Discover Philipines : La Laguna

I would love to roam my homeland and in my case there's almost the whole Philippines yet to be seen, looking forward to Dora-like adventures in this Hello Philippines series i just thought of starting right now. Of course with my best travel buddy no other than my own little Dora, my daughter!

It just dawned on me that I am hardly moving at all, business and saving money always come first in priorities but life doesn't wait for you to be ready, life is this, life is now! I'm not judging those people who are addicted to work, it's just that I'm not that kind of person. I'm mostly hedonistic and get easily weary of routines.

And don't underestimate travelling as learning and socialization resource for your kids. And they get to unwind too from their daily routines (yeah, they need it too!)

First stop: Laguna!

An easy getaway from Manila, in our case from Mindoro. With lots of  free to cheap eye feast and new experiences waiting for you. Diversity plus culture plus history plus nature.

In this trip i consciously tried to get away from commercial places. Malls and touristy destinations are getting so tiresome and plus I don't wanna hurt my pocket, I wish I could afford to at this point :)

Peaceful Parenting 101

Spare the rod and spoil a child.

Our generation, the 80's children, at least most of us, knows this parenting style so well, in fact we know it like a childhood friend. The whipping sound, the physical pain and more than that the cold sensation washing over our faces that we only later on know by its exact name--embarrassment. And they say, violence is a vicious cycle but for some miraculous twist of fate or call it the changing times, the cycle has been broken when it's our turn to take the cudgels. However, change has not happened everywhere, not to all of us. Barbarism is not kept away for good, not every hour of our life.

If there is one thing you can give to the Philippines, what is that gift?

 If I can give one thing to the Philippines, I would give her the gift of sincerity. The gift of finding her own voice again and being faithful to it.

I was born in the early 80’s and was too young to fully comprehend what’s happening to my country then in the context of those times. But to my mind now, Filipinos, even the poorest of the poor, used to have dignity. Not because they were economically rich but because cinemas were bursting with glowing vibes of local movies, many are as mediocre as the present time films but some were gems waiting to be found, and there were sterling varieties, genre was a vibrant concept. Filmmakers were ambitious and in several times, rightly compensated for it. Sitting in front of the big screen meant ferreting heartfelt dialogues and emotions. Characters felt real, placed in real situations and predicaments, not some trying hard actors instructed to vomit overly condescending lines.

Music in the airwaves sounded either too dramatic or preachy for the modern taste but they all sounded soulful and genuine.

20 Most Recommended Children's Movies

Just because we're mother-and-daughter tandem of movie junkies. Just because it's a way of relishing our moments of togetherness in watching a screen unfold from point blank to a moving, complex story of humanity or alienity or animality, whether it's on a laptop, or a TV set, or the big screen. Just because it's fun making a list.

I come up with this list with the following criteria:
(1) Watchability for my daughter who is now in preschool age,
(2) Likability for both of us,
(3) The universal message it sends for both adults and kids.

Good and Affordable Children's Pinoy Storybooks

Giving your kids the gift of love of reading does not come with a dizzying price tag anymore. First, the internet gives you an unlimited variety of children's stories free and not, some even printable and downloadable. Second, there are countless kiddie apps on your mobile phones and tablets and there are great interesting ones even without upgrading to the paid versions. Lastly, gone were the days when the only good books you see in your local bookstore are imported and way too pricey for a family with just a regular budget. Check this out!

This is my daughter's growing collection of Pinoy storybooks. Adarna, Hiyas, Anvil, Lampara, few of the local publishers that brings to Filipinos not only cheap but great reading experience not only to our kids but to us grownups as well. Guess what? For only Php50 and up you'll be taken to fantasy and adventure lands. It comes with colorful and artistic illustrations which could raise to the roof our children's interest and imagination. Some of them also comes with big size edition, perfect for classrooms and gatherings.

My little rockstar

It seems my daughter besides an artist is also a performer in the making. Just this morning, she belted like a little rockstar. So exciting and yet at the same time the overeager stage mom in me is screaming to come out. Thoughts like "do I need to do something?", "Do I need to get her into a workshop or something?" And on my other shoulder there's "Will those things alter the natural flow of her talents and her passions?", "Will it ruin her 'voice'?" keeps on popping out. But I think for the meantime the saner mommy in me  wins. Let her (and us) enjoys the things she love doing. Let her form her own 'voice' until it's whole enough, solid enough to stand pat beside the world who might want to place everything in its own mold. But I'm also cutting my self some slack, as a mom it's perfectly justified to be proud but trying to be aware of the annoyance string I might strum along the way.

Daughter's Latest Artpiece

I found this on her work table and asked everyone in the house who did this and it turned out SHE DID IT HERSELF!!! Wow, my four year old can really paint now. Can't believe it for like ten minutes :)

I won't and can't credit it to my teaching because the most I do is let her do her thing... vandalize the wall, the floor , my notebooks, and almost everything she can laid her hands to. I loved to buy her all sort of drawing tools like sketch pad, crayons, water color, pastel color, paint, color pencil. And a little appreciation like "Very good", "Galing", and queries like "What's this" and "Tell me about it" would do a lot of wonder pala.

And I think it worked to actually take her to the right direction...HER direction.

Learning knows no place or time

There are those days that our kids are prodding us to do something or go somewhere, but it seems our creative juices  have momentarily dried up and there's shortage of tricks up our sleeves, or it's simply a "I don't wanna bother a lot" days. Here's a suggestion: Look around you!

A couple of mornings ago, I discovered something. There's a beautiful view on our very backyard. A rice field! With white birds flying around it! It's not that I haven't looked at the backyard before, maybe it's a case of not really "seeing" and appreciating.

And so i called my daughter  and just as i expected, she loves it so much more than I do.

Organized me?

Try for a change.

Books with Love ♥

Books! I love lavishing my daughter with books and that's something I would love other children to have as well! I'm aware that many parents especially here in our barrio doesn't fully understand the value of reading because they themselves wouldn't even bother to open a book, there's the TV, there's the internet who needs books nowadays? I want to break this cycle even in the smallest possible scale. Here in our third world nation, libraries outside school are rarities if they exist, most are just decrepit rooms wherein books means encyclopedias, dictionaries, textbooks and bible story series. Reading is magic, it widens our horizons, it captivates imagination! Imagination is a beautiful beautiful thing, for me it's almost synonymous with genius. It is one thing I would like to impart on my child and other children. And this is only the beginning... I want to turn it into my advocacy... decent libraries for every town!

So here's what I have to do first.
1. Do legwork, discuss it with government agencies or NGO's
2. Solicit donations.
3. Set distribution date, venue, and other additional activities.
4. Send invites, ads, coordinate with barangay officials and other agencies. 

Best of luck to me. I hope the passion will keep burning in my heart!♥

Community service is not just for law-breakers

Excited for my CWTS2 course this term! Strange but of all the courses I've taken this is the one I'm looking forward the most. Mind you, I'm such a beggar-snob or an anti-beggar,the better term I suppose. Perhaps because I have something in mind that I believe would truly help other human beings. Because I'm far from the metro I decided to so the self-initiated track, I'm leaning towards a teaching mission but the whole details I haven't decided or worked on yet.

Nevertheless, I know that this is not a completely selfless endeavor I'm going to tread. I'm aware that percentage of the excitement I'm feeling is based on my egoistic needs to feel significant, to feel useful, to make a difference. This doesn't make it less worthy. In fact, I believe egotism moves history forward.