Generally, lahat nang tao sa whole universe (lalong-lalo na babae) ay gustong-gusto makamit ang opposite nang kanilang let say APPEARANCE. Okay, let me give you an example: SKIN TONE

In Germany:
Noong nagtrabaho pa ako, during summertime kapag lunch break namin. My office mates and I always spend the rest of our time outside the building. Madalas akong nakaupong mag-isa sa isang bench na nasa ilalim nang kahoy. Habang ang mga kaopisina ko naman ay nakaupo lantad sa araw. Kinantiyawan pa ako nang mga ito bakit daw ako nagtatago. Aba eh, wala akong balak na maging nognog ano? Imagine, kong ang balat ko ay kulay uling, ngipin ko nalang ang makikita sa akin sa gabi. Di vah?

During wintertime, madalas na hindi lumalabas ang araw (nakakadepress at nakakaputla) kaya karamihan ng mga Aleman and other Europeans ay pumupunta sa tanning studio. Talaga naman pong ang kinalalabasan ay mas brown pa ang mga hinampak sa akin. Take note may mga tao doong sumobra ang gamit nang tanning bed (addicted na), kaya nasira ang balat nila. Nagkaroon tuloy sila nang balat elepante, gone is the balat porselana. Most people using tanning booths or tanning beds are not aware that it can lead to skin cancer and premature aging of skin.

In the Philippines:
People here admires white flawless skin. Kaya dito, may sangkaterbang produkto na pampaputi ang tinitinda. You can see/buy them in the malls and pharmacies. May mga sabon na pampaputi, lotions like Block & White, facial creams at take note may tabletas pa noh? Nung dumating kami dito last March, I was so mestiza looking talaga (ubo ubo). Hoy huwag niyo akong taasan nang kilay at ako’y hindi pa tapos magrelate. Mestiza looking lang ako pagdating sa skin tone. Flawless as in talaga at umaamag pa kamo sa dilim (ngehehe). Pero matapos akong mag scuba diving nang ilang beses (kinarir ko na talaga ito), wild water rafting (exposed sa araw whole day) at magdrayb-drayb sa malalayong lugar. Guess what happened to my snow white skin (kuno)? Dark brown na po! Hindi na ito umaamag sa dilim (aside from my teeth and my bum). ‘tsaka alam niyo bang kapag lumalabas ako nang bahay sa gabi, kinakahol na ako nang mga aso nang kapitbahay namin dahil akala nila isa akong maligno. Teka, maitim nga ba ang maligno? Anyways, basta’t hindi na nila ako nakikilala.

I was so frustrated na talaga ano dahil pati aso eh gusto white skin lang. So what your lola did is pumunta nang mall and bought the complete Belo Essentials face and body whitening products, kasi whiter skin in seven days daw eh. So ayon, kuskos dito kuskos doon ako at pahid dito pahid doon naman. Aba eh, two weeks na ang nakalipas…wala pa rin akong epektong nakikita noh? My mother scolded me dahil reklamo daw ako nang reklamo samantalang paano naman daw ako puputi kong halos sa dagat na daw ako tumitira. Ayon, tama nga naman siya. When I look at myself, parang may tumutubong kaliskis na nga sa legs ko…I’m almost a mermaid na sa kakasisid sa dagat. Kailangan ko na lang magpahaba nang buhok para mas bagay. Di vah? Ay teka, napalayo na pala ako sa topic. Okay, balik tayo sa pampaputi. Yong ginawa ko ay subok lang naman ano? I can not keep a fairer skin if lagi akong naarawan. Kaya hindi na ulit ako bibili nito. I promise to do my best and to love God and my country and to obey the girl scout laws.

The Opposite Of What We Are Or What We Have

• Ang mga puti ay gustong magkaroon nang darker skin.
• Ang may dark skin (na katulad ko) ay gustong pumuti.
• Ang mga kulot ay nagpaparebond (kagaya ni Kathleen).
• Yong mga straight naman ang buhok ay nagpapakulot.

Hay ang labo! Bakit nga kaya ano?

Lotto fever outbreak - Ilang milyong Aleman at iba pang mamamayang nakatira malapit sa border ng Germany ay nahawaan sa lotto fever na ito. Kasama na dito si Misis Lukresya Gayagaya. Wala sana akong planong makisali sa masa, pero kahapon nang pumunta ako sa tindahan para bumili ng office supplies. Nasulyapan ko ang monitor ng Lotto Computer, 43 million was boldly shown on the screen. Aba 38 lang yon nung Sabado, so ibig sabihin walang tumama sa jackpot last draw. I was waiting for my turn dahil may mga nauna sa akin, kaya nagkaroon ako ng panahong magmuni-muni. Para akong na hypnotized ng figure na nasa monitor kaya nung kausapin ako ng may-ari ng tindahan…hindi kaagad ako nakasagot. Frau Gärtner greeted me again…and I think she guessed what I have in mind. She said: “Oh Frau Hafner do you really need that amount?” hindi kaagad ako nakasagot. Then I said “ay aba oo ah, alam na alam ko kong saan ko gagastusin ang halagang yan”.

She asked: So tell me, how are you going to spend the money in case you win? My answer: Well, I’m going to give 3 million to my eldest. Two (2) million to my daughter and 1 million to Gillian (as savings of course). 20 million will be deposited in our swiss bank account and the rest ay para sa mga plano naming mag-asawa. We will leave Germany for good and we’ll go back to I love my own my native land Philipayns. There, I’m going to build my own charity institution para sa mga street children. Then I’ll buy a bahay kubo, para walang magkamaling kumidnap sa amin. She laughed dahil ako ay nagbibiro ika niya.

Kahapon, hindi ko nakuhang tumaya dahil hindi ko dala ang aking eyeglasses. Kumuha nalang ako ng isang lottery ticket para sa bahay ko ito gagawin. This morning as I was checking my emails, nasulyapan ko ulit ang papel naito na nakalapag sa tabi ng aking laptop. Parang nagsasalita na, sige na sige na tumaya ka na. Super lakas ng tukso kaya hayon pinuno ko na ang 12 boxes at dinala ko na rin kaagad sa lottery outlet para makahabol sa draw bukas.

Oh well…I am sure I’m not going to win dahil ang iba ay grabe kong makataya…libo-libo. Walang binatbat ang nag-iisa kong ticket kumpara sa kanila.

Kong hindi ko ma hit ang jackpot, hindi na rin ako maglotto…magastos eh tsaka sayang…dalawang pack din yon ng Marlboro. Mag stick nalang ako sa panaginip at pangarap, libre pa :).

Tag 3

Itong tag na to ay nagmula sa isang serenang nakatira sa Munich. Sori madlang pipol and sorry to the original author of this tag but I wanna dudadaa write my version in my language which is “Kauderwlesch”.

Hope you don’t mind at all, but if you do mind it…mahala na kayo sa muay niyo.

According to Cheh:
The very purpose of this assignment is to find out what a person looks like and gives you (readers) a better insight & gives you chance to actually see who’s writing to you.

David Airey says:
Putting a face to the name of someone you haven’t met helps recognition and adds a more personal feel to your conversations. What photograph shows you in a light we don’t often see through your blog?

NOW IT’S MY TURN

It’s my turn to see what I can see, I hope you’ll understand this time’s just for me because it’s my turn…la la la lala…

Gusto ko nalang sanang kumanta dahil para sa akin, there is no need to describe myself since you all know me already, diba? Hindi ko na kailangan pang sabihin sa inyo kong saang sulok ng mundo ako galing at saang lufalof ako ifinadfad ng aking kafararan. Hindi ko na kailangan pang sabihin sa inyo na ako ay super ganda dahil sa picture ko sa baba, kitang-kita niyo na (araaaay, huwag niyo kong irapan). Kakatapos ko lang sumulat ng tungkol sa sarili ko so it should be enough actually. :thinking

Opps! Teka teka paki tabi po ng dyip mama, nagbago ang isip ko makalipas ang ilang sekundo. O sige na nga isulat ko nalang…pero maigsi lang ha? temang talaga ano?

DA PIS OP A BISDAK LUKARET DRAG QUEEN

My name is Bond ah este Beng. I’m a queen - a (not so genuine) drag queen from Davao City - I’m bisdak/bisaya (soo proud of it) at kong ano-ano pang tawag nila diyan sa aming mga tega south. I espik bisaya (siyempre) and op kurs tagawog, then litol Hilonggo, litol Ilocano, beri litol inglis pero ay espik beri flwint aleman.

I studied Business Management in Siena College, Quezon City and I got married to a German Frog Prince after I graduated in 1983…blah blah blah. Yadda yadda yadaaah tralala.

The first Frog Prince became so malabo after several years of their marriage. The drag queen got extremely pissed, so she sent Frog Prince into the desert. Few years later, drag queen met a manggagamot na knight with his not really shining armour. After a short moment of pakunwaring pakipot, they finally decided to get married. And now, they live happily ever after…

Ang parteng “KNIGHT WITH HIS NOT REALLY SHINING ARMOUR” ay may karugtong. Scart tagged me three times and the one I’m going to comply next is a wonderful meme about “the better half”. Knight With His Not Really Shining Armour would be the title :). Abangan ang susunod na kabanata…

This tag ends here!

Today is October 3 and it is a national holiday here in Germany. We (dahil german shepherd dog na rin ako) are celebrating “The Day of German Unity”. Anong ginagawa namin sa araw na ito? Wala! Pero malamang na ang mga high ranking officials at invited guests nila ay may party doon sa Berlin. Ang mga maliliit na tao na nakatulad ko o namin ay nasa bahay lang. Ay! Yong iba ay umaalis pala pero kami ay nandito lang sa bahay, nakapajama pa nga ako hanggang tanghali. Nakapajamang nakatunganga sa makulimlim na langit (at may hawak na isang tasang kape), nag-iisip ng wala. I was in the state of mental blankness ng bigla akong sinundot ni mister sabay sabing “magbihis ka na meme (tulog) queen, we go shopping”. Hah? Shopping where? Sarado lahat ngayon ah. Hubby: “But not in Netherland”. Oh yes, how can I forget that…malapit lang pala kami sa border. Then I said: “Oy magaling na lalaki, baka nakalimutan mo na ang naging experience natin last time as we went to the outlet store in Roermond. It took us three hours to drive there dahil halos lahat ng German ay naisipan ding pumunta doon.” Hubby: “Nah! Hindi siguro ganun katraffic papuntang Venlo.” Okay, Venlo is just 3 Kilometers away from our place so we took the risk. Haaay nakuuu, pa exit palang kami papuntang Autobahn nakita ko na ang haba ng pila ng mga sasakyan. Since nasa exit lane na kami, wala ng chance pang umikot…so ayon sige tuloy maneho.

Oh my holly goat! Nakaidlip nalang ako, nakanguya na ng tatlong chewing gum (napanis na kasi ang laway ko eh) hindi pa rin kami nangalahati sa tatlong kilometro. We left home around half past one and we arrived in Venlo at quarter to three. Naalala ko tuloy ang traffic sa Maynila na bumper to bumper, ganun din kanina sa Autobahn. Sa loob ng Mall kong wala lang kaming dalang shopping cart, siguro ang labas ay nguso to nguso dahil sa dami ng tao. Halo-halo pati ang amoy na hindi ko ma identify. It was not “Axe”, hindi rin “Charlie” at lalong hindi :devious “Jo Malone” (ngehehe, remember Malu Fermandez?). Majority ng mga shoppers ay german siyempre noh. Noon at ngayon ay walang pagbabago. Tuwing may darating na holiday, kahit isang araw lang yan…ang mga ito ay nag i-stockpiling. Para bang takot na maubusan at magutuman. Para bagang last chance na nilang mamili bago lulubog ang mundo. Basta’t yan ang impression ko sa kanila. Sa loob ng 24 years na pagtira ko dito ganun pa rin sila.

Napilitan lang kaming umalis dahil naubusan kami ng kape para sa coffee maker na ito. Bumili kami ng sako-sako na para sulit ang biyahe at saka mura lang kasi. Price comparison: one kilo Lavazza or Segafredo caffee, in Germany it cost 18.00 Euro, in Netherland we only pay half of the price. O di ba at cheaper sila? Pero sa susunod kong maubusan na naman kami ng kape (at nataon na holiday), mas pipiliin ko pang magsangag ng mais (pwede na kahit pang popcorn) at yon ang ilalaga ko kaysa makisunod doon sa crowd ng mga alimango.

My daughter KC is a thirteen years old girl, who is so boyish. When one “compares” her to other cross culture youngsters (I mean Filipina-German offsprings) here, one would say she’s different because she doesn’t look girly at all with all those bling-blings and other fancy things. KC is not really a loner but she prefers to stay home and study or practice some soccer kicking techniques instead of hanging out with her friends/classmates. When I buy her a dress, you bet she’ll only wear it once and then dump/hide it later somewhere in the rearmost part of her closet. She’d rather wear wide t-shirts with jeans along with her favourite cappy. Other kids at her age, already have a boyfriend or let say they already know how to flirt. These girls do wear make-up and are fashion victims. I however has nothing against to that and besides, it is none of my business. And on the other hand, it is part of their growing process and kids grow up in invidual manner or ways. I came to mentioned this part because the mothers of these kids has no restraint to creticize the appearance of my daughter, and folks take note, they say it directly to my child when I am not beside her. It is not seldom that KC came to me crying. It hurt me as well but I can’t do anythingelse than to give her comfort. I think if people could just stop judging people by their looks, if they will try to look at the inside of a person instead, I am sure they would see something beautiful. For after all TRUE beauty lays in the inside. Isn’t it?

Well anyways, so much about that. I actually wanted to tell the world that the boyish girl whom people looked down is a gifted one. When KC was three, she already played soccer like adult. Now, she is a member of “LFSM Mädchen Fussball Mannschaft”. I don’t know the exact translation of this in english but it simply means that she became an official member of the girls soccer team. I may sound bragging, but tell you what? Their team is the best in NRW region. Last week (while I was playing teacher), she received a gold medal for individual performance.

KC’s talent is not only in sport but also in drawing. Her works got awards thus their school director told us to send her to the University of Art later when she finished Gymnasium (she’s on the 8th grade now).

That’s all well and good but KC has a very different aspiration. Her dream is to study medicine - specializing in pediatrics, because according to her…she wants to go with us when we retire in the Philippines. She said she will work there and help less fortunate children in Davao on her free time. I know that KC is indeed still very young to make such plans. What she has in mind now could change by the time she gets older. It could either become true or not, but what really counts at the moment is her thought of helping the needy children. God bless you my child, möge deine Träume wahr werden…