Mabuhay

Helena, Montana, is not a place where you readily find a lot of grocery items from the Philippines. When Desiree first arrived here, we found a few odds and ends in the local stores. To procure more items and brands Desiree preferred, we ordered goods from online sources.

Fortunately, there is another, more interesting option for attaining Filipino goods. Every few months, a mobile Filipino market makes a stop in Helena. The Mabuhay Oriental Market is based in Kalispell but makes fairly routine trips to Great Falls and Helena. The market is owned and operated by a Filipino, and they arrive in Helena with either a big truck or a trailer loaded with dry goods, canned goods, and frozen foods found in stores in the Philippines.

"Mabuhay" is a Filipino greeting, usually expressed as "Mabuhay!", which literally means "live". The term is similar to the Hawaiian expression "aloha".

Yesterday afternoon, the Mabuhay mobile market stopped in Helena for a couple of hours. Once the market opened for business, a swarm of local Filipinos (including Desiree) filled the truck and scoured the shelves and freezers, seeking desired items from the Philippines.

Desiree happily filled a handbasket.

A Few of the Items Desiree Purchased

Filipinos Gathered Around the Mobile Market

—Mitchell Hegman