Mindanao: Food

You may be wondering what we've been eaten there in the Philippines, or how we make our food. While members of the healthcare teams were told to bring camp food that only requires adding hot water, those are more supplemental in nature. In other words, we buy food from the market and cook it over a fire. 

Foods at the market range from foreign to familiar. Spaghetti and hot dogs are eaten alongside traditional filipino stir-fry meals like chop suey and manudin. Markets have all kinds of options, and they even have frosted flakes. It turns out it will not be a summer of freeze-dried meals, but rather one of a menu as creative as the members make it. One staple of nearly every meal is rice, something that every true Filipino eats religiously. Each group will have to learn to love rice, as they are responsible for feeding their translator as well.

We've also enjoyed some Filipino desserts, such as mango float and mango shake. Mango is the national fruit of the Philippines. 

Teams are responsible for keeping a budget for shopping.  The conversion from US dollars to Pesos is about 1:42, but that doesn't mean we can buy everything – a jar of blueberry jelly costs around 150 pesos, for example – so we still need to watch our wallets. But some foods you can get for great deals, such as a loaf of bread for 50 pesos at the bakery. For the students who haven't shopped and cooked for themselves before this trip, the translators have been great helpers. 

In any case, know that food is plentiful and it's not all just ramen and freeze-dried meals,

Brian & teams.