Life in Zambo

I flew back to Cebu City on the 14th of January. I had lunch with some friends and said my good byes for now and chilled with my guy. After all, I was leaving the Philippines on the 16th. In my mind, I guess I really needed to move forward because it felt like I was pretty much stuck, not getting anything else happening in my life. I was stuck in a routine. I wanted to try something new and being an OFW is something I haven't done before. And maybe it'll keep me grounded for a few years. The 16th. I had an early morning flight to Hong Kong. My guy had to ask his friend for a favour to drive me to the airport. We both couldn't stay long with each other. He had his friend with him and they were just using their lunch break to take me to the airport. I had to go through check in, travel tax processing and immigration. I've heard plenty of horror stories involving the immigration process, so I was praying internally that everything goes smoothly. As someone who has not ...

Here I was, living a normal life, working a normal job, which paid just enough to keep me afloat and my bills paid and even enough to save up for a trip or two. Well, that's if I plan on being single for the rest of my life or if I plan on not having more than what I had. I don't plan on being single for the rest of my life, but I can't really control that. Moving on, I do plan on having more than what I have and staying stuck in a room working won't really get me that. I found myself just rotting away in my bedroom, not having any social life and occasionally took a break on Mondays to pay some bills, do some groceries, clean up at home, do some laundry and even chauffeur for my mom. Last November, my visa to enter Qatar was approved. I didn't really know how to feel like when it happened. My mom was happy, as if I finally got something going for me. Moms are like that. They always want something for you even if you never really asked for it. I wanted to work i...

Two weeks ago, I arrived at Doha's Hamad International Airport. Locally, it was 2:45AM. In the Philippines, it was 7:45AM. I had taken a flight out from Hong Kong to Mumbai then to Doha. Fashion-wise, I did not plan well. I mean, it's the Middle East, right? Like you'd see deserts all over the place and then you'll just burn up and die. How stereotypical. LOL. But really, no. The airport's temperature was okay, I was fine indoors. I was waiting for my mom's friend to come pick me up from the airport. I never really met her formally. She knew me from when I was still a kid, but I never really knew her. It was a good thing I had my Philippine number's roaming feature on, so she got a hold of me and we met outside. Before she arrived, I tried to get some fresh air because I was just on two flights which pretty much totalled 12 hours. The moment the doors opened, I felt like I was splashed with cold water. And I thought it was chilly in Hong Kong. Coming ...

Breeze ActivBleach is treating mommies across the country to a day off from their laundry chores with the simultaneous nationwide event 1Laba Day happening on August 28. Moms in barangays throughout Luzon, Visayas, and Mindanao are invited to head to 1Laba Day venues and let Breeze’s revolutionary ActivBleach take care of their stained clothes while they take part in exciting activities Breeze has in store for them to celebrate every mother’s hard work and love for her family. With 1 Laba Day, Breeze aims to wash 1 million stains using Breeze ActivBleach, which removes even the toughest of stains in just one wash. Participating moms can enjoy their ultimate laundry day-off as Breeze treats them to various entertainment activities, while the Breeze Laba Ladies and Laba Machines, sponsored by campaign partners Electrolux, White Westinghouse, Whirpool and LG, will take care of washing their clothes. Simultaneous 1Laba Day events will happen in Metro Manila (Pasig, Marikina, Quezon C...

I used to attend Pilar College in high school. It's situated right in front of RT Lim Boulevard. Looking back, every morning was filled with fog, but during the afternoon, we'd be able to see across the sea at the islands. At the time, nobody really knew what they were, just that they were close enough and that the sand were light enough to be seen across the sea. Our family, including anybody from our extended family, have never been to those islands. In the past few years, the local government officially made it possible to visit one of the islands for recreation, while the smaller one was turned into a naval base. We decided to finally go see the Pink Sand beach before my brother goes back overseas. On a Sunday, and appropriately enough, on Father's Day, our family, my aunt's family, and as well as a family friend and his two daughters were all at Paseo del Mar, where the Sta. Cruz Island Ferry Terminal is found.

I've lived in Zamboanga City for most of my life, but I haven't really gotten around to viewing the sights and sounds. Thinking back, I used to just hop on my motorcycle and ride through the still undeveloped parts of Pasonanca and Lunzuran. The unpaved, dusty roads and unexplored areas excited me. When I went to visit those areas again, it wasn't what I expected. I, for one, never expected that people would actually start to live in those uneven patches of land. So, for the past week, I went on a mission to find Zamboanga . Zamboanga has gotten so much bad rap the past few years that I think people have started to forget that Zamboanga isn't all that bad. If it was so bad, the population would have already dropped. I went to find ten places in Zamboanga City where you don't have to actually splurge to have a good time, or appreciate Zamboanga City.

The author with the Yakan children With today's modern society, and Man's hurry to progress, many of our cultural heritages have been forgotten. Our forefathers, in their obsession to catch up with modern times, have neglected to pass on what we could have counted as part of history. But this ethnic tribe has not. The Yakan people originally come from the Basilan province. During the trying times of the '70s, some of the population opted to move to the safer Zamboanga City, bringing along with them traditions and culture as a means of making a livelihood. Although some of them may have moved on to become more progressive, a small village in Zamboanga City has preserved their culture, which is now known as the Yakan Village. This small group of people earn their livelihood by showing guests the traditional dance, Pangalay , which is also practised by other Muslim tribes, and by selling handwoven goods. Considering the amount of effort put into it and what it symb...