Bourdain’s Field Notes
MANILA, April 2016—Like many children all over the world, my daughter arrived home from the hospital to find a Filipino baby nurse. Vangie was with her from the very beginning of her life, and in time, my daughter came to know her son, her daughter-in-law, their kid, and, in time—extended family and friends in New Jersey, Southern California, and the Bay Area.
And of course, most importantly, Jacques, Vangie’s grandson, her best friend, from whom she has been inseparable since infancy—her older brother in every way but biological—her partner in crime. If I go back through old photos today, at least half will be of the two of them together.