WATCH: Dresden, Germany


Here is the video of my short trip in Dresden, Germany


To read for more about Dresden, click below:

Dresden Part 1
Dresden Part 2

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Cebuano: The Language and The People

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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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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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Vigelandsparken, Oslo Norway: Celebrating Human Spirit

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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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The Misunderstood Cebuanos

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I tell to most of my friends that I actually do not speak Filipino as my mother language. Ofcourse, the most natural question I get is what language do I speak? I answer Cebuano and explain that it is the second most spoken of the Philippine language. It is not a dialect, and the people that speaks it are popularly known as Cebuanos. However, due to the cultural and linguistic diversity among groups in the Philippines, misunderstanding occur very often. And this blogspot is all about the often misunderstood Cebuanos. Fatalism, Realism and Resilience The Cebuano has undergone a lot of bad things in the past. Cebuanos in the southern island of Mindanao could be followers of Islam or belong to an indigenous group. Being part of another religious and cultural group could mean oppression by a larger group. The Spaniards and Americans tried to suppress any resistance in the group. When the country became independent, co-Filipinos in Manila oppressed and associated the Cebuano cu...
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Today (November 30) marks the birth anniversary of the known Filipino hero Andres Bonifacio. Many including me are used to hearing Bonifacio's name but never really got to deepen the appreciation and knowledge about him. There were controversies and unresolved issues regarding the motivation, personality and death of Bonifacio; but in this blogpost, the focus would rather be on the learnings we could possibly derive from the story of Bonifacio and how we could reflect on it when applied on our own respective lives. Family and friends first At the age of 14, Bonifacio needed to stop going to private school to support his five other siblings because both their parents died of illness in a duration of a year. Because of this, he earned a living for his family until his siblings had been regularly employed thereafter. On the other hand, by mere impression, Bonifacio treated Rizal as a friend or as an important person of the Filipino revolution. Motivated by this, Bonifacio with his c...
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When Laziness Strikes

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Why are we lazy sometimes? Is it because it is a natural tendency for humans to feel it. Alternatively, it is because we are easily affected by the things we see in our environment, such that we mimic the behaviors of others like inaction. This is the focus of my blogpost. In stress reactions, there is a phenomenon we call fight and flight response in which either our body and psyche will confront all stress-producing events, or opts not to deal with them at all. From this, we can say that human can be lazy when the things and tasks we must accomplish either no longer challenges us or simply overwhelming us. So, sudden change in the quality and quantity of to-do list can lead one to be lazy or the opposite enthusiastic response. Thus, to counteract laziness, it is crucial to adjust these lists of actions. Take it easy. Remove the most demanding and hope things become better, instead of getting worse. On the other hand, laziness can be an influence of the culture and environment. This...
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