7 more months until the rest of my life

Even as a kid I wanted to be a citizen of the world, except back then I didn't realize it just yet.

“The past is for inspiration, not imitation, for continuation, not repetition”

In the past weeks I have been slowly cleaning out my room. So, it’s timely that yesterday I stumbled across my high school senior yearbook quote when last week i just had my college graduation picture taken. In the process of unearthing mementos I’ve been getting a kick out of re-discovering my past-self which in a lot of ways is the pubescent version of myself now.

We  say that we’re so tired of this, or so over that. Last year was so last year kind of thing. We always say that we’ve changed, but have we really? Maybe growing up distracts us  with arbitrary and materialistic things. Perhaps now I’m less whinier and brattier and my lifestyle has changed, but at the core I’m still the same Rica minus the pimples,  plus nicer clothes, and multiplied by a better sense of direction.

Graduation… Currently I don’t have any feelings about it except for the awareness that I’m nearing a milestone that everyone goes through. There will be a lot of change, but that’s something I’m used to handling. No matter how crappy my first salary might be, at least this time the change can go into my pocket and I have more control of where and how to harness it.

I’ll be posting some findings in upcoming entries but in the mean time here are my graduation pictures from middle school (I cringe!), high school and college and the writeups that came with it.

Grade 7 in Reedley (Yuck-- to the picture). I forgot who wrote this

My mom says that I look like Wednesday Adams. This was my acne and pre-bangs stage. Although, generally the grad pictures of everyone were horrible and made everyone look kind of morbid.

High school in ISM

Still in the pre-bangs stage of my life haha. The last time my hair was really long!

College toga shot (Yehesss!)

 Title: Lives like summer (Inspired by one of  my favorite songs that I think describes who I am — Drops of Jupiter by Train.)

Rica’s penchant for quotes says more about her than her awareness of media and literature. It speaks of her search for meaning in everything–for experience and knowledge. While most people fall victim to the cynicism of the modern world, she attains a city-girl toughness while still maintaining the idealisms of a young flower child. She’s guaranteed to have stories to share to her grandkids. She’s the kind of person who you know will get the most out of life because she desires to live.

Thank you to my girls Lena, Mej and Keena for their collaboration on my write up :)

Confessions of a graduating college senior

My casual shot!

The Best of Both Worlds – On internationalism, OPM & my life

I’m taking Jim Paredes’ class “Issues in presentation and performance” right now and our topic is world music and OPM. During our last class he was discussing the Philippine music industry over the years until present and what it takes for OPM to truly make it big outside of the Philippines.

Like all of his lectures it was really interesting and insightful. His point in a nutshell was that although Filpinos are obviously brimming in talent (hello college band scene!), the reason why we haven’t struck a chord in the international music scene is that the music that truly represents who the filipino is never gets the opportunity to be heard which ironically is the edge we need to ever get there. The industry is too concerned being marketeers than musicians.

According to him “Anak” by Freddie Aguilar was one of the very few Filipino songs to have ever gained international acclaim and translated in different languages. And… it was in tagalog.

I’m not going to get into the whole profit oriented bullcrap that drives much of society but he did leave us with this statement to ponder on: “To be international you have to be local.” We had to write a 2 page reflection paper on it. Although I kind of crammed mine the words flowed pretty easily. So, I decided to post it here. Voila, instant blog post!

The Best of Both Worlds – On internationalism, OPM and my life

Have you ever felt like a foreigner in your own country? I have.

I may look like a Filipina on the outside, with my morena skin and brown eyes, but my twang and outspoken nature immediately gives me away. Up close I sound and act like a Westerner.

So the statement “To be international you have to be local” puts me in a difficult yet interesting position. I am Filipino by blood but I was born and grew up in Indonesia up until I was seven years old. Although I came back to the Philippines afterwards I went to two international schools – Reedley and ISManila, both of which gave my upbringing a relatively more Western touch. Studying in Ateneo for college is the closest experience I’ve had to discovering my own roots which is one of the primary reasons why I chose to take my undergraduate degree in the Philippines in the first place.

Because of my background I always felt like I was stuck in between two worlds, that of the international arena and the Philippines. My middle ground meant that I was never completely the identity of the other which I felt was both an edge and disadvantage. Admittedly, I don’t think I’ll ever completely relate with my Filipino friends who have been immersed in the culture their whole lives.  But with my international school community where a tolerance and respect for multiculturalism is abundant it is precisely because I am a Filpino that I can.

What makes studying in an international school unique and interesting is your cultural identity. Although we are all different nationalities it is actually in this diversity where we find unity. Our mindset is trained to engage in an open exchange where each barters their own cultural values, ideas and experiences to learn from the other. This open mindedness is essentially what binds all international kids regardless of where they came from. At the end of the day that’s what makes us proud.

So, in response to the statement “To be international you have to be local” I completely agree. Although I may have started on the opposite end of the question where I was born into an international world first rather than starting out as a local, the question surprisingly still works both ways. Rather than looking at my situation as being stuck in between two worlds, I find that I can get the best of both instead.

Internationalism is the coming together of different nationalities who have their own cultural identity. In this light being local presupposes being international which in relation to what we discussed in class is lacking in the Philippine music industry. There’s an abundance of OPM in the country that never gets recognized because the top dogs think that marketing imitators is what will make our mark in the international arena. Perhaps our talent will be recognized worldwide, like what happened to Charice Pempengco, but our identity won’t and it’s rare that it has. In the long run that is what will make the difference.

Similar to my own experience, if the music industry in the Philippines can truly play to the tune of “To be international you have to be local”, then maybe OPM can finally have the best of both worlds too.

Breaking Bubbles

Back then, being inducted into VP for membership.

I’ve been meaning to write a lot sooner but whenever i set aside time to, somehow sleep and sickness get in the way.  Oh yeah, also conversation and dates with friends which I’ll always be a YES-woman to. A “lets study” invite is pretty deceiving, but i knowingly let it fool me every time anyway. But more on that on a separate post because I can only afford to tackle my musings one entry at a time or else I fear rambling more than usual. Aaaanyways…

Although we’re still a month away from the new year, there are 2 things I want to accomplish next year that I can’t stop thinking about.

Goal 1: Compete

Anyone who’s my friend knows about my involvement in Toastmasters, which in a nutshell is an international club for anyone and everyone to hone their skills in public speaking in a fun manner. Although I just did, trust me, it’s the kind of experience that really can’t be explained in a nutshell.

I’m planning to compete next year and hopefully win, first in the area level, then someday at the district, regional and international level. I’ve always thought about competing, but this is the first time I’m taking it seriously, partly because of my recent promotion to VP for Education.

Wandering the streets of the Hague on a bike

Goal 2: Intern abroad

Sometime in first semester I remember regretting not applying for JTA (Junior Term Abroad) despite inquiring about it before. To make myself feel better I told myself that I already had that kind of cultural immersion thanks to studying in an international school. But I realize that it being a part of my past is not enough anymore.

A part of me misses experiencing the rest of the world first hand; to feel the immensity of its knowledge beneath my feet and ringing in the air. It never had to stop when I graduated from IS and without a scholarship to fund it.  I wish I could go back to my Model UN conferences to Beijing and Netherlands as I am now – someone whose bubble is broken. I can appreciate it so much better now.

I strongly believe in the need to step outside of our “bubbles” of familiarity whether that’s self-created or imposed upon because we just didn’t know any better to begin with. It’s difficult to blame someone for ignorance when it’s what they were born into or  when it’s the only thing staring back at them.

Everyone has their own kind of bubble, but recently for the last two years mine was self-created, maybe as a means for surviving college, which is fine. But now that it’s broken and I don’t need it anymore, I want to explore what’s beyond it, and hopefully that will be in the form of a summer internship for my OJT or in a Toastmasters competition title.

What lays beyond our little bubbles is the world.

But first, some memories…

THIMUN ’08 – The Hague Netherlands

BEIMUN ’07 – Beijing, China

How to write about the Philippines

Today, I dug through boxes from the basement that were filled with all sorts of high school memorabilia (notes passed, math tests almost failed, and lectures messily scribbled on binder paper.) In the middle of sweating and feeling extremely icky from all the academic dust I realized just how writing intensive taking the IB diploma is. I feel sorry for all those poor trees that had to be cut for the sake of my education.

Luckily they didn’t die in vain. Here’s an essay I wrote for IB English that’s different from my usual style. I’ll be posting some others as well mostly because I want to keep track of my old essays.

Unearthing these old papers makes me excited about my upcoming first semester writing class! This is kinda what I miss about high school Lit/English class. I want to strengthen and expand my style as well as try writing about new things!

——

How to write about the Philippines

[Some tips: San Mig and sisig are good]

When writing about the Philippines keep in mind that: Filipino’s communicate with their chins, lips and eyebrows as much as they do with words. However, one may include common Filipino expressions such as “Dude pare chong” and “Psst hoy!” Take note that direct translations of tagalog into English are difficult. Misinterpretations may occur. Although gigle does refer to the want to bite someone, it implies that the person is expressing an exuberant nature rather than a cannibalistic one. Boracay is pronounced as boh-rah-cai and not boh-rah-cay.”

Do not have a picture of pinoy’s (what Filipinos’ refer to themselves as) living in nipa huts (or in other words, tree houses) amidst a jungle as the cover of your book. This is a common misconception. 20% of pinoys live in Forbes village while the other 80% live along the streets of Edsa, none of which are tree houses. Traffic is an essential part of the day as well as children selling sampaguita on the street, or vendors selling bobbing dog heads.

Be sure to mention common pinoy topics of conversation. Just remember: PBA or “Politics”, “Basketball” and “Actors.” This will allow readers to relate to the Philippines many prominent historical figures such as: Imelda Marcos, Erap and Manny Pacquiao. If you’re an aspiring singer come to the Philippines where it’s easy to become an artista. Just have long black hair and a supply of whitening lotion and you’re sure to have a number one hit single about your hair on Myx!

End your book with a quote straight from Mcdo himself (pronounced Muck-doh not Mack-doh.) “Love Ko To.”