YMX 2: First Step in Europe

April 14, 2012

I woke up with a really bad headache. I guess I'm really not used to traveling for long hours. I looked at the window and the sun was almost coming out. I became more excited! The attendants from the airline served us with really great meals, when given the option, I always chose the meal with rice in it. Yeah, I will miss rice that much. So at around 6 in the morning, the plane landed and its official: I'm in AMSTERDAM!

Schipol Airport, Amsterdam

After getting our things and making sure they're complete, our adult leaders called us for a final meeting before we meet with the Dutch organizers and our host families. After the meeting and after taking pictures of the airport, we started to walk to the Arrival station where our new friends and families await us.

 

  

From left: Saira, Kuya Martin, Me and Chiel

As soon as we got out, warm greetings welcomed     us. I saw the people I will hang out and stay with for the next three weeks. At first, I had a hard time talking with them 'coz I dont know anyone while some of my co-delegates have been friends with them since last year. So yeah, I said hi to those who would say hi to me. 

Then we were given drivers who would take us to the school called Tabitha. My partner, Kuya Martin and I got to be with the De Block brothers.When I got out of the airport, I immediately felt the cold winds. Really cold winds I should say. Pffff.

On our way to the school, I started taking pictures of the buildings and the cool places I've seen only in Holland. I also learned some basic Dutch laws such as blowing of horns is not allowed especially if its not necessary and that everything in the city went under careful planning.

Nanda orienting us with the program

When we arrived to Tabitha, we met everyone and after introducing ourselves, we were assigned our hosts families, and I am blessed to have been with the Vos family. Sir Wim and Mrs. Wilma gladly took us to their car as their son Robin and daughter Birgit is waiting at their home.

When we arrived home, we were greeted by their adorable and really huge/fat cats: Puk, Sache and Dorche!

Mrs. Vos also toured us to the house, she showed us our room (Birgit's room) and there we met Birgit, Robin and his girlfriend Leoniek, who was also hosting another pair for the Pinoy delegates. We sat down and drank coffee together. I was amazed seeing sugar cubes! And I really love their coffee, back in the Philippines, I'm not the coffee person, but I got hooked to coffee after tasting the one with a Dutch flavor in it. They asked us if we were tired but Kuya Martin and I felt that the wonderful views and the warm welcome took the jet lags away. So we were up for some good conversation with our hosts.

Their supermarket with the bikes

After some talks about how they have a prescribed design for their houses and how almost everything has a fee/charge (push cart, using the toilet etc.), Mrs. Vos and Birgit decided to take us to the supermarket to buy our lunch and also to buy our food for our long trip to Belgium tomorrow. Yeah, we'll be staying for one night only for we start our trip to Kortrijk the next day after the mass. So we went out to get their bikes, which are by the way, really high! For a short guy like me, riding their bike was a struggle. So we biked our way to the supermarket!

The push carts were placed outside and I was surprised that they need to put like 40 cents to use the push cart in the supermarket. I found it really weird since its used for free in the Philippines.

So we started buying food, bread, chocolates and a rice placed in a box (yeah, really cool!). After buying the things we needed, we biked our way back to the house, which was by the way very near. I had bread with Nutella for my lunch and then Mrs. Vos allowed us to take a shower before we go to our first activity in Holland.

YMX delegates and Chiel with the windmill

After lunch, we went to see the windmills! Its my first time to see a real, old windmill, which is used in making flour, so I was very excited. When we got there, I cant help but take pictures. I also saw some wooden shoes and other Dutch products, which are very expensive, so I just took pictures of them :)

Then we went to visit a place considered as the "fort" of the city, which protected them during the war from their enemies. We also went to a dike and we passed by their home for the elderly. Its really nice to know how they are training the old people in their city to become independent and they are really housed well, I could say. 

Home for the elderly

We also passed by the "coffee shops". Its what they call stores that sells marijuana though I did not get to smell it. From there, we walked to the shopping center! It turned out that in Holland, shops close very early at around 5pm and they are closed the entire Sunday, unlike in the Cebu, where Ayala and SM sometimes even have midnight sales. 

During the long walks, I have really observed how the Dutch really walk fast. Hahahaha. Since we still take pictures and we walk very slow, we were always behind. But yeah, I learned to be fast in walking, thanks to the Dutch people! :)

         

One of the shopping centers

After the long walk, when we got home, it was dinner time. It was around 7 in the evening yet the sun is still up. It was something new for us, having dinner with the sun, its like lunch in Cebu.

I was ecstatic after seeing our dinner. It was some kind of "paella" type of meal with peanut butter sauce (Nomnomnomnom). While we were having dinner, our family discussed about the Queen's Day, they oriented us with what to expect and surprisingly the Vos family gave Kuya Martin and I orange pairs of socks as presents. It was a long and fun day and with all the things I've seen on my first day, I'm certainly looking forward to the next few days.

YMX 1: Off to Dreamland

April 13, 2012

This is it! The trip of a lifetime. I naturally wake up early if I'm excited about a special activity or if its my birthday. But there's nothing exciting about school today and I'm not celebrating my birthday either. I'm up early because I'm going to Europe today! Yes, Europe!

So I started my day by posting a pic of Belgium and Holland in Facebook as my way of saying goodbye for the meantime to my friends.

Goodbye photo in Facebook (Source: Google)

My dad and I were about to go to the airport, when suddenly, Danica, a co-delegate texted me that our flight got delayed from 10am to 4 in the afternoon. So what I did was that I went back home and double-checked my luggages and see if I'm brought everything I needed. After lunch, mom and dad brought me to the airport.

My last rice meal in Cebu

When I got there with the rest of the delegates, I was shocked with their huge luggages. I felt so unprepared during that time.

While waiting for boarding, our group decided to eat the free lunch offered by our airline. Looking at the menu, I chose the one with rice in it, as I'm not sure if I could still eat rice when I get to Europe.

After eating, we got ourselves ready for boarding. I never thought traveling outside the country would entail a rigorous process.

On our way, a mean immigration officer met us.

Before it was my turn, I was warned by the person before me to be nice to the old lady as she might been having a bad-hair day. So when I faced her, I gave her my passport and boarding pass. She looked at me with her scary eyes and with a scary tone she said: "Tanggalin ang bonnet, tanggalin and shades!" (Remove your bonnet, remove your glasses!)

Off to Singapore :)

I guess we all had our scary encounter with that old lady, but yeah, we won't let her screw our enthusiasm and excitement! We rode our plane from Cebu to Singapore.

After 3 hours in the plane, we arrived in Changi Airport in Singapore and it was one of the most beautiful airports I have ever seen.

We were all excited to get off the plane and we were given 2 hours to roam around before our flight for Amsterdam departs from that airport. So we went around and discovered a lot of great stuff in the airport. It made me want to go to Singapore!

At Changi Airport

Got into a Skytrain for the first time

With the rest of the delegation

After two hours of walking around, we then got ourselves ready for the plane we'll be riding to go to Amsterdam: SINGAPORE AIRLINES!

Off to Amsterdam!

It was my first time riding that kind of plane and hopefully after this trip, I could still ride on one. Everything was set up. We had pillows, blankets, headsets and our personal mini-TV to entertain us. I watched Sherlock Holmes 2, New Year's Eve, Carnage, Smash and of course, GLEE before I fell asleep, listening to Adele's music. Yes, a few hours from now, I will finally set foot on European soil!

Tomorrow, I will conquer Amsterdam! Zzzzzzzz.

I'm in control

Always the runner-up, but never the winner.

It is just now that I realize how great I could become.

I control my life, I control my world.

I am better than you, that's the way it should be.

I'm tired of being second best and I won't settle for last.

I am destined to be great. 

Once again, I'll carry my sword and shield, with heads high I say:

The battle has just began.

For my It Girl

This song has been playing in my head for some time now. 

For my 'it' girl.

"I just wanna rock all night long

And put you in the middle of the spotlight

You could be my it girl

You're my biggest hit girl"

The Magic of a Rose.

Truth is, when I give someone a rose, it means I'm giving that person my heart. Its been 3 years since the last time I gave a person a rose. And unfortunately, despite my efforts, the rose I gave was not taken good care of and died. This year's Valentines, I never thought I'd be giving one again.

I know you don't see me. I doubt if you even know my name. But still, I love it when you smile and you giggle. It actually brightens up my day. I heard you're going out with someone, so giving you a rose was the best option I had for you to notice me. I have no idea how you felt when you got the rose, but I hope, a small part of your mind thought of me, even for just a while.

The last person who received a rose from me broke my heart. I'm not asking you to love me back with what I did, I just hope that with that one rose, you'll see me differently and you'll allow me to make you feel beautiful and make you feel my love in every chance that I could.

I can imagine you holding the rose with your beautiful smile. I would have loved to give it to you personally, but for some reasons, I cant. I never thought Valentines this year would bring out the romantic guy in me again. Thanks to you, love never felt this good!

LOVE in the time of TWEETS AND TEXTS

The rise of social networking sites and communication through cell phones has revolutionized the phase of life and love here on earth.

The way we communicate up to the approach we use to form and maintain relationships has changed from the conventional into a fast-paced and most of the time, hasty perspective of love.

Love letters have evolved into text messages. Courtship at home has changed and is now one tweet or one chat message away. The concept of girlfriend/boyfriend relationships has turned from traditional to digital.

 “It’s easier to be in a relationship these days at the same time breakups also happen so fast since many don’t value relationships like before,” said Charisse Ursal, a junior college student.

Ursal , a self-confessed believer of traditional love, thinks that “even though technology has allowed easier communication, it has also provided an avenue for couples to exert lesser effort in keeping the relationship.”

She believes that young people should go back to the customary means of courtship because “it’s more sincere and romantic.”

It’s the same thing for Jea Azanza, also a junior college student. She believes that online communities changed the real essence of courtship.

“It is now taken for granted.  A guy can just send a flattering text message if he wants to court a girl – saying the least number of words with the least possible effort.  Just that easy,” she said.

She said that the value of patience has lost its way because that the whole idea of courtship/relationship has become “impersonal”.

“I don’t find any positive effects in courting or being in a relationship through social networking sites or through text messaging. For me, a lot of effort should be exerted if a man wants to win a woman’s heart,” she added.

But for Rarry Abatol, a sophomore Math student, social networking sites offer the chance of communication in cases where mobility is often a hindrance to social interaction. 

 On the context of interpersonal relationships, it allows constant communication, and it “bridges the gaps due to possible relationship problems”.

Even with the negative impacts, he believes that its constructive sense for relationships need to be acknowledged as it provides an easier way to communicate between couples, giving them a conducive avenue to be in touch with each other.

But in spite the share different points of view, they share a common denominator as they all believe that no matter what situation you are in or no matter what technology arrive, when true love hits a person, the value of commitment will always remain.

“Everything is changing but once love is found, the commitment stays and the joy you feel is different,” Ursal said.

Social media and instant text messaging has proven itself that they can be both huge positive and negative aspect to relationships, depending on how they are utilized.

We must always remember that at the end of the day these online communities and technology itself has continuously posed a great challenge into the significance, depth, and the length of every relationship.

For every relationship has a significant responsibility that comes with it, and that despite the innovations on these tweets, red notification balloons and text messages, we continually do our best to keep it and that we make it last forever.

Contributed this article to Cebu Daily News (09/29/11)

I'M NOT SUPERMAN.

There are no words, to paint a picture of you girl

Your eyes, and those curls, it's like you're from some other world

You walk in my way, oh God it's so frustrating.

So why do I disappear when you come near,

It makes me feel so small,

Why do I blow my lines, most every time,

Like I've got no chance at all,

If I could be your superman,

I'd fly you to the stars and back again.

'cause everytime you touch my hand,

I can feel my powers running through your veins.

But I can only write this song,

And tell you that I'm not that strong.

'Cause I'm no superman, I hope you like me as I am.

Now it ain't no lie, I have to tell you how I feel,

But Each time, that I try, it gets a little more unreal,

You say my name, oh God I can't stop shaking.

So why do I disappear when you come near,

It makes me feel so small,

If I could read your mind,

Girl would I find, any trace of me at all.

If I could be your superman,

I'd fly you to the stars and back again.

'cause everytime you touch my hand,

I can feel my powers running through your veins.

But I can only write this song,

And tell you that I'm not that strong.

Cause I'm no superman, I hope you like me as I am 

If I could be your superman,

I'd fly you to the stars and back again.

'Cause everytime you touched my hand,

I can feel my powers running through your veins.

But I can only write this song,

And tell you that I'm not that strong.

'cause I'm no superman,

I hope you like me as I am.