Cambodia Trip

I woke up at 5:00 in the morning today because I had to attend a visa extension trip going to Banlem, Cambodia. Last time, I went to Vientiane, Laos. My sweetheart accompanied me to the bus station and before I left, he bought me something to eat for my early breakfast. He is just so thoughtful and loving. As usual, before I rode on the bus, we kissed… so cheesy!

I went off at Ekkamai and took the BTS (MRT version in the Philippines) from there to On Nut. That was fast and easy so I reached the meeting place at exactly 7:00 am; I was still early so I decided to eat breakfast again while waiting for the van lolololol. I noticed that I was the earliest passenger arrived there and I was happy because I can choose where to sit. I preferred to sit at the second row, at the back of the driver because it has enough room for my long legs and so the journey will be comfortable for me.



I met some of my fellow pinoys there. They are the ones I met in Laos and Cambodia sometime on July and November. We were only five passengers there and all of us are Pinoys. I was happy as I could chat with them while we’re on the road trip. There was no traffic at all, perhaps due to holiday season. It is December 31. I reminisced that during this day in the Philippines, there are heavy traffic everywhere.




When we reached the border, it was already 12 noon. We gave our important documents at the Thai embassy to exit, cross the border to Cambodia. Then, we went to the nearest restaurant in Banlem, Cambodia to have our lunch there. After, we rest for about 15 minutes so we could go to Cambodia immigration and then, back to Thai immigration office so as to extend our visa permit to entry. They granted us 60 days or two months. My visa will expire on February 28, 2010.



Before my visa expires, I will have to go to the Thai Immigration office in Bangkok to allow me not to travel anymore because of my condition. By then, I will be 32 weeks and 4 days or more than 8 months pregnant. That would be so risky for us (my baby and I). After giving birth to our precious baby Sofia, I will be studying Thai language for a year so I could get a one year student visa. Then, I would no longer travel every two months for extension.




All in all, my Cambodia trip was safe and fun. We arrived at 5:06 pm at Tesco Lotus On Nut. I called my sweetheart to inform him that I was safely arrived Bangkok and will be home soon. But, I got hungry so I had my early dinner at KFC inside the mall. Then, I took the BTS from there going to Ekkamai then to Minburi (our place). I almost got home at 8:00pm. He actually started to fall asleep while waiting on me :)

I wish to go to Vietnam though because the organizer said that there is a new route for this year going in there. Unfortunately, I won’t be able to go because of my student visa plan, which is very important to me. I will miss the visa run next time, but for sure, I will be happy :)

My Christmas Day 2009

We woke up almost 8:00 in the morning already. He greeted me first and kissed me on my forehead. We got up to give each others' presents. He gave me this beauty spa pack in basket rack and a Selphy CP 760 camera printer.



That was so thoughtful and sweet of him. I gave him my gift and I was so shy because it's just a simple present coming from my heart (nax!hahaha) and I bought that gift for him with my own money. It's ironic if I'll spend his money to buy him a gift for Christmas, isn't it? So I decided to think about something to do for an instant cash while I'm home. I participated in an online site game in siampinoy.net (Filipinos living in Thailand site). And I won an instant cash prize for the month of November just by joining/signing in and participate in the forums everyday.



He also gave me a Macadamia chocolate, which is one of the best chocolates for me. I really just loved the taste. And... I want more :D



After we had our very light breakfast, we went to the Fashion Island Mall for our lunch at Sizzler's Steak Restaurant. I ordered the spicy fish fillet with french fries. I enjoyed the salad bar buffet. They have variety of salads there, including soups and pasta. First, I got the pasta noodles with ham and mushroom sauce, topped with grated cheese and bacon crisps while waiting for my order to be cooked and placed on my table. I love the taste of garlic bread, soooo tasty. After, the main course, I chose to eat the vegetables (like spinach, broccoli, lettuce, etc.)and fruits (dragon fruit, pineapple, watermelon, yellow and green melons). Sizzler's is just one of my favorite restaurants here in Bangkok because the taste of food is really superb at a reasonable price.



I was really full as in full charged and I wanna go home because I was sleepy. But, I asked him to walk a little while before we go home so that we could digest some food we ate. I felt so heavy. The love of my sweetheart for me is still the best gift I've received this Christmas.

The Right One

L-O-V-E has four letters and a powerful word in the dictionary. Love can do many things. It can give us an inspiration or destruction. There are people whom you can’t imagine what they’re capable of doing, in the name of love. Lucky and blessed are those who love and be loved in return. We cannot expect or ask someone to love us back. Reality bites and yes, it is happening. It is difficult to find someone whom you’ll find connection with, will accept and love you for who and what you are. Soul mate or true love is just a fairytale for some people who never experienced or failed to be loved in return. I must say, that true love and/or soul mate comes just once in a blue moon. So, if you found one, don’t let him/her go… hold him/her very close to your heart and treasure the moment together.

Sometimes, we think about changing our negative attitudes because of love. But you should not impose him/her to change for you because he/she might disagree or maybe disguise his/her true personality just to please you. If he/she wants to change, he/she would do it right away, you don’t need to ask for it. Once we truly love someone, we realize that we need to change to become a better person and to keep him/her in a relationship. If he/she failed to realize that… then, that is a problem.

Many people ask this question: “How will you know, if he or she is the ONE for you?” The answer is so simple but sometimes we made simple things very complicated. If you feel and think that you are happy to be with him/her, wanna spend the rest of your life with him/her, your life is complete because of him/her, etc and he/she feels the same way, then those are few of many signs that you are really made for each other. Sometimes, marriage is not a guarantee that you've finally chose "the right one" for you. Love can be deceiving at times, because you will feel it and then... when you wake up the next day.. You would not feel it anymore. As the song goes.. sometimes LOVE is not enough in a relationship. There must be friendship, respect, openness, acceptance, patience and trust, too.

Another thing is “effort” in a relationship. Does he/she make efforts to have your relationship work? Effort plus quality time together in a relationship are also very crucial. Does he/she have an initiative to do something for you? An initiative to be in a right place and time. Does he/she ever get late or cancel any date without any prior notice in advance? You better think twice before falling in love. Who said we cannot train or teach our heart to love the right person? We surely can, we are just blinded at times because we are so in love. Love is a decision. Because, we have our own standards or basis as to what kind of person we're going to love. It means we are aware. We cannot love someone without any reason at all.

To answer the question, if he/she is really meant for you, the answer lies within your heart and mind. You will just feel something different like magic that is beyond words could ever exactly explain how you both feel. You are both compatible with many things such as food, sports, hobbies, perspectives in life, dreams, family and God centered point of views, etc. Learning to acknowledge his/her strengths and accepting his/her weaknesses. A good communication in any relationship is vital. And we must remember that love is like a two way street, it must be give and take to have a long lasting relationship. Above all, we must seek the Lord’s guidance and ask His blessings through daily and habitual prayers to direct us to the RIGHT PATH, with the RIGHT PERSON in a RIGHT TIME.

My First Christmas Party with Filipinos in Bangkok

I was happy that I convinced my Sweetheart to join our Christmas party at Siampinoy (a social networking site for Filipinos in Thailand) last December 18, 2009 (Friday). At first, he hesitated to come with me because he said he didn’t know anyone there. But, I told him not to worry because I didn’t know them all, either. Except for the host of the party. If I was not able to take him there, I won’t be able to attend that night. I don’t wanna attend there alone, and the party will start at 6pm. I have a curfew that I must be home before 6pm whenever I planned to go out. He did not imposed such curfew, but I don’t want to go home that late (I mean for me, out of respect for him). When I was single, I can go out at night whenever I wanted to. Not anymore because I am committed now and I don’t want him to wait on me at home. For me, that is not good in a relationship.

We’ve decided to bring Italian style spaghetti for our potluck share in the party. Since, he needed to go to work; I accepted the responsibility to cook spaghetti. When my Sweetheart went back home, I told him to taste my spaghetti and he said it was good. I was glad to know he appreciated my spaghetti. We went to the party together as early as 6:00 pm. As requested, the host of the party picked us up at the entrance gate of their Village as we both don’t know where to go. The venue is a little complicated/confusing because the all the houses’ structure are alike.

We’re the first visitors there, the other members started to show up one by one after an hour of waiting. We’re aware about Filipino time dilemma which is always late by an hour hahaha. I enjoyed the food and so was he (mostly Filipino dish). The menus that night were Chicken barbecue, Pork estofado, Pancit molo, and Mixed vegetables. They were teasing us at the party because of our sweetness for each other. One of them said that I am lucky to have him. But I guess, we are both lucky to have each other because the feeling is mutual.

My Sweetheart and I had very much fun at the party, meeting nine (9) of the SP members that night. It was indeed a pleasure to meet new friends in person. We left the party at 10pm already because we’re so tired and sleepy. This was my first Christmas party with my fellow Filipinos I’ve ever attended in Bangkok.

Christmas Is Around The Corner

Today is December 14, 2009, it is the 348th day of the year (349th in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. There are 17 days remaining until the end of the year. It is nine (9) days more before Christmas. People are busy about buying stuff in preparation of this coming holiday season. Family, relatives and friends will be gathering together to celebrate this once in a year holy event.

I remember when I was still a child, the happiest days of my life were my birthday, Christmas and New year. For obvious and common reasons for children and maybe some adults, too. In our country (Philippines), we are preparing for Christmas and New year as early as September because of the word "ber" (at the end of Septem) which means the coming succeeding months will all end in "ber" and, to us, that sounds pretty much of Christmas as it is celebrated in "DecemBER". We are so excited preparing early because we don't wanna miss something on our list like gift giving, to remind family and relatives to spend Christmas with us, friends to invite, god children (in tagalog-"inaanak"), the Christmas menu that will be served, Christmas decorations, our clothes to wear on that special day, listed activities/itineraries before Christmas, The nine Christmas dawn masses (in tagalog-simbang gabi: a Filipino tradition) and many more. Christmas is just around the corner.

I miss the way of celebrating Christmas with my family and relatives in the Philippines (the traditional way). This is my first Christmas here in Bangkok with my Sweetheart and I know in my heart that I will be happy to spend it with him. But, a part of me is sad because my first child, Nicole is there celebrating it in the Philippines with my maternal aunt. How I really miss her so much. I also misses my mom, sister and brother. There's nothing more that I can do than pray for them and someday we will see each other again.

Giving and exchanging gifts are part of Christmas gathering. Santa Claus is very famous to children. Social gathering is fun, food is great, the weather is cool, so many gifts to open, super cool Christmas carols and songs, too many food on the table... but let us not forget the reason for this very important season. Christmas is not only about Santa Claus, it is not about mere social gathering or tradition, it is not all about giving and receiving gifts... December 25 is THE BIRTH OF OUR DEAR LORD AND SAVIOR JESUS CHRIST. We must not forget about HIM. Let's count our blessings and pray. Christmas is about giving unselfish love, forgiveness and asking for forgiveness, it is giving yourself to others by serving and loving others, our neighbors as Christian without even asking any in return.. which I strongly believe is the TRUE MEANING of Christmas.

Have yourself a loving and blessed Christmas!

Journey to Haven: Introduction to my blog :D

This is my first attempt to write a blog here at Blogger.com, but I have had experiences writing blogs in other sites (multiply, friendster & wordpress) and I am also fond of writing diaries or self journal to reflect or record my thoughts/ ideas, feelings and experiences dealing with life's many challenges during my childhood and teenage years. I even wrote poems about my life and experiences. They said I'm a very emotional, fearless, outspoken/tactless and generous person. I created this blog "Journey to Haven" to express myself about the journey in my life to haven... Haven for me is a shelter... a safe place or my sanctuary where I can gather all my thoughts and feelings whenever I am bored, feeling emotional (happy, sad, depressed, frustrated, etc). A holy place or space where I can write or say anything I want about an "interesting subject" (well... FOR ME). I am inspired by writing blogs because this is one way of retreat for me. Not only that I am inspired to write blogs, but I also would like to inspire people by reading them.

I feel so happy and blessed that I have so many things in life that I really love: a loving family, my love life, faithful and generous friends and above all God is my light. I'll take you to the journey of my life by writing blogs here to see the fun and adventure of my trip. I can say.. that Life indeed is like a journey where you can experience many ups and downs as you travel along the rocky road, happy and safe trip when you reach the smooth road and sometimes we will lost along the way that we don't know where to go or nowhere else to go so we got stranded and afraid to move on in our lives. But we must remember, "no pain, no gain". That is what life is all about... to face challenges.. without it we are meaningless. We are the captain of our own ship or a driver of our own vehicle. We should remember that for us not get LOST or LOST AGAIN, we need our "road map" which means or GOAL or PURPOSE in life without it we are always get lost and we will never reach our destination. There are road signs along the way, but a lot of times they are just guide and at times those road signs may trick you to go the wrong way where there's no alternate route... the dead end. If we get lost, just always think that "we are not perfect". Then, we must learn from our own mistakes so as to prevent from happening again. Life's challenges teach us to be strong, have faith, believe in ourselves, and many things we couldn't imagine... though most of the times, we need to learn from these challenges.. the hardest and painful way.

Here's three of my favorite inspirational quotes about challenges:

Challenges: we all have them. The difference is how we handle our challenges. To have less stress in your life - deal with your challenges!" Catherine Pulsifer

"Most of the important things in the world have been accomplished by people who have kept on trying when there seemed to be no hope at all." Dale Carnegie

“The true measure of a man is not how he behaves in moments of comfort and convenience but how he stands at times of controversy and challenges.” Martin Luther King Jr.

안녕 = Annyeong !!!

안녕!!! = I Belong!

안녕 =  Annyeong means….

1. How are you?

2. Hi!

3. Hello!

4. Good day! Good morning! Good afternoon! Good evening!

5. Goodbye!

*Annyeong (adult saying to kids/young person)

*Annyeong Hasseyo (same age/level of profession)

*Annyeong Hashimnika (young person to higher authority as a sign of respect say this to the parents, old folks, employer, teacher, Royal family, police, person in higher rank)

 

South Korea's alphabet is called "Hangul". There are three kinds of pattern in speaking korean language. When you are talking with younger than you are, your same age and person older than you or the higher authority (King, Police, Teachers, Higher officials, etc.). Hangul is a phonemic alphabet organized into syllabic blocks. Each block consists of at least two of the 24 Hangul letters with at least one each of the 14 consonants and 10 vowels. These syllabic blocks can be written horizontally from left to right as well as vertically from top to bottom in columns from right to left. Originally, the alphabet had several additional letters.

I have been studying Korean language since January of 2007. Actually, it was funny and yet interesting as I was enrolled in the Public Elementary School in Anseong City, Gyeonggi Province, South Korea (from Seoul it takes about one hour to get there). It may sound weird studying together with the first grade pupils. Well…  yeah~ though it doesn’t matter because somehow I was learning from them and so were they…

My first day in class was really funny because every one was looking at me. I was nervous then, as I thought whether I looked pretty or ugly in their eyes LOL. Perhaps, they only would like to make friends with me but they didn't know how to approach me . They couldn't speak any english aside from hello and hi. But then, I realized that they were just curious about a foreigner like me of how I eat, move, speak and think.

As the days went on, they had a chance to chat with me. Although, they were afraid to speak in English. I found myself, reaching out to them speaking in Korean so we could communicate easily. Later on, they had tried their best to speak in English or Konglish (Korean-English mixed like Taglish in Filipino term) with me because they said I was interesting to be with. I played with them during our free time in school.

I was even surprised when, everyone wanted to sit beside me during the lecture and every meal time. We ate lunch in school and I was lucky that my school supplies, meal and fresh milk everyday were all subsidized. Whenever we had a group activity in class, they always wanted me to be part of their team. Some of the children, were even jealous if I decided not to join other team. The children invited me to visit them in their house just to play and chat with them. Some of them, invited me to attend their birthday parties, While, most of them, wanted me to meet their families and friends. It was a fun experience to study basic Korean with the kids. It is simply because I felt the sincerity, hospitality and friendliness of everyone which made me felt like I was at home.  

A few months after, I had gained many friends (from all walks of life LOL). They were asking me to teach their children. I knew for a fact, that teaching ESL for children was not that easy for me there. I would loved to teach adults though.. So I decided to choose my students wisely based on age level and their english skills/ abilities. 

Until now, I still have communication with them via yahoo chat, facebook, friendster and skype. It is indeed difficult to make friends... specially to find a genuine friendship that would last a lifetime. They told me that, they're so grateful for meeting me because they're not shy to learn english when I was their teacher. As they could express themselves and they're not worried to speak bad english with me because they're comfortable. 

At first, I doubted my teaching skills and knowledge of the basic grammar, however, I was able to overcome my fear and insecurities. I just thought that these people have faith in me. They trusted me because they believed that I was capable of teaching them. They never think of qualification/s or whatever for as long as I can speak in English with an american accent. 

Eventually, I was able to come up with a teaching plan/syllabus through my unending patience in research and passion on teaching privately. Not only that I had gained so many true concern friends in my neighborhood (Samsung Condominium but they called it apartment), but I also became part of their family or circle. I belong...

  

Life is like a journey

       



I would like to share this very inspiring post/article by Shannon Spaunburg, entitled "Life Is A Journey".

Life Is A Journey

Life is a journey filled with lessons, hardships, heartaches, joys, celebrations and special moments that will ultimately lead us to our destination, our purpose in life. The road will not always be smooth; in fact, throughout our travels, we will encounter many challenges.

Some of these challenges will test our courage, strengths, weaknesses, and faith. Along the way, we may stumble upon obstacles that will come between the paths that we are destined to take. In order to follow the right path, we must overcome these obstacles. Sometimes these obstacles are really blessings in disguise, only we don't realize that at the time.

Along our journey we will be confronted with many situations, some will be filled with joy, and some will be filled with heartache. How we react to what we are faced with determines what kind of outcome the rest of our journey through life will be like.

When things don't always go our way, we have two choices in dealing with the situations. We can focus on the fact that things didn't go how we had hoped they would and let life pass us by, or two, we can make the best out of the situation and know that these are only temporary setbacks and find the lessons that are to be learned.

Time stops for no one, and if we allow ourselves to focus on the negative we might miss out on some really amazing things that life has to offer. We can't go back to the past, we can only take the lessons that we have learned and the experiences that we have gained from it and move on. It is because of the heartaches, as well as the hardships, that in the end help to make us a stronger person.

The people that we meet on our journey, are people that we are destined to meet. Everybody comes into our lives for some reason or another and we don't always know their purpose until it is too late. They all play some kind of role. Some may stay for a lifetime; others may only stay for a short while.

It is often the people who stay for only a short time that end up making a lasting impression not only in our lives, but in our hearts as well. Although we may not realize it at the time, they will make a difference and change our lives in a way we never could imagine. To think that one person can have such a profound affect on your life forever is truly a blessing. It is because of these encounters that we learn some of life's best lessons and sometimes we even learn a little bit about ourselves.

People will come and go into our lives quickly, but sometimes we are lucky to meet that one special person that will stay in our hearts forever no matter what. Even though we may not always end up being with that person and they may not always stay in our life for as long as we like, the lessons that we have learned from them and the experiences that we have gained from meeting that person, will stay with us forever.

It's these things that will give us strength to continue on with our journey. We know that we can always look back on those times of our past and know that because of that one individual, we are who we are and we can remember the wonderful moments that we have shared with that person.

Memories are priceless treasures that we can cherish forever in our hearts. They also enables us to continue on with our journey for whatever life has in store for us. Sometimes all it takes is one special person to help us look inside ourselves and find a whole different person that we never knew existed. Our eyes are suddenly opened to a world we never knew existed- a world where time is so precious and moments never seem to last long enough.

Throughout this adventure, people will give you advice and insights on how to live your life but when it all comes down to it, you must always do what you feel is right. Always follow your heart, and most importantly never have any regrets. Don't hold anything back. Say what you want to say, and do what you want to do, because sometimes we don't get a second chance to say or do what we should have the first time around.

It is often said that what doesn't kill you will make you stronger. It all depends on how one defines the word "strong" It can have different meanings to different people. In this sense, "stronger" means looking back at the person you were and comparing it to the person you have become today. It also means looking deep into your soul and realizing that the person you are today couldn't exist if it weren't for the things that have happened in the past or for the people that you have met. Everything that happens in our life happens for a reason and sometimes that means we must face heartaches in order to experience joy.