Game night at DyceNDyne

Late last Saturday, I met up with some friends (and made a few new ones) in DyceNDyne, a boardgame hang-out in Pasig. We had been planning a follow-up game night over the last couple of months after the first time we played Resistance: Avalon and the One Night Ultimate Werewolf. We couldn't find a good venue until one of us discovered DyceNDyne.

photo from the DyceNDyne facebook page

DyceNDyne
Unit #3 Elements @Rosemarie Building, Pasig Blvd (right across the Seaoil station)

The cool thing about this place is that it stays open until 2:00 AM so you can hang out here for a long time. Another plus is that you only need to pay for food and drinks; there is no additional fee for staying here or using the games. The downside is that they don't serve hot coffee. (I ordered a large Americano and it turned out to be a cold coffee hahaha.) However, they do have beer which is a good match for crazy and loud evenings with friends. And you can get loud here without it being an issue. :)

We started playing Cards Against Humanity. It's a strange game but it is quick and easy to play so we ended up playing several rounds of it. We then moved on to Resistance: Avalon. Unfortunately, I found out a couple of days after our game night that we played it incorrectly as we had four red cards instead of three in our group of nine. As a result, red won almost all the games except for the one game where blue luckily picked all blue players and they stuck with that team for every succeeding mission. Nevertheless, it was still a lot of fun having that crazy interaction with everyone.

When DyceNDyne closed at 2AM, people still wanted to hang out so we moved to Rufo's in Eastwood. The initial idea was to play One Night: Ultimate Werewolf there but because it was a bit of an open area, we couldn't really hear the instructions from the phone. Instead, we played this game where you had to name a celebrity or fictional character whose first name starts with first letter of the last name of the celebrity or fictional character named by the person before you. (For instance, if someone says Scarlett Johansson, the next player has to name someone whose first name starts with J, like James Dean. The next person then has to name someone whose first name starts with D, like Dina Bonnevie.) If someone says someone whose initials are the same - such as Peter Parker - then everyone has to keep coming up with names with those repeating initials until someone can't think of a name within the allowed time. It is through this game that I discovered Promise Phan hahaha (youtube celebrities are allowed).

We hung out in Rufo's for a couple of hours before calling it a night. With the amount of fun people had, I'm pretty sure we'll be hanging out again soon for more boardgame play. :)

Madrid Masters

This is definitely has been Rafa Nadal's toughest start to the year. In yesterday's Madrid Masters final, he suffered a bad loss to Andy Murray, 3-6, 2-6. He showed glimpses of his claycourt prowess but he still seems to be beleaguered by confidence and consistency problems. He he had several chances to break Murray's serve but wasn't able to and this could be a problem for him going into the Rome masters as well as Roland Garros later this month.

This was one of his worst defeats in a claycourt final (and it was on home turf). The last time he lost this many times on clay was in his rookie year back in 2003. He has now dropped to #7 in the world and if he fails to reach the Rome finals, he can drop out of the top 8 before the French Open. I am still keeping the faith, though.

*****

On the women's side, I am happy that Petra Kvitova won the title in convincing fashion, beating Svetlana Kuznetsova 6-1, 6-2 in the final. In the semifinals, she beat a fatigued Serena Williams 6-2, 6-3, thus snapping the world #1's 27-match winning streak and handing Serena her first loss of the season. The last time Kvitova won in Madrid, she also won Wimbledon. Could this title be a sign of things to come for her this year? I'll keep my fingers crossed for that.

U23 Asian Women's Volleyball held in Manila

The first-ever under-23 Asian women's volleyball tournament was held in Manila from May 1 to 9. China beat Thailand in the final in four sets, 27-25, 21-25, 25-21, 25-11. As a result of both countries making it to the finals, China and Thailand qualify for the FIVB Women's U23 World Championships in August. I felt bad for Japan who were a very strong frontrunner and they were up 2 sets to 0 against Thailand in the semifinals before the Thais mounted a stunning comeback. In the bronze medal match, that loss may still have affected the Japanese and the bowed out meekly to South Korea in straight sets.

The Philippine team held its own quite well in this tournament and made some international buzz. The team took a set off both China and Chinese Taipei. We also beat Kazakhstan and Iran in straight sets. As a result, the Philippines finished at a respectable 7th place. That's pretty awesome for a team that hasn't really participated in many international events. Having to play against global powerhouses like Japan and China will also serve us well in the long run as it provides us with the experience and exposure we need to help us get better. Great job, Team Pilipinas!

Maya Plisetskaya: Dying Swan

Maya Plisetskaya, one of the greatest ballerinas of all time, passed away last Saturday, May 2, at the age of 89. I learned about her after watching some ballets in Russia and doing online searches later on about some of the most legendary Russian ballet artists. Maya is one of only 12 dancers to have been given the title prima ballerina assoluta.

One of Maya's most famous performances was The Dying Swan. This video shows her performance in Boston in the late 1980s when she was already 62 years old!!! (If you find that hard to believe, this other video shows her dancing when she was 61.) Take a look at her unbelievably fluid and graceful arms when she enters the stage, especially from around 0:28 to 0:38. It is just utterly astounding!


video uploaded in youtube by Esquire Jauchem

While she naturally was better technique-wise when she was younger (in her Dying Swan performance in 1959, she showcases the incredible flexibility of her back; of course, she was still in her mid-30s then), I think she had a much deeper emotional interpretation of this piece when she was older, making her latter performances more spellbinding. Maybe partly because she had done this innumerable times before and partly because she was starting to feel greater mortality - not just as a human being but as a dancer who could no longer do what she could when she was younger - thus providing her with a greater connection to the theme of death. I also think that her arm movement got even better as she aged.

While Maya Plisetskaya is no longer with us, she leaves behind an amazing legacy. She has given us countless treasures that will allow us to still marvel at and embrace her genius even as after her death. R.I.P., Maya Plisetskaya.

Sinag Pilipinas bring home Gold!

Despite Manny Pacquiao's loss on Sunday (Philippine time), it wasn't all bad news in the sporting world for the Philippines over the long weekend. Sinag Pilipinas defeated Singapore last Friday, May 1, to win gold in the 2015 Southeast Asian Basketball Association Championships (SEABA). Check out this Instagram photo taken by Kiefer Ravena of the team with their medals.

One for Pinas.

A photo posted by @kieferravena15 on May 1, 2015 at 8:22am PDT

The Philippine team was extremely dominant throughout the tournament, winning all their games with massive leads. They beat all their opponents by an average of 68 points. Their biggest win was a 140-29 demolition of Brunei (that's a 111 point margin)! Against Singapore in the finals, the score was 82-56. This win qualifies the Philippines for the 2015 FIBA Asian Championships which will be held in late September to early October.


Congratulations Sinag Pilipinas!

Pacquiao falls short

Sad news for the Philippines. Manny Pacquiao lost to Floyd Mayweather Jr. by unanimous decision in their fight early today.

I actually didn't see the fight myself. I don't normally watch boxing - even in the many times that Manny won - because I always feel sorry for the loser, regardless of who it is. (Heck, depending on how beat up both boxers are, I sometimes also feel bad for the winner!) I learned about the result when I overheard some of the waiters talking about it while I was having lunch with my nephews at the mall. I texted my friends who then confirmed the result. Too bad. Manny Pacquiao has been one of the biggest heroes in the country and everyone was hoping he would finally deal Mayweather his first loss. Alas, it was not to be.

There have been a lot of comments flying about how this fight went as well as its outcome but I will steer clear of all of that as I am not a boxing expert and cannot provide any semblance of expertise on it. :) What I will say is that even with this loss, I am proud of Manny and thankful for what he has done for the Philippines.

*****

While this loss was terrible news, possibly devastating to many, it did come with a benefit for me today. There was almost no traffic in Metro Manila the entire day, which was good for me because I had to drive quite a lot.

Surgery

I recent had surgery on my foot and due to the location and the size of the surgical wound, the healing has taken quite a while. The early goings were pretty tough. It was really difficult to walk shortly after the surgery and in fact, one night as I was replacing the dressing, my wound started bleeding a lot and I had to rush to the ER to have it looked at. (I was taught a better way to replace the dressing to reduce and event prevent further bleeding. I was also given a tetanus shot as a precautionary measure since the location of my wound made it prone to getting dirty and possibly infected.)

Walking wasn't the only challenging thing. To help the would heal faster, I had to keep it from getting wet, making it very tricky and physically challenging to take a shower. I covered my foot in a plastic bag and tied an Aquazorb towel right beneath my knee to prevent any water dripping from my upper leg into my foot. I then had to assume many difficult "yogaesque" positions - often with a raised leg -  to minimize the the chances my foot would get soaked.

When I went back to my doctor for a follow-up check-up, I was told that my wound seems to have practically healed now so I can get it wet. I was also told I no longer needed to use the antibacterial gauze on my wounds. Finally! I will also try to put a shoe on my foot for the first time tomorrow; I haven't worn a shoe since the surgery since I didn't want to bleed into it. Hopefully walking with a shoe tomorrow will turn out okay.

Some bad news though: I gained about 5 pounds while nursing my surgical wound. I guess it's because I haven't really been walking a lot recently; I'd be sitting or lying down quite a lot. At least the wound is okay now. I'm still a bit wary though; I don't want to reopen the wound by walking too fast or flexing my foot too much. Hopefully, I can become active again soon.

Family Celebration

My grandmother "Nanay" recently turned 88 and to celebrate, I took her along with my family to Prince Albert. I had eaten there before and I thought my family would also really enjoy the food in this restaurant. When I saw Deal Grocer vouchers for a pretty hefty meal for two at Prince Albert, I thought it would be as good a time as any for me to bring my family there.

Each voucher was for a four-course meal for two that included soup, salad, a prime rib main course, and dessert. It also included a drink (soda, fresh fruit juice, or iced tea) and coffee or tea. At 52% off, it was a pretty awesome deal!  We had two choices of salad; a few of us opted for the Arugula, Green Pear, Walnuts and Roquefort cheese salad. I initially ordered that but there was a mistake in the order-taking and I didn't want to waste the food so I ended up having the more-standard-but-still-good Caesar salad. For soup, there were also two choices but one of the options was unavailable that night so we all had the Forest Mushroom Soup.

Forest Mushroom Soup

I've blogged about the Prince Albert Prime Rib before and it didn't disappoint. Even the side dishes - Yorkshire pudding, baked potato with bacon bits and sour cream, and grilled vegetables - were a massive hit with everyone. For dessert, we had a couple of options: Crepe Samurai and Pistachio Lime Cream Financier. The crepe was available that night but the financier wasn't. Our waiter told us we could instead have the Raspberry Meringue Tart (I think that's what it was called). Half of us got the crepe and the other half got the pie. Both were really good, but I think I liked the Raspberry Meringue Pie a bit more. It also looked really beautiful!

Raspberry Meringue Tart

As we were finishing our dessert and coffee, the waiters turned the lights off in our area and started singing "Happy birthday". As they did, they brought in a beautiful cake! As it turned out, they gave this to us for free because it didn't appear in the bill afterwards. I thought it was really wonderful that they did this. Since we were all so full, the waiters said they would just pack it up for us so Nanay could bring it home with her.

Thank you, Prince Albert, for the free cake!

I'm really happy I was able to bring my family to Prince Albert. The food was amazing and we were all stuffed, the service was superb, and we got a free cake. My aunt and her family were also able to join us, making Nanay's 88th birthday celebration even more memorable.

More ways to help the Nepal earthquake victims

As of this writing, the Nepal earthquake has taken more than 2300 lives.As if the first 7.8 magnitude earthquake yesterday wasn't enough, a massive 6.7 aftershock hit the country again earlier today. Rescue efforts continue and international aid continues to come in, although the damage to infrastructure has made it difficult for help to get to where it is needed.

For those who want to help, CNN shares a list of  ways that you can donate.

Looking for ways to help victims of the #NepalQuake? @CNNImpact has a list of organizations http://t.co/964rXMx3XJ pic.twitter.com/NxphPBQGZ0
— CNN (@CNN) April 25, 2015

Here's the list of the different organizations that are working on relief efforts now but you can read this link to read more about each of these organizations.

Nepal Red Cross Society (donation link)
American Jewish Joint Distribution Committee (donation link)
AmeriCares (disaster relief fund)
CARE (donation page)
Catholic Relief Services
Concern Worldwide (online donation)
Direct Relief (online donation)
Global Giving (online donation)
Handicap International
The International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies (online donation)
International Medical Corps (online donation)
MercyCorps
Operation USA
Oxfam International (links to: US donation, Great Britain donation)
Save the Children
Samaritan's Purse
UNICEF (online donation)
The World Food Programme (online donation)
World Vision Nepal earthquake relief fund

Earthquake hits Nepal

I just saw the very sad news on CNN. A magnitude 7.8 earthquake just hit Nepal earlier today. As of now, it has been confirmed that more than 1400 people were killed and several thousands have been injured by this disaster. There is massive destruction throughout the country and many historic monuments such as important temples and palaces have been greatly damaged if not reduced to rubble. The earthquake also caused a huge avalanche on Mt. Everest and many casualties have already been reported.

My thoughts and prayers go out to Nepal and everyone who has been affected by this catastrophe.

How to help:
International Federation of Red Cross: Donate to Nepal Earthquake Relief
Global Giving Nepal Earthquake Relief Fund

Kimberly Nichole sings House of the Rising Sun on The Voice

I'm happy that I stumbled upon this performance while switching channels earlier today. Kimberly Nichole from Team Christina brings everyone to their feet with this smashing, soul-stirring performance of House of the Rising Sun.


video uploaded in youtube by The Voice

During the build-up to the performance, guest coach Reba McEntire commented that if Kimberly performs on stage the way she did during rehearsal, she would get everyone on their feet. I thought it was an exaggeration. As it turned out, it was not. She got a standing ovation and I had goosebumps. I'm interested to see how well she will do in The Voice. Would be awesome to see her go far and even win.

Getting there

Rafa Nadal lost in the semifinals of the Monte Carlo masters to nemesis Novak Djokovic.While it's disappointing - Rafa still hasn't had a good result this year in any of the big tournaments - there are a few positive things he can take away from this tournament. It's his first semifinal in a bit tournament that featured many of the top 10 players. He avenged his quarterfinal loss in last year's tournament to David Ferrer. And after dropping to 5th place in the ATP rankings, he climbs back up to 4th. I'm still hoping he gets close to top form in a month's time.

In the meantime, Novak Djokovic continues to rack up records. He recently passed Rafa in terms of number of weeks at #1 (he has now been at the top of the rankings for 143 weeks; Nadal stopped at 141 when Novak took over from him). And with his win in the final, he becomes the first person to win the first three masters tournaments of the year. He is now on a 17-match winning streak and has lost only two matches this year, winning 30. Novak looks to be head and shoulders above everyone else at this point in the tennis calendar so it will be interesting to see what he achieves the rest of this year.

College reunion dinner

Talk about a blast from the past. One of my college friends, Dino, is in Manila and we decided to meet up over dinner. A few dozen of our college org mates were invited but while only about 8 of us made it, it was an incredible night of catching up. Probably half of the people in our dinner group I hadn't seen since college! After graduation, the only folks I got to see on a regular basis were people from my batch; I never really got to see my friends from other batches anymore.

Our dinner was Village Tavern in Bonifacio High Street and once we were all there, it was loud and fun and full of energy. We talked about what was going on in our lives  and we shared stories about the people we regularly get to see to those who haven't seen them in a while. Of course, a college reunion wouldn't be anywhere near complete without a trip down memory lane. We remembered the outings, the parties, the school events, and the crazy adventures back when we were still young. :)

We realized at some point that we were the only people left in Village Tavern so we had stayed there until closing. And why not? There was a lot to talk about it. As we said our goodbyes to each other, we thought it would be good for us to meet again at some point soon. Hopefully that does happen, and hopefully more of our college friends can also join us next time.

Celebration at Lemuria

This is a bit of a late post but a few weeks ago, my uncle and aunt, Tito Erwin and Tita Maritie. celebrated their 40th wedding anniversary at Lemuria.

I hadn't heard of this place before so I had to go online to figure out how to get there. It's a fine-dining restaurant and events venue that is perfect for relatively smaller gatherings; there were about 40 to 50 of us in our group. I'm not sure if this is one of those places that used to be someone's house that was later converted into a restaurant or a party venue but it does have a very warm and cozy ambience.

There are also a few rooms here so there can be a few dinners or celebrations going on at the same time. It also has a large open area that can probably serve as an open-air ballroom.

My mom and I got there a bit late and once we arrived, Tito Erwin was giving a welcome speech. Dinner was then served buffet-style and the food was pretty good. Afterwards, random people started giving speeches. In our table, we were discussing who would give a speech and I ended up volunteering. I kept my speech short and sweet but I talked about how Tita Maritie and Tito Erwin have been very important in helping our family get through tough times over the last few years and how they are blessed because they continue to bless others.

It was around 9:30 when the wedding anniversary celebration ended. Tito Erwin and Tita Maritie thanked everyone for coming and the wine glass we used during dinner also served as the party souvenir.

Of course, there was a lot of photo taking before we finally left. This was the last time I saw my grandmother Mama so I'm just thankful I got to spend quality time with her before she passed away. I'm also really happy that I got to celebrate the 40th wedding anniversary of Tita Maritie and Tito Erwin with them and with other members of our extended family. Congratulations to them and I look forward to their golden wedding anniversary in ten years.

Lemuria
http://www.lemuria.com.ph/
5 Julieta Circle, Horseshoe Village, Quezon City
email: lemuria@brumms.com.ph
mobile: +63.927.428.4202
landline: +63.2.724.5211, +63.2.722.2185
Operating Hours: Lunch by exclusive booking only; Dinner Tuesday-Sunday 6:00 pm-11:00 pm

Gerphil Flores gets the Golden Buzzer on Asia's Got Talent

What a wonderful way to make it through to the semifinals of the first-ever season of Asia's Got Talent. Gerphil Flores from the Philippines sings a flawless classical rendition of Speak Softly, Love (the theme from The Godfather). Not only does she get a stand ovation and a yes from all four judges, she also gets a Golden Buzzer from her idol, David Foster. Cool!


video uploaded in youtube by Asia's Got Talent

Birthday dinner celebration

My friend Anna turned a year older a while back but as she's based abroad, we didn't get to celebrate until earlier this week when she was in Manila. We had dinner at Chef Jessie in Rockwell. I had never eaten here before and the set menu was very enticing - almost everyone else at our table ordered this - but when I saw that there were many cheese soufflé options in the menu, I decided to have one of them instead. I opted for the Bacon and Cheese Soufflé and oh wow it was so incredibly good! Anna told me that Chef Jessie used to be the chef of Le Soufflé and said I made a good choice. Brilliant! I also ordered the Aglio Olio pasta with Prawns and that was a quality dish as well. Lala couldn't finish all of her set menu so I ate all her leftover main course and dessert. While this restaurants is on the expensive side, the food is tremendously good!

It was the first time I saw the gang in a few months so there was of course a lot of catching up to do. I finally got to give my photobook gifts to my friends Michele and Joyce (Iona normally makes her own books - she finds it almost therapeutic and enjoyable - so I just give her vouchers as a gift). I also lent Joyce my DVD of The Best Exotic Marigold Hotel since she recently watched the second one and enjoyed it she but didn't see this first one. I also gave Anna my spare commemorative P10 coin.

It was close to close to 11PM when we finally called it a night. I still owe Anna a proper birthday gift. I was supposed to make a photobook of her recent travels but she still hasn't been able to give me her photos. I think after seeing the other books I passed around that night, she feels a bit more compelled to put together her photos and send them to me. Happy birthday Anna and thanks for the wonderful dinner!

Rest in Peace, Mama

Last week, my grandmother on my dad's side, whom we affectionately call Mama, passed away at the great age of 91. She thankfully survived a few health scares over the last few years but she suffered a heart attack last weekend and when my cousin called me to tell me about it, the prognosis was grim. Apparently, the doctors were saying Mama could go at any time soon so I decided to pass by the next evening. (Thankfully, visitors were allowed in the ICU even late at night.) There were several of us there when I arrived and several more came after; I guess we were all expecting the worst and wanted to spend some time with Mama while she was still alive. Most of us started out talking to her and telling her that we love her. I also prayed with her. After a while, I wasn't sure what to talk about anymore so I started humming (I'm not good with lyrics so I figured I would just hum the tunes instead). I went on that way for a couple of hours and while I was there, I was noticing the figures on the monitor slowly dropping. I left at close to 2am and I was told when I woke up that Mama had already passed away early in the morning.

We laid her to rest on Good Friday and everyone in our Manila-based extended family and our family friends were there to say goodbye. As luck would have it, it was my cousin's birthday that day. So it was decided during the funeral that we would all head to my uncle's house afterwards to celebrate. After all, while we were all very sad, Mama did have a great life and we wanted to celebrate that as well.

The last time I got to spend time with Mama while she was conscious was a few weeks ago during my uncle and aunt's 40th wedding anniversary. I'm just glad that I got to see her in very joyful circumstances shortly before she passed away.

I'm also happy that in Mama's twilight years, I got to spend some quality time with her. There was her amazing 90th birthday and I will never forget the time I took her and Tito Raul to Aristocrat as a post-Christmas celebration. She had difficulty moving in her final years so it was not easy taking her to different places but whenever she was at a party, she always still had the energy to dance. :) Mama will definitely be missed.

Eternal rest, grant unto Prudencia Pobre, O Lord
and let perpetual light shine upon her.
May she rest in peace. Amen.

Record month

What an interesting month. I achieved a few personal blogging records and milestones this March. I celebrated my blog's 10th anniversary. I scored another perfect month after managing to put up one blog post for each day of the month, a feat I accomplished only twice before. I also became a bit of a blogging machine as I published 67 posts in the first three months of 2015. This is by far the most I have written over a three-month period.

Due to a combination of these things and a few other factors, my blog also recorded the most number of views in a single month, with 3608. Wow! This is the first time my blog exceeded 3000 views in a month; prior to this, the most hits my blog got in a month was 2720. Checking my blog stats, it seems that about half of the traffic I got in the entire month came after I published these four posts:

Michelle Obama dances on Ellen on March 18.
Total hits that day - 835
Not sure what was going on here but immediately after I posted this, my blog ended up with 763 views. Which is strange because this post itself only has 12 views. :) My guess is that maybe there is a horde of bots that detected what I wrote.

Happy 10th anniversary! on March 10
Total hits that day - 557
I shared this blog post with all my friends so my blog was bound to have a lot of views after that.

Happy 10th anniversary! (Part 2) on March 11
Total hits that day - 239
I also shared this post with my friends, especially since it had a very good summary of the many local and international trips I've taken.

10 books that have stayed with me (part 2) on March 18
Total hits that day - 182
Once again, I don't know what was going on. Maybe a lot of bots picked up something I wrote here (or in the previous post on 10 books that have stated with me (part 1)

Regardless of how these blog stats work (they all still don't really make sense to me LOL), March 2015 is definitely one of the most memorable months in my blogging history.

The Fox on Just Dance 2015

I stumbled upon this video on youtube. I think it's really silly but in a cool, funny and entertaining way, living up to the playful humor and spirit of the song itself.


video uploaded in youtube by AverageAsianDude

Where can I get a fox costume like this (including the swag gangsta coat and jewelry)? I'd love to perform dance this somewhere hahaha.

Juan Flavier's Legacy

This piece of news has been making its rounds recently. And why not? It's a wonderfully heartwarming true-to-life story about how good government can greatly improve the lives of people.

Juan Flavier was the Health Secretary back in the 1990s and under his leadership, the DOH launched Oplan Sagip Mata. Apparently, many Filipino children suffer from loss of vision but in a lot of cases, blindness can be prevented by proper medical care. One of the beneficiaries of this program was Sandra Magalang, a cross-eyed child from a poor family.

While we don't know whether or not she would have lost her sight given her situation, her eye problem was corrected and the assistance she got from DOH definitely made a significant impact in her life. So much so that during Flavier's wake late last year (sadly, he passed away on October 30, 2014), Sandra paid her last respects and left this note for Flavier's family:

photo from www.interaksyon.com

To the family and loved ones of Dr. Flavier.

I apologize for writing at the back of this guest list, but this is the only way I can think of to convey my gratitude to your family and to Dr. Flavier.

My life was changed by his Oplan Sagip Mata almost 20 years ago, and thanks to this great man I was able to live differently despite being born cross-eyed and poor. Without him, I could not have achieved the honors I have achieved, and his health programs have helped me reach places I never thought I would. I even graduated summa cum laude from this university, and this is all thanks to your great father/grandfather/loved one.

Thank you, and my deepest condolences.

Sincerely,
Sandra Magalang, UP Diliman 2010, 2014

As it turned out, Sandra graduated salutatorian of UP Law last year 2014 and she placed third in the recently concluded Bar exams. Amazing! While Juan Flavier is no longer with us, his legacy lives on. He has definitely left an indelible mark in the lives of the many Filipinos.

photo from www.rappler.com