WATCH: Seoul-Incheon, South Korea


Here is my video on my short trip to South Korea.


For more blogposts on Seoul, click the links below.


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Bullying: A Part of Filipino Culture?

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Bullying became a hot topic in Norway today after a young teenager died of emaciation due to eating disorder that was primarily linked to anxiety from bullying at school. This was quite taboo in this Scandinavian country, given the nation is very keen on respecting socio-cultural differences and on protection against any form of discrimination. Discussions have been made on how to handle and prevent bullying and who takes the responsibility in these cases, whether the family, school or the State. Personally, I was not reacting in anyway as my mind says the concept is remote and almost impossible to happen in the Philippines. Perhaps, I was referring it to death, but not to bullying. However, after several days I was quite uneasy on the topic and further asked myself if I was ever bullied before and what it has caused me in the long-term basis. To my surprise, bullying was a crucial point in my childhood. My coping skills allowed me to hide in my consciousness what had happened...
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10 Sociocultural Differences Between Norway and the Philippines

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Soon, I would mark my sixth year of living in Norway. It is difficult to sum up the past six years in few words. A lot of things I have experienced, and many people I have encountered. At least, I could say I have learned a lot during this period. However, what makes it more challenging for me as an immigrant in Norway is the contrast in cultures and social norms between my home country, the Philippines and Norway. Both countries were ranked high in different survey of happiness, depending on how happiness is defined on these surveys. And this concept of happiness is reflected in the norms in both countries. In this blogpost, I would enumerate ten of these cultural differences. 1.         Love for nature I could say that both Philippines and Norway have been blessed with beautiful landscapes. Philippines is known for its beaches, while Norway has fjords giving way to beautiful unique sceneries not found in other countries. However...
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Once upon a time... Summa Cum Laude

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It has been fifteen years since I completed nursing school. I culminated my student days as a Summa Cum Laude at Father Saturnino Urios University in the Philippines. It was a rare academic feat, but I managed to excel inspite of the difficulties I had back then. As I reminisce how it has been, I would like to point out the learnings I had through the years, and this will be the focus of this blogpost. Summa Cum Laude is the highest Latin honor one could get in the university. It does not just mean being the class valedictorian with the highest grade in the batch, but it means possessing a grade considered one of the highest throughout the school's history. In the Philippines, there are very few with Summa Cum Laude honors, and it is extremely rare in Nursing. Yes, I did that. Well, it was unexpected. I was actually expecting at least Cum Laude, the third highest Latin honor. However, some rules were changed, making it less difficult to get Cum Laude such that I was lit...
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Being new to this Scandinavian land, it has been one of my objectives to allow myself to integrate into the society, not just to have more opportunities and establish social networks, but also for me to learn new things, enriching the values I had before coming here. On the other hand, there are also from the West who are wiling to embrace a new culture from the East, bringing forth the necessary cultural exchange that may augment understanding of similarities and differences. This is enabled by those living on each side of the globe. This is the focus of this blogpost. When East meets West The East is composed of diversed groups and ethnicities, but there is one common among all those groups, collective representation and gain. What one achieves or does, whatever it is, is a representation of the group he or she belongs. By saying whatever means anything from taking pictures during travels, taking education or doing good at work. This is because most from the East loves to give prid...
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Reinvigorating Fortitude

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People seldom face adversities in life that either challenges the way they cope with difficulties, or worse presents sufficient stress to a person's existence and resilience. Situations are varied, but the person's ability to endure these situations is crucial in the way one copes in the end. There is a term fortitude that simply denotes one's mental toughness or courage in the midst of pain and adversity. This is the greatest factor that aids one to learn from the situation, and be better prepared in case a similar serious, challenging situation confronts the individual again in the future. Fortitude has three elements: will, courage and endurance. Will is the intention to stay on track, not until the desired end-result is achieved. On the other hand, courage is the acceptance that pain, adversities and temptation are part of the process. Accepting them, rather than ignoring them is the key to solving a problem, or enduring a negative experience. Lastly, endurance is the ...
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Kiel is a the capital of the Schleswig-Holstein German province, near the northern border with Denmark. Today, this is an important maritime port and cruise ship stopover towards the Baltic region, Scandinavia and the rest of Europe. However, aside from being a booming shopping district as it is today, Kiel has a colorful maritime past that reflected the history and culture of the German nation. Interestingly, the city's name was derived from the word describing the shape of the port of Kiel. These are something hidden by the streets and modern commercial establishments in the city. Before, Kiel is considered a unique city being ruled by a Danish King, but under the former German confederation. It was during this time that Denmark and Germany have made an cooperative agreement in ruling their dominions. It was until a war broke between the two countries that transferred the power from the Danish king to Germany, with the aid of Austria. Germany completely took over the area ...
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Located along the Amstel River, the largest Dutch city, Amsterdam is one of the most important European port and cultural hub since ancient times when the city became diamond and financial center. Aside from its magnificent canals, Amsterdam is proud of its unique blend of conservatism and freedom, which attracts almost five million tourists every year. Being the center of commerce during the Dutch Golden Age and their colonial past, Amsterdam certainly has a rich history to present for visitors around the world could relate and associate from where they come from. The beautiful Dutch city is a dream city for me to visit so when I got the opportunity to fulfill this, I did not hesitate, especially during the Yuletide season. I get to celebrate Christmas while learning how the Dutch city emerged as a global city from its rich historic past to where it is now. Click here for the second day of my adventure in Amsterdam. 1.     Vondelpark This 45-hectar...
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From a strong major social institution in the renaissance period to an organization struggling to be   as a recognized genuine support system, religions have significantly changed in the recent times. Membership statistics are just numbers and estimates of religious organizations to provide a clue of how could they be potentially influential in politics and in the society in general. However, the question remains is the church still influential in the advent of rise self-determination as a better alternative to church doctrines as a form of life guide for personal decision-making? Or have churches clinged to a populist stand to keep membership figures stay afloat in the midst of liberal modern times? There exists extremist forms of various religious sects like the Islam's conservative groups in Iran and Saudi Arabia, Buddhism's total vegetarians, or Christian's modern day crusaders and monks throughout the world. However, the number of individuals claiming to belong to the...
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