Conozco Pablo

The last three autumn seasons were not as it is this year. I do not know but I guess things have changed. I honestly do not know if it is for the better or for the worse. I came to Norway also during autumn season and since then I associate this season with beginnings and risks. There are still uncertainties, but this year is quite different. This will be the focus of this personal blogpost. It is not about me anymore . Long before when October comes, I always think about myself. In the first place, it is the time just after birthday. I wanted to start anew and become better. I look forward to how I would want to feel better during the Christmas season, especially in the Philippines. However, now things may have changed. I can say I am contented with what I have, but I aspire greater from what I am having right now. However, that seems not the focus of my attention. It is rather on others. I am more worried about others. I know I can do what I need to do. I am determined and tough, b...

Being born Filipino after the peaceful revolution in the Philippines that ousted Philippine president Marcos, I learned that America is a democratic ally of the peace-loving nations. Every country that opposes America is considered a foe and at least an enemy of the world peace and democracy. However, as I asked myself why the same country supported the exile of the ousted president, and the same time supported the succeeding president. I just accepted before that the United States of America is just acting a supportive brother of a sibling nation who is in distress. Then, I learned about the Middle East, Russia, oil and China, everything changed the way I looked USA. Ofcourse, I recognize the valuable contribution of USA to the Philippines. It had supported the Philippines economically through financial grants and aids that promote the welfare of Filipinos. It allowed three million Filipinos to acquire citizenship in the country. That itself is enough to convince a Filipino to stop t...

I could say that my Filipino background has a big impact on the decisions I make everyday. However, in the last few months, I gradually embrace the notion of taking more responsibility of myself, as well as choosing options that would more likely be beneficial to myself than others. This I have learned primarily from observing and through my experience in Norway, the country were I live. The contrast between the family-oriented conservative Filipino perspective and independence-directed philosophy lies on the background of this change. However, what seems to have caused this shift in mindset? Is there really a change in the first place? And would this mean I am becoming modern, as part of a more modern society? These are the questions I will attempt to answer in this article. The shift reflects a change of the environment. All of us is part of a greater whole. The environment we belong is an influence to the values we believe in. What we see and hear, as well all the things we experi...

The ultimate question in this world is whether to prioritize oneself over others. Naturally, human beings ofcourse are designed to be selfish. One has to nurture oneself, and by nature it is a rule that there is an unending list of what man needs and wants. However, no man is an island. We need each other. One has to support each other to gain the needed strength and learning from others to be better in one's personal dealings. This is the reason why we humans need to give back to others, and assume a social responsibility for others. We do not want others to be oppressed by others, and we want others not to feel alone in times of crisis. This description is easier written than experienced in reality. There so much factors affecting oneself and others before one could say that by moral obligation, one has to contribute for the goodness of others. There are questions that remains unanswered in the quest of finding answers. It keeps us thinking more on what really our purpose in thi...

Being an OFW (Overseas Filipino worker) myself, I have been confronted with the question before on which country is the best place to live and work. Of course, the ultimate answer would be the United States of America, because most Filipinos would want to migrate on the most powerful nation in the world. However, I was personally not contented with that popular answer and I want to find out based on government statistics and a data-based interpretation. This is not perhaps to justify my choice to live in Norway, which happens to be ranked number 2 in the list.  To answer my question, I made used of the data from the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas or the Central Bank of the Philippines on the remittances of OFWs grouped according to countries. My assumption is that the amount of remittance per OFW would reflect indirectly the income they are earning in the country. Of course, this assumption is limited to the fact that every person varies in the amount of remittances and there...