Celebrating Christmas in Boracay

"What? Why are we stopping at the middle of the sea when we can already see Odiongan port?", asked by an old woman to an OJT crew. She was seated next to her grandchild who was pre occupied with the music she listened to on her cellphone.

The crew apologized and informed her including us what the captain saw as a problem. One of the Montenegro Shipping Lines vessel was docked in the port and it was impossible for our ship to enter.  One passenger jokingly said, "Ok lang basta may libreng Christmas party kayo sa amin" (It's okay as long as the management will throw a Christmas party to all the passenger all free of charge), then everyone in the room laughed except for a tall lady who looked  exasperated. She stood and blurted "Naghihintay ang pamilya ko. Ayokong magpasko dito!" (My family is already waiting for us. I do not wish to spend our Christmas here in the ship!), then she marched her way up to the ship captain's office. After almost an hour, there was a commotion at the 3rd deck. The lady went out of control and warned to sue the shipping line once the vessel did not dock. Minutes later, we felt the ship moved. 

She came back to the cabin and relayed to us what she did. She called her husband who was in another country and also a ship captain in an international cruise line. She was advised that perhaps there were other solution for docking so the passengers plans would not be ruined.

Since our delayed travel in Manila and the slow vessels engine robbed more than of our precious one day considering also the time (it was evening already when we reached Odiongan) we proceeded to Boracay Island. 

We arrived in the island at around 10 and looked for a cheaper place to stay. We found a room owned by a police inspector who was having a drinking spree with his neighbors and friends. We were invited for a shot which we declined.

On our way to the beach front,
we were invited by these 2 policemen to
celebrate an early (it was 11 in the evening)
 Noche Buena with them inside the Boracay Police Station.

Boracay Sand

with roaming Santa Claus

Boracay beach front

Side trip to Kalibo, Aklan

Our side trip to Kalibo, Aklan. Wished it was their Ati Atihan fest....

Left by the boat going to Looc, Tablas Island after our Boracay Christmas unplanned get away, Edith and I were convinced by some Aklanon who were in a jeepney waiting for more passengers going to Kalibo, to visit their place. We also thought of going to Iloilo but took the first option, otherwise, our itinerary would turn into a mess. 

We arrived in Kalibo after more than 2 hours ride. We asked some residents for a possible good place near the sea where we could spend our night. They suggested Tambak, a few km from the town.

While in the tricycle, we almost suffered from stiff neck looking around expecting to see nice beach resorts. Unfortunately, we felt betrayed. We were dropped to an inn near karaoke bars and pubs and were surprised to be asked "short time?" by the caretaker. Instead of  fussing about this experience, we decided to walk around and let our regrets be drowned by the furious sound of the sea waves. 

My eyes captured the waves lambasting the stones in the shore line.Little did we know it was a broken sea wall when we went nearer.

Stunned for a while, we watched the strong current as it mercilessly bumped into the the almost submerged shattered sea wall bringing more havoc to it.

Then we decided to take more pictures standing on the sea wall but the waves came to us before my killer smile and Edith's Ms Universe pose were captured by the camera. It either showed its hostility or just wanted to play with us. :) We chose to believe the later.

My Wondering about Wandering Street Children

Being with the street children who are better in surviving but know nothing (or limited only) about their rights and responsibilities  is an immeasurable experience. They are really aggressive and harsh especially if they feel they are being threatened, but they are also just like other children. They are just the same-innocent, playful, "makulit" and so on.  It only depends on how one approaches and treats them.

a child taking his afternoon nap on a pavement

Anyway, not so long ago, I have been wondering where street children and their families come from and why there are a lot when I first arrived in this big city of Metro Manila. I found it odd seeing them around the city. I am well aware there are really street children in the country even if I rarely see them in another city where I stayed for years. Now that they are already in front of me, several questions popped out in my mind. Base on my encounter with the street children who stay with their families mostly say their parents come from another province while some do not know their parent's origin. I asked the parents who come from the province about the reasons why they chose to come to the city. Mostly said it is because of poverty and included the following:
1. Calamities which destroyed their house and other properties; no means of living
2. Sold their properties and come to the city to look for a job and to have a better life.
3. Followed husband/wife/partner who went to the city to work.
4. Run away from their family and come to the city for work when they were younger or to escape abuse/maltreatment from family
6. Victims of human trafficking.

Migration is the common denominator above all these reasons. Most of them admitted that their notion of coming to the city and to search for their luck that would make their life better was a bad decision. They thought that the city was a promise land. They came to realize the difficulties since most of them did not finish their studies. They manage to be in the blue collar jobs but not for long because they are often abused. 

street children 

The parents can not afford their own basic needs much more to their children so they tend to let their children find their own way of survival. The children stay on street "working"-begging or scavenging in order to eat. They prefer to look for other means in order to live even to the extent of prostitution. To them "what is ABC if the stomach is empty?" Older children who roamed around the city are sent by their families to work especially if they are the eldest. They are already given responsibilities at a very young age when every other children enjoy their rights. They have little contact to their own families and would rather stay on street. 

street family sleeping

I remembered my big boss saying that there were few families living on the street before when he arrived to the country. Now, street families mushroomed everywhere around the metro. Street children find partner or "marry" at a young age (15 or 16 years old and above) and bear children. So the cycle goes on and on...

On Schizophrenia

Case

Buy-uc is 21-years-old. He recently graduated from a reputable university finishing his 4 year college course. He lived in another city and he was doing good in college. As a matter of fact, he was a consistent varsity player credited for his contribution on the university's success in the field of sport from his first year up to his last year in the university. He was holding down a job order as a clerk staff in one of the municipalities after a month of his graduation. But then he suddenly began to change, became paranoid and was acting out in bizarre ways. First, he became convinced that the policemen he saw were "spying" on him and his co-workers were talking behind about him or always looking at him. Then he wandered and got lost so his family and neighborhoods went looking for him. 

From there, things got worse. He became suspicious to other people and kept asking everyone in the family if they love him. Then he started hearing voices telling him someone wanted to kill him and that he wanted to be avenged. He took out the knife and wanted to kill the puppy he grabbed outside the house. Later on, he was hospitalized for a few days for he went back to normal. He began again to change during his follow up check up in the hospital when he saw other patients acting strangely. Because of that, the doctor prescribed him a stronger dosage of medicine which he argued he did not need them. He took the medicine for a while but decided to stop. He was reckless at home and easily lost interest whenever he started one like singing while playing the guitar. However, after 6 months, he slowly showed a great improvement and seemed to have recovered after few more months. He is currently active in joining a training.

I am uncertain if the case above is considered as Schizophrenia even if the patient showed some of the signs and symptoms. I am confused if it was really schizo or a depression. The patient above was diagnosed (as written on his medical chart) with this kind of disorder and yet I am not fully convinced so I tried asking other professionals that could help me understand this. 
According to a Psychiatric Doctor, it takes years to come up with this diagnosis. There is actually no test that definitively indicates that someone has schizophrenia. So the concerned medical/social practitioner needs to study the patient's back ground from his  medical, family and mental health information including his daily routines etc.
I tried to make my own reading hoping to rest my mind about the case. 

Schizophrenia is a chronic, severe, mental disorder and characterized by symptoms of thought, behavior, and social problems. Some common early warning signs are social withdrawal, suspiciousness, deterioration of personal hygiene, inability to show emotion, inappropriate laughter or crying, depression, insomnia or oversleeping, odd statements, forgetfulness, extreme reaction to criticism and strange use of words or way of  speaking.

Causes of Schizophrenia: 

Current research proposes that schizophrenia is caused by 

1. Genetic vulnerability coupled with environmental and psychosocial stressors, the so-called diathesis-stress model. 
2. Prenatal which is well established that obstetric complications are associated with an increased chance of the child later developing the disorder.
3. Infections like viral infections (influenza) in childhood or in the utero 
4. Drugs like Cannabis, Amphetamines and other stimulants , Hallucinogens

For more reading: http://www.nimh.nih.gov/health/publications/schizophrenia/complete-index.shtml 

The Glory of Negros

I was in the province when one of my colleagues who happens to be from Sipalay, Negros Occidental called and informed me about her incoming trip to her province due on December of 2009. (She was aware I really wanted to go to their place since I saw her sister's picture in one of the beautiful beaches in Sipalay.) I agreed so she booked us for the plane on that very day. After few more weeks, our scheduled flight for the trip came in.

Dec. 28 at around 2:30 pm, we boarded the plane from NAIA Terminal 3.We landed past 3 at the newly constructed/opened airport in Silay where taxi drivers delightedly meet us offering their services to the town proper which is almost an hour away. There were taxis which they filled in (like jeepney ") charging Php 150 per person. 

Mambukal Resort Entrance

It was past 4 when we arrived at the city town proper (market area) where her friend was waiting for us. Their Hello's and kumusta seemed like forever to me since I could already hear my "pet" rumbling inside my stomach. We spent another 30 minutes searching for a carinderia that offered Bacolod specialties. After eating, we went around the city (Bacolod park and the new city hall) and had our time enjoying the different blinking bright lights all over the place like there was no lights in Manila..duh!

The following day, we traveled to Murcia for half an hour where Mambukal Resort is located. There are a lot of things to that can be done here like boating, swimming, slide for life, wall climbing, trekking etc. We decided to challenge each other and trek the 7 falls which tested our endurance. The 2 reached the 4th falls and wanted to stop. I told them to wait for us (with our guide) since I was really determined to see all the falls. According to the people there, there are still falls after the 7th but are not yet open to public since it was not yet developed. When we were about to leave, our guide informed us that there is a cave in the resort.

bats in Mambukal Resort

The next day, we got on the last trip ordinary Ceres bus going to Sipalay. It was a 4 to 5 hour travel from Bacolod but it was like 24 hours because of the tedious experience we had in that bus. We were at the back and there was no more space that even an ant could not pass through yet the driver and dispatcher still accepted passengers. My backside went sore because I was not not seated comfortably and it was a rough road! It was a very long ordeal. Anyway, we reached their house around 8 in the evening, rested for a while, had our dinner and off to bed. 

We celebrated new year by visiting a lot of beautiful white sandy beaches.

7th falls in Mambukal 

The next day, we got on the last trip ordinary Ceres bus going to Sipalay. It was a 4 to 5 hour travel from Bacolod but it was like 24 hours because of the tedious experience we had in that bus. We were at the back and there was no more space that even an ant could not pass through yet the driver and dispatcher still accepted passengers. My backside went sore because I was not not seated comfortably and it was a rough road! It was a very long ordeal. Anyway, we reached their house around 8 in the evening, rested for a while, had our dinner and off to bed. 

We celebrated new year by visiting a lot of beautiful white sandy beaches.

Dagat-dagatan is found in the town proper of Sipalay. Some people were enjoying a dip in the water while we took our time walking and appreciating the view of the sun going down. Restaurants and bars are also available nearby. 

Next was Langub beachhttp://lifesunfathomabledepths.blogspot.com/2010/01/langub-beach-sipalay.html and then Anhawan Island http://lifesunfathomabledepths.blogspot.com/2010/01/anhawan-island.html

After Anhawan, I went to the place of another colleague in Negros Oriental by Ceres Bus. I went alone but I enjoyed the journey. It was like a caterpillar ride but what really made me appreciate was the surrounding and the landscape I saw along the way.

ticket inspection