I got a little confused about a certain book author named Miguel de Cervantes Saavedra. He is the author of the book “Don Quixote dela Mancha.” It is an old book and I remember hearing his name during a classroom discussion in college.
How should we address him if we happen to meet him? Would it be Mr. Miguel Saavedra or Mr. Miguel Cervantes? For us who are not accustomed to Spanish naming, we would commit the mistake of addressing him as Mr. Miguel Saavedra. But hey, Saavedra is his mother’s last name!
Example 1:
Mother- Leonor Saavedra
Father- Rodrigo Cervantes
Child- Miguel de Cervantes Saavedra
Notice how the father’s last name comes after the child’s first name then the mother’s last name comes in last. Confusing? That’s how Spanish naming is all about.
Example 3:
Mother- Amalia Rivera
Father- Francisco Javier Gracia Alonso
Child- Marian Gracia Rivera
Francisco Javier is treated as first name; Javier is not Marian’s father’s last name. I got a little confused years back when Marian was introduced as Marian Gracia Rivera in Jessica Soho’s “Kapuso Mo.” I thought there was an error because I was familiar with Gracia as her father’s last name and not Rivera.
My fascination with Spanish names is evident with how I named my youngest child; Francesc Rubio. Francec, though it doesn’t sound Spanish, is actually a Catalan name.
Nag-sorry na si Pnoy sa pangyayaring nakapatay ang Philippine Coastguard ng isang 65-year old na mangingisda mula sa Taiwan ngunit mukhang malayo pa rin sa pagiging mapayapa ang pagtrato nitong mga Taiwanese sa mga kababayan natin na naroroon sa Taiwan. Hanggang kagabi, may mga balita na hindi pinagbibilhan ang mga Pilipino ng mga Taiwanese at mayroon na ring freeze hiring kung kaya’t problemado ang mga paalis na OFW dahil sa abot-kamay na nga naman ang paglipad, heto’t mapupurnada pa.
Ramdam maging sa internet ang galit at pagkutya sa ating lahi ng mga Taiwanese. Marami ang kumukutya at tila nananakot na kayang-kaya naman nila tayong gyerahin dahil sa bulok nating military force. Bullying, kumbaga. Walang pinagkaiba sa isang mahirap na nagtitiis sa among mabagsik para sa sahod at sa paniniwala na rin na iyon lamang ang makakatulong at makabubuhay sa kanila.
Mayroon tayong 87,000 overseas Filipino workers sa Taiwan. Wala akong statistics kung alin dyan ang domestic helper, factory worker, engineers at iba pa. Pero sa kawalan ng datos, ia-assume ko na malaking poryento nila doon ay namamasukan bilang factory worker at kasambahay.
May ilan na handang umuwi kung kinakailangan ngunit karamihan ay may takot sa dibdib na mapag-initan at mapauwi ng wala sa panahon. Paano na nga naman ang mga utang na dapat bayaran at pamilyang umaasa sa kanila. Kung ikaw ay kasambahay na kumikita ng PhP18,000 to PhP 20,000 kada buwan sa Taiwan, kikitain mo ba ang parehong sahod kung ikaw ay mamamasukan bilang kasambahay dito sa Pilipinas? O kung ikaw ay factory worker na kumikita ng PhP25,000 sa Taiwan, kikitain mo ba ito sa Pilipinas?
Hindi pa tapos ang imbestigasyon at wala pa namang opisyal na pahayag ang bawat kampo sa ano ba ang talagang nangyari at kinailangang pagbabarilin ng ating coast guard ang fishing vessel na yun. Kung ikaw ay naninindigan sa iyong pag-aari at teritoryo, malawak ang pag-iisip mong uunawain ang ginawa ng ating coast guard. Ngayon, wala ako sa poder na pagdiskusyunan pa kung sino ang maysala dahil isa lang ang nakikita at nararamdaman ko: HINDI TAYO HANDA!
Hindi tayo handang panindigan kung ano ba ang atin dahil may pinag-uusapang kapakanan dito. Ang kapakanan ng 87,000 Filipino overseas workers na nanganganib magutom, maltratuhin at pauwiin ng kanilang mga amo.
Hindi tayo handang makidigma sa kahit anong bansa dahil mahina at luma ang ating mga gamit-pandigma. Para lang tayong mga katutubong gumagamit ng sibat laban sa mga baril at kanyon ng mga banyagang mananakop. Dahil sa kahinaaang yan, madali tayong takutin at i-bully. Alam nilang luma at wala sa modelo ang mga gamit natin. Ultimo ordinaryong tambay nila ay alam yun!
Kung OFW ka, hindi ka handang umuwi kasi wala ka namang uuwiang trabaho. Wala kang sapat na ipon para makapagsimula ulit.
Hindi handa ang Pilipinas na kayanin ang bultuhang uwi ng mga manggagawa mula sa Taiwan dahil alam nating wala tayong contingency plan para sa kanila. Maliit man ang 87,000 na bilang ng tao ngunit malaking bagay ito para sa isang bansang nagtatangkang bumangon.
Transparent government kamo, gusto kong malaman kung kasama ba sa wildly important goal ng pangulo ang pag-aaral sa labor force natin. May mga Pilipinong sinadyang umalis sa bayan at choice nila yun. It’s a “want” and not a “need.” Concern ako sa mga Pilipinong gusto na talagang bumalik pero hindi magawa dahil sa kakulangan ng sapat na sahod sa babalikang trabaho o wala na talagang available na trabaho para sa kanila. Kung paano mapatataas ang standard of living ng tao dito ay isang matagal at mahabang proseso. Ngunit kung gugustuhin, masasakatuparan naman ang exodus ng ating mga kababayan. Basta’t nakalatag ang programa at umaandar ang makinarya ng pagsulong, mangyayari naman ang minimithi nating lahat na wala na sanang Pilipino ang kinakailangang dumayo sa ibang bayan para sa magandang buhay.
Case 1: The Yema Vendor in Olongapo
When I was still living and working in Olongapo, there was this young boy who would approach people to sell sweets. The boy was about 8-10 years old at that time, neat and goodlooking. Out of fondness, my friend and I would buy a pack or two of his yema candies. The yema candies did not taste good but whenever that boy would pass by us, my friend and I would call him to buy some sweets. My friend had a loving heart for struggling streetkids and buying goods from them would encourage them to be productive instead of playing cara y cruz. I felt weird everytime I saw that young boy still out at 9PM. He should be sleeping at home instead of selling yema candies. What if a pedophile abduct him?
Case 2: The Paputok Maker in Bocaue
I am no fan of firecrackers. It’s just a waste of money! Buying firecrackers for New Year’s Eve celebration requires a lot of justification on my husband’s part. Aside from being risky, my lungs get tortured from the firecrackers’ toxic fumes. I don’t get it why parents let their kids get employed on a firecracker factory when there are other options like being a helper at a bakery. Worse, the owners of this kind of business deliberately hire children to cut on labor cost. How do they train those kids to be careful on material handling? Heck, you don’t give risky job to untrained and uncapable operators.
Case 3: Child Prostitution
Prostitution is an age-old profession and some prostitutes just accepted the fact that this is their profession but to force children into prostitution is another thing. What is more heart-breaking is to know that in some cases, it is their parents who peddle them into the flesh trade. It is sickening to imagine how a 20, 30, 40 and even 50 and up something man could stomach having sex with a child as young as six years old! A pimp approached my friend and offered his ward. The girl was between 9-12 years old with frail body but with a naughty smile. The girl was made to believe that prostitution was just their way of life and having sex with strangers for a fee was okay so that she could help her family.
Different cases of child labor but same bottomline: children are meant to enjoy their youth and parents must provide for their kids and not the other way around. That is why I salute parents who have the tenacity to send their kids to school no matter how financially hard up they are.
It is safe to assume that almost all of us will come to a point in our life wherein we have to live with strangers like:
– a college freshman who needs to stay in a dormitory
– a college fresh graduate who needs to stay in a boarding house near his/her workplace
– elementary students in a summer camping activity
– exchange students
– students or office workers doing missionary/charitable works
– a stay-in employee living with his/her employer
– in some cases, living with your husband or wife after a fixed marriage (yeah, right!)
How bad and how sad is it to live with strangers? Usually, the newcomer is the one who needs to adjust to the rules and regulations of the old-timers in a dormitory or boarding house. Culture-clash cannot be prevented in a situation of closely living with somebody unfamiliar to you. What is acceptable to you might be taboo to the other person and vice-versa. A loud music to you might be a lullabye to your housemate. Then there’s the issue of equal sharing to the electricity and water bill especially if you think that you are shortchanged in the computation. Of course, privacy is also an issue because some people prefer not to entertain visitors at the dorm or boarding house. In the case of an employee living with his/her employer, the working hours written on the contract is prone to be violated if you’re just a stone-throw away from each other.
The Big Brother House is one hell of a description about how it is to live with somebody you don’t know. Big Brother intentionally did not get housemates with similar interests and personalities for the purpose of entertainment. Imagine a house full of Lucy Torreses or a house full of Ethel Boobas; the former would be comparable to a convent while the latter, to a circus.
In reality, the winning housemate must be the one who is able to keep a harmonious relationship with all of his/her housemates. Age has something to do with patience because younger people have shorter temper. As a person matures, his/her understanding about life and how to interact with the other person is broader and better.
We are always reminded about being respectful about our housemate’s belongings but the first step in dealing with a stranger is to know and understand his/her culture and as well as his/her family background. After discovering one’s culture and background, we will be more understanding about his/her personality and then, respect and acceptance will follow.
I enrolled my toddler in a summer school. I’d like to ready him for schooling on June. Summer class is supposed to be short (one month) and sweet. I’d like Adi to learn how to socialize with other kids his age (3 and a half).
My eldest child was the one who brought him to school this morning so I have no idea yet about his day at the school. (I’m excited to go home to hear it from him).
To motivate him to go to school, I bought him a Cars-designed bag, Ben Ten covered notebook and 24-colors crayon. (He’s fine with 8-colors crayon, actually). I lectured him about what to expect in school and how to behave in front of his teachers and classmates. (As if he could grasp all of my lectures!)
The toddler was excited to go to school; he was holding his bag most of the time last night. This morning, he ate breakfast with me because he thought that working people and students SHOULD eat breakfast. While I was dressing up for work, he knocked on my door and asked if I would dress him up for school. I told him that his Ate would be the one to dress him up. The toddler patiently waited for his elder sister at the sala.
I realize that kids today are much smarter than kids of yesteryears. The emotional intelligence and independence of kids today are much higher than the kids of my time. (I still had separation anxiety until 10 years old!) On the other hand, older people think that we are exposing our children to stress at an early age. If my grandmother were still alive, she would have criticized me for sending my 3 and a half to school because being a teacher, she should know better that kids of that age are still babies emotionally. But this is the system that has been going on for the past decade; sending kids to nursery, then to kindergarten, then to pre-school before the formal primary school begins. Being a working mother, I belong to a generation wherein parents expect the school to teach our kids the alphabet and numbers.
Will home-schooling be an option should my toddler decide that he’s too young for a regular school? I don’t know. But I will give him the opportunity to explore and learn new things in nursery class; should he feel deprived of his liberty to play and have fun, then I’ll cross the bridge when I get there.
I’ve been dreaming of uninterrupted sleep since Friday. Lack of sleep is fastly affecting my mood and my senses. Taking care of my two young children can be very tiring and I have no ME-TIME since I had Robi last year.
I can work productively all day but when I lack sleep, my mind doesn’t seem to function well. Decision-making is postponed and even standing is such a big task! My coffee addiction did more harm than good to me when I became acidic due to too much caffeine.
I had the best siesta in my life yesterday morning when I slept from 9AM to 3PM. I was not able to do some household chores but I needed that sleep break to recharge myself from a week’s lack of sleep.
Sleep is indeed a luxury for working mothers. Between going to Palawan or Boracay for a summer treat or sleeping, I would definitely choose the latter. No amount of luxuries can match the good feeling of having enough sleep.
I’m a big fan of Walter Mart Supermarket and this is where we buy our grocery and food. The prices of the grocery items are much cheaper than the leading supermarket. However, prices of fruits and vegetables are much higher as compared to buying them from the market (palengke).
Anyways, I’d like to share my experience last Saturday when a stranger asked me for some cash. I was busy looking for my brand of creamer when a middle-aged man approached me with his (maybe) six year-old son. He asked for some cash and when he saw that I was with my husband, he immediately walked away.
I was hesitant to report him to the guard-on-duty for fear of ridiculing somebody who might be needing some real help but at the same time, I was also paranoid about the Budol Budol gang and the recent child-snatching activites in Metro Manila.
We had our grocery at 12:00 noon last Saturday and it was an unholy hour so only a few customers were around. I thought, if that man chanced upon me in the corner section where no CCTV’s or mirrors were available, he could have snatched my bag or declare a hold-up and nobody would suspect that taking place. My toddler is usually with us when buying grocery and then I thought, what if that man used his six year-old son to sway my toddler into going with him?
The worst part of being a mother (and wife) is the thought that something bad will happen to your child (or husband). Being vigilant and suspicious won’t cost me a dime. Better safe than sorry, right?
The World of Second Chances 