Archive for March, 2018

26 Mar

Christian Holy Week Practices and Traditions in the Philippines

Posted by renxkyoko in Philippine Heritage, Philippine Holy Week tradition, Random thoughts. Tagged: , , , .

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There is no Holy Week tradition here in the US,  but my own family does  observe a few Catholic practices here at home , such as meatless Fridays, and fasting and abstinence. (  small breakfast and dinner , no lunch ). At Dad’s workplace, employees can choose one paid personal special non- working holiday …. Dad chose Good Friday.

 

But in the Philippines , there is a rich Holy Week  tradition ( where about 85% are Roman Catholics )  that Filipinos practice with great devotion.

 

Holy Week  ( called Semana Santa in the Philippines ) starts on Palm Sunday, and continuous on until   Black  Saturday. It is  called Black Saturday  because on that day, the Lord  is………. dead.     Easter Sunday is when He rises from the dead…… no Easter Bunny celebration in the Philippines though, and no matter how hard commerce tries to inject  that into Philippine culture , no can do. .  They  simply cannot relate to bunnies and eggs.

 

 

 

Several decades ago, the entire Holy Week was officially non- working holiday ( no office work , no school ) but was reduced to just Maundy Thursday and Good Friday.  To this day,  Philippine Airlines does not fly on Good Friday.  Never book a flight for Good Friday on PAL.

 

Metro – Manila has a reputation of having the most horrendous traffic in the whole world,  # 1, which is a bad thing.

but on Good Friday,

 

All radio stations are off- air, Tv networks that are on air   show  only religious movies,(  my parents say they’ve watched The Robe , Jesus Christ Superstar, and The Greatest Story Ever Told a million times ) some are off – air, too ( but then, there’s Netfix, which is not bound to observe traditions  ^_^ )  and on Good Friday,  Masses  ( Siete Palabras , or The Seven Last Words ) are shown on some TV networks.

 

Needless to say, no commerce. ( all stores and restaurants are closed )

 

 

But for some reason ,

 

 

And  religious processions all over the country.

 

 

Photo below is , uhm, Jesus in a coffin…… called Santo Entierro,  always  followed by  statue of  Mother Mary, called Mater Dolorosa ( Grieving Mother )

 

 

 

 

In some parts of the country, they hold this kind of procession.  (  reenactment of Christ’s  Via Crusis , or Way of the Cross)   <———  Moriones Festival on the island of Marinduque.

 

In some parts of the country, processions include self – flagellations (  as sacrifice, a vow, and penance ).   The images are a bit graphic, be forewarned ). Note: This is not condoned by the Catholic Church.

 

 

Real  Crucifixion where a man is physically nailed to the Cross.

 

 

 

 

Just an FYI from the country  where I came from, the Philippines.

 

Thanks for reading and PEACE .

 

Check out my manga/anime/ video games blogsite @  https://2megaworthitwordpresscomblog.wordpress.com/         I have a new entry, a review of  Netflix anime original , B: The Beginning. It’s a an excellent Japanese anime . Check it out on Netflix.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

21 Mar

Para ! Para ! Para !

Posted by renxkyoko in Philiipine culture, Philippine Heritage, Random thoughts, Tagalog , Filipino language. Tagged: , , , .

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I was watching a subbed Argentinian thriller movie the other day…. then I heard the word Para.! Para ! The passengers in the car were shouting that word and I assumed they were telling the driver to stop. I was surprised because that word is  a  Philippine  word that  also means STOP .

They say there is actually no Filipino language. Filipinos  speak so many languages, 100 to 200 , depending on the classification being used. They are not ” dialects” .  It’s weird.  California is larger than the Philippines in terms of size, but the people living within that small area speak different languages . Drive about 100 miles from Manila to the province of Pampanga and you will hear people speaking an  entirely different language , I kid you not. Pampanga language is like Greek to me.

 

For example:

 

English   :   a) Where are you going ?

b)  I have no idea  !

Tagalog   :   a) Saan ka pupunta ?

b)  Ewan ko sa’yo !

Ilongo      :     a) Diin ka makadto ?

b) Ambot sa imo !

 

My mother provided the Ilongo translation.

 

In 1935,  the Philippine Constitution designated Tagalog, the language spoken in the capital city of Manila, as the ” official ” language of the country, together with English and Spanish, and it also stated that,   henceforth, ” Tagalog shall be taught in all schools, with requisite 24 units of Spanish in college,  and  English as the medium of instruction “. I am not surprised this  turned  Filipinos into a  Jack of all trades, master of none, to the point that Taglish   is now the accepted lingua franca in the country. Taglish is the use of Tagalog and English phrases or words in one sentence.

English : Let’s have lunch now. I’m so hungry.

Taglish :  Mag- lunch na tayo. I’m so hungry na.

Me    :      [  …….    ]

 

I watch Filipino language tutorials on You Tube  , then watch  other  videos to learn more, and I ‘m , like,  the heck .

 

I wonder……… if English is the medium of instruction from  elementary to college, is Grade 1 Math taught in English ?  Yes, and it blows my mind.  Just think……. Kindergarten and first graders are taught English grammar for the first time, and  Math 1 and History ( Civics  ), Science 1,  etc.   are simultaneously taught in English. How is that possible ?  I asked my parents about that, and they were as perplexed as I was. They did say that maybe , educators assume pre-schoolers  have a basic knowledge of the English language.  I remember when I was  in Kindergarten in the Philippines, we were taught Arithmetic this way……. 12 take away 6 is , what is the answer , class ?  Ma’m , ma’m , here, here ( Ren raises hand )…. Okay, Ren,  what is the answer ?  6 ! !   Very good !

 

The only subject that is taught in their native language  is ” Filipino Language .” All the rest , like Math, English Grammar , Reading, ( Run, Spotty, Run ,  I still remember the title ! ! )) Civics, and  Good Manners and Right Conduct , ( yes, they study  that over there ) are all taught in English.   Filipino kids have to do double time to learn stuff not in their own language, and I don’t know if that’s a good thing.  This is the subject of a well- read  book by Renato Constantino titled The Miseducation of the Filipinos which I read a few years ago.   It has something to do with abandoning the native language and favoring a mishmashed one .

 

But,

 

I understand. It’s easier  to read and understand NO ENTRY, instead of BAWAL PUMASKO DITO.

 

Photo below is a gasoline station in the Philippines. Notices are in English.

 

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Photo below…. the sign says  Php 2,000 Minimum Payment for Bumping Barrier

 

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Oh, well. I guess I have to go back to  my You Tube Filipino language tutorials.

 

PS: Example of Grade 4 English Grammar test in the Philippines which my Dad still remembers.

Choose  the correct word or phrase ;

A)  It’s raining,  _______________   ?

a) aren’t they ?

b) isn’t it ?

c)  none of the above

My Dad answered , It’s raining, aren’t they ?  X    Ha ha ha !

 

This is just an FYI  about  the country where I came from.

 

This is all for now .Bye and Peace !

 

Impeach !

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

12 Mar

March 11, 7th anniversary of Japan’s 9.0 earthquake and devastating tsunami

Posted by renxkyoko in Random thoughts. Tagged: , , , .

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I assume majority of us Americans do not know  what it feels like to experience a 7 to 9 earthquake /tsunami ( March 11, 2011, in Japan ) , an off -the charts  typhoon ( as in 200 mile/hr super typhoon / 240 mile /hr. wind gust/  tsunami – like storm ocean surge, Nov.11, 2013 in the Philippines) and  the second biggest volcanic eruption of the 20th century and the largest that occurred in a densely populated area (June 11, 1991 in the Philippines ) , tsunami  that originated in Sumatra, and devastated 5 other countries ( Thailand, Sri Lanka, etc , in 2004 ) that caused the death of almost half a million people.

 

I’m  now remembering the 7th anniversary of  Japan’s 3/11  earthquake and tsunami.

 

 

I’ve  been obsessing about this for 2 weeks now, watching all the videos , including the ones in the Philippines.  I am in awe of the destructive forces of nature. The storm in New Orleans was Category 3 when in reached landfall…… the one in the Philippines was more than Category 5 , the highest category , and they said , it  should have been Category 7 if there was such a category.  Filipinos are used to typhoons. They will shrug off Category 3, and maybe Category 5 or more . After all, they get at least 2 dozen typhoons a year.  What devastated the area was the unexpected  tsunami -like storm surge which the country had never experienced before. The people were angry at the warnings because they weren’t told  a tsunami would follow. The Philippine Weather  Bureau did warn of a storm surge over and over , but the people countered they didn’t understand what a storm surge was.  They should have used the term tsunami , instead of  friggin’ storm surge.  Well, I understand the logic.  The contentious interchange would have been comical if it wasn’t so tragic.  What made this event even more tragic was the fact a nearby  Philippine island, Bohol, suffered a 8.0 earthquake a month before Haiyan typhoon.

 

The Ring of Fire

 

 

The Ring of Fire is a horse -shoe shaped  area surrounding the Pacific Oceans….it’s a string of volcanoes, ocean trenches, tectonic plates and intense volcanic and seismic activities.

a)   It is home to 452 volcanoes….. 75% of the world’s active ones are located within this ring.

 

Mt. Pinatubo eruption, 1991, ( Philippines) second  biggest in 20th century, and caused the lowering of world’s temperature by 1 F  .

 

 

2)   Roughly 90% of all the world’s earthquakes occur here.

 

3)   It stretches about 25,000miles from new Zealand northwest to the Philippines, northeast to Japan, east to Alaska, south to Oregon, California (  San Andreas plate ) Mexico, and the Andes Mountains of South America.

 

 

 

Here’s the thing….. Japan ‘s Tokyo has  one of the most beautiful skyline in the world. The city of  Metro-Manila, Philippines , is currently  #12 in the world’s most beautiful  city skyline. I mean, how many cities are there in the world ?  That means, beautiful skyscrapers, tall buildings, etc.   I hope these 2 cities  are fully prepared for the inevitable. It’s a scary thought.

Manila………….

 

 

 

 

This is all for now.  Bye and peace.

 

Check out my manga/anime/video games blogsite @ https://2megaworthitwordpresscomblog.wordpress.com/        My new entry is  Re: Mind,  a Japanese live action, Netflix original.

 

3 Mar

* sigh *

Posted by renxkyoko in McCafe, Random thoughts. Tagged: , .

 

DSC00047 (2)A photo of yours truly (  the cute one on the left, lol ) with my lab co workers. The girl on the right is another Filipina. It’s blurry coz I took the pic from our company newsletter.  The girl in the middle won the Ugliest Christmas Sweater.  I didn’t win despite my stupid antler hat.

Our  dairy company has started producing bottled McCafe  for McDonalds and Coca Cola…… additional work for us  microbiologists.  Rest assured, we’ll give you quality products.

 

I actually  have a lot  to talk about, but I’m not in the mood to write about it at the moment.

Below are random photos of my sister and cousin .

 

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OK, that’s it.

 

Oh, wait……

 

Vladimir Putin’s nuclear threat against the world was as subtle as a ten-wheeler truck. The President of the US had no response to that.. zilch,nada, zero…. instead, he started a Twitter fight with actor Alec Baldwin.  Guys……..