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...
The world's largest collection of sculptures in a park is attracting one million people every year. The art pieces, which were made from bronze, granite and iron features the appreciation of the human spirit of Norway's most renowned sculptor Gustav Vigeland. Click the link below: http://vimeo.com/65900073 Visiting Vigelandsparken makes one realize things in life, inspired from the different sections of the park: the Main Gate, the Bridge, the Fountain, the Monolith and the Wheel of life. The main gate is very simple but elegant. It features a long pathway towards the main section of the park. It gives the visitor the feeling that life requires a pathway and direction where one should follow through. That direction is the person's purpose in his or her life, that will guide all his or her actions, no matter what situations the person will be experiencing and whoever the person will be meeting. The bridge is one of the most dramatic part of the park, which...
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...
Wow, can you believe it's been 15 years since that life-changing moment when I ranked sixth among 88,000 nursing graduates in the Philippines? Talk about a journey! But let me tell you, it's been one heck of a ride, and I've picked up some major lessons along the way. Different start First off, learning is like a hunger that comes from deep within. I've soaked up experiences like a sponge, from being a clinical instructor in the nursing academe to freelancing as a nursing lecturer. I've dived into nursing research with not one, but two master theses, dipped my toes into nursing administration as an assistant to the nursing dean, and even started at the bottom as a nursing assistant in a nursing home in Oslo, Norway. And let's not forget my time as a nurse in various hospital wards—Obstetric-gynecology, medical-surgical, pediatric units, and specializing in substance abuse in the acute department. Yep, I've seen it all—from different body openings...
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,...
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,...
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...
I hope when you read this one day, I hope you will really understand what this means. I do not expect you to feel something out of this, but I am writing this with my whole heart. Today, I learned you are different and will forever be one. It hurts that you will never be the doctor or lawyer we want you to be. It is hard but I have just to accept the fact. We will be forever be your guardians to the last breath of our lives. For you will forever be a child. I want to be brave enough for now but I fear the day that we will no longer be here. When no one will protect you from people who will curse and insult you. When we are no longer there to assist you. I hope you will learn to remember these days when you have many sets of parents. Everyone around you is your parent or guardian. I hope you even learn to know who they are and their past and experiences. When you do that, I will be happy. I am just afraid that one by one, we will be gone and forever, you will be locked in the lonely wo...
From my short experience in teaching, the most important aspect I learned is how teachers see their students. This shows that there are no bad students, only bad teachers. Remember the teachers that have made marks in our lives, inside and outside school. The key why they have touched us is the way they see us. Here are some perspectives on how teachers see us. 1. A student is a workload. The initial information teachers obtain before conducting a class is the number of students and the relative impression of the teachers, who had prior experience with them. Then, teachers formulate strategies on how to deal with them. This is good at least for the first few meetings, but this can be difficult in the long run. Teachers may just merely go to a class for the sake of work, thereby seeing every student as part of their workload. In return, students feel nothing to the teacher. Students remember the tasks the teacher required them, rather than who the teacher really is. Students see tea...
When I had the chance to teach in the Philippines, I always emphasize the importance of mind-setting as a means to achieve one's desires and goals in life. I keep on repeating the same message such that my students were able to imbibe the philosophy and apply in their own respective endeavours. Some succeed while many find it difficult to even initiate and continue. Presently, after almost 2 years of living in Norway, an interesting question is left unanswered, "Have I changed my optimist viewpoint after all seemingly challenging situations and events I had in this new land?" The complexity lies on whether mind-conditioning is still applicable to my current experiences or has mind-conditioning vanished suddenly after everything that has happened. Perhaps, there is a need for me to discuss why mind-conditioning is hard to implement. Here I will tackle various areas where mind-conditioning has a major role to play between two opposing themes. Realism versus Optimism The...
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