A Woman With a Golden Heart

It was raining hard on our way to Pudong International Airport. My friend and I thought that all flights from Shanghai will be canceled or delayed since the weather was really bad. We arrived at the airport and I noticed a big change in the place. A year ago there was only a parking area in the long distance bus station, but now the place was already covered and there were more restaurants. We had our dinner and then we went to the waiting area. On our way, we were talking in Cebuano or Visayan dialect, then a man approached us and asked if we were pinoy (Filipinos). We said yes and then he said he was glad he found us. At first I thought he has some hidden agenda so I didn't give him much attention. I just continued walking and he continued walking and talking with us. He said that he and his friends already stayed at the airport for 9 hours and that they didn't eat breakfast, lunch and dinner. He borrowed my phone and called the company that was supposed to pick them up. As I understand they were seamen and were assigned in China. He talked to the man and handed me the phone since he couldn't understand what the man said. I talked to a Chinese man in English and told him about their situation so they would pick them up. That was settled. But after the call, Sai felt sorry for them and decided to give them her last RMB or Chinese currency (Renminbi). She went back to the four Filipino men and gave her last cash and they were so thankful for her generosity and said that they didn't have any cash with them that's why they didn't have any meal for the day. Sai just saved them.

How Much is Your LIFE worth?

In Cebu City, Philippines, maybe your life is just P500.00 pesos or less( about 10 USD). It's so ironic that in China I feel so safe. I would not mind walking alone in the streets even if I would end up getting lost. Now that I am home, I feel happy that I am with my family, but honestly I don't feel safe. Everytime I go somewhere, I always feel that a thief is going to take my wallet or my phone so most of the time I don't take my phone with me. When I was at Ninoy Aquino International Airport,I overheard some passengers talking about a priest that was killed because he refused to give his cell phone to the thieves. The thieves wanted his cellphone which only cost about 1000 pesos or 20USD. For Reverend Father Jovencio Rabusa's murder, I feel sad and sorry for our government security. Last year, before I left for China, a nursing student was also shot inside a jeepney because she refused to give her money to the robber. I even saw a thief snacthed a silver jewelry of another passenger just right in front of me. These crimes in Cebu make me feel scared of walking alone in the streets even at day time. If I had 500 pesos with me and I would refuse to give my money to them, then they would kill me for that reason, so my life would only be worth 500 pesos. It's too sad, and I feel that the government can NOT solve this problem. These robbers are crazy and they don't care about how much money you have or how much is the cost of your phones. I hate these people and I just hope that human rights activists will not protect them when someone wanted to keep them. I wish I could help.


Robbery Reports:
"Graduating nursing student shot, killed in Cebu "
03/07/2008 08:52 AM
CEBU CITY, Philippines - A robber shot and killed past midnight yesterday a nursing student just three weeks shy of her graduation.
Ruby Jade Magpatoc Ruba, 20, was attacked along Gov. Roa St. in Barangay Capitol, Cebu City. At the time of the attack, she was working on a case study she had to finish in order to graduate.
More than two hours after that attack, a 60-year-old Dutch national was taken to a private hospital after a robber shot him in the neighboring Barangay Camputhaw.
Both robberies raise questions about the safety of the city’s streets.
source: http://www.gmanews.tv/story/83718/Graduating-nursing-student-shot-killed-in-Cebu

"Fourth suspect in Cebu priest's killing nabbed"
abs-cbnNEWS.com 07/09/2009 11:16 AM
Police on Thursday morning arrested another suspect in the robbery and killing of a priest in Talisay City, Cebu province.The report said Jonas Turawan alias Tungloy was arrested in San Francisco town on Camotes Island Thursday morning.Turawan is the fourth suspect taken by police after the killing of Reverend Father Jovencio Rabusa on Monday night.The Talisay City police on Wednesday arrested Russel Ravanes, the self-confessed gunman; Gerald Tradio and a 15-yearf-old boy.The boy, who was only identified as "Duka," admitted that he acted as a lookout for Ravanes and Turawan during the robbery.
source: http://www.abs-cbnnews.com/nation/regions/07/09/09/fourth-suspect-cebu-priests-killing-nabbed

What to Say When You're Shopping?

I was shopping with my nephew, Dexter in Ayala Shopping Center few days ago when I realized the most important thing to do when shopping. The mall was huge and I was so amazed with the additional terraces or designs. The mall looks so beautiful at night and there were only few people shopping. Standing outide Starbucks coffee, I took time to enjoy the view and the bright colors. My nephew also enjoyed and he just wanted me to take photos of him near the water fountain. I just decided to go inside and picked some grocery items when the mall was about to close. So we had to be quick. We only got 15 or 20 minutes before Metro Ayala would close. My nephew wanted to push the cart so I picked things as fast as I could. While we were at the counter there were only few people since some counters were already closed. I heard the cashier and her assistant (bagger boy) talking that I would be their last customer then they would be home and be with their kids. I looked at them. They looked young. I thought they were still single.
The cashier asked, "How many did you get today?"
The bagger replied, " Oh I got a lot..too many people are kind today so I don't feel too tired."
I couldn't guess what they were talking about. I was thinking it was not a tip since giving a tip in shopping malls is never practice here in the Philippines, as far as I know. Then the cashier asked me if I would use cash or credit card. I said, cash.
After the bagger packed the goods, he smiled and handed the bags so I said, "Thank You". Then the cashier said, "wow you still got one before we go." I realized that those two were counting the times when customers would say, "Thank You". It's not too hard to say these words, and we didn't know

Home Sweet Home

It's been 10 months since I left the Philippines and for all those months I was longing to be home. China is my second home as well, but there's no place that can replace the one where the people you love live. A place where you can walk anywhere at anytime. A place where you know almost everyone. A place where you can understand everyone and everyone can understand you. A home is where people live and share love. I feel like I was on cloud 9 when I first saw the sight on my hometown from the view at the window. I wanted the plane to immediately land so I could set foot on the place and see my family specially my mother. I remember the time when I left home last year and it was too hard to get on the plane. I started crying the moment I was seated on the plane. I was thinking that if something would happen it would be my last time to see my family or my home. I am glad that I arrived home safely and I can still spend time with everyone I care. For me, I may have home far far away from the Philippines, but this will alway be my home sweet home.

One World One Dream

It was such a great opportunity to be in Beijing where the 2008 Olympics was held. I felt sorry that I came about a year late but it was still amazing to see those Olympics signs and ads everywhere in Beijing. One that caught my attention was the banner above, "One World, One Dream". It gave me a real feeling on being in Beijing.
I love Beijing, because it's a beautiful city and with very friendly people. I love the metro ride and the fear of getting lost, but I didn't worry about that because I always thought that we would always find someone who could help us.

Beijing Encounter

My friend Saires and I arrived in Beijing on July 1st, 200. We  took a train from Suzhou and it took about 13 hours to reach Beijing. I think that was a long trip, but I didn't feel it since we were sleeping most of the time. Traveling at night is a good way to save time. We only got a one way ticket for Suzhou to Beijing so right when we got into Beijing Railway Station, we decided to book a ticket going back to Suzhou or Shanghai. I went to the ticket counter and since I couldn't speak Chinese, I was passed on to 3 different counters. The last one asked me to go to a different counter which I just came from so I refused to go back to number 22 since the lady just told me to transfer to counter 16. There was no one who could speak English which surprised me since I had a great expectation for that place since it's the capital city. I patiently waited in a long line and few minutes later I noticed that I was not moving at all. There were some guys who would just insert themselves near the counter and it really annoyed me since the counter entertained them even if they were not falling in line. More than three were successful in doing that so I didn't mind. The next thing that really got into my nerve was when a man just inserted himself right in front of me without saying anything. Of course I gave way because he was using his elbow and body to push be backward and the woman at my back pushed me forward so the man would go away. She even tried to hug me and held the woman in which was supposed to be in front of me so the man would go away. I was pushed back by the man and I was pushed forward by the woman. It hurt and I was carrying my two bags. I didn't put them down since I didn't trust the place for spitting anywhere is not an issue. I was so disappointed that I said, "Does anyone here know how to fall in line"? People were looking at me and I didn't care. I muttered few swear words in our dialects and I was really pissed off that I just left and took a picture of the line where I waited for almost an hour and got nothing.

We decided to take the bus going to our hostel so we could save and experience the real Beijing life. I felt really bad that people were not able to help us and that people don't know how to fall in line. I kept quiet for a few minutes and my friend said,"Don't worry, they're going to learn how to speak English, that's why you're here." I smiled and tried not to let the negative experience affect our nice trip.