Pensionado turns Filipino

Already 3 years retired. Time flies when having fun! That's true for a big part. I do plenty of nice things, but like most retirees say, I'm busier than when I still worked. So for me it's: time flies when being busy!

I often daydream about what my day would look like on a warm island in the Philippines. Head in the shade, belly in the sun, feet in the water. Waking up to birdsong, breakfast in the shade of a palm tree with a view of the water. Enjoying a plate of rice with fried fish, a fried egg, or a cup of coffee to dip my pandesal in.

Then a little walk to the sari sari store and the market for the daily shopping. Fresh rice, vegetables, fruit, and fish, meat or chicken for dinner. And of course scoring a fresh coconut along the way to slurp empty. And during my evening walk I happily let balut pass me by, but I still greet the balut seller with a friendly kumusta po. He cheerfully answers with magandang gabi po, sir! He knows that crazy Dutchman is silly enough not to try his delicacy. Meanwhile he's heard that in the Netherlands, just like those wacky Japanese, they do eat raw fish. Strange guys, those Dutchmen!

Of course I always buy way too much food, because there's so much good stuff for sale that I can't resist. The fresh vegetables and colorful fruits at the market smile right at you, and the fish section causes the necessary decision stress if, like me, you're a fish lover. Milkfish (bangus), red snapper, little sardines... Only squid I can do without. It probably tastes good, but I can't bring myself to eat it. Apparently it's a very intelligent animal. But pigs are also intelligent and nice animals, people tell me, and you do eat those. True, I admit I'm not exactly consistent when it comes to food!

You can never have too much food in the house here, because a Filipino lives to eat, not the other way around. So in that respect too, I adapt to the local culture! Visitors who drop by don't leave when it's dinnertime, like in the Netherlands! Never! Everyone pulls up a chair and is required to eat along, and after two helpings you're urged to make sure you eat enough. That reminds me of my Indo neighbors, where in the mornings I'd often empty a plate of nasi goreng before heading to school with the neighbor boy Tim.

Around midday it's another plate of rice or pancit, a sweet mango, and a glass of coconut water for lunch, then an afternoon nap that can easily turn into a real nap, because I'm not retired for nothing. I often think of my grandpa's wise words: "I'm retired, so there's no rush anymore!"

Merienda means lumpia-time for me, but a turon or fried banana is never a bad idea either. I suddenly notice the books I read in the afternoon have grease stains on them. Now how could that be?

Dinner I keep modest, I think, with white rice, a bit of kare-kare and bokchoi. A nice cold Red Horse completes my dinner. And a Don Papa or Tanduay rum as a nightcap!

Time flies when having fun…