Baon (home-prepared, packed lunches)

I had a love-hate relationship with baon (ba-on), the Tagalog word for a packed lunch. It could generally mean any resource (including cash) you bring with you to a trip, for school or work; but it most often connotes packing a meal prepared from home.

Back in pre-school and grade school, I loved bringing baon. This almost always involved a colorful lunchbox printed with the licensed trademarks of the day. I think I had a Transformers lunchbox at some point. The fare involved a sandwich and instant orange juice in some kind of thermos.

Us kids got excited about comparing the contents in our lunch boxes and on very rare occasions would even share or trade with one another. When I turned 8 or so I started noticing interesting things sold in the school cafeteria. This was the beginning of the end for my love affair with my lunch box. I had begun to want and ask for money. And when it came to money, I would never feel that I had enough.

It got worse in high school. I had moved from Sampaloc, Manila where we were relatively better off than most of our neighbors and reasonably at par with my school mates to Ayala Alabang Village which was (and still is) one of the poshest gated communities in the Philippines.

I had moved to Benedictine Abbey School (San Beda Alabang) where most of the students come from gated communities. I was probably one of the worst off (relatively) among the students there but due to my residential address, everyone would assume otherwise. And oh what would I give to maintain that illusion!

I remember with dread shopping for lunch boxes, my mom wanting to get me the most presentable, the most presentable ones; sort of making up for not being able to raise my allowance (to my preference).

The tuition for my education was no joke and needed my parents to do some serious scrimping (something that I was completely insensitive to). All I could think about was how I wouldn't be able to eat at the cafeteria with everyone else and eat the (quite horrible for the prices) school food. I remember my mother pleading with me to reconsider (in tears!) my unreasonable demand to increase my allowance. I had my way (and I still feel guilty whenever I think about this).

By the time I got to university (an even more expensive education in De La Salle), I didn't even get any protest from my mother about not wanting to bring baon. Baon was cash as far as I was concerned. During the rare times I would eat out with schoolmates, I always ended up ordering the cheapest item on the menu. Even then I would end up scrimping on food for the rest of the week.

For me then, baon communicated the lack of cash, and was an immediate status marker. I was no socialite, but in my mind my friends actually gave a shit about whether I packed food or not. Secretly I would admire people who didn't care and ate food packed from home, but I would always be too chicken to be one of them.

When I started working, it was still the same. Never mind I was an entry level drone, I would rather eat meals on credit than pack free(!) food care of Mama. This went on for years and years.

It was only when I entered this organization (I was turning 28) and was assured of my status as a manager, that my values and opinions began to change. I would eat at the office cafeteria with other managers like myself (and younger, too) and they brought baon prepared from home. Given their confidence, they actually called it straight: cafeteria food is markedly inferior to food they prepared themselves, or by someone who cared for them.

My wife (back then my girlfriend) made more money than I do and yet always brought baon prepared from home. I wanted so much to do this myself, but at that point I was already supporting my parents and the food didn't seem so "free" anymore as I would have to set aside more money than I already give her every month just for my baon.

The logic that I would be spending more is fallacious since I always spend more when I eat out. As a result, I would end up bringing baon only some of the time.

Now that I'm married I bring baon every day, care of my wife's Ninang (aunt) who lives with us and who is a very good cook. I save so much money and feel so good about my good fortune to be able to eat good food and practice sound economic policy.

These days I've heard ridiculous stories about kids enjoying cash allowances around Php 500.00, which %30+ more than the daily minimum wage. These kids end up acquiring bad habits with money, end up having no economic sensibility, and start gambling very very early.
I've no kids yet, but I imagine that I will face challenges concerning the value of baon with them someday.

What's your baon for today?