S–U–M–M–E–R Time flies fast. We didn’t notice that the best time of the year is approaching. After the long cold season that we experienced; it’s now time to hide all the jackets, hoodies, and coats that we used to use because of the extended cool breeze that we can feel. Finally! Summer is coming; so bring out the board shorts and swimsuit to flaunt in the beach. Now is the right time to plan a perfect getaway with friends and family. In summer, many family plans a holiday that each members will consider to be memorable. Some people really like spending their time with nature such as camping, going on a picnic, spending time on the mountains, and even going to the beach. The weather also adds extra humidity which forces people to look forward to diving into cold water while grilling food at the beach front. It’s …
Tagaytay’s Name: What does it mean? The story goes like this. A father and son went on a hunt. Their prey is the Wild Boar. The Wild Boar is a fierce animal; when provoked, it can take down a grown man. As the enraged beast charged toward the father, the child cried “Taga (slash) itay! (father)”, “Father hack it!”. The boar was bested by the duo. And the city’s name came to be. City College of Tagaytay, an educational institution located just a few meters away from Face to Face uses the Wild Boar as its team name/symbol — the CCT Wild Boars. Now being improved, the college will have more of the glorious animal. At least 3 sculpted boar heads are found near the gate which is still under construction.
La Botella There are times when we want to drink our worries away somewhere less crowded and less noisy. One place that you can visit here in Tagaytay is La Botella Restobar. It is located right across the famous and usually packed Papa Dom’s Bar and Restaurant. This place does not attract throngs of people. It has a homier ambiance and is definitely stylish. Adorning the ceilings are colorful lights fashioned from recycled bottles – hence the name La Botella. There is even a dedicated wall filled with a kaleidoscope of bottles. It’s a very nice background for taking Instagram pictures! They have a variety of food options and are not limited to finger food that goes well with alcohol. There is also a cornucopia of alcoholic beverages. The prices are affordable and definitely suitable to the offerings’ taste and portioning. It’s a great place to hang out and talk …
The Gift of Netflix One of the questions I often get asked is how old I was when I started studying English. It would then be followed by how I learned English at a very young age. The answer of course will always be the same, and I would also always tell my students that many Filipinos learn the language watching English TV programs, may it be cartoons, movies, or series. Thanks to someone, these English programs have just arrived at our doorsteps. Everybody, meet Netflix. Whether you are trying to improve your listening skill, or you want to improve your vocabulary, or hone your pronunciation skill, you can do that in your own pace and time while watching movies on Netflix. You can make an account and pay it monthly. The good thing is that you can share it with up to 4 other people, so you are …
Honey What food doesn’t spoil? Honey is the only food that doesn’t spoil while in an edible state. Ilog Maria Honeybee Farm is a pleasant stop-off along Aguinaldo Highway away from the bustling city. Named in honor of the Virgin Mary who is said to have caused innumerable mysteries to the place, Ilog Maria engages in natural and handcrafted beeswax products that have salubrious and therapeutic properties. What are the benefits of honey? Honey is used as home remedy to relieve cold and cough symptoms. Drinking warm lemon water mixed with honey can soothe a sore throat. Honey is a substitute for sugar. It has a lower value than sugar as it does not raise blood sugar levels quickly. Honey is rich in antioxidants. It reduces risks of heart attacks, strokes, and some types of cancer. Honey nourishes skin …
Creating Possibilities in the Philippines When you travel, baggage becomes a problem especially if it’s a trip abroad. It’s annoying to carry heavy stuffs while wandering around trying to look elegant. You might end up having a long discussion with the airport staffs because of your excess luggage, too. It’s troublesome. Your goal is to relax and not to find more stress. No worries! The Philippines has got your back! Aside from its breathtaking views, the Philippines has also a lot of malls that you can visit for your OOTD (outfit of the day) without compromising your budget. One of them is Acienda Designer Outlet Mall. It is the very first authentic international outlet mall in the Philippines. It is located along Aguinaldo Highway in Silang, Cavite; 30 minutes away from Tagaytay. It operates from 11 am to 9 pm. You can find your favorite brands (local and international) at …
PAGMAMANO: A Kiss of Honor What is it about the Philippines that make it different from the rest of the world? Well, for one thing, it is all about Filipino culture. Filipinos are very polite. We have a culture of PAGMAMANO, which is where we raise the back of the hands of their elders to their foreheads as a sign of admiration. Almost the same to hand-kissing, the person giving the greeting bows towards the hand of the elder and presses their forehead on the elder’s hand. This is usually performed with the right hand. The word MANO is Spanish for HAND while the word PO is often used in Filipino culture and language at the end of each sentence as a sign of respect when addressing someone older.It is an ordinary way of building up one’s strong feelings of warmth towards their loved one. What are you waiting for, …
Hi! Today, I will tour you in my healthy lifestyle (hahaha, I am just pretending to be health conscious, but I am not.) Anyways, let’s start. Lemon water is one of my favorites, so let’s go to the lemon world. Lemons can be easily found in the supermarkets. So, if you are on a tight budget, you can make your own lemon water. It’s cheap. Your 20 pesos can buy a piece of lemon. If you are lazy, you can just buy lemon water in the store which is located at Fora Mall-Supermarket. For 65 pesos, you can have this refreshment. You can also have some adds-ons such as yakult, kiwi, cucumber, orange and calamansi for additional 10 pesos. I personally recommend lemon water with kiwi. It is so refreshing and delicious. Maybe next time, we can go here and try this together.
The Dining Tables That Never Sleep Who can say “No” when talking about food? Who doesn’t crave every time you read blogs about different cuisine? And who doesn’t drool over mouthwatering dishes when watching cooking shows? Food is more than survival. With it we make friends, and count our blessings. The sharing of food has always been part of the human story. In the city of Tagaytay some markets have food stalls that do not sleep. Those stalls are in Mahogany Market. They are open 24/7 all year round. Rain or shine, they are always open to serve hungry customers with their delectable dishes. The Cooks and servers often say, “We cook and serve not just tasty food, but we cook and serve with our hearts in it.” Mahogany market food stalls offer various dishes for everyone to enjoy. All ingredients are freshly harvested. The source of meat and …
Volleyball is LIFE! On and off the court…. While I may not have been able to watch volleyball as I would have liked recently, there has been a plenty volleying all around the country. For most if not all conferences, 2019 Grand Prix Second Leg 2019 Volleyball tournament will be held at Sta. Rosa Multi-Purpose Sports Complex in Sta. Rosa City, Calamba from October 4 to 6, 2019. These rematches are fun to watch because you can make predictions based on the last matchups and still be surprised! So, here I am again, and here you are again also – we are all hoping for the best for team Philippines, aren’t we? After having witnessed a lot of bad things in match four between the Philippines and Thailand yesterday, aren’t we getting more and more into the negative circle of volleyball? But don’t you think we are too focused on …
SEA Games 2019 in the Philippines As part of the South East Asian Nation, the Philippines was chosen to host the 30th South East Asian Games. It’s a sporting event held every four years in different countries which is part of this organization. It aims to have good relationship between countries to promote camaraderie with the theme motto this year, “We win as one”. 11 members of Southeast Asian Games Federation (SEAGF) were expected to take part in this said event. These countries will be sending their athletes to represent their respective countries. Brunei Cambodia Indonesia Laos Malaysia Myanmar Philippines Singapore Thailand East Timor Vietnam The said sporting event will be held in several places throughout the country. Luckily, Tagaytay was chosen as one of the participating places to hold these matches. applied to give for the said occasion.The Tagaytay Oval was being reconstructed and converting some …
Many people settle for less not because they can’t do anything about it but because they are afraid they might fail. Most of us consider failure and difficulties as the end of everything, we give up trying and we choose to stay miserable and unsuccessful. Why should we where in fact, there’s hope? We can be successful, we can have fun. Learning English is the key! Why should we learn English? English is the Language of International Communication According to research, English is the official language of 53 countries, spoken by over 400 million people and the most second language in the world. It is the language a lot of us can understand. Travelers of course have chances to speak to people with different cultural background as they go overseas. In order to communicate with them, English is needed. English is the Language of Business Companies, both international and …
I’ve always been a big fan of walking. I read somewhere that when you walk, you get to “kiss” the world with your feet. That was really poetic, I know, but I also think it is quite true– exploring a place can be a simple yet an awesome experience. At Face to Face School, dinner is usually served at 6PM. The students and homestay teachers just like me get to enjoy our food together and chat almost about anything under the sun. Everything seems to be just how it is, doesn’t it? Well, almost except for one thing– we get hungry as the night goes by. That’s the time walking comes handy. Despite the fact that Tagaytay isn’t as developed and convenient as other bigger cities in the Philippines, there are still some establishments near our dorms which can save our starving tummies. One of them is Mcdonalds, …
The Philippines hosted the second leg of the 2019 ASEAN Grand Prix tournament at Sta. Rosa Multi-Purpose Sports Complex in Sta. Rosa City, Laguna from October 4 to 6, 2019. When my friend (Joey Magobo) sent me the schedule of the tournament on my messenger last Wednesday (October 2, 2019), I got very excited to witness the memorable event live. I cancelled all my Saturday and Sunday appointments. Volleyball is life. Going to the sports complex was fun. Asking mu uncle to drive for me is a relief because I’m not familiar with the place. From my house to Sta. Rosa Multi-Purpose Sports Complex in Sta. Rosa City, Laguna, it took us an hour. My friend (Edelle Mendoza) and I arrived at the venue at 1:30 pm. Luckily we didn’t go to the ticket booth to secure tickets because Edelle’s uncle who is one of the line judges of …
“Sometimes, having coffee with your friend is all the therapy you need.” They say the key to survival is coffee. And having a sip of coffee with friends sponsors a good mood. Studying or simply hanging out in Starbucks Coffee is one of the things we enjoy doing. Your stay in the school is never complete without it. Coffee there might be a little pricey but it’s nothing compared to the quality time spent with people you admire and respect.
Good day everyone! T. Em here for another blog… For today, I will be sharing about a “bread icon” in the Philippines, but before that try to understand this, Every country has a nationally beloved bread. Example: French- croissants, San Francisco- sourdough, and Italy- focaccia. For Philippines – pandesal. It is a type of bread that Filipinos love and pair with a lot of things and can be eaten not just for breakfast but also for snack. I give you the “Pandesal” (Filipino Bread Roll) For some Asian countries, “bread” is a staple food, just next to “rice” the same goes in the PH (PH = Philippines) but when we talk about breakfast food we cannot put aside the fact that many Filipinos love bread and one of the favourite is the “Pandesal”. Originally, the name “pandesal” means “salt bread” in Spanish where it originated but contrary to the …
We all have our personal weaknesses. YES, EATING ICE CREAM. Light, creamy and sweet. It is possibly the ultimate in satisfying food. Having a terrible day? An ice cream is the answer! (Oops… your waist-line might not be grateful) I SCREAM, YOU SCREAM, WE ALL SCREAM FOR ICE CREAM. Everyone loves ice cream, but why? There’s an endless amount of flavors. No matter what you like, there’s an ice cream flavor out there for you. It is good in every season. It’s the perfect treat for any season. Moreover, it makes your sadness go away. It helps heartaches and major causes of sadness easier to get through. Aside from that, you can eat ice cream anywhere – the possibilities are endless. It also soothes sore throat. It brings the comfort to your home and soothes your aching throat. Here are some ice creams you can try around F2F, Tagayaty …
A table without bread is not a table, but bread is a table on its own.” – Scottish Gaelic Proverb Bread is life. This is a common food for breakfast here in the Philippines. Although some Filipinos prefer heavy meals, bread is best matched with brewed coffee to boost up one’s energy in the morning. Noceda Bakery Address: Aguinaldo Highway, Mendez Crossing West, Tagaytay City 4120 Historical Background Noceda Bakery is a small local shop that was founded by Paterno Noceda way back in the 1940s after World War II. He set up a small bakery within his house in Mendez, Cavite. He started with small-squared biscuits and named it JACOBINA®. JACOBINA® is a great constitute for any soft bread. Why do most people eat bread? ・There is a wide range of breads. People can choose from soft tasty …
Tagaytay is popular tourist destination where you can experience cool temperature with beautiful nature. You can also try different kinds of cafes, restaurants, shopping malls and ukay ukay here. Tagaytay has been a thrift shopping place for tourists especially for foreigners, ukay-ukay is one of the examples. It is a store wherein secondhand apparels like clothes, bags, shoes and other accessories are being sold at very cheap prices. There are lots of good and unique pieces here, too. Local and tourists enjoying their staying or vacations here in Tagaytay because aside from its weather and close to nature, you can also experience good malls and groceries with very cheap prices. Like, Ayala malls, Robinsons, Fora Malls, etc. Here in Tagaytay you can experience the local culture and charm while looking for unique items to bring home. “Whoever said money can’t buy happiness simply didn’t know where …
If this isn’t your first time on this home page, you probably already know that people at Face to Face School live for coffee. And where else is the best place to have an afternoon cup of your favorite coffee but Starbucks! However, what if all of a sudden, you realize you were running out of money, and you checked your pocket only to find that you only had a 100 peso bill left? Well, that wouldn’t have been a problem if you had been in the Philippines these past few weeks. Earlier in August, Starbucks Philippines announced its 100 Peso Frappuccino on Wednesdays Promo. It’s quite simple really—from July 31st to September 4th, coffee-lovers had a chance to purchase a Grande Frappuccino at Starbucks from 3PM to 6PM for only 100 pesos. You read it right—for only 100 pesos! That was a good opportunity to enjoy a variety …
Good day everyone! Teacher Em here… On this blog we are going to talk about food. It is originally a middle-eastern cuisine consisting of meat cut into thin slices, stacked in a cone like shaped “pita” bread and roasted slowly on a turning vertical rotisserie or spit. For those of you who don’t have any idea, I’m talking about “Shawarma” (some other names includes: Chawarma, Shaurma or Showarma). Still no idea? Okay, other similar dishes are Doner Kebab, Al Pastor and Gyros. Nothing comes to mind? Okay, originally they use Lamb or Mutton for the meat it is said that Turkey and Veal are also alternatives but in the Philippines; Beef and Chicken are the most common. They commonly have tomatoes, cucumber and onions to go with it. This dish is usually “made to order” meaning, they only prepare it after you order it and you can usually see …
Finding the time to focus on yourself can seem inconceivable for both men and women. However, everyone deserves some time to indulge in being pampered, and spas are the best way to get away from it all and refresh your body. Increasingly, all men are realising the importance of looking good and feeling good, and many see spas less as an indulgence and more as a health necessity. While we are often quick to assume a day at the spa is a women’s activity, this certainly isn’t the case. Men have used spas for decades, centuries even and for the exact reasons as women, to look and feel great. Weekly I visit my favorite spa – Azrama Wellness Spa. It is located at 3rd Floor Jeda Bldg., Tagaytay Calamba Road, Sungay East, Tagaytay City. I recently had the good fortune to spend some quality time with my best …
Learning a second language is not as easy as eating marshmallows or as fast as blinking, but not as difficult as climbing mountains or digging diamonds. Learning another language is a process that can sometimes be frustrating and discouraging. “How can I learn and use another language that sounds just as normal as my own, especially on a daily basis?” “How can I study abroad if I always miss my home and my family? “How could I live in another country if my culture were different?” Worry no more! Face to Face Language and Culture School is where learning English becomes a leisure… Face to Face Language and Culture School is located in Tagaytay City, Philippines. A place where a city and countryside meet. Its altitude and cool climate give everyone space to breathe and a retreat from a stressful city life. Studying English in Face to …
Are you a coffee lover? Coffee Addict? I’m sure most of you loves coffee very much. Coffee for you is more than just a normal drink. Your morning is not complete without a cup of coffee whether you’re watching a movie, enjoying the sunset or just talking to your friends. It is always a good way to relax and enjoy the intoxicating smell of this magical drink. If you found yourself that your day is not complete without a coffee then you are definitely a coffee lover. Don’t worry, you are not alone in this. I’m also a coffee lover, in fact while I’m writing this blog, I’m having my favorite hot black coffee. If you’re looking for different places to have coffee and at the same time enjoy the beauty of nature then our country’s second summer capital is the best place for you. Tagaytay is known for …
The season I’ve been waiting for the most has finally come! People like me who are obsessed with Starbucks and Halloween, hold October very dearly for it is when a limited edition drink arrives… the Pumpkin Spice Latte. This drink is usually available only for the month of October in the Philippines. It is originally a US and Canada only Starbucks drink, until a couple of years ago when the franchise finally heeded the call of their customers. Pumpkin spice is a symbol of autumn in the United States. What is pumpkin spice? It is a combination of five other spices: cinnamon, nutmeg, ginger, cloves and allspice. It’s definitely a must-have whether in cakes, muffins, pies and of course coffee. The craze people have for it is inexplicable. The fact that it has reached our shores and has become well-loved by Filipinos just show how much our country …
