On Thu, Sep 11, 2008 at 3:40 AM, Deepa Mohan <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> wrote:
> Don't forget the plaid suitcases and the plastic mats which would be tied > around the boom-boxes. I have read accounts of Russian /Italian emigrants > also going back home with similar gifts. So I guess the phenomenon is pretty > common. When I lived in Kolkata, I would see the Bihari milkmen, Oriya > rickshaw pullers, and later, Bangladeshis who did a lot of menial work, > living in small rented garages, eating satthu and chili/onions, and going > home once in a year or two, and taking similar gifts.... Yes, I think the phenomenon is pretty common. It even has a name, and a special box in the Philippines. -- Charles http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Balikbayan_box Balikbayan box >From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia A Balikbayan Box. A balikbayan box (literally returnee's to ones homeland box) is a ubiqitious cardboard box containing any number of small items and sent by an overseas Filipino known as a "balikbayan". Though often shipped by freight forwarders specializing in balikbayan boxes by sea, such boxes can be brought by Filipinos returning to the Philippines by air.[1] These boxes might contain nearly anything that can fit and that the sender thinks the recipient would like, regardless of whether those items can be bought cheaply in the Philippines, such as non-perishable food, toiletries, household items, electronics, toys, designer clothing, or items hard to find in the Philippines.[2] A balikbayan box intended for air travel is designed to conform to airline luggage restrictions and many Filipino stores carry them. Some boxes come with a cloth cover and side handles. Others are tightly secured with tape or rope, and thus not confused with an ordinary moving box more lightly wrapped. Shipped boxes are delivered directly to the recipient, nearly always the family of the overseas Filipino. Part of the attraction of the balikbayan box is economic. If the items were sent individually or in smaller boxes through postal services, the cost could be significant. The tradeoff is a long transit time by container ships, typically taking several weeks, and the lack of a solid delivery date. Another part of the attraction is the cultural expectation that returning travelers will bring gifts to family, friends and colleagues left behind in the Philippines. In this way, it is related to the practice of "pasalubong"
