Tom, Dick, and Harry - The Thrills and Perils of Internet Dating

By Sylvia G. Hubilla

Round Rock, Texas

Texas, USA -- “I will drive you to wherever you're meeting. And remember, I want to know where you will be. And call me when you're ready to come home, and I will pick you up.” That was my daughter talking to me while she drove me to my first internet date. Talk about role reversal!  My phone buzzed signaling a text message - “Have fun, Mom! Tell me about it later!” My other daughter all the way from Arizona. Hmm, word certainly gets around.
We arrived at a pretty little Cafe, and as I got down from the car, I spot a tall, dignified looking man with platinum hair, brushed back, wearing long-sleeved, striped, blue shirt, jeans, and boots, clutching a bouquet of yellow flowers, walking towards us. My mind immediately flashed into focus, taking a mental picture. Not bad ….. not bad at all! Even my daughter became at ease.
Flashback two years -
Trying to move on from a failed marriage, I was introduced to this rather scary, crazy global matching game on the web by my eldest daughter. She was in the US, I, back in the Philippines. Having had a very conservative upbringing and marrying my first boyfriend (BIG mistake!), of course I protested in no uncertain terms. She said, “C'mon Mom; have some fun – it's about time!” “I was 60 years old!” “But Mom, 60 is the new 40!” she insisted.  NO was the last word I remember saying. But soon my email was inundated with names, photos and profiles -  6 every week, to be exact, from Match.com. My daughter obviously subscribed for me, created my profile, and thank heavens didn't post a picture of me. She even went ahead and submitted “my” preferences – 6 feet tall, blue eyes, salt and pepper hair, etc.
“C'mon Mom, take your pick, reply to some – what could happen?”
Well, I was busy with work in Manila, and busy working on my petition for immigrant visa to the US, and intentionally keeping busy trying to put some semblance of order and direction into my recently “turned upside down” life– so eventually this game between my daughter and me was shelved. But the 6 new matches kept flooding my email every week, which I found annoying and a tedious chore cleaning up my inbox.
But I must admit, I did check out some of those pictures and profiles, and even toyed with the idea sometimes, but good sense always won.  It was fun, actually. And it provided some comic relief to my usual self-pitying moods.
My immigrant visa petition went really fast, and within 6 months I heard the happy words, “Welcome to America!” as I walked through immigration at the Los Angeles International Airport, U. S. of A!
On vacation mode (read j-o-b-l-e-s-s) and with a lot of time on my hands, I turned the idea of internet dating over and over in my mind, and told myself, ”Why not?”
And so my adventure began.
I rewrote my profile that my daughter made for me, uploaded a photo (with huge sunglasses, of course!) but with the beautiful sunset of the Grand Canyon behind me – who could resist that?! I chose a name to hide my identity. Within the week  my profile page would report, visited 287 times, 450 times, etc. Of course, with this came the emails I had to sort out. I only chose to reply, not to the matches sent to me, but from those who visited my profile. We exchanged emails on the website, until we felt comfortable enough to exchange our email addresses, and telephone numbers. When we felt we really liked each other enough, we set a date to meet, and hope to get to know each other better.
And so my first internet date!
Let's call him Tom. Tom is a great guy. I actually liked him a lot, and felt comfortable and safe enough since he lived 300 miles away from me. I felt comfortable enough … until he said he wanted to bring me to meet his children and their families! Wow, that sure gave me cold feet and knocked me back to reality. I'm not ready for this! I don't know how I wiggled out of that one, but we remain email and call buddies. So I gained a friend here. And a learning experience.

And there was Carl, Joe, Mark,  and David …. Ah David, this is a story in itself on the perils of internet dating. He came on strong – a master in the art of hard sell. Well written profile, good-looking, thinning hair but definitely handsome. Email and chat everyday and night. My 88 year old aunt with whom I shared my bedroom, would say, “Ano ba yan! Matulog ka na!”, everytime the message signal on my laptop would beep. (What is that? You go to sleep now!) He put his origin and home as California, USA. But he would chat from Nigeria. He said he runs a business that takes him to Nigeria months at a time. So he said it would be great if I could fly to California to meet when he comes home.

A red flag popped up, when he asked for my bank information, so he said he could send me money. There's no ignoring that red flag, so exit time for me. On the same week, the Oprah Winfrey show featured  this scam targeting senior women on these web matching sites. They choose photos of attractive men, craft interesting profiles, and befriend unsuspecting senior women. I can't believe how many women really lost big amounts of money to these scammers! Oprah showed  footages of places where these people operated and videos of actual raids by law enforcers, and guess what – one of the places of operations was Nigeria!

Of all the emails I have had to sort out, one stands out, for the reason he was the only one with an, mmm, shall we say interesting (depending on where you are on this) hobby. Let's call him Dick. His profile was well written, said he is a writer and a teacher. He has traveled to Europe and Southeast Asia. He had a lot of pictures showing him in different places he has visited, a couple of them bare to the waist. His first email said he has been to the Philippines and has a close Filipina friend who owns a resort here in Texas, which he frequents. So, some common grounds, not to mention, a Philippine connection – so I emailed him back. I got a lengthy reply, starting with “You sound fascinating ….. hope I will hear from you again.”  He said, those pictures taken with him, bare-chested, were taken at the NUDIST resort he frequents every week, and where he is a member, and is owned by his Filipina friend. Now that was  a laugh-out-loud surprise! The image in full popped out in my head, and I broke out laughing! “No way, Jose,” are you hearing back from me. Well he did say he was sort of a free spirit, but I had no idea he was this free! OK, dear daughter, you have to read this and see what you have gotten me into!

Now the last character I am going to talk about - let's call him Harry. Have you ever been dumped on the first date? I don't mean after, but during. For the whole week after his first email, he wanted to meet, for lunch, after work, to bring me to be his date at a Christmas dinner – in spite of my telling him I work, and can only meet with him on the week-end. He would email “How about tonight?”, “How about tomorrow lunch?” He belongs to the community choir and they sing in different places, providing the Christmas ambiance, complete in carolers-of-old costumes. Which was actually nice, and I did want to meet him, so I said, “Would Saturday night work for you?” Finally, we set a date, time and place. They were singing at the lobby of the Marriott Hotel. So I decided to come a little early to watch them – they were actually good! As usual, my daughter ( together with my grand daughter who is nine and who insisted on tagging along) drove me to meet my “blind” date, as my grand daughter called it.

So we met, we, meaning me, my daughter, and grand daughter, and him. My daughter excused themselves, and I rode in his car. He was nice, opened the car door for me, took my hand to step out of the car, walked on the side of traffic, just in the parking area. I actually enjoyed talking with him. He had a great sense of humor and had me laughing a lot throughout our dinner. And then it came – he said he had something to tell me and he didn't know how. So I said, the easiest way is to just go ahead and say it! He started with, “Remember last week when I wanted to meet you and you couldn't? Well, I met someone else, and we clicked! “ I said, “You could have just emailed me about it, and save us both the trouble.” And then, to regain my composure, feigning a look of horrible pain, I said, “Oh my goodness, I just got dumped! Did you just dump me?” Truthfully, I didn't know how that felt, I mean early on in this dating game. My first real, serious date I married. So this feeling is new! I must have looked it, because he reached out and took my hand and said, “I really am sorry! I really felt I had to tell you in person, and not just email.” “That would have been kinder. But it's OK. I am actually writing a story, and this could be my research!” I said. “You mean, I am your research?” he asked incredulously. Let the story end there. Of course he picked up the tab – that's the least he can do! But had I seen this coming, I should have ordered steak and not just French onion soup. I am about to close this chapter of my Moving On  saga, and I must say, it has been a fun and  most interesting ride … so far.

Post Script:
I wrote this story almost three years ago.  But I thought, with all the news about “catfishing” lately, especially about Manti T'eo, famous linebacker for the University of Notre Dame, being the latest victim, I thought this story is worth coming out again. There now is a reality TV show about this topic, “Catfish.” The word refers to a kind of identity theft being used in the internet, especially in social media. The scam artist creates a fake profile, using a photo of some innocent individual picked from the web. There are several victims here – the one the scammer communicates with, and the owner of the identity being used.
So let us enjoy social media ….. with caution.
HAPPY VALENTINE'S DAY!
(This article first came out through the Women's Feature Service - Philippine Bureau)

 

Hope Floats...for Mother Earth

By Easter Canoy
Bukidnon, Philippines

As I step into the big and solid Ministry buildings here in Berlin where the board meeting of the Green Climate Fund takes place, I imagine what it would have felt like if the grand elders and shaman of the mountains of Kitanglad would have joined me. True, in my lobbying for direct access to the Green Climate Fund I will be searching for allies and listeners to our cause. But what would THEY do to make sure that on this meeting, the basic fundamental rights will not be lost in debates and translations?

My good friend Bae Inatlawan told me that ‘there’s got to be something very human and spiritual in this pursuit’. I always keep that in mind whenever we are together in Manila looking for donors and volunteers to sustain our small undertakings to save the last forests of Northern Mindanao. Here, just like back home in the Phillipines, I only have my stories with me, my bullet truths so to speak.

Last Tuesday we met the rest of the climate activists of the Civil Society Organizations from the North and South. In these meetings, I was looking for allies for the indigenous peoples because that’s what my organization in the Kitanglad Integrated NGOs (KIN) is all about. It’s a relief to discover that Indigenous People, just like women (gender) and concerns for the most vulnerable and affected with climate change are at the core of CSO advocacy in GCF.

The presence of CSOs in every GCF meetings serves as a constant reminder of the actual purpose of the Green Climate Fund. That it’s not a development funding, nor a business enterprise, or even a fund raising campaign --waiting for another pledge from the rich countries extending its pity to the disaster torn countries of the South.

The reason for this North and South dialogue and alliance is that over centuries, somewhere along our way to the future, a massive concentration of greenhouse gases has caused the dangerous climate change. A global phenomenon woke us all to remind us that we are Earthlings and no matter if rich and poor we are going to be affected of such massive consequences that harmed the planet. North and South countries have different responsibilities but they must proceed with a common vision of our future.

In the Philippines, down in Mindanao, we’ve been struck by two unusual storms: typhoons Washi in December 2011 and Bopha in December 2012. These incidents have changed our reality: we’ve seen how responses from international donor agencies arrived much faster than how our Government could act. We’ve also seen the rise of local scientists classifying what could be autonomous and planned adaptive measures.

I had meetings with tribal elders narrating how their wildlife sanctuaries, native plant material stocks, and mini-forests (managed by clans) were ravaged by typhoons. We’ve heard stories of Filipina women who need support for their small gardens to install little greenhouse so that their seeds will not dry out with too much sun exposure. There’s still fifty thousand Indigenous Peoples in Compostela Valley, victims of Bopha who still need shelter, food, potable water and medicines.

The GCF Board will not find the above stories unique because such climate crises keep occurring in many parts of the world. I do believe though that here in Berlin, the outcome of todays and tomorrows conclusive meeting can make a difference. In the GCF Board meeting, one can see a global conduct of leaders whose minds and hearts we need to trust. At the end of the day, when all of us will return home and face our local realities, we need to take home something that could spark hope to the voiceless and powerless.

(Easter Canoy is executive director of the Kitanglad Integrated NGOs in Bukidnon. This article first appeared at http://www.bothends.org/en/News/Weblog/weblog/27/weblogmessage/111/Maria-%E2%80%9CChy%E2%80%9D-Santos-Canoy-Taking-home-a-spark-of-hope and is reprinted with permission by the author.)

ED SANTOS: A Filipino Immigrant's Son Runs for NYC Council

By Marivir R. Montebon

Twenty- seven-year-old Ed Santos is rolling his sleeves up for the upcoming local elections in New York City in September. He is the first Filipino American to run for New York City council, representing the 8th district's Harlem area, under the Democratic Party.

The electoral fight is a tough one, as he is pitted against the incumbent Melissa Mark-Viverito who has both resources and experience. But there is no let up to this young fellow, born and raised in Detroit by feisty mother Emilie Santos who defied being deported by asking help from all the political leaders in Michigan.

(Interestingly, mother Emilie has her own story to tell. Senators Levin and then Senator Vice President Jo Biden sponsored a local bill for her, saving her from deportation and granting her a Green Card, a permanent resident status, thus keeping her family intact).

Such bravery must have been imbibed by Ed too, as he proudly introduces himself as the son of a nanny and the first Filipino to run for public office in the city that never sleeps in his campaign trail.

Ed graduated from the University of Michigan with a bachelor’s degree in Statistics and finished his Master's in Teaching from Pace University in New York City. Ed taught Math at East Harlem schools in 2007.

He says coming from immigrant working parents, immigration issue to him is not only political but personal as well. Ed's mother has been working in Michigan and in New York for many years while his father, Ed Senior, a waiter, lives with his two siblings in Detroit.

Being a teacher himself, Ed focuses on education as his platform of leadership. Excerpts from the interview:

1. What is your policy platform for NYC council?

As a former public school teacher, I believe I am uniquely qualified to address the barriers to educating our children in NYC. I was raised in a working class, immigrant family and my parents knew the way for their children to succeed was through a quality education. I am able to run for office and achieve because of the value my family placed on education. Education opened doors for my students – allowed them to go to the best colleges, but they were the exception in schools across the city.

I am running to ensure our children are getting the quality education they deserve so that they can seek out opportunities otherwise not available to them. But that also means, once they graduate from school and we prepare them for the world, that there are jobs waiting for them.

2. Harlem has its share of economic and social problems. How do you reconcile that with education reforms?

Economic development will breathe new life into my district which suffers from chronic joblessness and 17% unemployment. It will be my priority to make sure our kids are educated, but that they are also employed along with the other residents in my community. And though my district has one of the largest public housing communities – a community under attack by NYCHA’s In-fill development plan – more work will always make more homes affordable.

Put simply, the best way to promote affordable housing in District 8 is to promote economic development and jobs. No home is affordable for someone who is unemployed, and no education, no matter how exemplary is useful without a purpose. Better schools will encourage business development, business development will bring jobs, and more work will make homes affordable again in District 8.

3. What distinction do you make? Why should people vote for you?

I believe my experience as a public school teacher sets me apart from the other candidates in the District 8 City Council race. I am the only candidate in District 8 with experience in the classroom and there are currently just two sitting members on the City Council who have experience working in New York City Public Schools with one of those members leaving office at the end of this term. Given this fact, I would bring a unique background and perspective to New York City Council.

The political environment surrounding mayoral control of NYC public schools is likely to lead to the City Council playing a larger role in shaping the present and future policies that address public education in New York. That is why I believe my first-hand experience as a New York City public school teacher will be valuable toward creating the kind of education system in our city that truly leaves no child behind.

4. What is the most glaring problem which the city that never sleeps faces today?

Underperforming schools. Underperforming schools hurt our families and fail to promote economic development. Children are trapped in failing schools across this city. Parents are caught in a catch 22 between sending their children to bad schools and worse schools. Teachers are rarely provided the professional development they need to support them in addressing the needs of their students, which often extend beyond the classroom.

There is no doubt, that teachers can make a huge difference in the life of children. It was a first grade teacher that taught me English. It was because of her and those like her that led me to become a teacher. But when you are faced with students that come to class hungry, sleep deprived because they live in shelters, or distracted by concerns for their safety on their way to and from school, teaching becomes a real up-hill battle. Professional development and support of teachers can help teachers as they address the daily lesson plans and core curriculum but also the wider concerns of the community in which they teach.

5. In what capacity would you be able to help solve this problem?

I believe publishing the budgets of schools will allow parents to see the priority each school places on education in the classroom relative to other school expenditures. Spending the same dollar, some schools might spend it wiser than others positively impacting the educational experience of the students. Parents have a right to know which of those schools their child attends. Principals also can learn from the experience of others schools and examine how other schools spend their budgets. Imagine if school administrators were allowed the opportunity to learn from one another.

Also, implementing universal pre-k to NYC four year olds will help get our kids on the right track early. We know pre-school has a durable, long lasting positive impact on the well-being and opportunities available to students who attend pre-school. It gets children into the habit of learning at a young age and immerses them into the educational environment we expect them to attend for the next 20 years of their life. ‘Learn early and learn often’ is a theme we should set for our children now. And that theme should hold true for higher education as well.

For every dollar spent by the city of New York, one penny is devoted to higher education. That is one pathetic penny. While other cities are leading to make higher education achievable and affordable, New York City is being left behind. New York City should be a leader on these very issues and make a greater commitment to higher education.

Also, I believe we need to promote and support afterschool programs and stop the frequent attempts to cut back on these vital programs for kids. After school programs not only provide opportunities for a more rounded education beyond the classroom, they encourage achievement in the classroom by requiring strict standards for students to attend. I had a student, who was nearly failing all of his classes. But when he joined the basketball team, because he had to maintain a certain grade average, he caught up to the rest of the students. He came to school early to study and prepare, and eventually he went on to college, all because of the basketball team. His story is just one of many that time and again prove to us teachers and parents the benefit of afterschool programs. But politicians at City Hall who have no experience teaching in classrooms would have no knowledge of this, which is why too many are half-hearted advocates of many of the issues I have described as profoundly impacting the well being of our kids. Education affects all of us. The sooner we learn that, the sooner we can begin to confront these barriers to learning and success in our schools and communities.

6. What is your take on the immigration bill being discussed in Congress right now?

Growing up with immigrant parents, my family has been touched by the issue of immigration enforcement in the United States. When my mom’s visa expired and she faced deportation we worried about what that would mean for our family. It wasn’t until she decided to appeal to Senator Carl Levin that her fortunes changed. Senator Levin sponsored a bill introduced by Senator Joe Biden in the Congress that was signed by President Reagan granting my mother American citizenship.

The issue of immigration reform and the importance of keeping families together is not just a political issue for me: it’s personal.

As Congress debates immigration reform, they should take seriously the benefits that immigrants provide the economy and the role immigrants play within the fabric of communities across the country. Recent reports about the contents of the new immigration reform proposal make me feel both encouraged and concerned. I’m encouraged by the fact that more congressional Republicans seem to finally want to address immigration in a comprehensive way beyond simply closing the border. A pathway to citizenship is absolutely critical, and I’m glad that some reasonable Republicans have joined with Democrats to endorse this measure.

7. Do you have practical ways to strengthen the immigration system of the US, especially on the city level?

I support the bi-partisan effort to address our failing immigration system. However, I am concerned about what the requirements might be for the pathway to citizenship. I’m concerned that too many people are being left out, because anyone here after December 2011 will not be eligible for citizenship and will still be vulnerable to deportation. I’m also concerned about the excessive fines and back taxes that current undocumented immigrants will be required to pay. I hope as the initial draft proposal is seen and heard, it will be amended to better reflect the needs of communities like the ones in District 8.

I believe the City Council can do a number of things to help undocumented immigrants. One idea I support would be to create a “Big Apple ID Card” that will serve as an identification option for all NYC residents. The card could be used as a library card and for banking services. Additionally, I support efforts to protect more New Yorkers from unjust deportations and support efforts to place limitations on local law enforcement in complying with immigration detainer requests. These are common sense ideas that I will fight for as the next council member for District 8.

ALLELUIA!

[caption id="attachment_1673" align="aligncenter" width="242"] On love day, buy a faithful shirt for her and you, for the price of ONE![/caption]

Editor's Notes
By Marivir R. Montebon

Happy Easter, dear readers!

Easter is considered the most important and meaningful of all Christian holidays, because it signifies Jesus Christ's triumph against death. In the Christian world, the message of Christ's rising from the dead is that of hope and God's ultimate power above everything.

Easter is linked with the Jewish celebration of the Passover and is marked by rituals such as early morning Church services and decorating of Easter eggs where eggs are meant to symbolize the beginning of a new life.

We bring back to you a new feature on Mothering Heights titled Love in the Time of Housework. Not that Janet Villa has become a prodigal daughter, an impossibility. On the contrary, she is into the thick of housework, motherhood, wife duties, and writing work, cannot avoid to be out of circulation for some time.

Welcome back, Jan. Indeed, we miss you. Glad to read your magical articles once again.

We also feature for the first time the poetry of Rowena Ranoco, a teacher from Baltimore City. Her section, called Lost in Translation, is prose and poetry in her mother tongue Filipino and translated in English. Together, we will ride on Weng's literary creativity and experience the bumps and finesse of words and meanings from one culture to another.

Enjoy the exciting read we offer you today, dear readers.

[caption id="attachment_1675" align="aligncenter" width="300"] Xocai Dark Chocolate: It is a healthy love.[/caption]

PAPAYA ATSARA

By Ruth Ezra
Chicago, Illinois

Three days in advance I made this papaya relish to complement the salo-salo (banquet) for our family’s luncheon to celebrate our 21st wedding anniversary. I love the sweetness and the sourness of the sugar-vinegar mixture. It was a perfect match with the baked barbeques I prepared.

Ingredients:

1 whole medium size green papaya, shredded
3 cups white vinegar
3 cups sugar
1 cup raisins
1 pack shredded carrots
1 head garlic and sliced diagonally
2 medium size ginger, sliced in strips
1 large size onion, sliced thinly
salt

Papaya Atsara Cooking Procedure:

1. Peel papaya, remove the seeds and grate into strips.
2. Sprinkle salt on shredded papaya to help bring out its juice and set aside.  Rinse papaya with water and once more squeeze to remove water.  Put papaya in a stainless basin together with the carrots, garlic, onion & ginger. Set aside.
3. Now prepare the pickle solution. In a sauce pan, put the vinegar and sugar and bring it to boil for about 2~3 minutes. Stir occasionally until sugar is dissolve.
4. Pour solution on the basin containing the ingredients. Set aside and let it cool.
5. I artistically arranged in a glass jar and refrigerated.

|*|*|*|

Ruth D. Ezra is a culinary queen in her own right through experience and training. She works at the AllState Roadside Services in Northbrook, IL.  Her greatest delight is serving good and healthy food to her husband Heman and only daughter, Isabelle. Kit would love to receive feedback on her recipes, and exchange them with yours at ezraruth@comcast.net.

Did You Know that the First Computer was a Woman?

By Marivir R. Montebon

The first computers were not machines, they were women. And they were important as the soldiers who won World War II for America to become the world's dominant world power. However, recognizing their contributions had a long time coming.

[caption id="attachment_2082" align="alignleft" width="200"] Leanne Erickson[/caption]

It took 67 years for women mathematicians to be recognized through a historical documentary presented by Leann Erickson, a professor of Film and Media Arts at the Temple University in Philadelphia. Having been a film maker for more than 20 years, she is a recipient of regional and national production grants for her work from such funding sources as the National Endowment for the Arts, the Jerome Foundation and the Leeway Foundation.

Titled Top Secret Rosies: The Female Computers of WWII, Erickson's documentary centered on these young female “computers” who took a short and intense course on ballistics calculations before they began work in 1942. So precise, they could calculate whether the soldiers were standing or laying on the trenches.

Way back in the 1940s, a computer was not a machine, but a job position held by someone who was excellent in math and science could readily fill in. At that time, young women did the work.

Erickson featured twins Shirley and Doris Blumberg, Marlyn Wescoff Weltzer, and Jean Jennings Bartik, who were then high school students who excelled in mathematics, for her documentary which was finished in 2010. They were among the recruits of the government’s frantic effort to hire mathematicians for the war.

In the documentary, Bartik said all the ballistics programmers at that time were women who worked with the ENIAC (Electronic Numerical Integrator and Computer), created by Penn scientists John Mauchly and J. Presper Eckert Jr. She said that they demonstrated to the military brass how the computer worked, with the programmers setting the process into motion and showing how it produced as answer, debugging every vacuum tube.

Bartik, who passed on in 2011, said computers were useless without programmers in the documentary. However none of them was invited to the recognition dinner. They were also just thought of as models who showed off the machine. In their many years of work, all the programmers had were a shared certificate of commendation from the military.

It was only in Bartik's twilight years that she was awarded merits of recognition for her work as a human computer. She was inducted into the Women in Technology Hall of Fame in 1999 and became a Fellow Award honoree at the Computer History Museum in Mountain View, California in 2008, three years before she died.

Erickson said, "We just don't pay attention to what women do. Despite the fact that women helped the war effort, we don't know."

Erickson has launched a tour of her historical documentary and is pleased by the overwhelming response of the schools and universities in the country.

Women’s groups and leaders in the US have continuously sustained their work at educating the younger generation and innovating ways to empower women through Math and Science. These relentlesss efforts always make the faceless, voiceless contribution of WWII computer Rosie Jean Bartik recognized. (Photos by Leann Erikson)

[caption id="attachment_2081" align="aligncenter" width="250"] Jean Bartik[/caption]

Featured Post: WOMEN WIN!

Congratulations to Ms. Beth Mabie Roa for having won in the Women Win contest sponsored by Bisai Art Cafe in commemoration of the International Women's Day in March.

Launched on Facebook, participants were asked of their comments about empowered women artists and their significance in today's society.

Ms. Roa, based in New York, had this post: "Women artist from around the world create gorgeous art. These women use their skills to support their families, create social change, and improve conditions in their communities. Women artists not only create art but they also create history that will be immeasurable as time goes by."

Maribeth won Php4000.00 and an oil pastel portrait of her own choice and rendered by Bisai Art Cafe resident and celebrated artist Joan Honoridez.

Pahiyom gihapon bisan nagkagidlay

Rowena Ranoco

Pahiyom gihapon bisan nagkagidlay

Basta adunay bag-o nga tahas
Naa kanunay ang kulba-hinam sama niini…
Basahi ko bisan unsa sa lain nga lenggwahe
Di ba ka-ubo ka sa sakto nga aksent ug mensahe.
Apan, pahiyom gihapon bisan nagkagidlay.
Paminawa ang mga kukabildo nga nagpalibot nimo sa kalsada
Ug masunggo ka sa estilo sa pagsyagit ug pamalikas nga nagkadaiya
Sultihi sila nga interesado ka sa storya sa ilang kinabuhi
Ang uban maghilom lang apan ang kadaghanan moingon “pahawa diha bi”.
Unsa pa, pahiyom gihapon bisan nagkagidlay.
Ipasulat ang mga pulong ug mga kasinatian nga nagpakita sa ilang mga nakat-onan
Mas mosugot pa sila nga mostorya ug ikaw ilang sekretarya
aron dili masukna ang dako nga kakulangon sa pagtagik sa mga letra.
Ginhawa og lawom, pahiyom gihapon bisan nagkagidlay.
Pamugna og proyekto nga sila mainteresado aron mohandus nila sa kalamposang gipangandoy
Dakung kadaugan kung ang kadaghanan magtamod sa talamdan nga giasoy.
Sama usab kanako karon
Nagmugna ning balak, nanikaysikay
Aron ipamantala sa unang panahon
Dili sayon, apan pahiyom gihapon bisan nagkagidlay.

Smile despite the odds (Translation)

When there is a new task
There is always the sense of thrill and anxiety just like this…
Read to me something in a foreign language
And you will cough up for the right accent and message.
Yet, smile despite the odds.
Listen to the conversations that surround you at the streets
And you nosebleed at the different styles of yelling and profanity
Tell them you are interested in the story of their lives
Few will be silent but most will say ”get off my face”.
What else, but smile despite the odds.
Let them write the vocabulary and experiences reflecting what they have learned
They would rather verbalize and ask you to jot down like a secretary
to cover up the big deficiency on spelling correctly.
Breathe deeply, smile despite the odds
Let them work on projects that they find interesting, to push them towards their dream of success
A big victory if majority will follow the schedule as declared.
And just like me today
Striving to create this poem
To be published for the first time
It is not easy, but smile despite the odds.

(Photo credit: Jeff Stern)

(Rowena teaches high school in Baltimore City. She is a teacher without borders.)