Summary: Scent of Apples by Bienvenido Santos

The author, Mr. Santos, was asked to speak before an audience in Kalamazoo, MI one October when the war was still on. On the same night he met another Filipino Celestino Fabia, a farmer. Mr. Santos was surprised to see a man who travelled really long just to hear him talk. In the course of the discussion, the man asked, in sporadically incorrect English, how the Filipino women of today were different from the stereotype he was familiar with. Mr. Santos replied that although they differ in the exterior, both women of different eras bear the heart and soul of a modest Filipina. Mr. Fabia was pleased. After the lecture, Mr. Fabia told Mr. Santos about his farm and his family and invited him over to his house, repeatedly saying that his wife, Ruth, will be pleased to meet a first class Filipino. He also told him about his son, Roger, with pride. Mr. Fabia picked Mr. Santos up the next day and during the course of what seemed to be an endless journey to the distant farm, Mr. Santos became aware of Mr. Fabias life in the Philippines. He was a spoiled brat and the black sheep of the family. He lived in an old Visayan town where there are no apples. But there are coconut trees and roosters cooing early in the morning, and there was his family. They finally arrived in the farm, the fragrance of apples diffusing all over the place. Mr. Santos noticed how Ruths hospitality and kind-heartedness was almost Filipino and how adorable Roger really was. In their humble home, he also found a picture of an anonymous Filipina wearing a traditional costume another manifestation of how dire Mr. Fabias nostalgia is. He bade farewell to the family and Mr. Fabia took him back to the hotel. He offered to send news to his family when he got back to the Philippines but Mr. Fabia refused, saying that they might have already forgotten him. They shook each others hand and said goodbye.

Author:
Bienvenido N. Santos (19111996) was a Filipino-American fiction, poetry and nonfiction writer. He was born and raised in Tondo, Manila. His family roots are originally from Lubao, Pampanga. Philippines. He lived in theUnited States for many years where he is widely credited as a pioneering Asian-American writer.

Characters:
Filipino Young man - who went to Kalamazoo, America for a conference. Ruth - the wife of the man who invited this Filipino Young to visit their House. Roger - the child of Ruth and Celestino Fabia. Celestino Fabia - who inviited the filipino young man

Lesson:
The story talked about the Filipino culture and how sometimes people forget about their family members not only in the Philippines but all over the world. Jeffry C. Cadimas