Balikbayan Box

What's better than receiving relief goods 2 days after Ondoy wrecked havoc in our house?

Receiving a Balikbayan Box, of course. Filled with items you won't find anywhere else in the local market, whether it's a can of sardines or a bar of soap, even if you have enough money to buy groceries, it's still feels so much better to receive them for free and goggle on the different brands not available in the country.

Just last night, we opened two boxes from my uncle in United Kingdom. Just so you know, I love smelling the trapped air inside those packing-tape-battered cartons. I don't know if science is behind me here, but I do believe the smell of air in countries vary from one another. I might be deluded, though.

So after battling the sticky powers of various tapes mummifying the box, there in front of us was loads of canned goods in all shapes and colors. For me, it's not about "Oh my Obama, we finally have food!" because we have awful plenty, it's mostly "Ooh what is this?" and "How do you pronounce this word?". I love trying out food from other countries that it even include preservative-filled ones.

In the end, the most interesting pieces I got was perfume (smells pleasantly like the rain), 1 box of Ferrero Collection chocolates (Ferrero Gardens, oh heaven!) and a vibrating toothbrush. It's funny, I thought it being named Oral-B Pulsar is just an advertising stunt but lo and behold, it actually has an internal battery and an on and off switch. We were laughing so hard.

I dream of one day, when I get to work and/or study abroad, packing a box that I will send to my relatives back in the Philippines. I wonder if it's enjoyable shopping for other people and sealing those items in a big brown box. Because it sure is delicious opening one.