It's Christmas Season

            Christmas season in the Philippine starts with  the " Ber " months . As early as September, malls and many stores began their Christmas offering , selling Christmas trees, decors, lights , and many other items. I started decorating the house last October . I put on Christmas lights and other Christmas decor. Christmas is for children and adults. It is the time for sharing  and gift -giving. . In our area , we put tables and chairs on our street and placed foods on the table. We played games and gave money and candies. Our neighbors also placed foods on the common table. Christmas is the time to meditate what God has given us, thanking Him for giving us Jesus Christ. . 

             

The Change in Family Name

           My husband's family name should have been written as ' Calungsod ' since the family name of his father is Calungsod as shown in the marriage contract of my husband's parents. My husband's relatives in Dinagat, Surigao have Calungsod as their  family name. Reading the marriage contract of his parents ,  my husband gave me  the reason that his father had changed the spelling from Calungsod to Calunsod for his children. In early 2000, I asked my mother-in-law about the life of his husband's parents. She said that his parents were  merchants from Bohol selling blankets and  Romblon mat which is known as " banig " in the Visayas. They had been selling these items in Cebu and Leyte, particularly in Hinunangan  where they also resided. My parents-in-law were married in Hinunangan, Leyte . 

National Elections 2013

           As the filing of certificates of candidacy started , more popular and non-popular candidates are coming to the COMELEC to file their own candidacy to national or local  position  of their choice. They promised of good service and good governance. But whether they hold true to their promise or not, one thing is certain that in this arena of electing officials, voters must be wise in voting for candidates.. 

               Vote Wisely!

The Muslim Students in Our School

            In my more than 30 years of teaching at Maa National School in Davao City ,  I have high regards for the Muslim students. They are  the most  peace-loving group of students.. They  seldom  get into trouble. We are also proud that the first "Byaneng ng Kadayawan"  came from our school. 

          I am thankful to the  Muslim leaders in helping maintain peace in the community especially in school.  One of my students, Djamil Dariday, a Muslim,  always greet me when I am online. He graduated from high school in 1993. And up to this day, he is one person who showed gratefulness, respect,  camaraderie , and help discipline his Muslim brothers  in the community.  He has a very good sense of humor. He always make us laugh. 

The Students of Magtuod and Langub

        In the early years of my teaching at Maa National High School,  students from  Magtuod and Langub were the most punctual. Although  there is  a barangay road,  the pavement was rocky  and only  one public  vehicle was available which usually ply to carry market products  . These students woke up as early  as 2:30 in the morning to prepare themselves for school.   At four o'clock, they began their seven kilometers walk to school. 

        Many of them  brought  dry coconut leaves which are tied  together to form a torch to light their way. They walked in groups.  When it rained, many  of them used large  " gabi leaves" as umbrellas. They were the first to arrive in school  as early as 6:30 A.M. . School classes began at 7:30 after the flag ceremony.         

        These students performed well in school  with many of them garnering top honors during graduations. Two of them graduated back to back as  valedictorians. During recognition , many of them  were awarded best in attendance , as most punctual, and many other awards.We  encouraged those who lived  nearby , just across the street, to  come to school early since they would arrived late .

          When the land developers constructed  residential houses in the area, roads were concreted and more vehicles are seen plying the route. The students can already access  transportation in going to school. As population increased, the Dep-Ed approved the request to open annex high school  in Magtuod where the  students from Langub are also  enrolled. 

Why We Should Eat Breakfast

         Breakfast is one meal in a day that we must not skip.  A person who skips breakfast has long fasting period from his last evening meal until his next meal.  Mr. Breakfast said , " Children who eat breakfast perform better on standardized achievement tests and have fewer behavior problems in school."
      As teachers, one of the reasons the students gave us when they collapsed in school was because they had not eaten their breakfast. We also noted low performances in school.     We must take into consideration that , as parents, children's food must be well-balanced following the food pyramid. Eating a healthy breakfast does not only nourish our body but also  help maintain our energy for the day 's work.  It also helps students perform  well.

My Friend Ellen

           Mrs Eleanor C. Caasi is one good friend whom I always admire- her work, the way she write figures. She has a good penmanship.  Whenever I passed by her office where she once worked  as our school treasurer , I could not help admiring her style of writing numbers. As  a  diligent teacher, Ellen had  very well-written and neat lesson plans and class records. My husband has a good penmanship and writes numbers very well, too.   Surely, they're trained during their accounting classes. in their respective schools. Ellen, as she is fondly called, is a fulfilled mother. Her sons and daughter are professionals. One of them is a priest  whom I also admire because of his homilies. 

         Ellen  never failed to tell  students to always  write their middle initials when they write their names with due respect to their mothers who carried them for nine long months  in their wombs and delivered them.  Ellen could  have left the country  for abroad but  could not leave her mother who is in her late nineties.   

Generosity of a Young Girl

         Jamie, our only female granddaughter showed generosity even at the age of 2. Lately,carrying a  big can of milk with almost one-fourth of its content, she told us that she is giving her can of milk to another young girl standing beside her. She told us that she has still another can of milk for her consumption.  I have never encountered such gesture by a young girl.  Jamie is always like that, so generous. 

         She loves giving food or goodies to her friends but always inform us of what she is going to give. 

Bb. Pilipinas -Universe 2011 Shamcey Supsup

Miss Philippines Shamcey Supsup did well in the preliminaries. She leads in popularity on online voting. Shamcey Supsup graduated Magna Cum Laude fron the University of the Philippines- Diliman in Architecture. Also, Shamcey topped the 2010 board  for Architect Licensure Examination. Indeed, Shamcey is beauty and brain package.  We just hope that she wins the Miss Universe 2011 . She is awesome and loaded with talents. Her sketch during the talent contest was simply marvelous.

Backsliding

             A person who professed to practice his religion faithfully and yet abandons it gradually because another has come and saw that it is the best one.   Backsliding is most common. I  admit I am one of those people.  I promised to attend faithfully an activity in my religion but then, I started  abandoning it and I feel guilty. I say my rosary prayer everyday  and there are times I missed doing it.  I have profound faith that my religion is  a true religion. I respect other religions because we have one goal in common, God. It is our practices that sometimes we failed to practice our religion faithfully.

             We attend more on material things.  I do not believe when a person says that he is just human and falls into sin. Jesus became a human being and yet He did not allow Satan to tempt Him. It is our own decision to commit sin. God has no control over our will because we are given the freedom to choose between right or wrong.  I read Bible verses in Psalm 51  and 1 John 1:5-9. these verses help us when we backslide .  It is easy to fall into sin through backsliding. Heaven is pure and no one who sins against God can enter the kingdom of heaven.  Let us renew our faith daily with God.  God bless us all.

             

Shiny Bush ;Pansit-Pansitan ( Peperomia Pellucida Linn.)

               This herb is very beneficial if you have urinary tract infection , arthritis or gout.  A few years back, I had been suffering from acute urinary tract infection. My co-teacher told us the benefits of shiny bush. I asked her many questions regarding the plant. She told me that her aunt also had a serious urinary tract infection that her urine had traces of blood. She was cured by taking  the shiny bush. 

               I was also suffering urinary tract infection and it was painful.  I gathered  many shiny bushes which grow in our garden until now. I washed them.  With a ratio of one glass of water to a handful of the herb,  I boiled 10 glasses of water with the herbs to make 7 to 8  glasses of the decoction of leaves and stem .
            I allowed it to cool. I drank the decoction as often as I  could in just two hours.  Soon, I began to urinate many times during the day and the pain was gone.  It also lowers cholesterol according to some studies.

The brown scapular

            Wear the brown scapular as an open profession to our devotion to the  Blessed Virgin Mary. Do not substitute it with medal scapular for the sake of vanity.  Hiding the brown scapular is not an indication of love and    devotion. Wear it openly.  Hold the brown scapular when praying to Mother Mary. For the catholics and non-catholics, read  Fr. Jose Maniyangat's story online. It is an inspiring story.

His Pain is your Gain

Jesus suffered for us. We gain forgiveness for our sins through Jesus.

Kalumon Performing Ensemble did it again!

Congratulations  to the Kalumon Performing Ensemble for winning the weekly contest during  ABS-CBN's " " Showtime " . They also got the Best in Introduction by the community of Brangay Maa.. They qualify for the monthly finals.

Kalumon Performing Ensemble

           The Kalumon Performing Ensemble performed at their best during the ABS-CBN show titled  "Showtime " last May 16. They came from Maa, Davao City. And you know what? Almost all of these performers were my former students. One of them is my nephew, Kenneth Beloy. He is  one of the rondalla players . Their directress and owner  is Elena Lim, also, my former student. One thing good was the audience who were unanimous in giving them a perfect score of 10.  

                 Also, all five judges gave them a perfect score of 10. My nephew, Kenneth, was the group's assistant choreogrpaher. He can dance , play any kind of instruments used by the group . Kenneth's mother is my sister and we both teach at Maa National High School in Davao City where these students are studying. Congratulations to the group.

                         

Happy Mother's Day to All Mothers.

             Today is a red -letter day for me . This day , the Filipinos around the world are happy for the triumph of Manny " Pacman" Pacquiao in boxing by defeating Sugar Shane Mosley via unanimous decision at MGM grand arena. My daughter, Ma. Clarinda, and her husband, Tommy were there witnessing the boxing live. They are celebrating their 2nd wedding anniversary in Las Vegas, Nevada and it is a double celebration for them. 

            Tommy is a big fan of Manny Pacquiao.  Just today, I received a bouquet of roses, courtesy of Tommy and Claire . Thank you so much. I love you both and Kaegan. I also received greetings from my daughters and sons.  Thank you  and Happy Mother's Day to all Mothers around the world.

A walk around Camiguin Island

             As early as Monday, hikers began their Panaad ( an annual activity during the Holy Week wherein many visitors coming from various parts of the country and residents  hike around the Island ).  We arrived at Benoni Port,  on Monday,  April 18.  My husband and I, along with our son JN and granddaughter Leighanne,  friends Epot, Bobby, Salvador VII, and cousin Vanvan,  stayed at our old house  which is now occupied by my sister Inday Neneng.

               I bought a half sack of rice and other commodities as we were staying for  five  days.  About 40 to 50 percent of the residents of Benoni are our relatives and distant relatives, so I had to greet those people as much as I could.

            We went to Ardent Hot Spring and bath through all varying  temperature of water , the hottest being 39 degrees centigrade. There is a pool for lukewarm and also for cool water. One can swim whole day, not catching cold as one can  bath in lukewarm water.

         On Thursday, my six male companions started their walk at 4 a.m..They brought extra shirts, towels , slipper. and some money.  the island has sixty -four kilometers as route.   Each station of the Way of the Cross has a distance of five kilometers from each other. the first station is in a barrio called Alimango. And according to them, foods and water are offered free along the route   .These foods are given free by the local groups like NGOs. fraternities, and local officials.  Blisters in feet,  aching legs and soles of feet are  affecting them. My companions took their rest for not less than three minutes then started again. Resting for longer than three minutes is not advisable as moving the legs is hard. My husband said that they would just look at the lines of the road as their focus and guide  to be able  to move a distance.

           Some hikers walked at night time without sleeping and rested during the day to avoid the heat of the sun , which according to them , made them easily tired.  Some folks, upon seeing them suffering would encourage them to continue moving  until the fourteenth station which is at the Benoni Lagoon.  Hikers can feel the sea breezes as most of the roads are alongside the seashore. There are also mountainous roads which made it hard for hiking. Epot and Bobby did not finish the long walk. They rode on a jeep back home  from a place near  the town of Catarman.  Only four continued walking and reached home  between 8 and 9 a.m. on Holy Friday.

          They  narrated  their ordeal but found it inspiring and fulfilling that they had done their Panaad ( in Visayan, the word means Promise ). My husband , a 64 year old man said that he would do it again in the future if given another opportunity.  I did not join them because of my health status and my four year old granddaughter.   They said that hiking is both fun, sacrifice, hardship , and made them  realize how Jesus suffered , walking a long distance while carrying the cross. One hiker told them that he had been joining the annual activity for 13  years.  Other hikers joined the activities as a promise  to God for the blessings they had received

             There were hundreds of hikers joining, some in groups  or individuals  and since the island roads are not all lighted, they made use of their flashlights, headlights , and candles to guide them along the way.  The island is totally peaceful and no bystanders harmed them.  They were all encouraging them to continue walking, one step at a time. Some hikers stayed and rested at the churches.
               The whole activity was a big success and many hikers would be coming back.

                .

                                       Ardent Hot Spring

                                                      Benoni Port

                                         Camiguin Island, Philippines

Leighanne At Precious School

              Leighanne, her father, and I went to Precious International School for the interview and assessment. She was led to the guidance clinic. Moments later, the teacher went out and told us that Leighanne was crying. So, I ask the child why.  She answered that there was a bed inside.  I told the teacher that Leighanne was afraid she might have an injection. The teacher told us to talk to the child but she still refused to be interviewed.

             This morning,we went to Montessori de Manila- Davao Branch. There was a bed but it was located at a corner which could not be seen by her. She passed the assessment test. 

My four little pigs

             Last April 2, a friend delivered four little pigs which I bought from him at a total cost of Six Thousand Six Hundred Pesos (P 6,600.00). The pig is growing up fast with our diligent feeding system. This small piggery is located at the back of  our house. I hope to buy another pigs after three months. Every morning, I tend to my garden which I planted with ornamental plants and vegetables. I also do composting which I will add to the plants as organic fertilizer. It is a very  fulfilling hobby for me.

Retired

            I have just retired from teaching. The faculty club really wanted to give a testimonial party for me but I declined for the nth time. Yesterday, my co-teachers told me about it , but I refuse it.  I no longer  appreciate praises because I have been used to it when I decorate the stage, winning in competitions, among others. I simply want a quiet exit from the school.
            They have already given praises before and that was enough for me. It's been a month now since I went on retirement. I enjoyed my life now with work such as gardening, blogging to share my experiences, chatting with my daughters from abroad, praying for myself, family and other people, I will be travelling to other places.
            My retirement gives me more time to ponder on my new endeavors. I want to have a renewed relationship with God, the Giver of life and blessings.