Happy Mothers' Day to All

Mother's Day is one of my most awaited holidays in a year, I don't really care if some people might think that this is just one of those made up and commercialized holidays by Hallmark (same with Grand Parent's Day or Valentine's Day) to increase their sales. What makes it even more spectacular is that I am celebrating this very special day with my mom! How great is that.

Honestly, I want Mother's Day to be an every day event so just to make an excuse to do something special for my mom. That's how awesome she is. I feel that making her feel extra special (if its even possible to hike up the notch of her "specialness") in more days in a year is a very little way to repay my mom for all her sacrifices, hard work and love in rearing me into the person that I am today.

And if that's not enough reason to celebrate this day, I was even blessed with more mother's (my mom in law Mama Lita and my hubby's aunt Mommy Zennie. Who have taken me into their families and treated me as their own daughter. God has indeed been very good to me.

I dedicate this space to all Mom's who have raised, are raising and will be raising the future leaders, the next artists, or just the next fine person that anyone can meet. Kudos to all you moms who have sacrificed their lives for the sake of their children and for those mom's who have given nothing less but unconditional love. All of you have made this world a better place to live in.

And to my mom, Happy Mothers' Day, I love you and may we celebrate more special days together. I owe the person that i have become to you. Thanks for everything.

Word for the Week: Festive

Picture from Wikipedia.

As far as I know, Holland is one of those countries with the least number of Public Holidays celebrated within the year (only 8-9 public holidays in a year). However, when it rains, it pours. True enough we celebrated two holidays last week: Queen’s Day (Koninginnedag) on the 29th of April and Ascension day celebrated on the 1st of May. Between the two, Queen’s day is the more festive event. This day commemorates the birthday of the Queen of the Netherlands and is supposed to be a day of national unity and togetherness. (according to Wikipedia). For us commoners, what makes it so festive is the “freemarket” (vrijmarkt) where people would lay out all sorts of things and sell it for very insignificant amounts. From what I have observed, these people who sell stuff on the streets during this day doesn’t do it for the money at all, this “freemarket” is done just for the fun of it. As for me and Junfer, it was so much fun to roam around the streets laid with all sorts of merchandise and finding a great bargain. As they say one man’s trash is another man’s treasure.

We started our stroll quite late this year at around 11am because the weather was unpredictable. I think the weather also discouraged a lot of people from participating in the “freemarket” because there are fewer stalls this year compared to last year. However, in spite of the fewer stalls, the goods for sale where as varied as anyone could possibly imagine, from kitchen wares, old plates and wine glasses to old printers, golf clubs, paintings, clothes and so much more. In the end, the weather cooperated and we made a great purchase. We chanced upon this antique bronze art piece from a very nice old man that is to be hanged on the wall which goes so well with my curtains bought for only €5. Sweet deal.

Another thing that I look forward to during Queen’s day is the “Kermis”. This is like a small amusement park set up in various corners of the city where there are rides, games, and various food stalls. I normally expect at least 2 new big stuffed toys from Junfer when there is a “Kermis” around. Junfer scored 4 new stuffed toys this week from our ever favorite game, the name of which I don’t know but let me just describe it. This is the game where a number of cans are arranged in a pyramid and the player would have to topple all of them using three balls. He is so good at it seriously that he scored my first big stuffed toy this week on his first try. Amazing.

Queen’s day is one holiday I would always look forward to. Maybe next time we’ll also decide to sell our old stuff on the “freemarket”.

Goedemorgen! Good Morning!

In two days, Junfer and I would have been living here in the Netherlands for one year and six months. Both of us promised to learn Dutch the moment we set foot on Schiphol Airport but as they say promises are made to be broken and true enough up to this day we still can’t understand a complete sentence in Dutch. That is why I was so impressed with Ate Nicky the last time we visited her and Alex last March. She can totally speak French and not the choppy "barok" style, she knows the real deal speaking in complete sentences even though she has been there for less than a year. Amazing!

Strangely enough, although it’s taking me forever to learn the language, I have mastered at least 5 phrases/words the very first week (even less) that we moved here. These are "Goedemorgen", "Goedemiddag", "Goedenavond", "Astublieft" and "Dank u wel". Although Dutch is a relatively difficult language, I didn’t exert too much of an effort to try and learn this words/phrases. The only reason why I have learned them so quickly is because Dutch people are so courteous, greeting me as they pass me by, may it be on the side walk, in the bus, on the train, inside the supermarket, everywhere!

Ever since we moved here, I have always been amazed by how gracious people here are. I have never seen a person so accustomed to greeting people that they will just yell out “Goedemorgen” to everyone inside the bus as they enter. Incredible really. I was never accustomed to such pleasantries before. I have lived, studied and worked in Manila for most of my life and then I moved to Dubai and lived and worked there for 2 years but I was never accustomed to greeting a fellow pedestrian "good morning" or "good afternoon", whereas when we moved here it was like second nature for most people to do just that.

I remember quite clearly when I was still working in Makati, I would take an FX ride from Pasig every morning. Most often than not, I would be in the same FX with relatively the same people each morning who, I assume, also work in the same vicinity. In spite of seeing each other every morning and being inside a vehicle for approximately one hour every morning and sometimes another hour in the afternoon even, I don’t remember anyone greet me good morning or good evening ever considering I have taken that FX for almost 2 years nor did I greet them. It makes me wonder even more if I was a foreigner who would move to Manila, would I learn "Magandang Umaga" or `"Magandang Gabi" that quickly. Maybe not because Filipinos, nowadays, almost never use these words but would tend to say these greetings in English. But seriously, I wonder.

I can’t help but think that the reason why we were not accustomed to these pleasantries is because most of us are reserved and aloft, a trait which we inherited from the Spanish Regime. Another reason that is emerging at the top of my head is the crime rate that is steadily increasing and maybe being friendly to people you pass by the street is an inherent risk. I’m only guessing here but experiencing both sides, I can honestly say that a simple "Goedemorgen" or "Goedenavond" brightens up anyone’s mood.