Ending the Year of New Beginnings

2014 was a year characterized by bold turns in my life. It was a year that I ventured out from my comfort zone. This was a year of humble achievements and hopes for a better 2015.

New Plans

Since my options were few at the start of the year, I adjusted my plans accordingly. It takes a courage heart to do so but as I gain more experience and resources, I reviewed my previous goals and set my personal objectives high again. There were times I doubted myself if I could achieve something, especially those which are out of my control. But at the end, I found no reason to get distracted such that presently I can say I have almost the same level of optimism with that before I came to Norway.

New Jobs

The year started with my own search of a new job. It was not easy and very frustrating. I was used to being ask to work before, rather than me finding work for me. It was nearly depressing but I coped well. I just need to accept that not everytime one can get what he or she wants. However, in the middle of the year, I was trying to balance work in two areas: in the office and in various nursing homes. The variety of tasks and associations provided a good working experience, which I think will be valuable for me in the future.

New Network

Meeting new friends from different background and culture is both exciting and rewarding. At work, I meet people who have immigrant origins but were born and raised in Norway, aside from natural-born Norwegians and Scandinavians. The most challenging is finding a common ground and understanding among work colleagues, who are immigrants. I got to know more about Latin, African, Islamic and Buddhist cultures. This I have never expected before. On the other hand, although I had tough year for relationships, but I could say I gain a lot of new friends this year.

New Language

The year opened and ended being busy with learning Norwegian. It was a struggle since the process of shifting from one language to another literally gives me a headache. Since I did most the study on my own using available resources, I was confronted with a big challenge. What makes it more complex, I use English at work more often than Norwegian, although most of my colleagues is talking to me in Norwegian now most of the time. Moreover, at home, I speak my mother tongue Cebuano and communicate with other Filipinos in Tagalog or Filipino. Despite of these hindrances, I learned significantly in Norwegian as I appreciate more the people and its culture.

New Learning

To take responsibility of myself and others and to be more independent and creative in decision-making are two most important lessons this year has gave me. It was not easy but I guess my family and friends would be very proud where I am right now. The goal for them to send me to Norway is for me to learn and earn for myself and my family. It is still a long way to go, but I know I am getting there.

Life is a journey where one sees the future but lives one's life in the present time. This is how I sum up the learnings and experiences I gain from 2014. One must remain open to changes and be more dedicated in proving oneself everyday. These are the lessons I will bring with me in the coming new year.

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular This Week

Cebuano: The Language and The People

Image
Living in Norway for over 2 years, I have often encountered questions about the languages I speak. I usually answered I speak Norwegian, English and two Filipino languages. Then, people start asking if the second Filipino language is a dialect of the other. Given my mother tongue is Cebuano, the second language referred, I abruptly debunk the misconcept that it is a mere dialect. My most common explanation is that all Filipinos speak the Filipino language, but those who only learn to speak Filipino have difficult time understanding or communicating with one speaking Cebuano. Throughout the span of my childhood, I got to grasp the political and cultural differences of Filipinos speaking Filipino language or Tagalog as referred by most, and those coming from the Southern Philippines speaking Cebuano. The language in itself has become the boundary between the two groups of people. Due to their innate differences, misunderstandings result, not because of mere language confusion, but of cu
Read more

Online Bashing Tells About the Basher

Image
Online bashing has become very common in social media. It seems everyone who makes mistakes maybe a subject of ridicule and criticism. The  major disadvantage and difference of a usual physical attack and online bashing is its anonymity and scale. Many bashers would hide themselves anonymous and gain more confidence to attack verbally the person at hand. Moreover, since the online space is literally unlimited so anyone could literally read comments and opinions, further aggravating and even tolerating the verbal attack. This makes online bashing as a grear threat to anyone in the social media today. On its essence, online bashing is a non-physical verbal highly partisan and personal attack on an individual expressing dissent, non-comformity, irrelevance and weakness in being at par or within a certain standard of discourse or behavior, with the aim of influencing others to do the same against the person, express an opinion and either directly and indirectly gain from it. By this long
Read more

What Make Filipinos Happy?

Image
According to the recent Happiness Index and Positive Experience Index (2015), Filipinos are considered one of the happiest in the world. There are many empirical evidence supporting this, including the magnitude of resilence and effectiveness of Filipinos in coping with several calamities and personal challenges. There are ofcourse scepticism on these researches, given that happiness could not even be measured objectively, and even more difficult to be compared. Happiness is indeed subjective, such that it is experienced differently among various persons with unique backgrounds and histories. Therefore, it is a challenge to make a summary or list of what makes one happy for a certain group of people, such as Filipinos. However, there are similarities among Filipinos that one could deduce effectively to answer what makes Filipinos happy. This is the focus of this blogpost. Family counts first. Family is most powerful source of motivation and happiness for Filipinos. More importantly, 
Read more

Filipino Body Language

Image
Non-verbal communication is an essential part in a society, as well as understanding the values the community believe in. This reflects a good overview of how communication and tradition have evolved through time. These expressions are never constant, such that meaning changes from time to time, and is greatly affected by the events or the kind of environment one belongs in. Filipinos, being a society with mixed Asian and Western influences have unique facial and body expressions. These are the focus of this blogpost. 1. Silent stare Stares could mean evil look for Filipinos. It may indicate sarcasm or manipulation. It is considered rude to this, especially when in a conversation because it may also indicate disinterest or disrespect. 2. Lip/Eye pointing This is quiet funny gesture common not just in the rural areas, but also in urban communities. It is quiet hard to explain the direction in verbal language, so it is better to point them vaguely, interestingly with the use of lips,
Read more

10 Things Every Filipino Must Learn

Image
I am a proud Filipino but there are some aspects of the Filipino culture that needs to be improved. These improvements are impossible if   everybody thinks there is no need for them, so I start with my contribution by recognizing these in this blogpost. 1. Learn to wait. No Filipino can wait. We all find ways to be ahead of the others. We are known for this. We simply can not wait as if there is no other chance to do a certain thing. As a result, chaos results, which is reflected in the systems we have either in large-scale government services or in ourselves as well. 2. Learn to think before talking. Feed a Filipino an attractive title of an article or news, he or she is able to form opinions even without knowing and understanding the story. I call this "Facebook mentality of hastiness." As a result, most non-Filipinos do not take us seriously, because we are more noisy than smart. 3. Learn to respect differences and opinions. Every Filipino thinks everyone should conf
Read more

Reinvigorating Fortitude

Image
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
Read more

Crab Mentality among Filipinos

Image
Many times people get accused of possessing the Filipino negative trait of crab mentality. It is  a state wherein people act like crabs when put inside a basket or a container, pull each other down for them to get out from it. One must further dissect the magnitude of the problem and reasons behind it to distinguish ways on how to deal with it and perhaps minimize it. One of my Facebook friend said that crab mentality among Filipinos is already a disease. The way she said it, it seems crab mentality can no longer be cured and is highly contagious. It is quite true because based on my observation, we can notice crab mentality everywhere. One time I made a comment in Youtube about one issue that lead some Filipino netizens to react. I was expecting they will provide further valuable insights about what I said. I have no problem with others disagreeing with my thoughts, given that everyone is entitled with their own thoughts. Suprisingly, one of those who commented, criticized my u
Read more

The Future of Certainties and Uncertainties

Image
No one knows about the future, but we can influence how we can shape our future. This is something I always believed since I was young. And so, this has led me to think that with grit personality I would achieve something in the future. Fortunately, all my efforts and sacrifices have paid off until I decided to start anew in Norway. Here, things changed and my experiences have somehow how I perceived the future. To describe in the easiest possible means, the future for me is filled with both certainties and uncertainties. The difference between the two opposing concepts is control. There are things that are within our control, capacities and compentencies, which yields certainties in life. By saying certainties, the probability is high enough to consider it happening in reality. Personally speaking, I have already fathomed my limitations and strengths, such that I gain confidence in the various fields I am good at. On the other hand, there exists uncertainties. This is something we,
Read more

Dresden, Germany: The Saxon City of Contrasts Part 1

Image
Dresden is a German city located south of the capital Berlin. It is the capital of the Free State of Saxony in Eastern Germany. Due to its proximity to Berlin, I decided to take a bus to know more about the city. I personally did not place any high expectations for the city was really not part of my travel list. To my surprise, Dresden has given me a lot of learning of its history, which is for me is full of contrast and diversity. The city is a historical gem along the riverbanks of Elbe. Cultural buildings were built by a Polish King, who had made union to govern the city and its nearby areas. This is the reason why Dresden has many beautiful Baroque structures, providing one the feeling of romanticism. However, in contrast, the city has become an important military and industrial city during the rise of Nazis in Germany. This is an opposition to the romantic past of the city. During the World War 2, the city was destroyed by the United States and its allied forces. This has b
Read more

Bullying: A Part of Filipino Culture?

Image
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
Read more