The Best is Yet to Come

• 2013-04-17 1 note

  casabayanihan:

  “You are coming home…Are you still alone? Are you not the same as you used to be?”

  The Marquette University Burke Scholars share a  b-e-a-u-t-i-f-u-l  video of their time in the Philippines—visiting Casa Bayanihan praxis sites, seeing the sites of Metro Manila, witnessing daily life in a rural fishing village on an overnight immersion, and reflecting with one another about the grace moving through the lives and realities of all whom they met along the way…

  The delegation from Marquette was a life-giving experience for Casa Bayanihan staff and the Burke Scholars who joined us here in this stunning & mysterious country where Casa Bayanihan finds it’s home, the Philippines. We extend our deep gratitude for the time, energy, willingness, and love that they shared with us, and we thank them for this wonderful video.

  Source: casabayanihan

• 2012-08-16 0 notes

  1/23/2012

  

  Today’s the day. the official start of my four months in the Homeland!

  Not gonna lie, I was pretty nervous again. I was nervous about meeting everyone else, the awkwardness, the living situation, but it was not bad at all! I was laughing so hard at dinner. I was pretty much crying. And that is a good thing. I’m no longer nervous! And I am thinking the semester will be a good one with my casamates!

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  Okay. I WILL do this blog! Here I go! …it may take a while, but it WILL happen!

  My stories and pictures may be out of order so apologies in advance!

• 2012-01-22 1 note

  Pacman- So, I met Manny Pacquiao tonight. We were actually waiting for him at home but since he is a congressman, an athlete, an endorser, singer/actor, Tita Cathy said he is never in time, you never know if he wil be somethwere and at what time. So we waited for him from 730pm to about 10pm to see what the plan was. We were waiting to find out if he and his wife were coming to the house or if we would meet them somewhere. We ended up meeting them at Starbucks. And I got a picture with him before tons and tons of people swarmed the little corner we were in. It was cool! He seemed very nice too.

  

  So many connections. I was able to meet Pacquiao within the first two days of being here. I was also asked by Ericka’s kuya, her older cousin, also Jon and Marge Lo’s cousin if I was related to a Miggy Solitaria who played basketball. I didn’t certainly know if i was butI asked my grandma and dad and my dad said it was probably his cousins son (which would make Miggy my 2nd cousin) because he knew his cousins son played basketball. And when I asked my grandma she said the same. I also asked one of my Solitaria cousins if we were related to Miggy and he said yes, we were. He showed me his facebook and I saw that we had mutual friends. I had not even known! connections connections!

• 2012-01-20 2 notes

  Durian- Yesterday we went to Shopwise the Philippine Walmart to do grocery shopping, and Tito Oliver showed me this fruit called Durain, a round green fruit, mango-shaped but larger with spikes all around.

  

  I have heard of this fruit by my Mom and Lola but never eaten. Tita cathy and Tito Oliver said it has a strong smell and acquired taste.

  Today before dinner we, Tito, Erika, and I were in the den watching tennis and Erik playing Barbie all of a sudden smell something. I ignored it at first but Tito said, “You smell that?” and Erik and I said yes and Erik then smiled and said “Durian! Durian!” and ran to the kitchen. And I assumed and asked if that was the fruit because of the strong odor.

  I tried the fruit, eating the juicy meat off the egg sized seeds. It IS an acquired taste all right. After eating a Philippine mango I still had the taste in my mouth. I’m glad I tried it though. I’m not sure yet if I life Durian but it is not terrible. It starts to grow on you after a couple bites. I’ll try it again!

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  01/20/2011

  The Familiar - sleeping in an unfamiliar bed, in an unfamiliar place, as dawn breaks at 4:30 in the morning being greeted from outside by roosters crowing. I don’t mind the alars. It makes me feel comfortable, that I recognize something, bringing me to good memories of staying in the community in El Salvador.

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  The feeling is different when I am at Tita cathy’s house than when I am our and about. Sometimes there is hardly a difference. I am talking about the difference between here and home. This almost feels like home. The languade, the looks of people, the height of the people! …is like home. It’s not completely foreign. sometimes I forget that I am in a different country, one far from home. Though I have met these people only today, I feel like I am in the home of my relatives.

  When I was playing pick up sticks with Erika (my 8 year old cousin but really Jon and Marge Lo’s cousin :D) I felt at home, not a complete foreigner or strange.

  This is also because of the Role English plays in the Philippines. Many people know English here which helps break the awkward culture shock and anxiety.

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  01/19/2011 THIS IS REAL

  I saw one of the directors of Casa Bayanihan, Heidi today! Tita cathy, Tito Oliver, and I were just going to visit ateneo to get used to the area for Monday and we ended up saying hi to Heidi and seeing the USF room where classes and other meetings will be! THIS IS REAL!

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  WordOfTheDay

  “grabe” - too much 

  Example: “That is so expensive…grabe!”

  Tito Furdey taught me this word because he said I would here this a lot. He was right because at Tita (aunt) Cathy’s (Jon and Marge Lo’s aunt) house the Lola (grandmother) asked me if I had ever been to the Philippines and how old I was and she said “Grabe!” Because I am 18 and I have never been to the Philippines, but I agree, GRABE!

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  Leaving the airport

  Tito (uncle) Furdey said that cars are allowed on the roads in Manila depending on their license plate number, the hour of the day, and the day.

  He said this is because there are so many people, so many cars, so much traffic that there would be more congestion on the roads if this system wasn’t in place.