lessons learned from interchange

long before i became a teacher, i knew that you should never stop learning. after having gone through 3 weeks of interchange, i did get to take home valuable lessons.

1. know your religion and defend it with faith. religion teacher or not, i literally had a lot of explaining to do to my thai visitor. "what's Christmas all about? why hear mass every Sunday? who is the Virgin Mary? what's with all the stars?..." knowing the answers to all the questions i credit not only to a good catholic education, but to my conviction to my faith. honestly, without faith, if you take one step back and hear the questions yourself, you may ask yourself, "why DO i do all this stuff?!" blind obedience? more than knowing the textbook answers, as cheezy as it sounds, you have to be able to answer from the heart.
2. love the local language... and speak it! knowing filipino -- be it as a first or second language -- is always a plus, whether it be to talk in front of the foreigners, ask for directions, get a discount, and even to negotiate to get into the baguio country club to get raisin bread. yes, speaking the local language can literally get you places. it is not uncool to be able to speak in filipino and i salute the thais (and my kids) just for trying! i've also learned never to speak above the person you're speaking with... in any language.
3. plan your interchange and stick to the plan. eat your heart out, jiro! hahaha! enough said.
4. my brother's not so bad after all. for someone who said that having a guest stay for 3 weeks would be a "bother," he sure didn't show it! he volunteered to show my guest PGH and medical city -- for what reasons, i don't know. duh. he planned our trip to my dad's hometown, drove us there, and even treated us to dinner. he went all out taking us to see kitchie nadal and drink to our livers' content -- of course, it DID help that he was one of the owners of the bar. he had filipino dishes especially cooked for sunisa and even tagged along on our trip to greenbelt on her last free night, even footing the bill for tavern and bizu.
5. i love my kids! i loved them then in thailand; i love them now. can't imagine going through the program with a different set. will miss sleeping with them -- hahaha! i love their parents, too! hahaha!

over and done with

i'm a "list" person. not the "top 10" sorta type; i'm more of the "to do" type. it keeps me organized and on top of things in my crazy, active, hectic world. it gives you a sense of accomplishment whenever you've ticked off an item. me, being a visual person, seeing those little check marks on my palm pilot makes me grin -- let's remember however, that that's not the reason to have lists, okay?

and there lies the reason why i haven't been able to blog -- it's been so long that i even forgot my username. in the past 2 months, i have:

• orchestrated my first communion class' recollection
• laid out the first communion missallette -- thrice!
• designed the first communion certificates
• recorded the first communion songs
• duplicated first communion songs on cassettes
• wrote an article for the school newsletter
• made 3rd quater exams for my religion 5 and 6 class for a kid leaving for india for cisv
• organized the first school mass in cradle
• cooked putanesca for a faculty fellowship
• orchestrated the first communion mass
• resurrected the guest room for interchange guset -- new paint, new mattress, new shelves, new ceiling fan, new table, new lamp
• changed toilet fixtures -- 2 showers and 1 toilet
• designed the fund-raising logo for the school
• shopped for 24+ godchildren for Christmas (+ gift wrapping)
• organized the interchange program and budgets with the moms
• created an interchange scrapbook overnight
• laid-out high school batch directory for the homecoming
• composed texts for trophies, certificates and radio spiels for the homecoming
• personally went after batchmates at their offices with an info sheet
• collected and disbursed funds for the homecoming
• purchased what seems to be the last DVD compilation of The Godfather for freddie, my monito
• attended my annual Christmas dinner with little, frankie and tina -- plus sandy, my thai guest
• drove for a school visit in antipolo, rizal
• traveled to paete, laguna with dennis, sandy (phils.), sandy (thailand), and miguel
• tutored my best friend's daughter for 3rd quarter exams -- she passed all save for filipino!
• helped make 100 luminaries for a wedding with amy
• organized new year's media noche with my sister, sandy
• conducted the interchange, going everywhere from the tiangge, to antipolo, enchanted kingdom, alabang, and baguio
• survived the meningo-whatever-virus in baguio
• stood as a godmother (again) at a confirmation
• made a prayer rock for my new godson
• attended my high school class' 20th anniversary homecoming

all these, over and above work and school. it wasn't a very fun thing to do, mind you -- well, not all of it. shopping's always fun :)

as i take a look at the list, do i feel accomplished? yes, but more than that, i feel tired. and it's only the 2nd week of the new year. sigh.

i realize that the list is a list of things to do for others... not for myself. i don't think that i've even read a book this year! sadness. perhaps the only thing i've done for myself is cut my hair, and that was only 3 days ago. must start a list of my own. i already know 2 items i can put down: (1) learn to ask for help and (2) say "no." i can almost hear mama aly heave a sigh of relief.

love, unconditionally

it seems that migueli's been turning out to be quite the cassanova these days. he has been known to be quite a "kisser" in his class, and his recipients are (sometimes) more than willing to return the favor. last week, while in line before entering the classroom, an overeager classmate smothered my nephew with hugs and kisses... on the lips, no less! normally, i would not put any malice on the act since they're just kids anyway, but the classmate was a boy. teka muna... yesterday naman, he kissed our neighbor's daughter, chase, on the lips (sabay hug) after their playdate.

my sister found all this out today as she, miguel and i were on our way to a chidren's party. my sister then started to "educate" migueli on the propriety of showing one's affections to another person.

mommy: who are your loves?

migueli: sam, jed (the male classmate), ate gabbie, and ate chase.

mommy: you know, it's okay to kiss your friends, but only on the cheeks, especially if they're boys. kissing on the lips will just be for relatives.

pregnant pause of about 4 seconds

migueli: (with feelings) so boring naman!

encounters with dr. migueli

yesterday, migueli and i were killing time on the bed before going to school playing "doctor." he was the doctor and i was the patient with a tummy ache.

ninang: doctor, doctor! my tummy's painful!

migueli: okay, we have to operate and remove your tummy.

ninang: (slightly taken aback by his AGGRESSIVE ways) what?! can you repeat that? i think there's something wrong with this ear.

migueli: i said, we have to take out your tummy! we'll also have to take out your ear.

ninang (more shocked and slightly outraged) what kind of doctor are you?!

migueli: (very adamant and so matter-of-factly) I'M FROM
MEDICAL CITY!!

what do you expect from a boy who says that a carpenter is someone who makes "carpents"? i love this kid!

"the chosen one"

last night, i got a call to be a godmother yet again. this time, it's to mike, the16-year old kid who i brought to thailand this summer for CISV. the invitation to stand as a godmother is always an honor and a flattering one. with this one, i know that the choice was his and not his parents'. that made it all the more flattering. he certainly has put a new meaning to my being his "adult leader."

i've made being a ninang a career of sorts. it's not WHO i am but WHAT i am. it's become my given name, not just by my godchildren, but by their siblings, their caregivers, parents and parents' friends as well. my cabinet is stocked with "instant gifts" for ages 0 to 12 year-round. looks like i'll be needing to widen the age range.

mama aly, in her blog honoring me on my birthday (*blush*) wrote:

The honor of being chosen to be godmother is a serious thing. It is usually reserved for very close relatives, people you look up to, and people of stature...

Why does the ninang name stick to her like second skin? Maybe it's because she can fill in a mom's shoe and do everything a mom needs to do (teach, guide, feed, bathe, hug, kiss, spoil, scold)? Maybe it's because she has a rhyme storehouse to mesmerize kids from zero to twenty-one? Or maybe it's her big heart?

i never question why people get me to stand as a ninang or why the kids want me to be theirs. is it because of my gift-giving abilities? my maternal (and yaya) instincts? because i'm a "part-time kid" myself and being so makes me "cool"? i guess we'll just have to ask the lot of them... some 28+ of them.

mama aly was right... being chosen to be a godmother is a serious thing. now, i've got another person (a teenager at that!) looking up to me. ooooh! an image model! do i have stories to entertain him! hahaha! then again, if they can learn from my life story, why not? i certainly have.

kids, it's time to grow up.

uno!

enrolled in UP for the (hopefully) 2nd to the last time. which also meant that i had to get my class cards first.

well, well, i guess my procrastination paid off. i got a grade of 1 for both subjects. pardon me while i gloat. dang! i could be a university scholar at this rate if this were a college course and not an MA course. never got these kinds of grades in college. masmadali kasi kayang bolahin ang mga teachers ng UP? hahaha. uuuy, walang pikon ha?

as my adviser says each semester when i "consult" with her, "sayang naman apilyido mo kung hindi uno grado mo." haaay... hirap naman! preysure!

simple pleasures part II

turned 37 today. no big celebrations -- i'm saving that for the big 4-0 when my friends will surprise me with a big party (hint! hint!) -- save for the surprise i got at the school kitchen this afternoon.

bless amy's soul. she rounded up friends and family, and they came bearing gifts, too! the theme was "leslie's favorite food" - in line with my english class' topic on adjectives. i'm not a very difficult person to please, as the roster will show you:

• migueli, who's on sem break, came to school with bananas... lacatan, to be exact
• mom (yes! she was there!) brought puto from pangasinan, the ones in the brown paper bag
• mama aly, my bestest cousin in the world, brought me pampanga's best tocino (my former supplier is in jolly england)
• amy gave me cracker nagaraya in all flavors except the bland original
• vikki, my pastoral leader, brought planter's cheez curls and la-la fish crackers
• bicbic sneaked in a box of napoleones and half moons from bacolod (we were on the same flight home yesterday and she said they were all out of stock)
• steph sent me goldilocks mocha cake... all-time favorite comfort food, there's just nothing like it!
• gelique supplied the balloons and brought me cheetos!

later at night, my best friend suzie gave me an estrel's caramel birthday cake... memories of my childhood *sigh*

had anyone given me shiny P5 coins, the day would have been perfect. told you i was mababaw.

to infinity and beyond!

my sister's out and i'm leaving for bacolod for the weekend. time to get some "migueli time" to bring along with me.

while in a "sarap" hug:

ninang: i love you.
miguel: i love you, too.
ninang: i love you three.
miguel: i love you aaalllllllll the numbers!

sigh. good thing it'll just be a weekend.

(not so) simple pleasures

spent the good part of yesterday afternoon in the company of good friends from cisv, in a beautiful house that seemed to be misplaced in manila.

i love my cisv batch! i love being with my co-leaders and the kids, even if they're not mine (sweden). going to camp is one of the best things i've done in my life. yesterday afternoon, i wanted to be in sweden all over again; to feel 11-years old again, carefree yet responsible; to be with my 4 kids again, sneaking in a pizza from a pizzeria down the street or savoring smuggled instant yakisoba or having ticklefests in the lullaby room... eating marabou... marabou's are hard to come by. they're not like hershey's or m & m's. that's what makes me and my kids miss it so much.

when i came home last night, my sister had some high school friends over for dinner. she rummaged through the fridge for dessert and brought out truffles and... A LARGE BAR OF MARABOU! heaven in a bar! thank God, they went for the truffles! it was the perfect cap to a cisv afternoon.

itching

it's been more than a month since i last blogged. can't just yet. dying at work, recuperating from school.

will be back. sem break's less than two weeks away...