Dream On – They’re Free!

May 12, 2012

Tried hauling water with the hardworking women of Tanzania.

Never settle for anything less than what you love doing and do well. – Colin Powell

I have almost done it all. I got pregnant and was prematurely married at 18. It may not be that shocking today, but in the 80s and on a quiet Filipino family, it was like a whistle bomb dropping in the middle of a family lunch. It broke my parents’ heart big time.

Doing this after finishing valedictorian from high school, my reputation took a nosedive in a small village where my mom was a respected public school teacher. I stopped university for 2 years, tried full-time motherhood and worked in the farm. I admonished myself I can’t be doing it forever!

I eventually picked up the broken pieces to finish a degree in Public Relations. My dream was to become a writer but I can’t remember how I ended studying PR. A year before I graduated, I gave birth to my second daughter.

I had 3 children in all at 27, a single mom at 28. To survive, I juggled on 3 jobs – day job at an electric company, a weekend job at an export business and a Thursday night job as secretary for a Rotary club.

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One fine Sarangani day: A photo blog

May 5, 2012

That pleasure which is at once the most pure, the most elevating and the most intense, is derived, I maintain, from the contemplation of the beautiful. – Edgar Allan Poe

When you come for a holiday in Sarangani, you don’t talk much. You gaze. You listen. You contemplate. That was what we’re supposed to do. Until the beach games started. The fun began. White Haven, as rustic and bare as we left it a year ago, is where we always go  when we want to swim in a real beach.

Cute nieces and nephews in their skimpy swimsuits never wasted a minute. The frolicking fun started as soon as they got down from the car.

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Working overseas: Life away from home

May 5, 2012

Whatever road we take, no matter how many countless forks we negotiated, we always go where home is.

Five years ago, on my way home from Nairobi, Qatar Airways made me sleep over in the lovely Movenpick Hotel in Doha. That was my first time to set foot in a Middle East country. Even at close to midnight – Doha was a lovely sight.

But what blew me away was that Filipinos were all over. A Filipina smilingly told me I am getting a plush accommodation for free. Indeed, it was! When the Sri Lankan hotel driver led me to the car, I was almost transported in Manila! At taxi rental shops were friendly Filipinos. Tired from my red-eye flight all I thought was, “I’m almost home”.

The manager who checked me in was a Filipino, also the guy who sent up my room service. I learned there were over 250,000 overseas Filipino workers (OFWs) in Doha. That must be steadily increasing. Over breakfast, I talked to the two staff in the dining hall. They said working away was tough, they would have chosen to be closer with family.

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A Pinoy’s life overseas

April 28, 2012

The women I met in Zimbabwe were a constant inspiration to count my blessings.

If you want prosperity, you have to create it by yourself. Your future is in your hands. Start now by changing your habits and concentrate on the things what you can do to improve your life. Be totally responsible for your success. – Bo Sanchez

When I visited Rwanda last year, I got into a very engaging talk about families and dependency. My Rwandan colleagues told me their own practice of extended family. When relatives come for refuge, it is taboo to send them away. They end up caring for several people. “We can’t eat thrice a day. It’s a luxury if you are taking care of a lot of people” they said to me. Are we taking care of a lot of people?

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A mother’s homerun

April 21, 2012

Together. We weathered the odds and enjoyed life's home run. Afraid but determined. Outnumbered by challenges, but fought harder. Winning together is sweet. (From left: Desi, Dyessa, me and Diane).

I have the best job in the world. I wake up every morning energized at the thought of running Rio de Janeiro, the most exciting city on the planet. – Eduardo Paes, Time Magazine

I am happy to say I have one of the best families in the world (that’s apart from having one of the best jobs in the world). The italics are intentional to emphasize what I mean. And it is good to wake up in the morning to get into laughter, bickering, planning, arguing and doing everything weirdly normal that most ordinary families do.

But I did a homerun this year. Drumroll, please! After 31 years of playing it rough and rugged on life’s court. I remembered moving my children from a public school to a private one. It was one of the most difficult decisions I’ve made. I can hardly afford it. But I took the plunge anyway. It was one of the best things I did in life – never compromise with education.

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Taxi rides and Singapore

April 14, 2012

Old but nice.

I have come to believe that there are infinite passageways out of the shadows, infinite vehicles to transport us into the light. – Martha Beck

I love taxis in this country! Expensive yet reliable and clean – drivers either engage you for an interesting talk or stay quiet to leave you to ruminate about your day. You also get a receipt and pay with your credit card (at least for the newer ones). Some are old but well-maintained.

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