In this edition, our guide takes the traveler to Los Angeles, California on a quest to renew your Philippine passport.
All photos by Kokoy.
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DEPARTURE AND ARRIVAL:
Even after residing in Austin for the past two years, you find that plane tickets out of Houston may be so monetarily advantageous, that it makes total sense driving the three hours to Bush International Airport just to fly to Los Angeles. In your search for plane tickets, find the cheapest round trip price to Los Angeles on Spirit Airlines. At $144.38 plus gas and parking, it still comes out to about half the ticket price flying out of Austin Bergstrom International Airport. The catch is you are allowed no checked bags on Spirit Airlines and only a personal carry-on item of no more than 18x14x8 inches, including handles and wheels. So it is advisable to measure your hand-carried bag, otherwise you might get charged an extra $100 upon check-in, or just pay the additional baggage fees online for less. To renew your Philippine passport, be sure to prepare all the necessary documents. You can find a list of everything you need on the Philippine Consulate Los Angeles website's passport renewal page. Download the Passport Application Form, print it out and complete it. Bring two hard copies with you, one to submit to the Consulate and one for your own records. Make a Xerox copy of the bio page of your expiring passport. Again, it is advisable to make two copies. Postage for the self-addressed flat-rate priority mail envelope costs $6.85, which includes a tracking number. The fee for passport renewal is $60, payable in cash, money order, or cashier's check. The Consulate requires a collared shirt for the passport photo, so pack accordingly. A tie would not be considered overdressing. If you send an inquiry to any of the email addresses listed on the Consulate website's Contact Us page, don't count on a reply. Just thoroughly read the information on the website, particularly any special announcements such as holidays when the Consulate is closed. Be advised that the Philippine Consulate observes both United States and Philippine holidays.
Check for the status of your outgoing flight from Houston and discover that all flights going into and out of Bush International are cancelled until Friday September 1. That includes Spirit Airlines flight NK327, scheduled to depart IAH 2:39 pm on Thursday August 31. You have to wait 10-15 minutes on hold before speaking with a Spirit Airlines representative based in a call center somewhere in the Philippines, obvious to you by her accent. Spirit Airlines is gracious and understanding, allowing you the option of canceling your trip for a full refund or rescheduling it on another date without penalty. A call to the Oasis Hostel in Koreatown yields similar results when the associate instructs you to contact Booking.com to discuss cancellations. Being aware of the situation in Houston, Christopher puts you on hold for a few minutes to talk to the management of Oasis so that you do not get charged the standard $35 cancellation fee. The grace you are shown prompts you to submit glowing reviews of each site in their respective customer satisfaction surveys and on Google maps.
Rebook a flight a couple of days later with a reservation at LA International Hostel, since Oasis has no vacancies for your new dates of travel, give yourself plenty of time to drive to Houston, just in case there might be sections of the freeway rendered impassable, forcing you to adjust your route. And with interruptions in resupply routines causing fuel shortages in and around Austin, be sure to gas up whenever you see stations along the way with inventory. To your relief, you encounter no blockages on the drive and arrive at FastPark & Relax airport parking lot by midnight. At $5.10 per day for a covered space, FastPark offers the best long-term parking deal at IAH. Nonetheless, be sure to read the fine print at the entrance to avoid any surprises later.
It is safer to leave your FastPark ticket in your vehicle, but first take a picture of it on your phone, along with the parking space card the shuttle driver hands you when you get on. At this hour, you are the only passenger in the free FastPark shuttle. It's only about 10 minutes from the FastPark lot to Terminal A. Check in at the automated kiosk to print your boarding pass. With a lull in the flight schedule at this time of night, security lines into the gates are closed, and will not open for a few more hours yet. If there is space in your less than 18"x14"x8" carry-on bag, pack a sweatshirt, as the air-conditioning system is cranked up in Terminal A, causing the handful of waiting passengers to bundle up like it's winter, despite the 90-degree weather outside. When the security personnel begin arriving for their shift, you are roused from your sleep to be told that you need to move out of the handicapped section of seats, even though it is completely empty.
Continue your sleep through Spirit Airlines flight NK217 takeoff. Compared to other airlines, Spirit's seats are uncomfortable. Not only do their seats have thinner padding, but they do not recline. Still, with very little rest overnight, you manage to sleep through most of the flight.
Follow the signs through Los Angeles International Airport, passing restaurants and shops bustling with passengers, to ground transportation on the first floor. Find a very nice older gentleman at the Information Desk who gives you precise directions how to take the public bus from LAX to the Pico Union district near downtown Los Angeles where the LA International Hostel is located.
From the Information Desk, turn around and find the Bank of America automated teller machine to get cash for the bus. It is unfortunate that it's the only ATM machine in the building, as Bank of America charges more for ATM use than other banks. Pick up a large cup of mocha Americano at the Coffee Bean Tea Leaf next to the ATM machine and ask the saleslady for small change for the bus. Go up the escalator and step out to take the free airport shuttle to the last stop of the line. Then, cross the street and find Bay 10 of the City Bus Center where you can catch the Culver City bus #6.
While waiting for bus #6 to arrive, you can practice the rough and rusty Spanish you have learned from over two decades of teaching and coaching soccer in Houston-area public schools when an older lady from southern Mexico approaches and asks you for translating assistance. A disheveled Caucasian gentleman in tattered clothes smoking a cigarette has asked her a question which she cannot understand. For the rest of your wait, serve as an impromptu interpreter, and then engage in separate conversations in different languages with these two strangers. The Spanish-speaking woman, who has a daughter in high school, has been living in Los Angeles for almost a decade and has not learned English because she has never had the opportunity nor the need to. The man, unshaven and appearing strung out, strongly urges a visit to Venice Beach, offering plenty of advice how to get there by Metro. He is one the few people on this trip you encounter who does not speak English with a foreign accent.
The total fare comes out to $1.25, including the transfer ticket requested from the bus driver. It's okay to let the driver know you are a visitor to the city and you need to be informed when to get down to catch the connecting bus on Venice Boulevard going towards downtown. Get off at Sepulveda and Venice. Walk forward on Sepulveda and turn right on Venice Blvd. to wait for the #733 bus.
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| Some creative urban gardening at the intersection of Venice Blvd. and Arapahoe in Pico Union. Parts of this Los Angeles district feels and looks like a third world country. |
The LA International Hostel is at 1512 Arapahoe, midway up the hill on the right. Don't look for a huge sign. It is an unassuming building that blends right in to the period architecture of the neighborhood, which exudes that quintessential L.A. feel. The only hint that this may be a hostel are two people sitting on the porch staring at electronic devices in their hands, and unresponsive when you approach. The front gate remains unlocked, but you have to knock on the front door and a guest lets you in. Relax in the living area where other guests are lounging on the couch and armchair watching a flatscreen television mounted to the wall. None of them know what you need to do to check in, other than to wait. Plug in your phone to charge it and rest. A little later, another knock on the door and an Asian traveler enters with a large backpack and the same look of uncertainty you must have had. Shortly, a staffmember rushes down the staircase wearing rubber gloves and carrying cleaning materials, looking flustered and a little irritated. With an Eastern European accent, he tells you what you already know - that you have arrived ahead of schedule. (You indicated when you made the reservation on booking.com that you would arrive around 1:00 that afternoon, but it is still before noon.) He tells you and the other Asian guy that you may leave your stuff at the hostel, take off if you want to, but your bed won't be ready until 1:00. This gives you a couple of hours to do a little sightseeing in the neighborhood. Stroll north on Arapahoe St. and turn left at West Pico Boulevard.
MORNING STROLL:
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| A walk along West Pico Boulevard... |
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| ...yields interesting sights... |
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| ...some cool murals... |
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| ...an occasional official government building... |
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| ...and a couple of unlikely next-door neighbors. |
At West Pico and Vermont Avenue, enter St. Thomas the Apostle Church for your daily meditation. Opened in 1904, its classic Latin American style similar to old churches you have seen in the Southwest region of the United States and in border towns on either side of the Rio Grande Valley, St. Thomas the Apostle rises majestically as a Pico Union community hub.
Turn back on West Pico towards Arapahoe St., stop in at Nina Religion, a shop selling Catholic articles, medicinal herbs, and objects purported to have miraculous qualities, such as oils, candles and soap. Tell the saleslady behind the counter in a combination of broken Spanish and hand gestures that you are just looking when she asks you suspiciously if you need help, her graying hair and spectacles projecting a deep calming wisdom. Speaking no English, you feel her monitoring you as you examine the various items on the shelves, a collection of small colored vials and cardboard boxes with soap bars, labeled with images and names of saints and descriptions of what type of ailment each cures. The mixture produces a unique aroma, combining the scent of spices with bath soap. Statues of saints sit on cluttered shelves around the shop.
The saleslady warms up to you when you approach the counter with a couple of items for purchase. She seems delighted, as she adds two complementary items to the transaction - a metal nutcracker and a pink comb. You cannot hide your puzzled look, as she smilingly holds up each item to show it to you before inserting it in the black plastic bag, uttering some Spanish words you don't comprehend or remember. Thank her profusely in Spanish and accept the added surprise souvenirs, wondering what meaning these objects must hold. Now understand that this old lady is more than just a cashier. Now see her more like a shaman. Bearing the torch of traditional practices passed on for generations immemorial, such healers must have been predisposed to understand the mystical qualities of Christian beliefs. You imagine that to her, the story of Jesus Christ rising from the grave and conquering death itself makes total and complete sense, beyond a doubt, a logical event in the development of the healing arts. With the arrival of Christianity in the New World, such traditional healers would have likely embraced those beliefs, not see them as diametrically opposed to what they have been doing, but rather a glorious confirmation of what they and their predecessors have believed all along - the power of faith to change and raise people from illness, the miraculous victory of good over evil. To her, the salvation that Jesus Christ brings energizes traditional practices, sanctifying oils, soaps, incense, candles, pendants blessed with the names of saints. Is it blasphemous to combine her Christian faith with traditional practices handed down over generations? Or does this world need more mystics like her who have the ability to understand, translate, and channel the deeper meaning of the inanimate external world?
Behaviors exhibited by mystics like her have generally been looked at as puzzling at best. Typically seen as enigmatic figures on the fringes of society, we have dismissed them as peculiar, or more aptly "weirdos". Mark opens his Gospel with a description of one of the most famous of these "weirdos."
"John wore clothes made of camel's hair, with a leather belt around his waist, and his food was locusts and wild honey. He announced to the people, 'The man who will come after me is much greater than I am...'" (Mark 1:6-7).
John the Baptist understood the sanctifying waters of the Jordan River, the transformative act of washing oneself of sins to lead a righteous life thereafter. He prophesied and announced the coming of the One who would show humanity a new way to live - with love, truth, mercy, peace, and forgiveness. As he stood in the river wearing strange clothing on an even stranger diet, dunking people in the water and talking about saving those wishing to be saved, many of the establishment looked at John undoubtedly thinking, "This guy's kind of a weirdo." Little did they know...
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| A nutcracker and a comb - strange souvenir gifts indeed from a local mystic... |
It is noontime, and your hunger makes you start thinking about lunch. The plethora of choices along West Pico Boulevard, a conglomeration of Salvadoran and Mexican, makes it difficult to settle on something. As you walk past each restaurant, you want to try every single one of them. However, the fresh fruit peddled by corner vendors is irresistible. A ziplock bag stuffed with sliced mango and another with cubes of watermelon cost only $3 each. Sprinkled with salt and doused in some freshly squeezed lime, this is the perfect Pico Union brunch.
The LA International Hostel staffmember who earlier encouraged you to go for a walk while your bed is being prepared is now all smiles welcoming you back. You have returned just in time for check in. Each bunk bed comes with sheets, a pillow and a towel. You can finally take a shower, rushing to keep it under seven minutes and making every effort not to splash the floor.
DINNER WITH THE CLAN:
As of the 2010 Census, the most current official government survey of the United States population, Filipinos are the second largest Asian minority group in the country, behind only the Chinese. Of the 3.4 million people in America identifying themselves as full-blooded or part-Filipino, almost half reside in California, an overwhelming majority of them born in the Philippines. At 607,000, Greater Los Angeles has the most Filipinos living in a single U.S. metropolitan area. Los Angeles County is home to the largest Pinoy concentration in a single county in the country. It is not improbable that most Pinoys in America know another Pinoy who lives in the Los Angeles area, either a relation, friend, professional associate or some other connection. You have yet to meet a single Filipino who does not identify strongly with their culture of origin regardless of which country they happen to live in, so it should come as no surprise that Los Angeles has some of the best genuinely Filipino restaurants in America. When your first cousin and his beautiful family come to pick you up for dinner, you are excited for the fun time you spend with them exploring some great Pinoy food in the third largest American city.
Seafood City is a Filipino-owned supermarket chain that specializes in Pinoy products. Its first location was opened in National City, California in 1989, to address not only the growing demand in the Filipino community for specific food items necessary in their native cuisine, but also the constant pang of homesickness and the social and cultural void caused by emigration. Seafood City has since expanded to Hawaii, Washington State, Nevada, and into Canada, with more locations in the works.
The Eagle Rock Plaza location, one of nine Seafood City's in the L.A. area, is inside the mall, in between the Macy's and the Target. Its vast array of fresh and packaged goods from the Philippines, from Sarsi to bibingka and Cebuano dried mango to Chocnut to walis tingting, are packed into shelves replicating the ambience of the Shopwise in Harrison Plaza, Manila. Fresh, colorful fruit and vegetables like calamansi and ampalaya are displayed prominently. The store is crowded and busy with a diverse clientele, but all the employees appear to be Filipino and speak both English and Tagalog fluently. Other Filipino businesses have sprouted up around the Seafood City, including Jollibee, Chowking, Leelin Bakery & Cafe, and a Philippine National Bank Remittance Center. The Grill City mini food court at the front entrance of the supermarket offers Filipino barbecue and crispy-fried dishes in a karinderia style. Bagnet, the Ilocano version of letson-kawali, brings back fond memories of your trip to Vigan, Ilocos Sur. After savoring the laing and ginataan, it is refreshing to stroll around this part of Eagle Rock Plaza feeling a little like you are at an SM mall.
TO THE PHILIPPINE CONSULATE-GENERAL:
If you plan to arrive at the Philippine Consulate around the opening time listed on the website, which is 9:00 am, consider yourself late. What the website does not tell you is that people start lining up for passport issues much earlier than that.
Before leaving the LA International Hostel, double- and triple-check to make sure you have everything you need, including exact change for the bus. From the hostel gate, turn left to Venice Boulevard and take a right. Cross the street and join a small crowd of parents observing the morning assembly at Magnolia Avenue Elementary School from outside its fenceline. After being addressed by a school leader in Spanish over a public address sound system, the students file into the building from the blacktop.
As of the 2010 Census, the most current official government survey of the United States population, Filipinos are the second largest Asian minority group in the country, behind only the Chinese. Of the 3.4 million people in America identifying themselves as full-blooded or part-Filipino, almost half reside in California, an overwhelming majority of them born in the Philippines. At 607,000, Greater Los Angeles has the most Filipinos living in a single U.S. metropolitan area. Los Angeles County is home to the largest Pinoy concentration in a single county in the country. It is not improbable that most Pinoys in America know another Pinoy who lives in the Los Angeles area, either a relation, friend, professional associate or some other connection. You have yet to meet a single Filipino who does not identify strongly with their culture of origin regardless of which country they happen to live in, so it should come as no surprise that Los Angeles has some of the best genuinely Filipino restaurants in America. When your first cousin and his beautiful family come to pick you up for dinner, you are excited for the fun time you spend with them exploring some great Pinoy food in the third largest American city.
Seafood City is a Filipino-owned supermarket chain that specializes in Pinoy products. Its first location was opened in National City, California in 1989, to address not only the growing demand in the Filipino community for specific food items necessary in their native cuisine, but also the constant pang of homesickness and the social and cultural void caused by emigration. Seafood City has since expanded to Hawaii, Washington State, Nevada, and into Canada, with more locations in the works.
The Eagle Rock Plaza location, one of nine Seafood City's in the L.A. area, is inside the mall, in between the Macy's and the Target. Its vast array of fresh and packaged goods from the Philippines, from Sarsi to bibingka and Cebuano dried mango to Chocnut to walis tingting, are packed into shelves replicating the ambience of the Shopwise in Harrison Plaza, Manila. Fresh, colorful fruit and vegetables like calamansi and ampalaya are displayed prominently. The store is crowded and busy with a diverse clientele, but all the employees appear to be Filipino and speak both English and Tagalog fluently. Other Filipino businesses have sprouted up around the Seafood City, including Jollibee, Chowking, Leelin Bakery & Cafe, and a Philippine National Bank Remittance Center. The Grill City mini food court at the front entrance of the supermarket offers Filipino barbecue and crispy-fried dishes in a karinderia style. Bagnet, the Ilocano version of letson-kawali, brings back fond memories of your trip to Vigan, Ilocos Sur. After savoring the laing and ginataan, it is refreshing to stroll around this part of Eagle Rock Plaza feeling a little like you are at an SM mall.
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| Metro bus map screenshot courtesy of Jennifer Gorospe. |
Before leaving the LA International Hostel, double- and triple-check to make sure you have everything you need, including exact change for the bus. From the hostel gate, turn left to Venice Boulevard and take a right. Cross the street and join a small crowd of parents observing the morning assembly at Magnolia Avenue Elementary School from outside its fenceline. After being addressed by a school leader in Spanish over a public address sound system, the students file into the building from the blacktop.
Continue on Venice Blvd. for about two blocks and turn right on Vermont. Catch the #754 bus going north on Vermont.
Get off at the Wilshire stop and walk about five blocks west to the Equitable Building, 3435 Wilshire Boulevard. Take the elevator to suite 550 on the fifth floor. You are met outside the glass door by a security guard with a Lebanese accent. Tell him what you are there for and he ushers you inside to take a number. Even though it is only just after 9:00, the room is already packed with Pinoys who look like they have been waiting a while. If you can find an empty seat, sit down and wait for your number to be called to Window #1. If you cannot or prefer to not sit, do NOT use the baby grand piano as a desk. The security guard politely but firmly makes that rule clear to you if you do.
While you wait, flip through your current passport. You feel a bit of anxiety at the prospect that you will be in the United States without a passport in your possession for possibly up to 10 weeks, This is a record of all of your international trips since February 2013. Each stamp brings on a gush of memories - exploring majestic cities like Hanoi and Kuala Lumpur, wandering around your teenage haunts in Beijing, discovering Taipei and Seoul, hooking up with your dad in Singapore, and every trip home to the Philippines for mom's convalescence and eventual farewell, falling in and out of love, the place in the world where you feel most deeply the warmth of family. It is difficult not to sense that a stage of your life is ending and a new one begins when your next passport arrives 8-10 weeks from today. Until you receive that new passport, it seems like life is in limbo.
When 44 is called to Window #1, bring all of the required documents, including your current passport. The clerk behind the glass looks everything over, inserts the application and your passport in the self-addressed stamped USPS Priority Mail envelope that you brought, hands it back to you and tells you to get in line at the cashier's window at the other end of the room to pay the $60 fee. Upon payment, the cashier gives you a receipt stamped with a passport release date of November 13, then instructs you to go back to Window #1 and show them the receipt. This reminds you of the process to depart Manila's Ninoy Aquino International Airport, where travelers often have to go from one counter to another and then back again. This date of release is of grave concern, as it probably does not give you enough time to purchase a ticket to the Philippines over Thanksgiving break at a reasonable price. You are further disheartened at Window #1 when the official behind the glass explains that they don't offer expedited processing because the machine is in Manila, so your passport application packet gets shipped there and your new passport is then printed and shipped back. In response to another citizen complaining about the long wait, you overhear the clerk say that sometimes very rarely, new passports arrive ahead of schedule, but don't count on it. Your fingerprints are scanned on a digital device. For the passport photo taken with a webcam at Window #2, do your best to hide your gloom.
You have to tear yourself away from your passport as you relinquish the package to Window #1. Feel a void in your soul as you clutch the plastic case that once held your passport, worn from its travels, now empty except for the Macao Information Notice, the Philippines Health Advisory, and the Our Lady of Guadalupe prayer card all inserted in its pocket. Read the prayer card and be reassured.
Before leaving the Consulate, be sure to check the bulletin board for any important information. You may also want to pick up a brochure of all the various services the Consulate offers.
EXPLORATION AND MEDITATION:
1968 was a tumultuous year in United States history. The height of the Cold War, the USA was becoming increasingly embroiled in the civil war in Vietnam on the other side of the world. But domestically, America was in the midst of its own upheaval against the institutionalized racism that had been an indelible part of its society since independence. The peace movement was gaining steam, the two campaigns merging in a confluence of causes for justice and civil rights. Espousing Gandhi's philosophy of nonviolence, the Reverend Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. was a leading light in these dark times, showing the world how to fight for change using peaceful means through civil disobedience. In April of that year, he was felled by an assassin's bullet at the Lorraine Motel in Memphis, Tennessee, where King had come to deliver his famous "I've Been to the Mountaintop" sermon the previous day.
Almost exactly two months later to the day, Robert F. Kennedy would suffer a similar tragic fate. RFK had served as Attorney General under his older brother John's short-lived presidency, building a legacy of anti-organized crime and unequivocal support for civil rights legislation. In 1968, RFK launched his own presidential campaign on a platform of social justice, change, and a non-aggressive foreign policy. On June 5th of that year, Kennedy addressed his supporters from the Ambassador Hotel ballroom in Los Angeles after winning the California Democratic Party primary. As he cut through the kitchen on his way to a pressroom, Kennedy and his entourage encountered an assassin who shot him five times from close range. Kennedy died in the hospital early the next morning.
Located immediately across from the Equitable Building on Wilshire Boulevard housing the Philippine Consulate's passport renewal office, the former site of the Ambassador Hotel where Robert F. Kennedy was shot has been converted into a school campus named after him by the Los Angeles United School District. Opened in 2007, Robert F. Kennedy Community Schools is built upon the ideals for which its namesake campaigned. It implements the most innovative academic structure in L.A. Unified. Within its expansive campus thrives six autonomous Pilot Schools, each with its own academic focus. For example, the Ambassador School of Global Leadership "internationalizes" the California State Standards, developing its 6th- to 12th-grade community into multilinguists with an awareness of global issues through interaction with professionals who work in diplomacy, trade, and public service. The K-12 New Open World Academy uses technology to deliver content and develop global awareness through instruction in several languages. The Los Angeles High School of the Arts has received national recognition for its work preparing students with skills for success in the entertainment industry. The Ambassador School of Global Education is the first elementary school to become a member of the International Studies School Network, a division of the Asia Society. The School for the Visual Arts and Humanities offers high school students internships at the Los Angeles County Museum of Arts and other world-renown foundations. UCLA also runs a college-preparatory school all the way from kindergarten through high school.
The gate into RFKCS from Wilshire Blvd. remains locked during school hours, leaving visitors admiring its architecture from Robert F. Kennedy Inspiration Park just outside its wall. Constructed under a tempest of controversy, opposed by many in the business community, including real estate developer Donald Trump, designers replicated some of the architectural highlights of the old Ambassador Hotel, which was closed down and razed in the 1980's. The total cost building the Robert F. Kennedy Community Schools makes it the most expensive public school campus in the nation.
Continue west on Wilshire Boulevard for about three blocks to St. Basil Church, another building constructed not without controversy. Dedicated in 1969 amidst angry demonstrations by members if the Chicano Movement, activists protested the extravagant cost of the church's construction, citing the $3 million price tag as indicative of the Catholic Church's insensitivity to the needs of the poor. Critics of Cardinal James McIntyre, who presided over the Western United States at the time, included the Bishop of Puerto Rico, Jesuit missionaries, the chaplain of the United Farm Workers union established by Cesar Chavez, and many others within the Catholic flock. Activists characterized those who attended the first Christmas Mass celebrated at St. Basil as Caucasian members of the privileged class wearing fur coats and fancy jewelry. This description cannot apply to those hearing Mass at St. Basil church on this day, most of whom appear to be Asian, many Filipino, dressed plainly. In your meditation, pray for the expeditious processing of your passport renewal, that you may receive the new one in time to purchase an affordable plane ticket to Manila for the Thanksgiving holidays.
Turn back towards the Equitable Building on Wilshire. Neri's Curbside Cravings Casual Filipino Dining is on the first floor of the strip at the corner of South Alexandria Avenue, conveniently located across from the Philippine Consulate. You feel blessed to find a dish you have missed since your last trip to Manila months ago. The bulalo is not on the menu, but in the list of special dishes written on the dry-erase board behind the counter. This is the first restaurant you have encountered in the United States that offers bulalo. Notice that it takes a little longer to prepare than the standard dishes the other customers order. It is worth the wait. The bulalo at Neri's is legit. A generous segment of tender beef shank, complete with cartilage and bone marrow, stews in the steaming broth surrounded by leaves of cabbage and a piece of corn on the cob. Scoop some broth over the mound of steamed white rice on your plate, just like you do at Dencio's on Harbour Square in Manila.
Now that you are stuffed, take a nice long walk and take in some of the everyday sights of life in L.A. From Alexandria, turn east on 6th Street, and then left on South New Hampshire. Streams of schoolchildren pass you on either side of the street, having just been dismissed from Frank Del Olmo Elementary, chattering boisterously in Spanish. Occasionally, hijab-clad families stroll by. The L.A. sunshine is glorious this afternoon, casting the residential structures in the kind of light they look like they were meant to be seen in. When you get to the Jollibee, turn left at Beverly Blvd. Glance to your right for a view of the iconic HOLLYWOOD sign in the distant hills.
DINNER WITH THE CLAN:
From its humble beginnings in Maximo Gimenez's Quezon City home just after World War II ended, Max's chain of restaurants has grown into a huge chain reaching far beyond Philippine cities. A teacher educated in Stanford University, Maximo's family befriended American troops stationed in Quezon City, and they came over regularly for drinks. These visits inspired Maximo to open a cafe, developing a menu catering to the American soldiers' taste. Maximo's niece Ruby ran the kitchen and eventually perfected the recipe for Max's signature golden fried chicken, for which its name has now become synonymous. By the dawn of the 21st century, Max's corporate array has stretched to include a diverse repertoire of restaurant chains - Pancake House, Yellow Cab Pizza, Teriyaki Boy, Krispy Kreme, Jamba Juice, and one of your favorites, Dencio's. But as of today, only the original of its group has made it across the ocean to Los Angeles, one of numerous Max's across North America.
The Glendale branch is housed in a structure that looks like a former steakhouse. Inside appears and feels just like the Max's on Roxas Boulevard in front of Malate Church. Max's United States menu is almost identical to their menu in the Philippines. The monetary denomination obviously is different and significantly more expensive, and one of your favorite vegetables in the world, kangkong, is replaced by asparagus. Order the half-chicken, which comes with a healthy serving of steamed white rice and French fries. The eggplant salad comes in the classic Pinoy style, with diced onions and tomatoes in mounds on the side ready to be mixed with the bagoong fish paste. Slice the fried eggplant and mix it with the onions and tomatoes. Add bagoong to taste. There is no other fried chicken that tastes like Max's. It must be close to, if not the, best fried chicken in the world. The Glendale Max's stays true to the signature recipe. However, one very noticeable difference between the chicken in Glendale and that in Manila is the meat. The chicken at Max's in Manila is typically very lean, almost anemic compared to its Glendale counterpart. The American Max's chicken is chunkier, seems bloated with meat. As a result, you are absolutely stuffed by the time your first cousin drives you back to the LA International Hostel in Pico Union.
BACK TO TEXAS:
When booking online with SuperShuttle for a ride to the airport, take note of this advisory that you yourself issue to travelers in a previous trip, and it is always better to overestimate the time needed to get to the airport. It is before dawn when you step out onto the front porch of LA International Hostel to wait for your ride. When none of their blue vans are available, SuperShuttle calls a taxi cab for their passengers. Often in such instances, the cab reeks of stale cigarette smoke, and the driver is not as cautious.
When you book on Spirit Airlines, you have the option of paying extra to select your own seat. On this particular trip, it turns out to have been a wise decision not to pay that extra fee. There are many empty seats on the flight, and when the plane door shuts, you are allowed to move to a window seat on the left side of the aircraft, your preferred side on daytime flights where it is easier to take photos for your series "Earth from Planes."
You have to tear yourself away from your passport as you relinquish the package to Window #1. Feel a void in your soul as you clutch the plastic case that once held your passport, worn from its travels, now empty except for the Macao Information Notice, the Philippines Health Advisory, and the Our Lady of Guadalupe prayer card all inserted in its pocket. Read the prayer card and be reassured.
Before leaving the Consulate, be sure to check the bulletin board for any important information. You may also want to pick up a brochure of all the various services the Consulate offers.
EXPLORATION AND MEDITATION:
1968 was a tumultuous year in United States history. The height of the Cold War, the USA was becoming increasingly embroiled in the civil war in Vietnam on the other side of the world. But domestically, America was in the midst of its own upheaval against the institutionalized racism that had been an indelible part of its society since independence. The peace movement was gaining steam, the two campaigns merging in a confluence of causes for justice and civil rights. Espousing Gandhi's philosophy of nonviolence, the Reverend Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. was a leading light in these dark times, showing the world how to fight for change using peaceful means through civil disobedience. In April of that year, he was felled by an assassin's bullet at the Lorraine Motel in Memphis, Tennessee, where King had come to deliver his famous "I've Been to the Mountaintop" sermon the previous day.
Almost exactly two months later to the day, Robert F. Kennedy would suffer a similar tragic fate. RFK had served as Attorney General under his older brother John's short-lived presidency, building a legacy of anti-organized crime and unequivocal support for civil rights legislation. In 1968, RFK launched his own presidential campaign on a platform of social justice, change, and a non-aggressive foreign policy. On June 5th of that year, Kennedy addressed his supporters from the Ambassador Hotel ballroom in Los Angeles after winning the California Democratic Party primary. As he cut through the kitchen on his way to a pressroom, Kennedy and his entourage encountered an assassin who shot him five times from close range. Kennedy died in the hospital early the next morning.
Located immediately across from the Equitable Building on Wilshire Boulevard housing the Philippine Consulate's passport renewal office, the former site of the Ambassador Hotel where Robert F. Kennedy was shot has been converted into a school campus named after him by the Los Angeles United School District. Opened in 2007, Robert F. Kennedy Community Schools is built upon the ideals for which its namesake campaigned. It implements the most innovative academic structure in L.A. Unified. Within its expansive campus thrives six autonomous Pilot Schools, each with its own academic focus. For example, the Ambassador School of Global Leadership "internationalizes" the California State Standards, developing its 6th- to 12th-grade community into multilinguists with an awareness of global issues through interaction with professionals who work in diplomacy, trade, and public service. The K-12 New Open World Academy uses technology to deliver content and develop global awareness through instruction in several languages. The Los Angeles High School of the Arts has received national recognition for its work preparing students with skills for success in the entertainment industry. The Ambassador School of Global Education is the first elementary school to become a member of the International Studies School Network, a division of the Asia Society. The School for the Visual Arts and Humanities offers high school students internships at the Los Angeles County Museum of Arts and other world-renown foundations. UCLA also runs a college-preparatory school all the way from kindergarten through high school.
The gate into RFKCS from Wilshire Blvd. remains locked during school hours, leaving visitors admiring its architecture from Robert F. Kennedy Inspiration Park just outside its wall. Constructed under a tempest of controversy, opposed by many in the business community, including real estate developer Donald Trump, designers replicated some of the architectural highlights of the old Ambassador Hotel, which was closed down and razed in the 1980's. The total cost building the Robert F. Kennedy Community Schools makes it the most expensive public school campus in the nation.
Turn back towards the Equitable Building on Wilshire. Neri's Curbside Cravings Casual Filipino Dining is on the first floor of the strip at the corner of South Alexandria Avenue, conveniently located across from the Philippine Consulate. You feel blessed to find a dish you have missed since your last trip to Manila months ago. The bulalo is not on the menu, but in the list of special dishes written on the dry-erase board behind the counter. This is the first restaurant you have encountered in the United States that offers bulalo. Notice that it takes a little longer to prepare than the standard dishes the other customers order. It is worth the wait. The bulalo at Neri's is legit. A generous segment of tender beef shank, complete with cartilage and bone marrow, stews in the steaming broth surrounded by leaves of cabbage and a piece of corn on the cob. Scoop some broth over the mound of steamed white rice on your plate, just like you do at Dencio's on Harbour Square in Manila.
Now that you are stuffed, take a nice long walk and take in some of the everyday sights of life in L.A. From Alexandria, turn east on 6th Street, and then left on South New Hampshire. Streams of schoolchildren pass you on either side of the street, having just been dismissed from Frank Del Olmo Elementary, chattering boisterously in Spanish. Occasionally, hijab-clad families stroll by. The L.A. sunshine is glorious this afternoon, casting the residential structures in the kind of light they look like they were meant to be seen in. When you get to the Jollibee, turn left at Beverly Blvd. Glance to your right for a view of the iconic HOLLYWOOD sign in the distant hills.
When you find St. Kevin Church on Edgemont Street closed, turn back on Beverly to Vermont Ave. Catch the #754 southwards back to Pico Union, passing another Seafood City Supermarket and D.J. Bibingkahan.
From its humble beginnings in Maximo Gimenez's Quezon City home just after World War II ended, Max's chain of restaurants has grown into a huge chain reaching far beyond Philippine cities. A teacher educated in Stanford University, Maximo's family befriended American troops stationed in Quezon City, and they came over regularly for drinks. These visits inspired Maximo to open a cafe, developing a menu catering to the American soldiers' taste. Maximo's niece Ruby ran the kitchen and eventually perfected the recipe for Max's signature golden fried chicken, for which its name has now become synonymous. By the dawn of the 21st century, Max's corporate array has stretched to include a diverse repertoire of restaurant chains - Pancake House, Yellow Cab Pizza, Teriyaki Boy, Krispy Kreme, Jamba Juice, and one of your favorites, Dencio's. But as of today, only the original of its group has made it across the ocean to Los Angeles, one of numerous Max's across North America.
The Glendale branch is housed in a structure that looks like a former steakhouse. Inside appears and feels just like the Max's on Roxas Boulevard in front of Malate Church. Max's United States menu is almost identical to their menu in the Philippines. The monetary denomination obviously is different and significantly more expensive, and one of your favorite vegetables in the world, kangkong, is replaced by asparagus. Order the half-chicken, which comes with a healthy serving of steamed white rice and French fries. The eggplant salad comes in the classic Pinoy style, with diced onions and tomatoes in mounds on the side ready to be mixed with the bagoong fish paste. Slice the fried eggplant and mix it with the onions and tomatoes. Add bagoong to taste. There is no other fried chicken that tastes like Max's. It must be close to, if not the, best fried chicken in the world. The Glendale Max's stays true to the signature recipe. However, one very noticeable difference between the chicken in Glendale and that in Manila is the meat. The chicken at Max's in Manila is typically very lean, almost anemic compared to its Glendale counterpart. The American Max's chicken is chunkier, seems bloated with meat. As a result, you are absolutely stuffed by the time your first cousin drives you back to the LA International Hostel in Pico Union.
BACK TO TEXAS:
When booking online with SuperShuttle for a ride to the airport, take note of this advisory that you yourself issue to travelers in a previous trip, and it is always better to overestimate the time needed to get to the airport. It is before dawn when you step out onto the front porch of LA International Hostel to wait for your ride. When none of their blue vans are available, SuperShuttle calls a taxi cab for their passengers. Often in such instances, the cab reeks of stale cigarette smoke, and the driver is not as cautious.
When you book on Spirit Airlines, you have the option of paying extra to select your own seat. On this particular trip, it turns out to have been a wise decision not to pay that extra fee. There are many empty seats on the flight, and when the plane door shuts, you are allowed to move to a window seat on the left side of the aircraft, your preferred side on daytime flights where it is easier to take photos for your series "Earth from Planes."
ARRIVAL IN HOUSTON:
With no checked baggage, proceed directly to Ground Transportation in Bush International Airport's Terminal A. In the driveway, watch for the FastPark shuttle. All of the free parking shuttles are constantly circulating through the airport terminals, so the wait should not be very long. FastPark's express check-out lane takes only credit cards. If you are paying with cash, then go through the full service cashier lane. In either lane, you get a complementary bottle of drinking water. Drive carefully back to Austin.
EPILOGUE
It is wondrous how your prayers get answered on a regular basis. Recall that while in L.A., you pray to God for one of those rare instances when new passports arrive ahead of schedule, and you continue to pray after you get back to Texas. Your new passport arrives before the end of the month, more than six weeks ahead of the given release date. Your old passport is sent in the same self-addressed stamped envelope you provided, unaltered other than the "CANCELLED" stamp on its MGA PAGTATAKDA-LIMITATIONS page. The new Philippine passport is beautiful. Peruse the official government document like a work of art. Each spread is watermarked with a different geographic image representing all three island groups and every political region, and a line from the national anthem in successive order.
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| On the inside front cover of the new Philippine passport, the endangered Philippine Eagle stands proud, its piercing glare stoically facing the future... |
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On the bio page, four ideal traits of the Filipino are listed: Maka-Diyos (God-Loving), Maka-Tao (Concern for Humanity), Makakalikasan (Concern for Environment), Makabansa (Love of the Philippine Nation)...
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| On the right edge of each interior page is an inscription in Baybayin, the ancient indigenous script, recently undergoing an inspiring revival lead by academics, artists, and social justice advocates. Readers who send in a correct translation of this phrase garners recognition from our guide. Send translations to legaspi12d1@gmail.com... |
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Inside the back flap is the sea turtle floating majestically by...
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This is by far not the first time God listens and responds to your prayers in spectacular fashion. Thank God for everything He does for you...
"Life is not a journey, but a pilgrimage..."
- Kokoy Severino has been in a constant state of travel since he was four years old.
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