Last night was Bruce's holiday party. Office Christmas parties are a very big deal here, and are a lot like the ones at home- everyone dresses up, there is lots of food, and gifts are exchanged. What is different is...oh, the karaoke...and the karaoke...and the karaoke. Also, the gift that the company gives the employee is a food basket- Bruce and I had this crazy plan that we would "Americanize" it with treats and movie tickets and gift certificates, and Bruce's office admin kindly informed us that people actually really count on receiving this food, and it would be best if we didn't screw that up. Every employee received a huge basket that had corned beef, Spam, spaghetti sauce, ketchup, noodles, canned milk, pancake mix, hot chocolate, cookies, and the like. They even assembled one for Bruce, even though he and I knew there wasn't much in there we would eat. (We gave it to our driver at the end of the night then worried that maybe he thought we didn't appreciate the gift basket. This morning though, Bruce got a text message from our driver's painfully shy wife thanking us, and so we are glad it went to them.) Also, the prizes that were raffled off were things like water purifiers, electric fans, and other small appliances. Again, the office staff reassured us that this was what the employees would enjoy, and they were right. The big prizes were a DVD player, a microwave, and a digital camera.
It was a really fun night. Bruce did most of the planning- my running pal Chad is the general manager at the hotel we used (the Best Western Premier F1), and those guys did a great job. The food was delicious- chicken, beef, fish, and prime rib, as well as sushi, soup and rolls, salad, spaghetti, and three different desserts- there was definitely an American slant to it, thanks to the American who planned it. As usual, though, an odd gelatin concoction presented itself at the dessert table: this time it was a solid cube of gelatin, almost the consistency of a Starburst candy or the inside of a jelly bean, unflavored of course, and rolled in coconut. It was not so tasty, but our table mate informed us that it was better with butter spread on it and sugar sprinkled on top. "What isn't?" I thought to myself. There was also a live band and games, so it was nonstop action. I think Bruce is just relieved that the whole thing is over with.
This next week is for relaxing a little- we've planned a last minute trip with our pals, the Hables, to Subic on Monday (Pray for us. We are renting a car and driving. For the first time ever, springing for the extra insurance seemed like a good idea), then we are home for 2 days, then we leave again to Bohol for Christmas.
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