Woah, Nice Mangoes

Dear Elizabeth (a devoted reader writes),

I’ve been living in Canberra for five years now, and have noticed that this place really sucks ass in winter. Not only is it impossible to go outside without simultaneously contracting both frostbite and sunburn during the daytime, but getting home after a night on the turps is a real death sport. For instance, the other night I almost died when I was forced to hide in transit behind a naffy piece of progressive art in Civic for two minutes after seeing a wanker from the other branch who I didn’t want to talk to. Unfortunately, the metal statue adhered to the palms of my hands and I had to relinquish several fingers to the icy edifice I’d been grasping upon my departure.

Do you know where all the joy goes when it leaves Canberra in early March? Does it relocate to Sydney like everything else?

And, more importantly, how do I reclaim my lost fingers from the ACT Government?

Digitless APS 6
Belconnen

I can empathise, my APS friend. Whilst jogging in a Canberran frost last June, I myself contracted hypothermia of the inner lungs and brain freeze, which subsequently triggered a deep dependency on alcohol and required an intense program of therapeutic drug use. By the time my lung and brain disorder had righted themselves and I had regained full consciousness, I found myself undergoing terrible withdrawal episodes on one of the lesser known landmasses in the Philippines.

However, contrary to popular belief, Canberran joy does not relocate to Sydney for the winter months, even if half the Canberran population does.

There are certain measures for the so-called “joy-index” of a city. As a professional statistician, I firmly believe that the most accessible measure of joy-index is found in the fruit aisle of every supermarket, where the availability of mangoes is a reliable indicator. For example, if you measure out your joy in mangoes, Canberra scores a sorry zero for many of the winter months.

So, to rephrase your question in these terms: where do Australian mangoes go in winter?

Circumstantial evidence points to the Island of Negros in the Philippines where, strolling through the supermarket the other day, I noticed a sign for Australian mangoes in the fruit section. Closer inspection revealed the largest, juiciest specimens I had ever seen, which were on sale for around $A2.60/kg.

Appalled by the way our government had so blatantly pimped off Australian happiness to foreign investors, I got out my permanent texta and scrawled:

GO ON, HAVE SOME MORE CANBERRAN LIFEBLOOD YOU PINOY FASCISTS

on the pricing sign, before having to hightail it from Gloria’s supermarket police.

While I am maintaining a picket line at the check-out everyday on principle, I’m afraid there’s little I can do for you APS 6, short of sending a mango or two back to Australia. Unfortunately, stringent Australian customs laws mean that these mangoes would probably be intercepted by the AFP at Mascot in the biggest police operation since the early 90s, when Manly cop shop went on that massive drug offensive that never quite made it to the papers until a couple of years later.

In the meantime, you can pick up your fingers at the ACT Government Shopfront for a small administration fee.

Manila: The Musical or Why They Call It The Philippines

It isn’t why you think. Anyone who told you it had something to do with King Philip of Spain was wrong.

Take a taxi from Ninoy Aquino International Airport to Ortigas on a Friday afternoon and you’ll discover it actually has more to do with that other Prince of the Easy Listening Pops, Phil Collins.

I have made a detailed study of Manila radio on the sixteen or so trips I have undertaken between NAIA and Ortigas this year (lucky me). In the thirty plus hours of travel time this comprises, I have heard one or more of Phil’s timeless classics on sixteen out of sixteen occasions. Ask any taxi driver and they’ll reaffirm the conclusion I’ve already reached: Phil Collins, the celebrated bardic voice of the republic, is in fact also the eponymous hero of the land.

“Oh yes ma’am, Phil Collins. Very emotional, for the heart...”

Sigh. Whether it’s the conscience-rousing strains of “In The Air Tonight”, the socially responsible wailing of “Another Day In Paradise” or just the damn fine pop goodness that is “Easy Lover” you can run, but you can’t hide ‘cause the cab ain’t leaving unless Phil comes with you.

Phil Collins: A Role Model For Every Philippine City?

No. While Manila radio has made it musically to 1989, Bacoleno radio is still emerging from the Easy Listening Early Eighties. And unfortunately, this interpretation of the ELEE appears to have been cut straight from an alternative universe where Ferdinand’s thought police have outlawed every band but one.

And that band, my friends, is Air Supply.

BACOLOD CITY, FRIDAY AM

“Hey Miss Beth” says the driver, turning suddenly to face me in the backseat of his taxi, “that Australian music is nice, but you should really learn some Filipino music on your guitar.”

Without even batting an eyelid, despite feeling a deep disturbance somewhere about my kidneys at the fact that this complete stranger appeared to know everything about me, and was heading towards a hapless flock of school children crossing the road even as he gazed in my direction, I levelly responded,

“Uh-ha. What do you think I should learn?”

A moment of deliberation ensued, just long enough for the radio DJ to switch from “Air Supply: Greatest Hits of Summer 1981” to “Air Supply: Lovin’ You In A Boring Kinda Way 1983”.

“Well ma’am. That Air Supply one. Those girls are good.”

“Uh-ha. Which one?”

Returning his eyes to the road, the taxi driver glanced in his rearview mirror, scanned the sidewalk, tapped his mobile phone to his head and scratched his cheek pensively. Finally he blushed a little.

“Ah, sorry ma’am, I don’t know which ones they sing.”

Air Supply: Sounds familiar, but which ones do they sing?

Neither, as it turns out, did I until quite recently. A little research on the subject, however, (see http://www.airsupply-online.com/facts.html) reveals that Air Supply actually sang every meaningless, predictable, bland yet strangely soothing song you ever heard in your parents’ car as a juvenile.

To list a few: Every Woman in the World, Even The Nights Are Better, Lost In Love, ... I could go on for more than two decades, as Air Supply indubitably have, but I suspect you get the idea without overkill.

Further research reveals that Air Supply were not actually a female Filipino band at all, but rather the result of a dubious collaboration between two Russells who met on the set of Jesus Christ Superstar in Sydney in 1975.

Not to be confused with REO Speedwagon, who were also producing crap music around the same time, their online bio boasts that:

“The trademark sound of Russell Hitchcock’s soaring tenor voice and Graham Russell’s simple yet majestic songs created a unique sound that would forever be known as Air Supply”.

Having now become more Air Supply Aware, this is my official announcement to all Bacoleno taxi drivers and other interested parties that I am working on a much updated uber-hip version of “Lost in Love” as my contribution to Filipino arts and culture this year.

Becoming More Air Supply Aware

In the meantime, I strongly believe that there are things we should be doing to remove such musical cankers from the collective intellectual capability of human civilization. Tragically, while medical research has linked degraded IQ test scores with prolonged exposure to artists like Phil Collins, Air Supply and that other great Adult Contemporary Artist, James Taylor, public awareness of the sinister side effects of easy listening music is as yet lacking. One of my own recent surveys revealed the shocking result that 9/10 people were blissfully unaware that trace amounts of Air Supply in their air supply could cause real and permanent brain damage.

How long can we turn a blind eye to the rampant mental degeneration of our children in the backseats of cars everywhere?

In the name of a more intelligent planet, I’m hereby declaring June Air Supply Awareness Month. During this month I’ll be conducting a number of community awareness activities, including

· Leaflet drops
· Radio and television appearances
· Free acoustic concert in the park with updated versions of Air Supply favorites
· Series of “How to Program Your Playlist For The Nineteen Nineties and beyond” workshops
· Community CD / record bonfire night (note: Milli Vanilli records will not be accepted at this event.)
· Organised demonstrations and boycotts against businesses supporting the Easy Listening ethic
· Petitions
· Chanting

Anyone interested in organizing their own community event can contact me via e-mail or telepathy.

Everything I Know About Ilonggo (not much)

Thanks to my main miga, Caroline, for looking over this list and fixing most of it up. If anyone is looking for a tops banker-type in Singapore, who can also sing, dance, play the guitar and speak in Mandarin, LAAAHHH, then this is your girl.

Now, first things first. Before you start you should learn “hay naku!”, which is a pinoy cry of exasperation, roughly equivalent to “oh my goodness” or “D’oh”. In my opinion, it’s an improvement on both when rolled off the tongue with the right click of the tongue.

Basic words
Huo – yes
Indi – no
Kag - and
Wala – nothing / none
Sige – Okay
Ara sya – he/she/it is here
Sige na – okay, go ahead / give in / enough (there’s an ice-cream ad with “Sige na” as the slogan)
Quan – um (some westerners get irritated when they hear this one too often. A friend told me a story about an irate German who would rant “what is all this quan business? No time for quan, the country’s a mess!” during meetings with key decision makers.)
Tuod? – really?
Tuod! – true!
Kay - because

Diri – here
Dira – there
Didto – over there (for a place)
(S)ini – this (use ‘s’ if there is a quantity associated eg. Isa sini = “one of this”)
(S)ina - that
Ato – over there (for a thing)

Dyutay lang – a little only (I always respond with this when people ask me if I know Ilonggo)
Gamay – small
Manga – about, approximately
Siguro – can mean “maybe” or “for sure”, depending on context.
Pwede man – can be
Wala pa – not yet

Sa – next / to
Sang – when, once, last
Abot – arrived
Temprano – early
Abante – go (as in “Abante Escalante” written on the buses for Escalante)
Antes – before
Tapos na – finished (taposa na! – finish that already!)

Words for people
Migo/miga/mig – friend, also can be used when addressing an attendant in a restaurant or shop.
Lalaki – boy
Babayi - girl
Bata – child
Tito/Tita – uncle/aunt, also a word children use to address adults who are friends with their parents.
Lolo/lola – grandfather/grandmother
Ate – older sister, also a term of respect for an older female (Tagalog)
Toto/tata – (m/f) affectionate name (used when referring to a child you don’t know the name of)
(No)noy/(in)day – boy/girl (use for shop attendants again)

Catching a Jeepney/taxi
Bayad ko – Here’s my fare (lit. I pay)
Lugar lang – Stop here (lugar = place)
Bangga – corner
Sinsilyo – change (tagalong = barya)
Wala – left
Tuo – right
Liko – turn
Diretso – straight ahead
Diri lang – stop here (diri = here)

Food/Eating
Bacolodnons, like all Pinoys, love to eat. We graze throughout the day at the office, and there are various vendors who come and go selling food which they dole out of unsanitary-looking striped plastic bags. They’re probably not cleared by the City Health Office, but nevertheless I’ve never contracted food poisoning from any of these people. I always buy steamed bananas from a lady who comes around after lunch. You get three for 6 pesos (around 20c).

Whenever we’re not eating we are talking about it (makaon ‘ta? Gutom na ko! – we will eat now? I’m hungry!)

Pagkaon – food
(Ma)namit – delicious
Tamis – sweet
Kulang – lacking (food always lacks salt or sugar according to the locals)

Kalamay - sugar
Asin - salt

Pamahaw – snack (equivalent of the Tagalog “merienda”)
Panyaga – lunch
Panyapon – dinner
Pamahaw - breakfast

Tubig – water
Tambis – a type of fruit, a bit like the consistency of watermelon, tastes a bit like honeydew. I really don’t know how to describe this one other than “insipid”.
Lechon – suckling pig. You’ll see these by the roadside wherever you go in the Philippines. I love the way you can still make out the exact expression the poor pig had on its face as it contemplated eternity.
Dinuguan - Pigs blood soup, drained straight from the lechon and cooked up as a side-dish. It’s black and strange looking. Basic instinct (my own, not the movie) has prevented me from trying it thus far.
Manok – chicken. Bacolod’s chicken is famous throughout the country. It’s native chicken on a stick, basted with a mysterious glaze and eaten on rice with fingers. Better than KFC.
Balut – Boiled duck eggs, with baby ducks inside them. Best when almost hatched, but make sure you don’t get feathers stuck in your teeth. I had two when I was drunk once and they didn’t taste half bad.
Lumpia – my favorite. It’s a variant on a Chinese pancake dish made with vegetables. The pinoy version is a crepe with coconut, garlic and onion inside. Caroline’s Lola tried to teach me how to make this one, but it was a fairly mysterious procedure, involving lots of wandering around the kitchen, mumbling and cooking by “gut feeling”. Most of the ingredients are also not available in Coles/Woolworths back home. So, I’m eating as much lumpia as I can while I’m here.
Boneless Bangus – a milk fish, fried up with the bones taken out. (Nice with rice and the soy sauce, kalamansi and vinegar mix – see below.)
Kalamansi – a really small citrus fruit used as a condiment. I’d describe it as a miniature lime, the size of a grape. Mix it with soy sauce, vinegar and chilies for a condiment.
Buko – young coconut
Inihaw – barbeque
Chiko – fruit that looks a bit like a kiwi fruit. Tastes bloody marvelous if you manage to find one without a worm.
Star apple – custard apple
Manga – mango. Guimeras, mango capital of the Philippines, is the next island over from Bacolod. One of these days I will get there.
Halo-halo – literally “mix-mix”. A coconut filled with sweet and candied fruit, beans, ice-cream, rice bubbles or corn-flakes, ice and milk. Unbelievably good on a hot day (ie. every day).
Ube – A purple sweet potato that is used in a lot of desserts and cakes. Ube ice-cream is purple and namit!
Pasayan – shrimp
Isda – fish
Lagaw – a type of fish. Small bones but really quite yummy.
Piaya – a flat bread filled with a sugary filling of ube, mango, banana or just plain old sugar. Nice with coffee, bad for fillings.
Pandan – a green leaf that is boiled up and used in cakes and other sweet goodies.
Sisi – baby oysters. You have to drink coke afterwards or you will end up feeling unwell.
Talaba – grown up oysters. Again, keep the coke handy.
Kamote-kue – sweet potato deep fried in sugar and oil. Mmm.
Banana-kue – bananas deep fried in sugar and oil, served on a stick. Why does everything taste so much better off a stick?

Being Polite
Salamat (guid) – thank you (very much)
Halong – take care
Pasensya – sorry
Maayong aga – good morning
Maayong ugto – good day (can be used 11-1 o’clock in the day)
Maayong hapon – good afternoon
Maayong gab-i – good evening
Maayong adlaw – good day
Palihog – please
Pasalubong – souvenir. I include this word in the section on politeness because it is rude to travel anywhere without bringing some pasalubong, which is usually a local delicacy. The pasalubong from Bacolod is typically either cake, piaya, or some kind of sweet, sickly tart thing. Alternatively, you can just bring a sack of muscovado sugar along with you.

No Problems

The pinoys express this sentiment a lot, leading me to think that they doth protest too much. My driver, in particular, used to say this at any given opportunity, although he appeared to become more stressed and problem-riddled by the day. One day he snapped, disappeared, and never returned. I often wonder what happened to him. Wherever he is now, I am sure there are no problems though.

Wala sing ano man – not a problem (deep ilonggo – my driver taught me this one and it gives you instant cred when you roll it off). According to Caroline, only “old, really uncool people” and me, use this term.
Wala kaso – no case (lit. not heavy)
Wala problema – no problem
Okay lang – it’s okay

Animals
kuring – cat
Ido – dog
Manok – chicken
Baboy – pig
Usa – deer
Amo - monkey
Tiki - lizard
Ilaga - mouse
Tanga – cockroach (say this the wrong way with the emphasis on the second syllable and it means dumb)

Saying things about yourself

Ako si Elizabeth. Taga Sydney ako. Kumusta ka? – I am Elizabeth. I am from Sydney. How are you?
Maayo man – Good
Okay lang - Okay

Kapoy na (a)ko – I am tired (lit. tired now me. Note: “ko” is a shortening for “ako”)
Tuyo na ko – I am sleepy
Busog na ko – I am full
Gutom na ko – I am hungry
Buang na ko – I am crazy
Uhaw na ko – I am thirsty
Gutom ka na? – You are hungry? (Note: “ka” is a shortening for “ikaw”)
Ka kaon ka na? – have u eaten? (use ka when affirming if something has happened already)
Ma kaon ka na? – are you going to eat now?
Ka withdraw ka na? – Have you withdrawn (your money) yet?
Ma withdraw ka? – Are you going to withdraw (your money)?

Akon ini – this is mine (note: akon = mine)
Imo ina – that is yours (note: imo = yours)
May ido ako – I have a dog (note: may = there is)
(or Akon ini ido)

Wala ko kwarta – I have no money

Naanad na – used to it (co-workers in government use this often)

Quan, I actually don’t know that much Ilonggo

The perennial problem with trying to speak in another language is that others will then speak it back to you. This is often where the conversation ends for me, since I find it much easier to initiate conversation with a couple of words I’ve been practicing all day long than respond on-the-fly to what someone else is saying.

I’ve been using the following phrases quite a bit:

English lang palihog! – English only please!
Indi ko ka intiyende – I can’t understand you.
Wa-ay ko kabalo – I don’t know
Wala ko kabalo – I don’t know
Indi ko kabalo – I don’t know how to do that
Ambot – I don’t know
Tamaran ko – I’m lazy, I don’t want to do that (use this one when you don’t want to confess to not understanding a single thing they are on about).

Saying things that you are doing

Put a “MA” on the front of verbs to indicate future tense
Put a “GA” on the front of verbs to indicate present tense
Put a “NAG” on the front of verbs to indicate past tense

Knowing these prefixes you can actually use a lot of English verbs. For example, the other day at the shopping centre a lady asked me:
“Ano oras mastart ang film?” (What time will the film start?)

Note: There are three Bob’s Cafés in Bacolod, none of which are part of a chain. Caroline and I spend a lot of time there, hence all the references to going there and eating there.

VERB: Lakat (to walk, to go)
Eg. Malakat ko sa Bob’s – I will go to Bob’s
Malakat kita – We will go
Galakat ko pakadto sa Bob’s – I am currently walking to Bob’s

VERB: Kadto (to go)
Eg. Nagkadto ko sa Bob’s – I went to Bob’s

VERB: Kaon (to eat)
Eg. Makaon ko panyaga – I will eat lunch
Gakaon ko sa Bob’s – I am eating at Bob’s
Tapos na ko kaon – I had finished eating

VERB: Tulog (to sleep)
Eg. Matulog ko karon – I will sleep later

VERB: Gusto (to like)
Eg. Gusto ko ina – I would like that

VERB: Kuha (to get)
Eg. Makuha ko sina/sini – I will get that/this one

VERB: Hatagan (to give)
Eg. Hatagan ta ka kape/ hatagan ko ikaw kape – I will give you coffee

VERB: Pauli/puli (to go home)
Eg. Mapauli na ‘ko – I will go home

VERB: Mabakal (to buy)
Eg. Indi sia mabakal, ka intiyende sia sang Ilonggo (my counterpart said this to someone who was talking about me in Ilonggo who thought I couldn’t understand. Means “she can’t be bought, she understands Ilonggo”. Different from “indi mabaligya sia” which means “the girl is not for sale”, a term often used by pimps.)

VERB: Himuon (to do)
Eg. Wala ko himuon – I have nothing to do.

Dalagan – to run
Lumpat – to jump
Saot – to dance
Pungko – to sit
Higda – to lie down
Bangon – to rise
Inom – to drink
Hambal – to say
Paghimos – to put things in order
Bulig – to help (buligan – helping)
Kabalo – to know
Pulot – to pick
Balik – to go back

Instructions
Dali di – come here
Lakat na – go now
Diri kama agi – pass this way (note: if you put the emphasis on the second syllable in “agi” ie. “ag-EE”, it actually means “gay” and you end up saying “pass this gay”. Even emphasis on both syllables is required if you don’t want to be laughed at and inadvertently introduce your sexual biases to the conversation.)

Pronouns
Ako – I/Me
Ikaw – you
Sya – he/she/it
Kita – us (including the person you are speaking to)
Kami – us (not including the person you are speaking to)
Kamo – you (pl.)
Sila – they

(i)mo – your
Inyo – your (pl.) (sa inyo = for you)

Sa ila – at your place

Tanan – Everybody/everything

Questions
Ano? - What
Ano gina hambal mo? – What are you saying? (gina = that is/is that)
Ano ngalan mo? – What is your name?
Ano oras ka mabisita kay Belle karon? – What time will you visit Belle later?
Diin? – Where?
Diin ka makadto? – Where are you going?
Diin ka nagkadto? – Where were you going?
Diin ka-halin? – Where did you come from? Where have you been.
Nga-a? – Why?
Sin-o? – Who?
Sin-o ka? – Who are you?
Sin-o ang upod mo? - Who is the person with you?
Sin-o ang babayi na upod mo? – Who is the girl with you?
San-o? – When?
Paano? – How?
Pila? - How much?
Pila ini ho? – How much is this?
Palihog kuha sini (para sa akon)? – Please get this (for me)?
Ma ano ka karon? – What are you up to later?

Work words
(I work in City Planning, so there are lots of words for community buildings, houses, community issues and so on, that I pick up. Some are quite technical and not really in common usage.)
Balay – house
Salog – floor
Dingding – wall
Kwarta – money
Basura – garbage
(“may kwarta sa basura” – there is money in garbage. This is a common phrase used in information and education campaigns for solid waste management.)
Nipa hut – a thatched hut made out of coconut fronds.
Ginahulugan – amortize
Consent – pahanugot
Recycle – ginagamit liwat
Skwelahan – school
Simbahan – church
Paraw – boat
Alat – native basket
Siudad – city
Tinluan – clean

The Anti-rabies Sign
I read this and wrote it down while we were pre-testing the ICBIS questionnaire in an urban barangay. It’s a notice telling dog owners to get their animals vaccinated for rabies.

Guina obligar ang tanan nga pabakunahan sang anti rabies ang inyo ido idad 3 ka bulan pa ta-as kada tuig.
Guina obligar ang tanan nga tag-iya sang ido nga higtan, kurangon o indi pagua sa inyo ugsaran ang inyo ido...

We are requiring everyone to vaccinate their dogs 3 months and older with anti-rabies. We are requiring all dog owners to tie them up, restrain them and do not allow their dogs to be released and roam in their surroundings.

For the Vocab...
Guina – prefix e.g ginakaon (what are you eating), gina-inom (what are you drinking). To be honest, I don’t quite understand the use of this one either...
Obligar – to oblige
Pabakunahan – vaccination
Idad – age
Bulan – month
Tag-iya – owner
Higtan – tie
Kurangon – restrain
Pagua – to release / let out
Ugsaran – surroundings

The same day I saw a sign for dengue awareness, using some of the same words:

Ugsaran ko, tinluan ko. Dengue makamamatay

My surroundings, I clean them. Dengue can kill.

Time
Subong – today/now
Buas – tomorrow
Kagapon – yesterday
Adlaw – day (you can say “maayong adlaw” = good day)
Alas – o’clock
Emedia – half past
Eg. Alas syete emedia – 7:30
Karon – later
Pa – yet (indi pa = not yet, saw “namit na, dasig pa” on a restaurant sign meaning “delicious, yet fast”)
Kagina – earlier
Bag-o - new
Dasig – fast
Pag/kung - when (I had a text message from Caroline one day instructing “E text mo ako pag maleave ka na sa office” – “you text me when you are leaving the office”)
e.g hambalon mo ko PAG malakat na ta. “Tell me when we are leaving already.”
Hambalon mo ko PAG nagutom ka na. “Tell me when you are hungry already.”
(Note: I am not a fan of using “already” at the end of every sentence, but Filipinos seem to do it often. I suspect “already” is the direct translation of “na” = now, but it’s tricky to express the same thing in proper English.)
Dugay – later or “soooo slow” (eg. “this pinoy customer service is taking soooo long, how long does it take to get some water from the faucet anyhow?”)
Dugay dugay – in a little while

Numbers
Ilonggo
Isa - 1
Duha - 2
Tatlo - 3
Apat - 4
Lima - 5
Anum - 6
Pito - 7
Walo - 8
Sham - 9
Pulo – 10

Spanish (used for time and price)
Uno -1
Dos - 2
Tres - 3
Quattro - 4
Singko - 5
Sais - 6
Syete - 7
Ocho - 8
Nueve - 9
Dies - 10
Onse - 11
Dose - 12
Trese - 13
Qatorse - 14
Kinse-15
Dies y sais - 16
Dies y syete - 17
etc...
Baynte – 20

(You can use English numbers after this).

Quaint Nouns
Kodak – picture
Colgate – toothpaste
Smagol (ismagol) – flip-flops/thongs (apparently because the first batch were smuggled into the country)
Buklas – umbrella (not used in hip ilonggo apparently)
Bulak – flower
Balita – news/information (maayung balita = good news)
Estambay – a good-for-nothing layabout (he stands by). My counterpart has a whole song he sings about estambys – it’s tasteless, cruel and hilarious.
Budol-budol – swindling

Looking Good
Guapo/guapa – good looking (m/f)
Mapaparlor ko – im going to the parlor
Mapaguting ko – im going to have my hair cut
Maputi – fair-complexioned

Shopping
Mahal – expensive (mahal in tagalong is love – Mahal Kita – I love you. When I go shopping with my yokel Ilonggo in Manila, I tend to accidentally pick up a lot.)
Kamahal – very expensive (adding the “ka” to other adjectives also works to emphasise)
Ayo – discount e.g. Wala na ayo? No more discount?
Barato - cheap

Weather
Naga ulan subong – it is raining today
Nagulan kagina – it rained earlier
(ma)init – hot
Bahaw – cold (when you are referring to rice, so don’t use this one for weather, use...)
Tugnaw – cold
Bagyo - storm