WATCH: Amsterdam, Netherlands


Here is the video of my short trip to Amsterdam.


For more blogposts on Amsterdam, click the links below:

Amsterdam Part 1
Amsterdam Part 2

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Padayon Lang: Just Continue ᜉᜇᜌᜓᜈ᜔ ᜎᜅ᜔

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There are words that stay with us long after the people who spoke them are gone. For me, one of those words is the Cebuano phrase: “Padayon lang.” These simple words describe my life motto. It is short, almost ordinary. It does not shine with poetry. Yet it has a quiet strength, the kind that you don’t just think about but actually feel deep inside. Literally, it means “just continue” or “keep going.” But in Cebuano life, padayon lang is less of a command and more of gentle encouragement, just a soft pat on the shoulder, a light that shows you the way in the dark. I first heard it as a child, when I struggled with school and say, “Padayon lang sa imong pagtuon.” Keep studying. It is not a word of triumph. It does not promise success. Unlike congratulations or I’m proud of you, padayon lang accepts that life is hard, that the road is tiring, and yet it reminds us that moving forward, even slowly, even step by step is still worth it. It is the Cebuano spirit of resilience, no...
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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...
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This is somewhat a common question pertaining to relationship among Filipinos. There is even a song written to indicate a similar meaning of the title. Who will you prefer the person who chooses you or the person you choose? The song however pertains to love not simply choosing someone. However, to make the dilemma more relatable I would opt to use the word choose than love because the former is more definitive and concrete in meaning. This will the focus of this blogpost. A question of what seems selfish. It is selfish both to choose one and choose another who chose you. To choose one is like behaving superior over the other. Superiority as perceived maybe due to wealth, status or any desired characteristic. To be superior is itself selfish by failing to recognize another person as a co-equal being. On the other hand, to simply wait for someone to choose you is also selfish. Think how much self-confidence to think this way. One is quite certain that at least one in the wo...
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