If it’s a Japanese guest, he would often bring chocolates, rice cakes, dorayaki, or these buchi-like treats. If the employee is from India, he or she would usually bring salty banana chips, nuts, or cake similar to the fruitcake. If the employee arrived from his vacation in the Philippines, a box of polvoron, some pastillas, or a bag of dried mango balls would make the rounds.
If you were close friends with the person who had just gone on a business trip or had a vacation some place other than his country, you could expect a small (non-edible) souvenir from the place he visited...a keychain, a fridge magnet, or a pen. Usually, the box or bag would be circulated by our office boy and everyone would take one or two pieces (depending on the quantity). Of course, whatever the food is and wherever the person came from, everyone would enjoy nibbling at the goodies almost immediately.
Fortunately, since we’re pretty buddy-buddy with the office boy, if there are extra goodies left, he would give them to me and my female colleagues for us to enjoy as dessert during our lunch break. Most of the time, I don’t eat the goodies right away. I would keep them in this round wooden box in my desk-drawer, and whenever my sweet tooth attacks, I would take one out and enjoy the yummy treat.
It's a simple gesture, but it’s something we look forward to because whenever we bite into those goodies, we get to experience the country they visited, albeit in our mouths.
my box of yummy goodies
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