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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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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Some ideas refuse to disappear, even when the world changes around them. One of them is the French expression Noblesse Oblige. It simply means that privilege comes with responsibility. If life has given you education, opportunity, influence, or success, then you have a duty to use those gifts for something greater than yourself. It is an old idea, perhaps even an unfashionable one, but I think it still deserves a place in the modern world. I have thought about this a lot over the past few years. When I left the Philippines and moved to Norway, I did not arrive with privilege. Like many immigrants, I started almost from the beginning. I had to learn a new language, adapt to a different culture, rebuild my career, and prove myself again. Nothing was handed to me. Every step forward came through long shifts, sacrifices, studying after work, and refusing to give up when life became difficult. Today, I live a life that my younger self could only imagine. ...
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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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