Two of my numerous aunties are US citizens. They’ve been in the US even before I was born. In 1975, two of my aunties decided to work in the US of A as a nurse and the other one as hairstylist. They’ve been both successful in their American dream and they’ve been US citizens. They settled in California and Chicago (the usual Filipino cities).
The good thing about these two aunties of mine (the other one being my only ninang) is that ever since they arrived in the US, they never failed to send us Balikbayan boxes. It’s usually twice a year, winter and summer. I don’t know whether it’s related to the sale season in the US.
We grew up knowing that our aunties would always send us Balikbayan boxes and they never failed. Not to mention that they also never failed to give us Pamasko and pa-birthday (cash). We’re very lucky to have such aunties.
It’s great to know that after all these years and after all the advances in technology, our culture of sending our love ones packages in the form of the Balikbayan boxes, never cease to exist. It’s one of our most enduring traditions and hopefully, even if 100 years have passed, we would still have this tradition.
I took pictures of their most recent Balikbayan boxes which they sent through LBC. They sent two boxes: one for me and my parents, and the other for my brother and his family. Here are the contents of the Balikbayan boxes for me and my parents:
My all-time favorites include Hereford Corned Beef, Libby’s Vienna sausage, Nutella, SPAM and Nissin Top Ramen. Other brands included are Pepsodent, Ultra brite, Swiss Miss Classic Marshmallow, Fruit Rings, Pacific Coffee Mix Instant Coffee, Creamy Peanut Butter, Irish Spring (my favorite brand of soap), RITZ Crackers, Aim, Libby’s Spaghetti and Meatballs, FINEST Spaghetti and Meatballs, Saladar 100% Green Tea, etc. Plus, they always send us hand-me-down clothes, towels, other soaps, etc.
These are some of the most typical brand that you’ll find in a Balikbayan box from the US.
No comments:
Post a Comment