Perez is my Wonderland

Papa: Today is Easter. When you and your brother were young, we were always on the beach.
Kring: Yes, .. (nostalgic) but we're grown-ups now and even if we wanted to go to the beach, we need to go as far as Laguna or Batangas since there are none around here.
Papa: When your mother and I just got married, our place was Luneta (Rizal Park). We stay there the whole morning until afternoon. We stay by the pond where Japanese koi are and watch other people walking around. In that place, we argue, we laugh and just plainly enjoying our time together.
Kring: Really? (and was lost in her own thoughts... remembering.... Perez) If Alice has, then perhaps mine would be....

Perez is my Wonderland.

Alice calls it her wonderland because of the magic. It is where she encountered a potion that could make her small, cakes that could make her big, a place where animals could talk, a cat that could smile, a queen that has a very big head and "jabawaki" that she later did slay.

Perez also has its own magic. Memories of my visits in Perez are like beautiful far-fetched dreams. Every time I go to Perez, it's own magic sips through the inside of me. It's beach and scenery may not be as beautiful as Boracay's or Palawan's but still it has the beauty and serenity of a place that one will discover and treasure upon staying there.

More so, all the people I meet there are very kind and welcoming. Hearing the word "people", the first thing that comes to my mind is a mother who walked with us in the plain dust road one Monday morning as we visited the homes of scholars one by one. She didn't mind the time she was spending with us and was very interested in talking to me about the hidden travel spots in Perez that she deliberately suggested I should go to. In addition, the children always have their smiles and warm embraces to let me join their own-made soccer game as well as send-off gifts made from sea-shells whenever the time going back to Manila for me is coming closer. And of course, I will not forget the youth who calls me "Ate Kring" who mutually and gradually developed comfort, friendliness and warmth as me. In comparison, they are my rabbit with a clock, the blue caterpillar, the mouse, the dog that believed and helped Alice.

And my most treasured magical memories of Perez are.. 
(1) sitting by the seashore watching the calm waters at late afternoon
(2) and in the midst of the darkness of the night when you could see the lights in the town of the next island;
(3) walking in the dust road at dusk and seeing as many stars glimmering softly above my head (as many as I could more than I've ever seen at any place I've been to - really overwhelming!)
(4) laying on the hammock at summer's mid-afternoon under the patches of sunlight overshadowed by leaves (this was where I saw blackness then sudden all white at the back of my mind which lead to my change of mind and view of things)
(5) leaving Perez at dawn and seeing sunrise in the middle of the sea while riding the 'bangka' (small boat).
(6) staying in a bench hammock with dear friends, talking about topics ranging from war, poverty, love and future. 
and I think I'll be having many more, as time goes on. 

Like Alice, I feel that every after visit of Perez, it's just a dream and upon waking-up, all I have are memories of the place. But we are both wrong. Perez and Wonderland is a real place. It just feels like a dream because of the magic that we both experience with it that we both can't believe is true.

Really, Perez is a Wonderland.
And Chas is my Mad Hatter. :)

sometimes, one has to do insane things to be sane.

Right! The subject's a little far off or philosophical or more general than what I actually learned today. Actually, there was not much activity as I just goofed around and stuff in the Nook - which by the way includes sleeping <3 <3, cleaning the room, (finally) finishing the laundry and some reading. I haven't even retouched the summer camp documentation which I was by the way aiming to finish by yesterday (such an unorganized little kid >.<) and I've fallen into playing Flyff again (it's a little scary if I get addicted again). But but but at least I've set foot back on household chores and...

I just thought.. 'sometimes you have to leave things behind just to get back to it again with a more interested head and heart.' If I do things in routine way like staring at the computer doing reports 8/24 everyday then I'll lose interest and gradually crumble to losing my head because of technical tiredness even though I also enjoy doing it. Justifications HAHA.. but I still have a point, I know.

BUT actually, one thing I learned today is... 'books could be really good friends.'

It could take you different worlds just by lying around or sitting and stuff. It has taken me to Russia where I encountered a couple who got married while they were both in prison; to a theme park where I met a young girl who has persuaded her brother not to stow away by asking him to watch her riding a carousel; to a world where cats could talk and fishes fall from the sky; to the 90's where the compositions of well-known people are music to our ear; and to elsewhere and else-when that I've enjoyed goofing about.

And I couldn't have noticed how books has inspired me and helped me in my formation to be the person I am now if I haven't cleaned the nook today - now, that's a 500mg doze of sanity. :)

And another thing... (though I do not think of it as learning but more of something to continue to think about)

Mad Hatter: Have I gone mad?
Alice: All the best people are.
Me: All the best people are mad...

which explains why we have people such as Nietzche, Newton, Marx, Galilei, Beethoven.. and even Jesus Christ (who all have done insane things once in their lives to be sane.) 

memories warm you up from the inside but also tear you apart.

said Miss Saeki (a character from Kafka on the Shore by Haruki Murakami).
[Apparently, she is my favorite character from the book as well as Oshima because of their depth and wit. I want to be like them.]

and I agree with what she said.

Actually, her point of view comes from a woman of melancholy and of suffering. In contrast, mine comes from a woman of bitter-sweetness which refers to someone who had also been to suffering yet given another chance at happiness. It's quite interesting that to her, even though memories bring suffering, it's still worth to keep. Memories of suffering proves that she is alive. More than the pain of suffering that comes from reminiscing these memories, is the concentration on how these same memories brought happiness at the time that it was happening, better yet, in the process of unraveling. 

I want to keep living on these happy memories, to savor the moment and to capture as much details as to keep happy memories as vivid as it was live. And in times of distress or loneliness, though these memories bring sadness and pain from nostalgia, it also brings happiness realizing that somewhere in time, I've been into such kind of euphoria, of a time when I wanted to stop time. For me, this is the essence of memories - its use. 

It's seeing two sides of a coin - while being pessimist, you can also be optimistic. While culturing sadness, you could always look back and feel happiness with memories; another irony of life. It's a concept and ability to remember that we humans are lucky enough to have. ^^

that miso soup is a brain food!

/yummy

Sato-chan: Did you know that miso soup is good for your brain?
Kring: Maji de? (Really?) Why?
Sato-chan: Because it makes your brain work more, when you eat it. It's scientifically proven.
Kring: Talaga? I should eat more of this if it makes people intelligent.

I've done a few scanning and found that it also lessens risk of breast cancer. Click.

 

Miso soup (味噌汁 miso shiru^?) is a traditional Japanese soup consisting of a stock called "dashi" into which is mixed softened miso paste. Although the suspension of miso paste into dashi is the only characteristic that actually defines miso soup, many other ingredients are added depending on regional and seasonal recipes, and personal preference. from my brainy best friend, Wikipedia.

If I could, I'd like to have miso soup once in every day as appetizer and results would be interesting. ^___^ 

to dream the pseudo-unreachable dreams.

Pseudo. I like that word. It is half percent true, half percent not true. I've gotten into depression lately, maybe worse than I had before since I thought of stowing away. Only one person knows that by the way. That day, I was planning not to show-up and continue my plan of lurking the streets for a week, just to get myself out of the frustrations and the depression. In the end, I showed up. Somehow, the superego has worked its way of hoping that the person I'd meet with will scold me back to sanity. 

I took this advice from Bob Ong - to make lists... if you feel bored or sad.
As a start, why don't I dream today? :)

Before I die, I want to....

1. ride a hot-air balloon
2. travel around the world in 365 days
3. earn a PhD in Sociology
4. and have a degree of Psychology
5. then be a professor at the University of the Philippines
6. where my students would love the way I teach because I will not be the professor I hate
7. and I'd live in a house filled with books
8. fall in love... with my loving husband (whoever he is.. but he's got to be intelligent, kind and funny)
9. who would teach me how to cook because I don't
10. and we'd love each other till death do us part
11. and enjoy our marriage just as how it's done in the movies or in novels
12. have grown at least 2 children
13. one is into social science while another is into natural science
14. and both excel in music and arts besides academics
15. enjoy motherhood by spending a couple of years "hands-on" while still working on something for humanity
16. be able to play all songs of The Beatles in the guitar 
17. study photography
18. and at long last have a decent artists'/professional photographer's camera
19. take pictures of the moon and stars
20. space-travel. (lol)
21. time-travel. (double lol)
22. study in Japan or any other country
23. see Venice or Athens or the Louvre
24. go to Davao - and meet Capulette. :))
25. kiss Daniel Radclife or Jude Law
26. oh about my house - I'd like to have a music room in it
27. and live with a pure black or pure white cat, I would name "Midnight" (again)
28. read 1000 books.
29. have a copy of all Urbandub's albums
30. meet de la Rocha, Zack but I wouldn't talk to him
31. attend UP Fair - one whole week
32. attend a concert in another country
33. sing/play in a band
34. work in an NGO for half my life
35. set my foot on the UN office
36. get accepted in CARE or World Vision or any other International Organization
37. be of help to ACCE financially
38. understand the laws of physics
39. get back to the natural sciences
40. for my laptop to stay with me forever ~ Neomon
41. write a book
42. read all of Haruki Murakami's work
43. as well as Paolo Coelho's
44. and Nicholas Sparks'
45. as well as all poems of Pablo Neruda
46. understand Marx, Lenin and Mao more
47. see a red sunrise
48. be healthy
49. have the wisdom of Morrie
50. reach at least half of what I wrote in this list.

some strategies in teaching.

It's the ride home that I enjoy especially when it's around 6 in the evening. At the right side, the vast plains meet the mixture of orange and light blue skyline in the horizon. I was reading the "Catcher in the Rye" and was laughing about Holden thinking about all his dates as intelligent.. but disproved it again when the date dives into action, the intelligence of his date withers. Well, anyway, this post isn't about him. It's about what I thought as a strategy if one wants to become a good professor.

This afternoon, I discussed the basic facts about the Philippines (island groups, national symbols, cultural traits, etc.) with the new intern, Mina. I could see her reactions with the new things she learn as well as the doubts she had about the information. It would - as some would strike you to the bones such as Filipinos having a split-level spirituality and having the president as the perfect example... with her being a devoted Catholic while all the while being the reason behind political killings of human rights activists, journalist and leftist students. It's contrary to the teachings of Catholicism or of Christianity which includes love, peace, harmony and justice. 

 

 

eating dinner with Mina, :)
 

And so what happened... I have to explain to her again and again by using different ways, various examples, range of synonymous words and at other times, I use parallelism. It helps. I thought if one wants to be a professor, one must know how to share the idea in so many ways as possible so as to make the range of students in the classroom understand it! That's another point ~ a professor should always concern him or her self if the students are keeping up with what he or she is talking about. What I mean is that the professor, in humility, consider the level of experience and understanding of his or her students and try to explain theories, ideas and concepts in the listeners' level.

Another tactic is to use the "words" which the student is familiar with. This afternoon, I did not say culture, I say "bunka" (the Japanese term for it.) I tried to use the Japanese words I know in exchange of the English ones. Not only does she appreciate that you know how to speak her language, you've also gained her interest. It is the relevance of what one is teaching to the one being taught that curiosity is given impetus. Relate to the student what you're talking about as much as possible. Freire thought about this first. :)

It was also effective to ask her about what she thinks about the cultural traits or to compare it with Japan. Moreover, it's so simple to do - just be curious or act like you're curios to know even if you already know or you partly know - Socratic method, proven effective. It is also part of my personal advocacy, as I learned from Freire, to not put students nor teachers into boxes and limit their roles. Isn't learning more interesting if we are all students as well as we are all teachers? In that case, it's more of sharing knowledge rather than "filling the receptacle" or the teacher depositing knowledge like money in a bank a.k.a. the student.

Last. It all boils down to the professor or teacher's passion to teach - not to impress but to impart. One's knowledge must not be seen as a private property but a social product. You know what you know because someone else knows it and shared it to you or you realized it because you were observing someone else.... which means you don't know something just because you thought about it individually but some force lead you into thinking about this knowledge - the first law of physics.

What I want to say is... a professor must have the genuine purpose of teaching just because he or she loves to share what he or she knows. If one feels this way, he or she acts responsibly and genuinely concerned with the learning of his or her students (who is also his or her teacher). :4

the empowerment agenda through youth organizing

by doing a write-up on the youth program of ACCE. :) Well, here goes..

ACCE believes that “The youth is the hope of the future and today.” ACCE sees young people as new pearls of hope for building new communities because they are the next leaders of these communities. In order to prepare the youth for their role in the future, ACCE promotes the empowerment of youth through youth organizing.

Empowerment of youth means facilitating the capability of youth to stand on their own. It includes developing the potentials of youth to become future leaders of their community as well as future educators of the generation next to them with regards to the situation of poverty and strategies to change it. In ACCE, the task is done through ‘collective empowerment’ of the youth organizations. Thus, youth are envisioned to depend on their selves by working with their fellow youth members in improving their life situations.

Presently, ACCE have partner youth organizations in Apelo named ASFA (Association of Students and Friends of APRIVEROD), in Perez named KAMALAYAN (Kabataang May Mabuting Layunin Para sa Bayan or ‘Youth who have a good objective for the nation’) and in Smoky Mountain 2, SSDN-Youth (Youth of Samahan sa Sitio Damayan ng Nananambakan or Scavengers’ association in community with concern for one another). The ages of youth members of these organizations range from 13 – 22.

Youth organizing is composed of (1) education and capability-building, (2) organization-building and (3) resource mobilization.

Education of the youth includes making them see the reality of poverty (which they also experience) and broadening their horizons in strategies of combating poverty. This is done through study sessions, workshops and seminars as well as summer camp with ACCE-Japan supporting teams where the youth learn about poverty, the role of youth in the community and international solidarity. On the other hand, capability-building means helping the youth enrich their skills, talents and potentials through cultural trainings. The cultural trainings include play-writing, song-writing, poem-writing, indigenous dances, acting, singing and visual arts. Student volunteers and advocates are invited as teachers in the cultural trainings to share what they know and what they could do, so that the youth members could also develop the same knowledge and skills.

Organization-building pertains to strengthening the bond between the members of the youth organizations and making the most out of the coming together of the youth. Youth organizations build the vision, mission and goals of their organizations and continue programs for the development of the organization through the facilitation of ACCE.

Resource mobilization includes tapping resources such as volunteers as teachers in the cultural trainings as well as generating funds by encouraging supporters of the youth organizing program. The advocacy program of ACCE has a great deal of importance with regards to resource mobilization. The study tours and organizing events such as “Tribute to Youth” as venue for youth to show the products of their cultural trainings is a way to gain support from other people. In another perspective, it is also a way to educate other people about the poverty situation in Smoky Mountain 2, Perez and Apelo as well as the richness of Filipino indigenous culture since the cultural presentations of the youth organizations inculcate these.

*ACCE's framework for youth organizing towards empowerment.