toothbrush and toothpaste, mouthwash, lip balm and lotion. I gave one kit to my mom, one kit to Joema, and then one for me. Didn't add up right? On our BKK-MNL flight, the  kit, the lipbalm and lotion are from Crabtree & Evelyn. I couldn't not ask my colleague for his kit when i saw that he was just going to leave his kit there. Sayang naman heehee.