A nipa hut with class

Today Bob and I went to Samal Island with our friends. They wanted to see some land there for them to build their vacation house. They really liked the beach front. After looking at the property we then decided to get some lunch. We know a good place in Samal for that its Chemas by the Sea. We know the owner so we called him up if we could go there at his place and eat lunch. He said that its okay. So we went there, but before sitting at the restaurant we gave our friends a tour at Chemas. They were really amazed of how nice and clean Chemas is.

After a little bit of a tour we then sat down at our table and began to order our lunch. Their food is good there too. While waiting for our food Bob and I observed that Chemas really had a lot of renovation going on. They really beautified the place. Our guests really enjoyed the peace and quiet of the place. After eating we were just chatting, the owner came to our table and talked to us a bit. He was telling us about his renovation. Just then he asked us if we wanted to see the inside of one the the cottages that they just finished making? We said to him sure we would like to see it. I was in awe of how the good craftsmanship and the good design of the room. The structure is really something. As if I was seeing something in a magazine. The cottage was made of bricks and a lot of good woodwork. I like the crown moldings that he had all through our the cottage and the bathroom. The loft is really nice too. I could have like that for an office with a nice view of the gulf. The design of the bathroom is really awesome and its overlooking the water and had a sitting area. Very impressive.  I am not totally in for Adirondack furniture, but they had on that cottage and I like it a lot.

Just then Bob and I decided to build something like that for our house in Samal. I’m really a fan of a brick wall and Bob too. That is what they had on the cottages. I like the whole package except for the roof. Its Cogon or nipa material (like straw hat materials) on the roof. For me that kind of roof its always needs maintenance. Plus the birds or some bugs would be living inside it. So that is really our (Bob & I) dilemma now.  He likes that nipa hut roof but I don’t. Gosh, we might end up with no roof at all because we can’t agree to it. Hmmm we have to compromise I guess… Good thing we still have a lot of years to think about and resolve this matter. Anyway, Bob and I have to think a lot about this though. We have to be on this place forever. This is our home. I know we are on the tropics and that it would be the perfect thing to have a nipa hut. MAYBE!

Mabuhay!

A bundle of surprise!

A few days ago I got a surprise text from my sister that a member of our family got pregnant. That sad part on this is the girl, she’s less than a year from graduating college. She didn’t even bother to informe her parents before the beginning of the enrollment that she will not be going back to school. Instead she let them spend a lot of money for the school tuition and uniforms. I know she’s really scared in telling her parents, but she should also think that the parents are in deep trouble with money just for her to continue. I’m pretty sure the parents borrowed money before enrollment starts. Well, she should have known the consequences.

I guess they tried to drop all of her subjects, but now, the school told her that they will not give any refund to the money that they paid the school. She was studying in a nice university, so the tuition is not cheap. The guy, he is also a student, a classmate of hers. The family doesn’t want that they will get married because as if both are not ready. As far as I know only the mom wanted them to get married. I guess the boyfriend said to the family that he is not yet ready to get married at this time. He wants to graduate first and find a job. For a lot of the sibling and the Dad they don’t want to force the guy into marriage, they want that after the baby’s born, let the girl go back to college and see if she still wants to marry the guy. They are both young and jobless to begin with.

I am really shocked with the generation now. A lot of the students now get pregnant, it seems. Just like our niece. We sent her to the best school here in Davao. Two years later in college she decided to move out to have a lot of freedom. We talked her into not moving out just finish school and she can move out after. At the end she decided to move out and a year later she had baby. I found out now that all of them in her circle of friends got pregnant out of wedlock. It is sad but I think they think its the trend nowadays, to have baby. They think it’s fun. I can see now that my niece was just played upon by that guy. He doesn’t really want to marry her, but she believes in what he said. We know its a bunch of lies. We just don’t want to get involved in it anymore, its her life. The same thing with the member of the family now. We don’t get involved, just that feeling sorry for the parents who work hard for their kids to finish up school and end up not finishing up.

Lucky for this girl that got pregnant now, most of her siblings finished up college and have job. The thing is, are they willing enough to sacrifice later for her to go back to school? They might already be getting married and have family of their own. Then she will end up not a graduate of college, and get a low paying job. As you know here it is hard to get a job if you are not a college graduate. Gosh, it’s a dilemma here continuously. Really I hope that the youngsters nowadays will get lesson that to have a baby is very expensive.

Contest for a cause!

During my grade school days I ended up joining some money contest for a cause. At that time I didn’t even know that I was chosen to join. I was just informed by my parents that the principal and my teacher talked to them and asked them if I can join. Of course they told me that this is for the girl scouts, they wanted to raise some money for a project in school. Since I was a girl scout I was the one chosen at my classroom to represent. Each grade has to have one representative, and I was the one on fifth grade. Oh gosh, I hate to be in those kind of things To be the center of attraction.

Of course on this kind of contest you have to ask for money from the family and friends and some people that I don’t know. It’s embarrassing. I have to do it though. One time my dad told me that when ever the fish that was caught by our boat the money from that he will give it to me. A lot of my family were trying to raise money. It’s also become political, my schoolmate who was also part of the contest, her dad was getting kind of nasty about it. Later it was really them against us. Most of the people in our town supported me, even the mayor of the municipality and the next town from us. Even the richest guy in our place ask my dad if my dad wants to put a lot of money and he will give some share to the school. My dad told him that we will give what was given by the people and family and friends. He doesn’t want to really end up in debt just over this stuff. My dad said its nice to help but not to the extent that we will owe people some money. With that contest the school gets the half of the money that we put in. So my dad just wants to put the money from the people that help and from his pocket. I’m really glad that my dad didn’t go out and owe money because at the end we won anyway and no debt. Unlike our opponent they didn’t win, but they owe some money too.

Really the contest didn’t end there. The opponent wanted to have contest with another family member of mine and theirs. It’s getting personal I think if I remember. At the end my cousin won. It’s getting bad to the point that they are trying to cause a problem during coronation night. They are throwing rocks at the events. After that my family decided not to join anymore. It’s not worth it. Wow, thats almost 30 years ago. My partner on this contest, he’s a relative. Now, he is dead already. Hmm, most of you are calculating now how old I am? Well, I am 39 years old.

When I visited my place a few weeks ago. Me and my family are talking about it. Now we kind of laugh about it, and think how crazy the contest was before. Really our family is not involved in it anymore. Nowadays when they want to raise money they will just have like a disco party. The youngsters enjoy that better anyway.

And, this is how I became the 1980 “Mutya ng mga Iskaut” (Queen of the Scouts).

Any of you can share your childhood memories here?

Cheers!

My first schooldays in the Philippines: German Courses

I am happy to be back at school. Yeah, I reached already the second half of my life, but I am back at school. Don’t get me wrong - I am not back at school as student. No, but as teacher or tutor… Please go back to my related posts “German Courses in Davao City” - and, you will understand.

A friend told me: Great, what you are doing - but I hope, you also have fun. Yeah, I have. After one week teaching German Language at USEP, University of the Southeastern Philippines, I really enjoy and I really have fun, because it seems that my students also enjoy. Most students “need to learn German” as soon as possible. Some married a German national or plan to do so; others are planning to move to Germany, Austria or Switzerland to work abroad; again others get the chance to work in a Philippine call center, where German language knowledge is required.

These are my regular skeds: Mondays and Wednesdays and Saturdays from 9 to 11 am and Fridays from 8 to 10 am. You can enrol at any time. USEP offers 20 hours courses.

See you then…

School Days

When I was a kid during my grade school years I studied at the school near our house. My family used to live in our farm over in Sarangani Province area. I love the place, its quiet and clean. At that time I had a group of classmates that we really were best buddies ever since first grade. After grade school graduation my parents wanted me to study in a private school in General Santos City. It’s an exclusive school for girls only. I was sent there because my other older sisters were graduates there too. Honestly I really wanted to study my secondary years just near the farm so that I could be with my barkada. My parents would not allow me to study there, though, so I followed what they wanted.

One of my best friends was a working student.  He worked so that he could finish up high school. During college I was sent to Cebu to study there at a good University. Some of my friends did pursue their studies, some just didn’t have the money and end up marrying someone. While I was in Cebu one of my best friend continue his college degree in General Santos City. He was studying and working at the same time. While I was in Cebu I studied there for 2 years and stopped and went to Manila for a year to help my brother in his textile business. Then I was back to Cebu again to continue my studies. That’s where I met Bob. I was almost graduating when we got married. After graduation I began processing my papers to go to the States. Four months after I was in the USA already.

While in the States, one of my best friend finished up his degree to be a teacher. I was so happy because at least there are a lot of us from that small town in Sarangani that finished up college then. As you know in the farm it is not an easy life to live. Especially at that time when we’re there we don’t even have electricity. So really its a big achievements for us to finish up school.

When Bob and I moved back here for good my best friend found out. He invited me to give speech to the grade school graduates on our school in the farm. He was then the principal at that time. He told me that he wants to inspire the kids with our story and the hardships we took to get what we have now. It was really a great feeling to speak to the youngster and inspire them. They just didn’t believe that a person like me from a poor place like that went to the States and live a better life. I told them if you really want something so bad and work hard on it you can achieve it with the help of God.

To inspire the youngster more Bob and I donated a computer and some other stuff in that school. I really intended to help that school so that the kids will at least have a better life later. I know we can’t change the world, but at least try to make a difference in someone’s life. That would be fulfilling for me. I hope someday one of the kids from that school will have bigger achievements due to our efforts and will inspire more to other kids there.

Passing along responsibility

How do Filipino families afford to send their kids to school? I think this is one of the questions thats pops up to the minds of some of the people that come here to visit and not live here and seeing how big many people we have here in every household. We all know that a typical family in the Philippines has 6 to a dozen kids. That’s just the normal families here. As you guys know Philippines is among the highest rank of the poor nation in the world. So some would wonder how a family of 6 or 8 send their kids to school, especially to college?

Well, as I can see in the place where I used to grow up some of our neighbors that has 8 kids or more they can afford sending all the kids through grade school and high school. After high school graduation some kids will continue on to college but some has go to the city like GenSan Davao, Cebu or Manila to work. The parents just can’t afford to send them to college. Some of the siblings would even have to work as maid or in factory so that one of the other sibling can continue to college. Mostly it’s the oldest child would be sent first to college and the others will either help the parents in the farm or they go off to work.

Some also would go work as a working student in school or work in peoples house as maid during daytime and go to school during night time. Here in Davao we have school that offered school just during Sunday for high school. My nephew is one of the student there right now. One of my niece graduated there and starting to go to weekends classes too for college. Most of my niece and nephew’s classmates are working student. I think when they finish their degree they would really be proud of themselves because they really work hard to earn their degree. Now I was thinking I should have done this to my spoiled niece that just wasted her education. I should let her be a working student so that she would know the value of money and education.

One thing in our culture we will sent the oldest kid to school and hopefully finish it. As soon as he/she graduated from college and gets a job it would be his or her responsibility to send the younger one to school. If one of them graduated and had work its their responsibility to send the younger one again. It’s just like a pattern. I saw this pattern with some of my family(cousins) too. Luckily for us my Dad has enough income in our farm to send us to school. I was thankful for that, that I was allowed to study in Cebu City in a good school too.

I base this in some of my personal experience. As you know I grow up in the farm and we are poor. I’m proud of my parents that they really work hard to send us kids to good school. How about you guys? Let me know how you obtain your education.

Mabuhay!

Beginning of school here again

Yesterday was the start of school here in most places in the Philippines. Our kids studied in Ateneo de Davao University. They start for three days to just have a half day of school, then on Wednesday they will start the whole day classes. Their day usually starts from 7:40 am to 3:30 pm. We usually wake up the kids around 5:00am so that they can have breakfast before the carpool picks them up at around 6:20 am. Two of our kids go to Ateneo. Our daughter goes to Rizal Memorial College just near to our house.

We are kind of worried about the traffic situation here in Davao right now due to the damage of the Bankerohan bridge. To go to Ateneo our kids has to pass by that bridge. Even before the bridge was damaged it’s really heavy traffic in that area during school days because Ateneo is just less than a mile away on that bridge. We will find out I guess when all school starts their regular class on Monday.

Anyway to all of you that have kids that studied in that area, or if you are in that area and working in the other side of the bridge,  good luck to you.  Just have patience I guess, hopefully the bridge would be fixed soon.

Final Exam

March is the final examination time for the most kids here in the Philippines. Our kids, they studied at Ateneo De Davao University. Starting today it’s examination time for them. Our youngest son Jared is graduating in Kindergarten. He is really studying hard. He is the number 1 in the class for math, top 5 in english. In short he is a very good student. We are proud of him. The graduation is gonna be on March 29th, two days after his birthday. He is really excited about it, his telling us that they’re practicing some songs for graduation.

Our kids are now looking forward for the summer vacation, so that they don’t have to get up so early and be home later that day. They are excited to just be playing games and watch tv and be lazy.