MY PRESIDENT

“Mama, whom will you vote soon as our president?” my daughter seriously asked me about a month ago. Not yet certain that time of whom I would really vote I just answered her, *“Candidate A”. “Why?’ she asked again. “Because I believe in his capabilities.” I replied. “How about you? Who is your bet?” I asked her back. *“Candidate C” she said. “Why?” I also asked her. “I don’t like your candidate even if he says he is the answer to all our problems. You see I memorized those songs about him but I don’t like him,” then she sang one of the popular infomercial songs to prove she really knows the song. “I would ask you rather to vote *Candidate C,” she continued to tell me. “Why he? Did someone tell you that you support *Candidate C?” I questioned her but she said she just wanted the person and no one ever had told her to like that candidate. She was not able to explain fully why she wanted *Candidate C to become the next Philippine president.

My daughter is now eight years old and just like many others of her age or even younger, who are still years behind the voting age in our country, they know how to gauge the capabilities of those popular people who are running for political seats. They have their own reasons influenced mostly outside their homes. If not for a lot of TV infomercials, they are influenced by what their schoolmates tell them, their elders in the community and some discussions that they hear around them. Children could pick up a lot of information through their own ways in what we adults consider as still their small worlds. I never told my daughter whom to vote as president neither my husband. I don’t even know whom my husband would soon vote. I was just somewhat speechless when my daughter suddenly asked me that question. She has her own very reasons why she opts for her candidate.

Yesterday, I asked again my daughter of her president. She still sticks to her *Candidate C .

*Actual names during the conversation are withheld on this site.

DR. MALUNGGGAY

Just like the camote and sayote (in Benguet and Mt. Province), many would say that malunggay is a poor man’s food. This raison d’ etre may be because it is just boiled for a few minutes with a dash of salt and presto! it is a viand. Or, maybe because it is easily grown and is commonly seen in the tropic belts so that meat eaters and people who depend too much on highly processed food consider it so. However, it is very much savored in countries mostly in Asia.

I haven’t met Dr. Malunggay in my childhood days because it does not thrive in cool places. (I grew up in the cold mountains where vegetation is different from those in the low lying areas). I now live in the Ilocos Regions, so I had to teach my taste buds tang vegeplants in hot areas at the start. I finally got inloved however, with Dr. Malunggay.

When I did my MS Graduate Study, Dr. Malunggay was my frequent companion in our dormitory kitchen. I remember very well that while cleaning and separating the small oval leaves from the petiolets, sorts of stories would quickly spring up about it from my kitchen mates. My kitchen buddies before aside from Filipinos were from Cambodia, Laos, Vietnam, Thailand and Myanmar and they have their own names for Dr. Malunggay. They have their own way also of preparing it. It was then that my brain subconsciously committed to my memory its Scientific Name, Moringa oleifera Lam. so we could understand each other when entertainingly asked of what to cook for dinner on such a day. All what I knew of the plant’s name before was just a malunggay tree called horse radish tree in English.

It was in that kitchen also that I learned that the Cebuanos call the plant kamunggay when Ilocanos call it marunggay. I learned also that the Tagalogs and Visayans do not eat the pods while both the leaves and pods are a delight in the Ilocano dish. The Tagalogs usually associate the leaves for tinola, a menu of chicken and unripe papaya. The Visayans cook it with much water, a pinch of salt and a little of ginger and call it bulanglang. Some prepare it with squash and coconut milk especially in the Southern Tagalog Region.

Aside from malunggay leaves however, I often saw my foreign kitchen comrades particularly those from Laos and Thailand relishing tender shoots of a certain wild vine of the cucumber family found growing a lot in the vicinity of our University. Wow, I also found it so yummy! So, I also gathered shoots of this weed with the malunggay leaves, camote tops and spinach freely growing at the side and back areas of our dormitory.

As much claimed today, Dr. Malunggay is so wealthy of minerals needed in the human body .It is now available in drugstores in capsule forms for the reasons, one: is to help curb malnourishment in the Philippines, a program of the DOH, two: to add claimed minerals to health of people who do not consider greens on their plates.

And, given a time I would go back and thank again those leaves that lusciously grew around our dorm! It helped me not only in my budget during those times (hahahaha) but also in maintaining my health aglow! Besides, I was able to influence some of my meat-eating buddies to include those weeds on their diets (hahaha again!) even if they amusingly called me "Miss Damo." wahahaha!

NAN KAWEW

Nan kawew ay kanan da id Sagada
Ay ma-inom nan danum nan aboboa na
Carnivorous plant ay kanan di syentista
Tay lamok ya baban-eg ay insekto et kanena.

Mailiwak is kaungungak
Tay no umey kami id Maney
Et siya enak anapen no maewewak
Mang-ep-ep is ewew enggana sumaa kami.

Laton baw ta idwani
Maadal amin di mulmula ay naklasi
Et siya ennak nangamoan mampay
Ay nan kawew et dandani maamas obpay.

Ilaen tako pud ay kakailyan id Ganduyan
Ta adi tako pud baybay-an
Nan nayda mula ay kakaisuna
Ay tumubtubo isnan entako lota.

Aywanan tako daida, tay ilan yo pud nan alumani
Agsop, nging-iyaw, sengang ya kitkit-il
Ay esa pay ngen ammon di uungung-a
Amin datona no is kawakgatana?

A Doctor’s Price

Because of an inflamed pharynx and larynx caused by many things to enumerate during the Christmas and Yuletide holidays (hehe, really?!!), I lost my voice again to a sore throat. Unknowingly I also had my pharynx infected causing some choking sensations when I swallowed. I tolerated this condition for 5 days so that on the 6^th day when the pain was on its worst, I went to the District Hospital in our place for check-up. I went early in the morning thinking that there would be many patients on the waiting when I would leave a little bit later. Well, an early bird really catches an early worm. I was the second patient on line that morning (although we were only five patients that time until I left the hospital). The annoying intern student nurses were the ones who filled the OPD-ER. They were the ones assigned to get some information from patients before they are finally ushered to the doctor’s station. I waited until 8:00 when the Cashier’s Office would be opened and when the Doctor on duty would arrive.

A few minutes past 8:00, a lady doctor arrived who was somewhat suplada. Then the ball started to roll. The first patient was called into her room and know what? - was out just after one minute. Then my turn came. I entered the room and without waiting for me to sit down, she asked me what was my problem. I told her of my throat trouble then she asked me to open my mouth. She just made a quick look without using any light. I wonder what she glanced at! Did she have bionic eyes? What I expected of a doctor when diagnosing a throat illness is a thorough detail. She then immediately, wrote her prescription on her list, gave it to me and told me not to drink cold water. That was it. I was out by just around one minute and a few more seconds than the first patient. And she proved she was really suplada! I didn’t know what those pills she prescribed me because I didn’t buy them anyway. CONSULTATION FEE: P30.00

With great dismay, I hailed a jeepney ride to the city while grumbling to myself of how stupid I am to be trusting yet this hospital and why did I not go directly to the city (around 30 minutes ride from that district hospital) and see an EENT specialist! I made my time useless that morning. Anyhow, I went directly to a private hospital in the city and looked for a specialist on EENT. I found one and patiently hanged around for my turn as he had many patients waiting.

The doctor was smiling when I entered his room. He asked me many details of what I ate and what I did recently. He brought out his pen light and a spatula and looked into my throat. He pulled my tongue a little bit and asked me to squeak out a high-pitched tone. He even knew I was choking which I really did. He told me to have a complete voice rest for 3-5 days and if I wanted to say something, I should write it on a sheet of paper. Wow! What a punishment! He told me things to do and things not to do if I wanted to have a complete recovery. He even asked me to have a chest x-ray since as he said, frequent sore throats are sometimes associated with abnormalities in the lungs. He prescribed me antibacterial, anti-inflammatory and anti-colds and should go back to see him after 5 days. CONSULTATION FEE: P300.00

THEIR LITTLE PRAYERS

My daughter woke up at 6:30 in the morning and as usual started off into the streets (our house is just along the baranggay road). After a couple of hours she came back with a bunch of kids (around fifteen of them ages 4-11) announcing that she invited the children because her Mama would teach a Bible Study. It was the third Saturday of November 2008.

I then prepared our front porch for them to settle down. I was a little bit nervous. I haven’t tried to teach a Sunday school in my whole life and here I am facing children who know me well in our barrio as a stern woman. I started the morning with them about the love of Jesus supported by verses in the Bible. We sang short choruses then tried to make the activity a series so they would be excited to come every Saturday.

Enthused by how a church in Laguna I had attended before of their deep concern for children who needed to know the true love of God, I asked my daughter the day before she brought these kids in our house if she would be willing to help me start a Bible Lesson for children in our barrio. (Jesus said “…Suffer the little children to come unto me, and forbid them not; for of such is the kingdom of God.” “And he took them up in his arms, put His hands upon them, and blessed them.” – Mark 10:14, 16). This was the first day I started a Children’s Bible Study in our house.

In July of this year, I was able to usher these kids to a Fundamental Baptist Church about 5-6 kilometers away from our barrio. I usually go with them in their ride to the church and leave them there while I go to San Fernando to my church. One of the members of this said church that offered her passenger jeep to haul children and some members to and back from nearby barrios during Sundays was able to include our place in its route.

Five to six months after the Bible Study was started however, I noticed that some of the former children, who came, stopped attending while some just occasionally visited. I learned later that their parents did not permit them because they suspect our Bible Study as an initial activity to change their religion. Some parents also thought that I’m just teaching their kids some non-sense stuffs. This came about when I had to let the children identify themselves the bad versus the good values and which ones to keep and which ones to put away particularly the “washing of mouths from rubbish lingo” typical in the mouths of barrio people. Until now however, I accept, I am in difficulty checking the children in this said area because it is a normal idiom at their own homes. We do an activity that we call, “Values Check”. Before I tell them stories about Jesus or stories of people in the Bible, we usually check each ones personality and ethics and have to let go of unnecessary attitudes and some garbage that were harbored during the week. I tell them to also tell these taken for granted values to their parents.

Just as freeing the mouth of scraps, these kids are also regularly reminded of keeping their surroundings free of refuse one example of which is by simply putting candy wrappers into their pockets or bags if there are no trash bins available in the vicinity. With these simple moral codes that each one should live with whether a child or not, I was not spared of criticisms though. I am looked at by some parents as just one of the “pretending saints” who try to correct their children of rubbish standards by using the Bible.

During the third quarter of this calendar year, I involved these children (about 4-7 of them who regularly attended the Bible Study to date) in a prayer movement. I asked them to think of at least one concern and pray for it regularly in their own homes until the next Saturday that we would meet. Later, I told them that I would help them in their prayers so I listed each child’s prayer requests. (From time to time then, I ask them for their prayer requests which I include in my prayer list). I couldn’t describe what I felt during the first time I took and listed their requests. It was that time that I again realized how broken homes are today. Physically, yes, homes in the Philippines especially in the barrios are united but are truly broken in terms of emotions.

The following is a list I picked up from among the requests, which I perceive as prayers that need to be really prayed for. I was surprised that two little girls in the group (ages 4 and 7) have one each of the following requests:

1. Parents NOT TO ALWAYS quarrel over money
2. A prayer for a mother to stop smoking, getting drunk and stop betting in “jueteng”
3. A prayer for parents to stop using bad words especially the “PI’s” common in Philippine country sides
4. A prayer for a mother to stop hating a neighbor that often results to neighbors’ quarrel/s
5. A prayer for parents to stop belittling their children’s capabilities and worst coupled with filthy language
6. A prayer for fathers to stop drinking and smoking

All of these scenarios as the children claim keep them feel not loved enough because of tensions that they regularly witness around their small worlds. One of the above problems howver, did not spare my daughter who requested for fervent prayers for his Dad to stop his gambling hobby and getting drunk (her father chose to go back to his old ways so that many times I flood myself with millions of “why” questions. I also feel at times that my prayers are just in vain).

It is very obvious that these kids only wanted a peace and loving home. In fact, it is their entire Christmas wish!

Our lessons regarding prayers were I consider really a great change that I see in these children. For example, December is a month of singing carols when some of these kids including my daughter were in our front yard one early evening. They were practicing Christmas carols that they would later sing to some houses in the neighborhood. I got touched when I heard one of them say, “We should pray first, before we go.” I slowly sneaked a look at them and they were really in prayers, the eldest of the group leading it. They prayed particularly for protection.

At this moment, it is my fervent prayer that I will still have that STRENGTH as long as I live TO KEEP ON PRAYING not only for my concerns but more than ever for the “little” but serious prayer requests of these kids that come to our house and play in our front yard and strength to also pray for other people who need prayers. (“God is our refuge and strength, a very present help in trouble. Therefore will not we fear, though the earth be removed, and though the mountains be carried into the midst of the sea; … The Lord of host is with us; the God of Jacob is our refuge. - Psalm 46:1-2 & 7. “Ye have not chosen me, but I have chosen you, and ordained you, that ye should go and bring forth fruit, and that your fruit should remain; that whatsoever ye shall ask of the Father in my name, he may give it to you.” – John 15:16)

Ang Pagkakalat ng Mukha

I love adventure and that's for sure.
Sometimes I go spelunking...

...watch mountains from afar and wonder how
to climb it...

... pose with classmates...



... and really climb mountains with friends...


... thank Our Maker who made my feet that
carry me to wherever my pituitary glands
command me to go...


... envy some friends who reached the peak
(called Peak 3) of Mt. Makiling...



...laugh at a friend who can be either a monkey
or a lizard...



...get a pose with my fellow Octoberians/Librans
who would naturally flock together...



... find time to tutor some foreigners and their
children for an additional allowance, haha! This
girl is one among them...


... watch friends who graduate. well, that's life,
they have to graduate 'coz they completed their
degrees ahead of me...


... take pose with the graduates of 2006...



... join unexpected 'bulagahan" at the LBSquare.
Kasalanan ng mga "hayup" brothers...


... watch a friend go kengkoy kahit time
of graduation na...



... watch the Philippine flag fly at the
middle of a forest...


... feel proud as a Filipino...


... see one evidence of years going by,
we can't stop it...


...wonder when will we leave this world
just like this tree...



... get a time to smile with friends at the NACP...



... give a candid look? ...



... stretch on a cold, misty and cloudy
morning in the mountains...



... allow myself to go in communion with God
with views like this during climbs to mountains...



... taste a brunch in the mountains...



... accomplish my obligations as student of course...



...smile with co-residents at theInternational
House in December 2007...



... take a time with the mythical and famous
Pagsanjan Falls!!!!....



...give a smile with Rosc...



... capture an image of my friend who always
bring me to a jolt every time it catches
"gamu-gamo" and other nocturnal insects outside
my window screen...



... give a happy face on a sports fest day with IHRAns...



... let you see our smile with Maidz on one Christmas...



...wonder why a horse and a horseman walks
along the beach and not on the mountsins,
who would have thought of it!!!...


... have lunch! Who are they?...



... Oh!...


... thank Sharon sa pagkain. Salamat din kay
Ryan whose room always serves as the group's
dining room...


... visit a man-made lake with beautiful huts
alongside...



... take a walk to the mudspring with arvin,
edwin and lilia (not in the picture)...



... get a pose after an awful, depressing afternoon!
My first semester in the University. I was still able
to get a pose with these mini-houses...



... visit Biak-na-Bato...



... wonder if may sumpa ba talaga itong carabao
park?...



... view Mt. Pico de Loro from Mt. Marami...



... pose on top of rocky Mt. Marami...



...watch our tents down...



... gather many questions on why this Dau tree
reached the "crime scene"...



... post this image in my blog of the dear Adobo of
IH who died on July 31, 2009...



... watch and take a pose with the snow fall in summer....



... hhhhmmm...



...ows!...



... nothing! just wanted to pose with these
flowers...



... carbon sequestration, climate change,
carbon emission broker, etc... it's what
I've heard...



... hhhmmm...


... give a big victory sign to say "hey friends,
I'm at Mt. Makulot"...



... always get amazed when I see this heavy
fruiting Bignay tree...



... enjoy being blown along with tall grasses by
strong winds in Mt. Makulot with Vero...



... see God's beauty at the peak of mountains...



... say "I was here also"...



... feel painful to pack things and say goodbye
when it's time to...



...see prices of items at a bookshop and wonder
did this man really feed the world - with rice?!...



... miss a regular view when I visit the IRRI library...



... enjoy watching kids play jack and stone?
My daughter with her playmates...



... "Hi, I'm Freya with my Igorot legs, anyone?
Can't be hidden. My mama gave it to me!"...lol



... dare if you wanna look down the sea with me?
That is, if you are brave like me!!!...



... shout to Vero to be extra careful...



... I can't explain fully my feelings when I'm
on top of the mountain!...



... show you through this picture the beauty of God's
handicraft. It's so beautiful!...



... "cook your food and leave no litters"...



...give a sign of victory climb to Mt. Makulot!...







... pose with Jaime's "kids" at the LWBC...



... let's party...



... let you know that I'm on the top of the, hhmm,
hhmmm... rock with friends...



... "anyway I'm here in Luzon. My students do
not know that their instructor is as kengkoy
as this"....



... brave Mt. Marami...



... have to accomplish our
duties as officers of IHRA...



... a place full of.....

... give a morning pose with acquaintances from Batanes
to Zamboanga... Thank you, thank you!