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Showing posts from May, 2016

Gothenburg, Sweden and Oslo, Norway: The Short Trip with my Cousins

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Not so long ago, my cousins from the United Kingdom expressed their intention to visit us in Norway. It has been almost over a decade we have seen each other, and they think it would also be an opportunity for them to bond with each other and meet us as well. These cousins are from my paternal side, who used to live in the Philippines and migrated in Great Britain almost a decade ago, with my aunt. So, since Norway and UK seem not to far from each other, it would be natural to spend time with them either of the two countries. I planned to visit them later this year, so it their turn to appreciate the beauty and the uniqueness of Norway, as part of Scandinavia. Being task as the primary responsible for deciding where to go, I opted to have a short tour in Gothenburg, Sweden, a place I had been few months ago. Click here for my Gothenburg adventures. It was raining that time, so I was really eager to come back again. Furthermore, my sister also has not visited the Swedish city bef

Give Me Reasons to Believe

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When I was younger, I had many dreams. I wrote all of them one at time. One by one, I started to fulfill most of them. It was difficult and filled of challenges, but I never gave up. I kept moving even there were no reasons to continue. I just kept going and going as I will reach somewhere and something significant. Here I am to where I stand. Quite different from where I were, but still the same young man full of dreams. Give me. I wanted to receive, more than to give. I was selfish like anyone. I desire all the good things in life. However, the more I forced myself and obliged others to give me want I want like a spoiled-brat, I ended empty-handed. The unending desire to get power, wealth and attention was always there. I was never contented, even I already I dreamed of. I did not stop until I got exhausted chasing for the universe to give me what I want. It was counterproductive for expecting others to give something, for nothing I have done would yield certainly still with nothing

Planning and Decision-Making Skills

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No matter one plans his or her life, it would never be what he or she expects it to be. There is no such thing as certainty. There will always be bumps and surprises on our journey that will challenge how we see our life and the things we believe in. Moving on is something we could only do, but many still forget to understand the meaning of these experience for one to learn from. In a perspective one sees, there are things, which are within our central focus. Those on the periphery is something we sometimes ignore and do not see. This the perhaps the mistake of our judgment because a holistic and objective comprehension of our life events is demanding but crucial. Once we forget to see the minute details before coming up with a decision, no matter how much time one has to decide, the outcomes would relatively be different from what we assume it to be. Actually, there is nothing we can do about it, aside from practice. This means committing mistakes and hoping these mistakes are not a

WATCH: Seoul-Incheon, South Korea

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Here is my video on my short trip to South Korea. For more blogposts on Seoul, click the links below. Seoul-Incheon Part 1 Seoul-Incheon Part 2

The Great Filipino Divide

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The Philippines is composed of regional societies with various customs, language and tradition. These differences before was marked with chaos, as war erupted between Christian and the Muslim adherents in the Southern regions. This has happened as an influence of the three great colonization periods of the Spaniards, the Americans and the Japanese. This has continuously plagued the country until to this date. However, the ideological worldwide schism during the Cold War has also affected the nation with the Filipino leaders leaning towards democracy, in contrast to the unpopular leftist philosophies of socialism and the extreme left communism. Various contrasting difference creating tensions and friction between conflicting social clusters has never eased since then. However, not one of these differences in my opinion has caused the greatest division of the Filipino nation. It is neither caused by language, religion nor ideologies. These are considered either obsolete in the current

Reliving the Filipino Experience

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This is perhaps the shortest vacation in the Philippines I ever had since I went to Norway. It was a very activity-filled six days of my life. However, there are things I got to experience again, as a Filipino, a part of myself I would never be ashamed of. In this blogpost, I would attempt encapsulate everything I learned from my relived Filipino experience. 1. Weather difference Arriving from Seoul, Korea from a short stopover, I never expected that the thoughts and memories I had before in the Philippines would come rushing to me, overwhelming my awareness to the point of mental exhaustion. One thing, I have noticed the drought has ected the country very much, such that the green grasses on the airport field turned into brown outgrowths of a dry topsoil. It was warmth. Surprisingly, my body adapted quickly with the air temperature. 2. Revisiting major historical areas This time I vowed to visit the Philippine capital, Manila's old town. I have been in the adjacent areas but n

Seoul-Incheon, South Korea: Old Meets New Part 2

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Korean culture has amazed and attracted people to visit the country. This has since part of my travel list, since it is not far away from my home country the Philippines, so I embarked in a journey into the South Korean metropolis. There I learned a lot about Korean history and the nation who are obviously proud of their heritage and tradition, which has been threatened several times in history. Seoul is considered the world’s second largest metropolis. It is a quite amazing that this city is a reminder of the South Korean nation courage and perseverance to turn their country into one of the most richest countries in the world after being significantly destroyed during the Japanese occupation of World War 2 and the subsequent Korean civil war, which cut deeply between the North and South Korea. With regards to tourism, Seoul is among the top ten most visited city in the world and has become a role model of other Asian cities to become as progressive as Seoul is today – a l