Our home is multi lingual. It is just so because I married an American, I am in a neighborhood of "tagalog" people, I am visayan and I teach English to Koreans which somehow allows me to learn a little of their language to be able to expound lessons more. I feel like I am a walking device ready to be switched on to any channels of language you want me to use,anytime. It's fun but it's causing me to slack in teaching "my handsome" our national language. I know, it's my bad. He has been in our country for almost two years now yet his Filipino vocabularies are still limited although he understands conversations already through gestures but still, he has to learn it to follow through, profoundly.
Anyhow, he managed to pick out some words that he keeps on hearing over and over. He would approach me and ask, what does this word mean? Is it a good word? Does it mean like this? These are the usual queries he has. I, on the other hand am amazed on how he is coping up. Like yesterday, we visited a friend who manages a net cafe and he saw the sign that said, "bawal ang pornograpiya." Knowing that our friend is a Christian, he asked me immediately after we left the meaning of the word "bawal". Now, he knows its meaning.
Early on, when we were still living in Marikina he would always wake up at the call of the guy selling "taho" (it's a soya drink). He learned the word even before tasting it. Street vendors were his first teachers especially the guy who was selling fruits. His line was always, PinyaKWAN, Papaya Saging!(pineapple, papaya, watermelon and banana) Sometimes it's PinyaKWAN, Papaya, Dalandan, Mangga!(Pineapple, watermelon, papaya, orange and mango) Imagine how startled he was on his first encounter with this guy but later on he was fascinated with him already and learned what fruits he was yelling. There was also the buko (young coconut) guy who was very nice to him! Although, there's one street vendor/teacher that we both had a hard time figuring out what she was yelling about. In our own interpretation it was like, Inapa;eeey! We were both clueless and I had to run outside to check what this lady was selling. I figured out that she was selling TINAPA AT DAING(smoked and jerked fish). The lady shortened and stretched the words in an odd way that I couldn't figure out myself. It was a fun time for us, though. :)
Somehow I also am doing little efforts in helping him learn the language. There was a time when I told him a funny story about a certain word that has two meanings. The word is "baba". I shared the joke about an American who was in an elevator in the Philippines. The elevator stopped on a certain floor and a Filipino outside asked a fellow Filipino this way, bababa ba? And the Filipino inside answered, "bababa". The American guy witnessing it asked, did you guys just talk? It's weird but they talked, indeed! This word "baba" in the story means, going down. Another meaning of it is, your chin. I like it when we have fun learning our language. He always remembers it. Ha ha!
He still has a long way to go, I know. But he will get there, eventually. He blames himself for not learning the language fast although I keep on telling him too that it's better he learns it slowly than learning it fast and not embracing the culture totally. Besides, he has forever to learn. LOL!
When asked if he's handsome. He answered, Hindi! Who said he's not learning?! (not that he isn't) geez! lol!
That wraps it up! Haha!
Sunday, May 29, 2011
Friday, May 27, 2011
I know, my redeemer lives...
Are you the type of person who forgives easily? Knowing Christ who forgives all levels of mistake I set it to myself that there's nothing that a person can do towards me that I cannot forgive. I kind of reflect on things that I've done as well that have hurt others and if I have done anything to apologize. I realized that as we grow older inevitable things happen and we, Christians get caught in the middle of just moving on and forgetting the things done unto us without the situations being talked over. No settlements. No amendments. We shake them off thinking that they do not matter as long as we go on with Christ. He will provide peace and love continuously ,no matter what. I believe in God and His power to contain and control situations beyond our human competence. No question about that.
As a person, your character and traits come naturally on how your parents or your environment have influenced you. You are privileged if you grew up with your parents and was brought up in an upscale environment. In my case I can say I had a good childhood until I was 8 years old. That was when my mother was still living and things were easily provided for us. As young as I was I knew life will never be the same again after she passed away. My relationship with the Lord was springing out. I was praying harder and trusting Him more in all the things I did. I am not saying I had a perfect relationship with Him but He knew me more than any of the people surrounding me. He knew my bouts, hurts, apprehensions, dreams as young as I was. I cried to Him often about life on how juvenile I was mostly about who I was to ran to when I needed an adult to supervise me, to encourage me, to tell me that life is a challenge. Nobody was there. Although God used a few people to reach out to me and have left good impressions but still I felt I was alone only with the Lord. Most ministers I talked to said God is the best companion. You can never go wrong. I am glad I listened to them.
After all these experiences, I just noticed one thing about people who grew up privileged in life. They have the ability to intimidate you by easily telling you that you are this and you are that. There were times I tried living up with their expectations. I tried because they said it's the right thing to do. Although I have no problems with peer pressures. Heck, I don't care how people live and what they have because I know my limitations and capabilities. It's just that these people are so called Christians. I remember a line from a movie that says, without suffering there would be no compassion." These people have no idea how I struggled in life for them to just tell me what they want for me to have and to do. I doubt if they've even experienced sleeping and walking on streets without any meals for three days! If they've worked like a labor guy at piers! As a Christian it is important you have a good relationship with Christ but you shouldn't forget that a reflection on how good your relationship with the Lord is on how you deal with others just like HE did when HE was on earth dwelling with the people.
I was surprised on how these people condemn and eradicate you from what you thought was a brotherly and sisterly environment. Tough love is not eradicating people or humiliating them. It's dealing with them step by step in a constructive manner to make sure you'd end up still having a harmonious relationship as you continue to serve God together. Nevertheless, I also realized that the Lord has His ways on how to work on this kind of situation... HE allows stuff to happen so that HE will be glorified more. Humility is the keyword. When we humble ourselves before God, He is glorified. When we practice humility in the midst of people treating us like a trash, HE is glorified. Humility is not from us it's the power of God that is enabling us. Self control abides with it. God is always to be glorified. It's the joy of knowing that Jesus really died for me and that He has always been there no matter what.
In the end, God just wants us to be strong, fit and ready when He comes. I am in a situation wherein I am being broken and ready to be molded again into His likeness. He still has a lot of things to mend in me. I am willing and I am ready for I know, MY REDEEMER LIVES.
Check out a version of this song that my father in-law shared to us:
As a person, your character and traits come naturally on how your parents or your environment have influenced you. You are privileged if you grew up with your parents and was brought up in an upscale environment. In my case I can say I had a good childhood until I was 8 years old. That was when my mother was still living and things were easily provided for us. As young as I was I knew life will never be the same again after she passed away. My relationship with the Lord was springing out. I was praying harder and trusting Him more in all the things I did. I am not saying I had a perfect relationship with Him but He knew me more than any of the people surrounding me. He knew my bouts, hurts, apprehensions, dreams as young as I was. I cried to Him often about life on how juvenile I was mostly about who I was to ran to when I needed an adult to supervise me, to encourage me, to tell me that life is a challenge. Nobody was there. Although God used a few people to reach out to me and have left good impressions but still I felt I was alone only with the Lord. Most ministers I talked to said God is the best companion. You can never go wrong. I am glad I listened to them.
After all these experiences, I just noticed one thing about people who grew up privileged in life. They have the ability to intimidate you by easily telling you that you are this and you are that. There were times I tried living up with their expectations. I tried because they said it's the right thing to do. Although I have no problems with peer pressures. Heck, I don't care how people live and what they have because I know my limitations and capabilities. It's just that these people are so called Christians. I remember a line from a movie that says, without suffering there would be no compassion." These people have no idea how I struggled in life for them to just tell me what they want for me to have and to do. I doubt if they've even experienced sleeping and walking on streets without any meals for three days! If they've worked like a labor guy at piers! As a Christian it is important you have a good relationship with Christ but you shouldn't forget that a reflection on how good your relationship with the Lord is on how you deal with others just like HE did when HE was on earth dwelling with the people.
I was surprised on how these people condemn and eradicate you from what you thought was a brotherly and sisterly environment. Tough love is not eradicating people or humiliating them. It's dealing with them step by step in a constructive manner to make sure you'd end up still having a harmonious relationship as you continue to serve God together. Nevertheless, I also realized that the Lord has His ways on how to work on this kind of situation... HE allows stuff to happen so that HE will be glorified more. Humility is the keyword. When we humble ourselves before God, He is glorified. When we practice humility in the midst of people treating us like a trash, HE is glorified. Humility is not from us it's the power of God that is enabling us. Self control abides with it. God is always to be glorified. It's the joy of knowing that Jesus really died for me and that He has always been there no matter what.
In the end, God just wants us to be strong, fit and ready when He comes. I am in a situation wherein I am being broken and ready to be molded again into His likeness. He still has a lot of things to mend in me. I am willing and I am ready for I know, MY REDEEMER LIVES.
Check out a version of this song that my father in-law shared to us:
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