Tucked in semi-commercial Bulihan in bucolic Silang, Cavite, is a “trattoria”-style restaurant called “Cotoletta Ni Saletta.” It gets its name from the owners, Matteo Saletta, an Italian who speaks Filipino quite fluently, and his wife, Jonie Olandag-Saletta, a Filipino who speaks Italian like a native. In Italy, a trattoria is a small restaurant usually run...
Category: Lifestyle
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Dealing with grief over the holidays
Dear Cathy & Mark, Our beloved 72-year-old father died last June of Covid-19. He was generally healthy otherwise. My four siblings and I are devastated by our loss. Our father loved Christmas and always made it a special time for our family. Two of my siblings suggested that we carry on our family traditions as...
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Asean Centre for Biodiversity gears for world’s 1st green travel festival
The Asean Centre for Biodiversity (ACB), co-organizer of the International Ecotourism Travel Mart (IETM), is in the thick of preparations for the world’s first green travel festival to be held next year in Silang, Cavite, Philippines. Scheduled on March 29-April 2, 2023, IETM is a historic assembly that puts ecotourism in its rightful place in...
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Endless want, endless Christmas
The Christmas holiday season in the Philippines starts in earnest after All Souls’ Day. Gift lists are updated, the holiday-party, vacation and reunion schedules finalized. Weeks prior, the mall and tiangge merchants are already on holiday marketing mode, playing carols to set the mood and reeling in customers with irresistible discount sales. But now is...
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To help ailing children and others disadvantaged
In 2010, moved only by a need to find a job (having been unemployed for more than five years), I accepted the position of executive director of a 40-year-old company called United Way Philippines Inc. (UWPI). At first, I thought it was some pharmaceutical or pyramiding firm. It turned out to be a non government...
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Fiesta of all fiestas
There’s no fiesta like Christmas, and it’s aptly called the holiday season—a season that starts as early as the first days of December and extends to the last days of January. It even spills to mid-February, or up to the so-called “Feast of the Candelaria.” I know this from my parents, who were conservative Catholics. ...
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10 things to remember when depressed by challenges
In my roller-coaster life journey of “ups and downs,” I’ve tried to scour for meaning and devised “10 things to remember when depressed by challenges and struggles.” They have served as my guideposts during rock-bottom moments, and I hope they would do the same for you. 1. The past cannot be changed, but we can...
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Ensuring a happy end of life for a loved one
Dear Cathy and Mark, My 82-year-old father was recently diagnosed with end-stage heart failure. His doctor informed us that he would likely not survive another year. My mother is 78 and has a number of medical ailments, but overall is in good health. My parents have adequate health insurance to cover my father’s medical care....
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How to make a long-distance relationship work
Dear Cathy and Mark, My boyfriend and I have been together for three years. We officially got together a few months before the pandemic. Thankfully, our love survived it. Recently, he was accepted into a graduate studies program in New York. He will be there for two years. I know we have all the tools...
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Life (and death) on the edge
SYDNEY—On the premise that the best way to explore a place is on foot, Sydney in Australia fares well on travel experts’ lists of most walkable cities in the world. Road quality, safety, convenience, and the wonders of nature are among their indices. There’s a range of walks to choose from—bushwalking, dog-friendly circuits, wilderness...