Have a Little Faith in Me

Despite the Philippine government not meeting the peoples' expectations in providing relief to the Yolanda survivors, despite criticisms and complaints raging in online and offline circles, despite lots of agitating things happening inside and outside my country, I must say this week still left me with my faith in humanity intact and even restored.

I prepared a small* donation box where people could drop off goods at my office because I had heard the Philippine Embassy in Kuala Lumpur was accepting donations in kind. There were a lot of stuff in my house that I could give away. And I really wanted to help out as well. So why not invite my colleagues to do the same? I was hesitant about the idea at first, though. I mean, would they really give?

I should really say sorry right now for having such little faith in humanity, for having such little faith in the people I interact with daily.

The number of people who gave surprised me. Not only that, the people who gave surprised me as well. Surprised me more, I should say. I'm going to repent for being judgmental. Those people who I thought would care nothing for a cause such as this? They were the ones who gave the most, the ones who showed more concern than I could ever give them credit for.

They gave clothes, biscuits, canned goods, and bottles of mineral water. Some even gave medical supplies, toiletries, and other gifts. Blankets, bed sheets, and pillowcases just came pouring in. Their response was overwhelming and it's not like I'm part of a really big department.

Round one.

I also had stuff inside the boot.

What's wonderful is that help and support came from people from different countries, from different walks of life. Friends from Malaysia, Indonesia, Pakistan, Iran, Germany, and Cambodia just... gave. To the point that I had to go the the Philippine Embassy two times. My car had an overflowing backseat during each batch and it was hard not to get overwhelmed by their hearts, by their generosity. Oh, and I had an awesome spokesperson from Lesotho, too.

So I'm sending out my deepest thanks. Thank you guys for being with us through these trying times. Thank you guys for responding to the call to give. Thank you, thank you, thank you.

And thank you for restoring my faith in humanity once again.

Maraming salamat sa inyong lahat.

____
*yes, that's how big my faith was

Ang Bayan Ko

"Ang bayan ko'y tanging ikaw... Pilipinas kong mahal. Ang puso ko at buhay man... sa iyo'y ibibigay. Tungkulin ko'y gagampanan. Na lagi kang paglingkuran. Ang laya mo'y babantayan, Pilipinas kong hirang..."

We used to sing that song every morning. We sang it after the Philippine National Anthem during our elementary school flag ceremony. I'm not sure if I really understood what it truly meant to love my country, though, back when I was a child. "Pilipinas kong Mahal" (My Beloved Philippines) was one of my favorite songs. I liked the melody. It was nice to sing because it had that nice melancholy tune.

But, right now, what with everything going on in my country, I want it to become more than just a song. You see, my beloved homeland has been going through some serious shaking lately. I know no country is perfect. We all have our issues. Yet most of our current state of events will leave the hearts of most people shattered, crumbled like weathered down debris.

Yolanda (internationally known as Haiyan) entered our territory and took several thousands of lives along with her. I'm not sure what the latest count is right now. 10,000? It seems to get higher with each passing news update. And we've only just been recovering from a heart-rending earthquake which also took place in the Visayas region prior to this super typhoon, too.

And then there's the political landscape to consider. Citizens this year have been in uproar because of the uncovering and the unfolding of the controversial "Pork Barrel Scam". Government officials are apparently given "pork" which they are supposed to channel to development projects. Apparently, several (if not a lot of) officials have directed large - very large - sums into their pockets instead. They have been rumored to do this through the services of the *ehem* amnesiac "Pork Barrel Queen" who in turn have gained her own profits in billions.

Sigh.

These are some of my country's biggest issues. And yet there are many more lesser known ones, ones which, if we would poke and ponder, could possibly make our hearts ache all the more.

Thank God the Philippine spirit is resilient. Thank God we have learned to smile in spite of everything. But we need to make a change. Drastic changes, I believe. I do not have a formal proposition nor a ten-step action plan. I only have the words "Bangon" and "Wake up."

Wake up while magnifying the good - the resilience, the bayanihan, the loyalty, the ingenuity. Wake up while killing the ungood - the bitterness, the corruption, the ningas kugon, the bahala na, the crab mentality, the mañana. Bangon. That's all I can say. Bangon.

Rise up, dear Philippines. God has greater plans for you. I love you with all my heart.

Photo taken from The Matchbox Sessions
https://www.facebook.com/TheMatchboxSessions

If you'd like to extend a helping hand to the survivors of Typhoon Yolanda, here is a list of organizations accepting donations: 
http://www.sunstar.com.ph/breaking-news/2013/11/10/list-orgs-accepting-donations-typhoon-yolanda-victims-313033.

You can also check this link out for those outside the country:

http://www.usatoday.com/story/news/world/2013/11/09/haiyan-how-you-can-help/3484467/.

God speed!

Christmas in October

Chestnuts roasting on an open fire, Jack Frost nipping at your nose. Sigh. Tis the season to be jolly again. But though Christmas is already in the Philippine air - here in Malaysia, it still feels like summer everywhere.

Gah. I am so bad at rhyming. But oh well. I tend to rhyme when melancholia decides to creep into my system.

I'm not going home this December. For the second year in a row. I'm not so sure if I should get used to that. Why am I not going home? Passport and visa issues, people. It's always that. If it were up to me, I could cough up some cash for plane tickets, but what good will flight tickets do me if I won't even be able to get past the check in counters anyway?

But, if it's any consolation, I did get to experience the Christmas cheer in my hometown. Tada! Christmas decors, yo!

It's so Christmassy!*

For those who have been to Baguio City, you'll recognize this as the perennial interior of the very cozy Forest House. The resto has been one of my family's favorite dinner spots ever since Ma and Pa stumbled upon the place last October 2010. We've been going there for special meals - like welcome meals, despedida meals, birthday meals - ever since. If you can't tell from Ma's photos page, we love that place very much.

I can never get the spelling right. FOREST House.

This Forest House dinner was extra special because it was the first dinner that I had with A and my family. And it was our first dinner together in my hometown. Wee. It was a nice treat. I mean, after being cramped inside a bus for eight hours with only one siopao and one mineral water bottle each, I should say it was a very, very, very nice treat.

Look, it's Finn the Human!

They ordered for us since we got stuck in traffic somewhere after Binalonan. We got out of the bus and into a taxi a couple of minutes before nine and it was a good thing the restaurant was gracious enough to let us stay though it was already near closing time. Ma had caldereta (lamb), Pa had ox tongue, Finn-the-human-slash-Johnny-Depp had salmon, A had chicken kebabs with herbs, and I had chicken in wine sauce. Everything was delish! We all shared food with one another. We didn't have our usual "donation plate" but that didn't stop us from letting the others have a taste of our orders.

Yummy food!

It was an awesome dinner. And it did feel like Christmas, with the freezing cold weather (I wanted to wear gloves!) and the festive decorations. They even had a Christmas tree with presents piled underneath!

With all these warm memories as my tapau, who am I then to feel sad and melancholy during this yuletide season?

Lezbe happy!

*Photo credit goes to Mother dear. ^_^

Maginhawa Street Food Trip Part 2: The Icecreamist

After having lunch at Blacksoup Cafe + Artspace, A and I decided to go to The Icecreamist. It was warm  summer day. I have a sweet tooth. So hey - why not? A lot of friends also recommended the place so we thought we'd give it a try.

Pointing to the menu.

We ordered French Macaroons and Tiramisu (of the Dragon's Breath variety). We wanted Smores but they didn't have any that day. Well, the sugar lover in me still felt very happy.

So what's with the Dragon's Breath label? Apparently, you turn into a dragon after savoring those sweet treats:

Rawr.

Haha. Don't worry, that's not cigarette smoke coming out of my mouth and nostrils. The "smoke" is caused by condensation* - or is it vaporization? I've forgotten everything from my high school chemistry! Whatever. Anyway, you have to dip the treats into liquid nitrogen first which makes the macaroon/tiramisu extremely cold and crunchy. And when you start chewing - viola! Smoke comes out of your mouth the way it does in a cool winter day.

Sweets + Liquid Nitrogen.

Wasn't able to try their icecream though. Maybe next time? 

Like something out of a sci fi movie.

*Aha! So I did get the condensation thing right: 
http://answers.yahoo.com/question/index?qid=20061212022741AA4gb5H

Maginhawa Street Food Trip Part 1: Blacksoup Cafe + Artspace

I went back to the Philippines last May to attend a friend's wedding and to spend some time with my family, my friends, and my (*blushes*) boyfriend. Only had one week to kill so I had to make the most of it.

A and I made plans to food trip around Maginhawa Street on the 11th. I was staying around that area for the weekend and, since we're both into creative stuff, we both wanted to explore the artsy-fartsy sections of that neighborhood.

We ended up having lunch at Blacksoup Cafe + Artspace:  

"San mo gustong kumain?" (Where do you want to eat?)

"Sa ano... sa B-something and artspace. Nakalimutan ko na yung pangalan, basta may artspace." (In... in B-something and artspace. I forgot the name but I know that it has an artspace.)

Destiny and intuitive hunches led us there and we had a good feast for our eyes and for our tummies.

I really should take note of the stuff that I eat. That's one of my weak points. I'm not good at remembering the names of the new dishes that I order. I think I had the creamy spinach pasta though. It was good - somewhat like a cross between pesto and carbonara.

Well, we enjoyed the art - there were lots of pieces hanging on the walls, lots of pieces decorating the tabletops - the place is really cool and cozy. And they had suspended coffee, too. You get to order a meal or a cup of coffee for an unknown underprivileged person who could go to that cafe and claim that order at a later time. Unclaimed suspended items are meanwhile distributed to street children and their families.

Unfortunately, I only got to know about the suspended coffee details after doing post-blacksoup research - let's just say I was a bit pre-occupied that day to really absorb what the suspended coffee sign was all about.

I had my back to the sign. A took this picture as well as the other Blacksoup pics.

I'd love to order some suspended items though, the next time I pay that place a visit. Oh yes, there shall be a next time. :D Well, until that time comes, here are a few more pictures for us to enjoy:

Pretty cool wall clock, eh? Only realized it was a clock just now.

Cozy. No aircon, but cozy.

I love the colors!

Art on the wall. Art on the tables. 

Blacksoup Cafe + Artspace is open from Mondays to Saturdays at 12:00 PM - 3:00 PM and 6:00 PM - 11:00 PM. I wish I had taken note of that schedule - would have saved me from a lot of bloopers that day, but oh well. That's another story.

Visit the place and order some suspended coffee, maybe?

La Trinidad: My Home

Dearest Readers,

Forgive me for being absent these past days. I spent one week in my homeland and spent the next week recuperating, thus the lack of posts. I hope I can make it up to you though. Not with balut, but with these photos from my hometown.

I grew up in La Trinidad, the "Salad Bowl" of The Philippines. It's the valley right next to Baguio City where lots and lots and lots of strawberries and vegetables are grown (now you know why it's a salad bowl).

I spent three days there during my weeklong vacation. And because I made a vow to healthy living, I squeezed in some jogging sessions in two of the mornings I spent there. I just ran around the university across the street from my house - Benguet State University. BSU is my alma mater - I graduated primary and secondary school from that 1++ kilometer long school.

It's so nice to jog around BSU. The air is crisp and cool and you encounter lots of other joggers, too. In the open gymnasium, there's a group of people doing Tae Bo and, in the "Lover's Park", there's a group of elderly women doing Tai Chi as well. How fun was it to see my 85-year-old grandma doing her moves over there at seven in the morning? 

Anyway, I just took a couple of shots while cooling down. Well, here you go folks - my hometown:

BSU Basketball Court.

Getting rusty.

My old route from my school to my house.

The track needs trimming.

Vegetable gardens.

BSU SLS.

Until the next post, then. Ta-ta for now!

On Voting

May 5, 2013 marked Malaysia's 13th General Elections (GE13). May 13, 2013, meanwhile, will mark The Philippines' Midterm Elections. There, senators, house representatives, provincial and local officials will be voted in. Now keeping up with GE13 is like watching a triller-action-drama-suspense film all rolled into one. Keeping up with the midterm voting, on the other hand, is like... okay, I've got to be honest here. I haven't really been keeping up with the elections of what is supposed to be my motherland.

I haven't been tuning in because: 1) I've given up hope in claiming my overseas voters' ballot; 2) it's not the Presidential Elections yet so I guess I could be excused; and 3) Malaysian politics is so much more exciting. I know, I am such a good Filipino citizen.

Back in 2009, I registered with a group of friends as an Overseas Absentee Voter in Malaysia. The 2010 Presidential elections were coming up. However, I wasn't that politically informed so I just tagged along for the sake of tagging along. I had no idea how we were supposed to vote but I did want to be considered as an official voter. We filled in a couple of forms and then went home. And then May 10, 2010 came and went. I didn't know that the embassy had sent my ballot to my dorm a month before the elections so there too went my opportunity to use my right to suffrage.

This January, my parents came by, bringing my voter's id which the COMELEC had sent to my home address. This reminded me of my whole 2009/2010 non-voting history. I made up my mind to let my voice be heard and vote in the upcoming 2013 elections. 

And then I looked at the address written in my voter's ID. Kolej Pendeta Za'ba. Uhh, right. That would mean they would sending my ballot to my address from a long, long time ago.

And they did. So how? I haven't been going to Bangi very frequently - I've only driven up to UKM twice since I got my driver's license. If only I could cast my vote at The Philippine Embassy in Kuala Lumpur. But that would mean taking an additional leave...

Thus I let that matter come to a rest and focused on GE13 instead.

Oh but doing so suddenly made me want to use my voting rights to make even a small difference to my Philippines, dear Philippines. 

As of 3:29AM this morning, the final tally pointed to Malaysia's now 56-year ruling party as the winner of GE13. Good news? Not so good news? Well, a lot of Malaysian's are at unrest, accusing the party of bringing in phantom voters, buying votes by paying for plane tickets, and even causing a blackout during the last ballot counting hours. And they didn't really win by a landslide or anything like that. One columnist asserts that the results should move the winning party (as well as the one/s that didn't win) to do some serious soul-searching if they want to count this victory as a true win.

And so this episode is still caught in a cliffhanger. But Malaysia's fighting spirit has taken me quite aback. There are those still fighting for a progressive stability. There are others still fighting for an untested radical change. It's difficult to pick sides but amazingly, 80% of 13.3 million registered voters did, the highest ever recorded in a general election in Malaysia. I read news yesterday about an elderly man who died on the spot having fainted while queuing in one of the polling centres. I read news about people getting beaten up because they were accused of being phantom voters (i.e. not really Malaysians but were given IC's just so they could vote). I read a lot of things proving that Malaysians are not as apathetic as Malaysian jokes made them out to be. Can we then take this as a challenge to make our votes count, mga kababayan ko?

In 2010, we were able to have a 75% turnout, the 38 million votes being the highest recorded since 1978 (why oh why didn't I let myself be part of that number???). What will the turnout for 2013 be, I wonder? True it's not the main elections. But our choice of senators, house representatives, and local officials should matter.

I'm grateful that today was declared as a holiday because it gave me the opportunity to take a long overdue drive to UKM to grab my ballot from my old dormitory's mailbox. I would have to do some cramming before I put in my party and senators of choice (yep, that's how informed I am) but I still have time until next Monday.

The political situation in Malaysia has pushed me to become more aware of my own country's and for that I am grateful.

So - and this is where I get corny - let's vote in!

I need to change my registered address soon.

At Za'ba. Wearing my KPZ shirt.

Go Philippines!

Stumbled upon this this vid a friend shared through Facebook. While I was watching it, my Indonesian officemate (who was hovering by) said, "Wow, is that Manila? It's better than Jakarta." He and some of his friends are planning to tour around the Pearl of the Orient this year - I've been spamming him with "It's more fun in the Philippines" links since I found out - and I think a few seconds of the vid made a good impression on him.

Gah. Now I'm missing my country again. If my cash and leaves permit me, I'll probably go home twice or thrice this year. To attend weddings. It's always to attend weddings. I'm wishing I could do a little bit of touring, too, but - we'll see.

Well. Go Philippines!

THE PHILIPPINES MOVES FORWARD (HD) from Francisco "Kit" Reyes on Vimeo.

More Fun in the Philippines

Tourist. Dependent. Master’s Student. OFW. I’ve been to different countries under different travel visas. I’ve lived in two other countries under different travel visas. But despite my extended leaves of absence from the beautifulPearl of the Orient, I’m like Dorothy who, in the end, would say that “there’s no place like home.”  I may not be living in my home country at the moment, but I love the Philippines. And, despite its imperfections (hear me rant about the traffic and LRTs) I’ll keep loving it until the day that I die.

My family spent two years in the beautiful land Down Under back when I was a kid. My father was taking up his PhD in the University of New England. And you know how awfully lonely it gets, being away from family. Thus we spent the time that we could spend with him there, in Australia.

I remember being so proud of my home country that I may have annoyed my playmates to bits with my “In the Philippines…” lines.

“In the Philippines, we had this wooden ‘hanging bridge’ that would rock back and forth when you’d try to cross it. And it’s not just a bridge – there are holesand it’s way, way, way high up and there’s this huge river under it.”

“In the Philippines, they already taught us long division in the third grade.”

“In the Philippines, our whole clan would go out to the beach on my birthday… and guess what? The sand at the beach is black.” (I’ve never been to Boracay and I haven’t been to the white beaches of Pangasinan and Batangas yet, during that time of bragging).

Twas a good thing my friends were polite enough and didn’t abandon me when they got an earful of all those lines.

However, in 1999, my mom, my brother, and I went back home because circumstances called us to do so. We had to leave Dad behind, but I was so, so glad to be back home. Glad to be back home with the rest of the Lubricas, glad to go back to my old elementary school, glad to actually see jeepneys once again, and glad to walk over that much publicized hanging bridge.

And taking the cue from the Department of Tourism’s new tagline, I was just so glad to be back because, indeed, it’s more fun in the Philippines.

It’s more fun in the Philippines because when you step out of your front door, your whole neighbourhood becomes an extension of your family room – all your cousins, extended cousins, nephews, nieces, what-have-you’s are all already there, just one holler away.

It’s more fun in the Philippines because most elementary school kids go through a folk-dancing, poetry-reciting, declaiming, slogan-writing, poster-making, or an all-of-the-above stage.  (High School kids get in on the fun as well, but eight-year-olds  would always be the best kunday-kunday dancers.)

It’s more fun in the Philippines because journalism and sports events enable kids and teens to hone their talents early and allow them to travel from Luzon to Visayas to Mindanao.

It’s more fun in the Philippines because seven people can fit into a five-seater car and twenty seven can fit into a jeepney that’s supposed to hold only twenty.

And it’s more fun in the Philippines because only the typhoon Ferya could bring down an unofficial tourist attraction like Balili’s hanging bridge. (And okay, I’m not saying that typhoons are fun. Okay, maybe they are, compared to the predictable Malaysian weather. But you have to admit, as students, you’ve looked forward to those days of no-school. And, as professionals, you’ve seen the humour in trudging through knee-length water just to get to the workplace. Admiiitttt ittt…)

So what on earth am I doing here still in Malaysia? 

Sabi sa Pre-Departure Orientation Seminar (PDOS) na kinailangan kong daluhan noong nilakad ko ang mga papeles ko sa POEA, ang mga OFW daw ay gumaganap bilang “ambassador of goodwill” sa mga bansang pinagtratrabahuan nila. Lubos akong sumasang-ayon sa pahayag na iyon. Nandito ako para itaas ang bandila ng mga Pinoy! Hindi ako umalis ng Pilipinas dahil hindi ko ito mahal. Subalit, isang dahilan kung bakit ako’y nandito pa ay dahil sobra ko siyang mahal. Sa aking mga taon ng pag-aaral dito sa Malaysia, napansin ko na may maling kaisipan nabubuo laban sa mga Pilipinong nagtratrabaho dito. Gusto kong mabasag ang kaisipang iyon. Nawa’y sa aking pamumuhay at sa aking pagtratrabaho dito, makikita ng mga tao na sikat at kakaiba talaga ang Pinoy.

Gusto ko ring makakuha pa ng karanasan at kaalaman na maibabalik ko pa sa Pilipinas, pag bumalik na ako doon. Hindi ba’t tumira si Pepe sa mga bansang banyaga ng ilang taon din? At tingnan niyo naman ang naging epekto ng buhay at mga kasulatan niya sa bansang Pilipinas.

 Marami pang ibang dahilan kung bakit kahit na madalas ay uwing-uwi na ako (at kahit na madalas ay pinaglalaban ko pa ang pasaporte ko), pinili ko parin na manatili dito. Kaibiganin niyo ako at mag-usap tayo ng masinsinan at malalaman niyo rin. Pero wag niyo sanang isipin na lumabas ako para lumabas lamang. At hindi ko rin sinasabi na ang Pinoy ay lumalabas para makalabas lamang. Marami akong kilalang mga Pilipino na saludong-saludo ako, subalit dahil sa kanilang sakripisyo, nabubuhay, napapaaral, at nagkakaroon ng masmabuting buhay ang kanilang mga mahal sa buhay. Inuulit ko, hindi madaling tumira sa ibang bansa, lalo na kung malayo ka sa mga taong importante sa iyo.

So. I just chose to write all my reasons for staying here in the Filipino language, because it seems ironic that I’ve been writing a whole post about how much I love the Philippines in English. But for anyone reading this blog who’s from outside the Philippines, and for those who wouldn’t understand a word in Tagalog… Well, I am promoting my country to you. Google translate if you will (it’s inaccurate, by the way), but I hope that everything else I’ve written shows the sincerity of my love for my country.

We have our imperfections. But it’s a fun country and I love my homeland nonetheless.

I’m proud to be Pinoy. It’s more fun in the Philippines! :D

Originally posted in my general/literary blog: http://www.mariscribbles.com