Homesick

By Diane Fermin Roeder

I’m homesick.

That unsettling, hollow, all-too-familiar feeling is gnawing at my guts again. Striking swiftly, without warning, as another sweltering day begins in a strange new metropolis. As the silent darkness steals over an unfamiliar city crowded with grim, weary strangers.

Homesickness occurs when we literally leave our comfort zones and have minimal access to our normal support systems of family, lifelong friends and the familiar routine of structured schedules. Basically, our world just seems horribly out of whack. Symptoms I’ve learned to recognize include fatigue, irritability, loss of appetite, difficulties in sleeping and yes, I admit, even occasional depression.

“You still get homesick? But you’ve been away from the Philippines for more than half your life! You should be used to this by now, “ a well-meaning friend recently pooh-poohed.

Uh, hello??? Just because we’ve all been homesick doesn’t make it any easier each time it strikes.

So, how exactly do I deal with homesickness?

When I was younger, I used to drown my homesickness with what I called “white noise”. Kind of like leaving the TV on at home even though I’m not watching it, finding consolation even in the empty chatter of disembodied voices, anything to avoid the stillness of a lifeless apartment. During that period in my life, if 75% of my existence was spent with excessive career demands, the rest was spent with relentless socializing, self-medicating with alcohol at parties, cocktails, bars, dinners, and physically flagellating myself afterwards with compulsive competing in endurance sports, such as marathons on the road (running) and on water (outrigger canoeing). Deprived of my normal support system, it was as if I was always compelled by a sense of urgency in seeking substitutes to externalize my internal loneliness.

Now that I’m older, hopefully wiser, I’ve learned to develop healthier behavior patterns in dealing with homesickness.

I’ve come to recognize and seek out my faith on my own terms and have come to rely on it and deeply, truly appreciate its intrinsic value in my life. Carving out a regular schedule for prayer and meditation has become a necessity. Going to church to worship with a regular community – something which I basically took for granted growing up – has actually become a tremendous source of comfort and joy each week.

I’ve learned to take advantage of the wonders of technology to the fullest and to the best of my abilities in order to keep regular and open communication lines with loved ones back home. How extremely fortunate are we in our day and age to have such innovations as Skype, Face Time, Viber, even old-fashioned SMS and email, at our fingertips? Yes, I’ve learned to use them all, sometimes not without a struggle, but eventually, wisely and well.

Along the way, I’ve discovered that sticking to my own habitual modes of self-expression can also be extremely beneficial. For some people, cooking or gardening can be therapeutic. For those blessed with musical or artistic talent, they may like to unwind by playing the piano or by sketching and painting. For others, shopping isn’t called retail therapy for nothing. In my case, self therapy translates to writing - which is why I blog! - and to exercise, such as running. But unlike in the past, these days, I don’t run for pain anymore; I run long and hard and fast enough to the edge of pain and then, when I’m at the precipice, I’ve learned to give myself up to the pure enjoyment of it.

Within a few more months, I know I will find that core group of new friends in this strange new city, people who share my eclectic interests and with whom I can feel comfortable enough to call on a random Friday night just to say, “ Hey, what’s up? Hubby’s working. Wanna hang out?”

The homesickness will slowly, eventually, fade away.

[caption id="attachment_1094" align="aligncenter" width="323"] Another sweltering day begins in a strange new metropolis...
Photo Credit:
Image of Guangzhou, China by Diane Fermin Roeder[/caption]

|*|*|*|*|

Diane Fermin Roeder is a reformed marketing communications expert in the hospitality and financial service industries. She enjoys being an expat's wife and founding wordsmith of DFR+word.works, a consultancy specializing in content solutions and development for luxury hotels and resorts in China. She carved a 15 year leadership career spanning the Philippines, Hong Kong, the US, and China, with an American MBA to boot. Diane suffers from an incurable addiction to killer stilettos. You may to The Bamboo Stiletto (personal blog) http://bamboostiletto.wordpress.com and Follow tweets: https://twitter.com/bamboostiletto

EXTRA EXTRA!

FLORIDA PT RUNS FOR A CAUSE

Jane Hernando Catacutan, a physical therapist, runs to help raise funds for children afflicted with Leukemia.  Join her cause. Here's the link:
http://pages.teamintraining.org/ncfl/wdw13/jcatacutan

Inspired by faith, she runs on the philosophy: "In everything I showed you that by working hard in this manner you must help the weak and remember the words of the Lord Jesus, that He Himself said, ‘It is more blessed to give than to receive."

VOLUNTEER TEACHERS: HOPE FOR THE STREET CHILDREN

By Bisai Ya

Today we share to you a humbling story of a public school teacher in Philippines who spends her weekends teaching vagrants, poor and unschooled youths.  Through volunteer teaching, she gave them a new lease on life. Thanks to her and a few co-teachers, this volunteerism spirit has made us realize that education is a key to eradicating poverty in any society.

I vividly remembered in high school, being educated in a premier ladies institution Colegio dela Inmaculada Concepcion in Cebu, we were taught by the Daughters of Charity sisters to embrace love for the poor and the less fortunate. It was after all a trait and value we learned from our original founders Saint Vincent de Paul and Saint Louise De Marillac. Saint Vincent is the founding Saint of the Daughters of Saint Vincent de Paul.

Because of our constant exposure to charitable works by the DC sisters, we grew up appreciating how it is to be of service to less fortunate people. We would often go to remote slum areas and distribute our bundles of joy. One student club called Children of Mary (COM) in CIC Cebu would perform periodical stage performances for unschooled youths to learn about Christianity and the religious stories, in many Cebu slums.

Twenty-five years after my high school graduation, I came in contact with a classmate who is now a public school teacher coaching elementary students in Mandaue, Cebu. We lovingly refer to her as Teacher Emilin Cutanda-Isahac now, a fellow Inmaculadista.

Embracing a noble profession, Emilin shared to us the joys and fulfillment of a being teacher who also does alot of teaching volunteer works on weekends under the Alternative Learning System (ALS), a test program of the Department of Education in Philippines, started in region 7 where Cebu belongs. She shared to us her joys at volunteering works to out of school youths in Mandaue and the uphill journey of their group in meeting the challenges.

Emilin shares, “Alternative Learning System (ALS) is a test project of the Department of Education Region 7 and by official definition of ALS, it is a non-traditional learning delivery to out-of-school children, youth and adults who may either be indigenous people, rebel-returnees, those living in highly inaccessible areas, persons with disability, jobless adults, senior citizen, drop-outs and others like housemaids, drivers, garbage collectors, street cleaners, vendors not served by formal education due to poverty.”

“The ALS set up is very relaxed, wherein we teach our students valuable lessons not confined in classrooms so they don’t get intimidated. The venue is outside of the normal classroom, usually we conduct it in a barangay centre or maybe a church courtyard, a cockpit, under the shade of tree or any other areas where learning can take place in a relaxed ambience for the students,” continues Emilin.

Emilin, being a fulltime teacher for the DepEd, along with few other co-public school teachers agreed to volunteer a major part of their teaching time to teach out-of-school youths (OSY) in Cebu using the ALS Program. These sessions are usually held on weekends at various locations usually remote or slum areas where there is greater number of unschooled youths residing.

“The ALS program has proved to be fruitful in attracting many out of school youths because our manner of communication is comfortable. We talk to them face to face, we try to handle it in the most friendly manner where our students do not out rightly feel intimidated by fellow students even when in the presence of us teachers.

We allow them to come to class in their most convenient clothes that they usually wear daily without imposing them standard uniform requirements. They all come from poor families and we understand some of them don’t even have spare clothes to come to class. Some of them even come slipper-less because they could not afford to get one”, adds Emilin.

“Each ALS class is facilitated by many of DepEd’s mobile teachers, and ALS facilitators and instructors. However in our area in Mandaue we have few volunteers and we try to spread out so we can cover several areas and several students at the same time.”

“I am delighted that the ALS program became very appealing to poor students. In this program we have three major levels namely: Basic Literacy Program (BLP), Accreditation and Equivalency Program (A&E) and Informal Education Program.

There are youths out there who have been schooled previously but stopped due to economic or health reasons. These may be learners who have stopped school for sometime and did not obtain elementary, high school or even college or vocational degrees. Or they could already be overage, however with this system they can easily go back to school via this ALS program.

From basic Literacy program they can move on to the A&E level. When they pass the A&E for elementary or high school, that means that his/her level of understanding is equivalent to elementary or high school students who graduated from formal school. Passing the exam being administered by the Bureau of Alternative Learning System (BALS) then can accredit them.

The ALS program in the Cebu District has produced excellent graduates like Ana M. Diores, a magna cum laude graduate of Bachelor of Pre-Elementary Education at the Cebu Institute of Technology and Kristine Y. Martinez, a magna cum laude graduate of the University of San Carlos with a degree on Library and Information Science.

Emilin said that the ALS program is doing well "because it has been talked about in the barangays where many poor families reside and many of them could not afford to send their children to formal school even to public school. The ALS has allowed us to get inside their homes and has given the poor parents and families hope of continuing education even when life for them has become much harder in view of the global economy and the looming recession spirit”.

She expressed gratitude to the ommunity charity group “Bisayababe” who also appointed her as one of their online facebook page admin. Bisayababe members has been instrumental in facilitating some of our needed teaching resources like projector screen so we don't need to write our lessons in manila paper or cartolinas which gets wet during typhoon or rainy seasons“.

“A member donor donated a laptop so we can create our lessons plans without having to write them manually. With laptops we are able to pass and easily send digital lessons plans to every teacher via email and digital means. It makes our life much easier and hassle-free.”

"In 2011 a bisayababe donor who wish to remain anonymous came forward and donated a wall projector for us so we can accommodate more students in one class. This equipment helped us in our major classes and gatherings and introduced our learners to using IT technology products inour classes."

“On important occasion when we would need to attend seminar for ALS volunteers which is usually held in Manila, we in Cebu gets to attend because our donors assisted us by helping pay for our seminar fees and plane fares. This is such a huge help on our part since we do not enjoy subsidy from the government body for these expenses and requisites. Our benevolent sponsors and donors are the ones that fire us up to continue doing our teaching volunteer works.”

“Early this year when our latest batch of ALS learners graduated, we had a simple ceremony and again our loving donors contributed cash so we could buy simple rubber shoes and white tshirts for their graduation uniforms. Oh you should see the happiness in their faces as they march on stage to be recognized for their achievement. It is such bliss to see them look so happy and hungry to learn more.”

We were so touched by what Teacher Emilin has shared with us. She and some of her co-volunteer teachers are wishing that many would assist them propagating the program inorder to offer affordable and easy education even to the poorest of the poor.

“Even if we don’t have proper learning sites, our learners are happy to be taught even in old or vacated warehouses. They are just too happy too happy to learn. They are happiest when they are able to hold pen or pencils in their hands and able to write a complete sentence, even of their grammar needs a lot of improvement.”

“These learners are happiest too when they are able to read sentences or paragraph without interruptions. Our visual aids are the usual manila papers cut and pasted on blackboards painstakingly prepared by teachers or sometimes borrowed from school or books from the public library. We could not afford to buy books, so we end up begging for old books from students in private or public schools. We use to lend them to learners to take home so they have something to review and learn at home.”

“We try our best to reward their families too with incentives like a kilo of rice if they allow their kids to attend or not miss a class. Some parents of our learners would prefer their kids to go out working in the streets rather than attend classes since these kids are made as breadwinners of their families. We try to persuade parents to send their kids to our classes and in return we give them a kilo of rice or some viands that the kids can take home to their families to eat.”

“We also look after their spiritual welfare by making them attend Recollection session where they are taught about religion and faith and at the same time to know more about their spiritual side and growth,” shares Emilin.

As a parting shot, we asked Emilin what would be their group’s wish list from possible donors known to OSM! and she gladly says:

“We need additional laptops for our other volunteer teachers. Raincoats for our students, shoes, slippers. Our current salaries do not allow us the capability to buy from our own pockets. Oftentimes our manila papers get spoiled through constant pasting and use and we always run out of materials especially when we go in separate groups to different barangays or poor camps. A laptop would allow us to prepare our materials quicker than usual and also projector (even second hand will gladly do) would allow us to conduct learning to many students especially when we are teaching to more than 20 students at a time," she said.

To know more about ALS and Teacher Emilin and her group, please visit the website www.wix.com/bisayababe/bisayababe.

VOLUNTEER TEACHERS: HOPE FOR THE STREET CHILDREN

By Bisai Ya

Today we share to you a humbling story of a public school teacher in Philippines who spends her weekends teaching vagrants, poor and unschooled youths.  Through volunteer teaching, she gave them a new lease on life. Thanks to her and a few co-teachers, this volunteerism spirit has made us realise that education is a key to eradicating poverty to any society.

I vividly remember in high school, being educated in a premiere ladies institution like Colegio dela Inmaculada Concepcion in Cebu, we were taught by the Daughters of Charity sisters to embrace love for the poor and the less fortunate. It was after all a trait and value we learned from our original founders Saint Vincent de Paul and Saint Louise De Marillac. Saint Vincent is the founding Saint of the Daughters of Saint Vincent de Paul.

Because of our constant exposure to charitable works by the DC sisters, we grew up appreciating how it is to be of service to less fortunate people. We would often go to remote slum areas and distribute our bundles of joy. One student club called Children of Mary (COM) in CIC Cebu would perform periodical stage performances for unschooled youths to learn about Christianity and the religious stories, in many Cebu slums.

Twenty-five years after my high school graduation, I came in contact with a classmate who is now a public school teacher coaching elementary students in Mandaue, Cebu. We lovingly refer to her as Teacher Emilin Cutanda-Isahac, a fellow Inmaculadista.

Embracing a noble profession, Emilin shared to us the joys and fulfillment of a being teacher who also does alot of teaching volunteer works on weekends under the Alternative Learning System (ALS), a test program of the Department of Education in Philippines, started in region 7 where Cebu belongs. She shared to us her joys at volunteering works to out of school youths in Mandaue and the uphill journey of their group in meeting the challenges.

Emilin shares, “Alternative Learning System (ALS) is a test project of the Department of Education Region 7 and by official definition of ALS, it is a non-traditional learning delivery to out-of-school children, youth and adults who may either be indigenous people, rebel-returnees, those living in highly inaccessible areas, persons with disability, jobless adults, senior citizen, drop-outs and others like housemaids, drivers, garbage collectors, street cleaners, vendors not served by formal education due to poverty.”

“The ALS set up is very relaxed, wherein we teach our students valuable lessons not confined in classrooms so they don’t get intimidated. The venue is outside of the normal classroom, usually we conduct it in a barangay centre or maybe a church courtyard, a cockpit, under the shade of tree or any other areas where learning can take place in a relaxed ambience for the students,” continues Emilin.

Emilin, being a fulltime teacher for the DepEd, along with few other co-public school teachers agreed to volunteer a major part of their teaching time to teach out-of-school youths (OSY) in Cebu using the ALS Program. These sessions are usually held on weekends at various locations usually remote or slum areas where there is greater number of unschooled youths residing.

“The ALS program has proved to be fruitful in attracting many out of school youths because our manner of communication is comfortable. We talk to them face to face, we try to handle it in the most friendly manner where our students do not out rightly feel intimidated by fellow students even when in the presence of us teachers.

We allow them to come to class in their most convenient clothes that they usually wear daily without imposing them standard uniform requirements. They all come from poor families and we understand some of them don’t even have spare clothes to come to class. Some of them even come slipper-less because they could not afford to get one”, adds Emilin.

“Each ALS class is facilitated by many of DepEd’s mobile teachers, and ALS facilitators and instructors. However in our area in Mandaue we have few volunteers and we try to spread out so we can cover several areas and several students at the same time.”

“I am delighted that the ALS program became very appealing to poor students. In this program we have three major levels namely: Basic Literacy Program (BLP), Accreditation and Equivalency Program (A&E) and Informal Education Program.

There are youths out there who have been schooled previously but stopped due to economic or health reasons. These may be learners who have stopped school for sometime and did not obtain elementary, high school or even college or vocational degrees. Or they could already be overage, however with this system they can easily go back to school via this ALS program.

From basic Literacy program they can move on to the A&E level. When they pass the A&E for elementary or high school, that means that his/her level of understanding is equivalent to elementary or high school students who graduated from formal school. Passing the exam being administered by the Bureau of Alternative Learning System (BALS) then can accredit them.

The ALS program in the Cebu District has produced excellent graduates like Ana M. Diores, a magna cum laude graduate of Bachelor of Pre-Elementary Education at the Cebu Institute of Technology and Kristine Y. Martinez, a magna cum laude graduate of the University of San Carlos with a degree on Library and Information Science.

Emilin said that the ALS program is doing well "because it has been talked about in the barangays where many poor families reside and many of them could not afford to send their children to formal school even to public school. The ALS has allowed us to get inside their homes and has given the poor parents and families hope of continuing education even when life for them has become much harder in view of the global economy and the looming recession spirit”.

She expressed gratitude to the ommunity charity group “Bisayababe” who also appointed her as one of their online facebook page admin. Bisayababe members has been instrumental in facilitating some of our needed teaching resources like projector screen so we don't need to write our lessons in manila paper or cartolinas which gets wet during typhoon or rainy seasons“.

“A member donor donated a laptop so we can create our lessons plans without having to write them manually. With laptops we are able to pass and easily send digital lessons plans to every teacher via email and digital means. It makes our life much easier and hassle-free.”

"In 2011 a bisayababe donor who wish to remain anonymous came forward and donated a wall projector for us so we can accommodate more students in one class. This equipment helped us in our major classes and gatherings and introduced our learners to using IT technology products inour classes."

“On important occasion when we would need to attend seminar for ALS volunteers which is usually held in Manila, we in Cebu gets to attend because our donors assisted us by helping pay for our seminar fees and plane fares. This is such a huge help on our part since we do not enjoy subsidy from the government body for these expenses and requisites. Our benevolent sponsors and donors are the ones that fire us up to continue doing our teaching volunteer works.”

“Early this year when our latest batch of ALS learners graduated, we had a simple ceremony and again our loving donors contributed cash so we could buy simple rubber shoes and white tshirts for their graduation uniforms. Oh you should see the happiness in their faces as they march on stage to be recognized for their achievement. It is such bliss to see them look so happy and hungry to learn more.”

We were so touched by what Teacher Emilin has shared with us. She and some of her co-volunteer teachers are wishing that many would assist them propagating the program inorder to offer affordable and easy education even to the poorest of the poor.

“Even if we don’t have proper learning sites, our learners are happy to be taught even in old or vacated warehouses. They are just too happy too happy to learn. They are happiest when they are able to hold pen or pencils in their hands and able to write a complete sentence, even of their grammar needs a lot of improvement.”

“These learners are happiest too when they are able to read sentences or paragraph without interruptions. Our visual aids are the usual manila papers cut and pasted on blackboards painstakingly prepared by teachers or sometimes borrowed from school or books from the public library. We could not afford to buy books, so we end up begging for old books from students in private or public schools. We use to lend them to learners to take home so they have something to review and learn at home.”

“We try our best to reward their families too with incentives like a kilo of rice if they allow their kids to attend or not miss a class. Some parents of our learners would prefer their kids to go out working in the streets rather than attend classes since these kids are made as breadwinners of their families. We try to persuade parents to send their kids to our classes and in return we give them a kilo of rice or some viands that the kids can take home to their families to eat.”

“We also look after their spiritual welfare by making them attend Recollection session where they are taught about religion and faith and at the same time to know more about their spiritual side and growth,” shares Emilin.

As a parting shot, we asked Emilin what would be their group’s wish list from possible donors known to OSM! and she gladly says:

“We need additional laptops for our other volunteer teachers. Raincoats for our students, shoes, slippers. Our current salaries do not allow us the capability to buy from our own pockets. Oftentimes our manila papers get spoiled through constant pasting and use and we always run out of materials especially when we go in separate groups to different barangays or poor camps. A laptop would allow us to prepare our materials quicker than usual and also projector (even second hand will gladly do) would allow us to conduct learning to many students especially when we are teaching to more than 20 students at a time," she said.

To know more about ALS and Teacher Emilin and her group, please visit the website www.wix.com/bisayababe/bisayababe.

Eating in America

By Debbie Almocera

If you’re in the US for the very first time, you’re likely to experience what I call the “supersize syndrome.” That is, realizing that everything, and I mean everything comes in “supersizes”. Whether it’s the Big Mac in your hand or the SUV you’re in, you will realize that size does matter in America.

Let’s focus on food. The first time you order a regular cheeseburger, you wonder if they made a mistake and gave you one for the whole family. The drink that comes with your meal is usually the size you get when you’re having a family reunion in the Philippines. In the States individual soda orders are ridiculously supersized that New York had to propose a law banning soda drinks over 16 ounces!

When my oldest daughter first stepped into one of the most popular fast food chain in the country, her first order was a chocolate milkshake that was larger than any milkshake she has ever seen, it practically shook her. When her “regular meal” arrived, she wondered if she could pack and mail some of her food, and share it with friends back home. Then they offered her dessert that looked so appealing on the illustrated menu. When it arrived, it was it bigger than her meal.

I believe first timers in the US feel a pang of guilt every time they couldn’t eat all the food they’re served. I used to share the same sentiments each time I looked at the food I have to refuse simply because they were too much for my stomach.

In my effort to compensate for my lack of culinary skills, I made the mistake of taking my daughter to an Asian buffet. The minute she saw the delectable display of Asian cuisine, she couldn’t believe her choices. However, it didn’t take us very long to realize that this was a losing proposition. We paid way more than what we imagined we could ingest. She was “full” before she could start tasting everything she wanted. In times of dire hunger we think we can eat anything and everything. The brain responds to visual and olfactory stimulus of food. However, my daughter’s stomach can only accommodate so much food before it sends a signal to the brain that it’s full. To the dismay of her taste buds the hypothalamus (that part of the brain that regulates hunger), dictates that she has to stop eating.

Buffets are as commonplace as fast food restaurants in this country. No matter how small the town, you can bet your last penny you can find a Chinese restaurant with a buffet not too far from McDonald’s wherever you are in these United States. And for this, what can I say but I’m grateful.

The perennial question during the first few days of my daughter’s colonial life is - “where’s the rice?” Whether it’s a fast food restaurant or a fancy steakhouse, her first question is “do you have rice?” Imagine the surprise of the servers at KFC when my daughter insisted they have to have rice on their menu, because that is the only way she could eat fried chicken! Apparently, they have rice with their chicken at KFC Philippines. Mind you, I was the same way during my first few years in the States, before I developed a taste for hamburgers and fries as actual meals.

Grocery shopping for the first time was not a very pleasant experience. I thought, “that’s it, I’m going to go hungry”. Food in massive quantities and extra large canned goods were staring at me in the face, but there was nothing I could eat. All I wanted was a small plate of rice and something to go with it. I realized that if I want to eat my kind of food, I’d have to learn to make them myself. The first thing on my list was a rice cooker.

When I found one I realized I have never had such a great appreciation for a simple kitchen appliance. What a priceless invention for those like me who needs it out of dire necessity and survival.

My daughters have since adjusted to the American way of eating – unhealthy. And I couldn’t be any prouder. The humungous cheeseburgers no longer look as intimidating as they used to. We have gotten so used to eating larger meals that our stomachs have finally stretched to the dismay of our brains. Miraculously, my girls still look like waifs in a hunger colony. Which makes me wonder, where did all that food go?

[caption id="attachment_1105" align="aligncenter" width="444"] For more details, click here
or call 1.860.460.9720[/caption]

|*|*|*|*|

Debbie Almocera is a licensed therapist working in the behavioral medicine department of one of the largest hospitals in St. Louis, Missouri. For her, there has not been a more fulfilling and rewarding career than the one she has now. She can be reached at dholderle@yahoo.com

WORK AROUND YOUR BUDGET

By Marivir R. Montebon

I was raised by a mother who was very strict and stringent in managing money in our home. I remember it was in Grade 5 that she started giving me money to pay for my own tuition fee every month at the school cashier. We had a passbook that showed how much had been paid and the remaining balance.

When I get home, my mother would ask for the passbook and the remainder of the money, down to the last centavo.

I got used to that. Everything has to be returned to mom. And if I wanted extra money, I had to ask from her and not automatically use the remaining amount, or I will be in trouble.

I grew up thinking that my mother was strict and inconsiderate. But as I look back now, I realized I learned from her the value of honesty and thrift. I only had to use my own allowance for the day to buy what I wanted or needed, despite the little extra coins I had during tuition fee pay days.

My mother also keeps a list of all her expenses during the day, like a diary. One could actually find out our family history through the list she keeps! Every night, before my mother would join me and my brother for our book reading at bedtime, she would write all her expenses for the day in a dark brown Golden Gate notebook. I glanced upon the entries of that notebook, I remember, she wrote: Fish PhP5, Eggs P2, Chicken P6, Bread P2, Vegetables P5, Marivir/Jerry baon (allowance) P1, Fare P.50 cents.

Overall, my mother taught me to work around my budget. Never spend more than what you earn. In fact, she encourages quick savings too. She would insist for example, of having water instead of soda, or buying pan de sal and eating it at home, instead of sitting in a small resto for a quick snack, which would be a few pesos more expensive . Oh mother, I grew up on a tight budget.

But it all worked for me. I learned to live the simple life, low maintenance that is.

When I became a mother, I somehow followed my mother's own thrift ways, eerrr, except perhaps on spending for books, clothes and shoes.

I pretty much believe that home budgeting could well be a pattern for national budgets. Priority expenses would be for food production, safety, education, and health. The wisdom of a country's economy stems from how much earnings it is making in order to be able to spend for such public necessities. It still goes back to my own mother's philosophy of one should not spend more than one earns.

As a country, where do we get our earnings? What businesses and enterprises run the economy? Is government rationale enough to spend public incomes for education, health, safety, and recreation? How will the economy sustain itself to perpetually finance these needs? From taxes, of course. My only hope is that businesses and individuals who are being taxed enjoy a viable environment for growth, where trade and commerce are vibrant enough to sustain a dynamic economic life.

Going back to my mom, she has always told us that her efficient performance in her job as teacher and accountant enables her to spend for our education, food, health needs, and recreation. Her job (and my father's small business) were our stable economy, without which, we would have nothing to get by.

These days, it is fundamental for government to ensure an environment that would keep the country's earnings up and economic well-being first, before actually acquiring the capability to cover for health, education, and safety services for everyone. Otherwise, it doesn't make any sense.

[caption id="attachment_1050" align="aligncenter" width="571"] For details and orders, visit healthychocolatenyc.com[/caption]

MOVIE REVIEW: TO ROME WITH LOVE

By Marivir R. Montebon

Once again, writer director Woody Allen cracks up his audience with his crazy wit in the movie To Rome with Love, showing at the Lincoln Plaza Cinemas in Manhattan's Upper West Side. Five couples were the focus of this comedy love story set in Rome, showing distinctive characters of wit and outright dumbness, guaranteed to make one laugh.

To Rome with Love imparts a shallow message, compared to Allen's previous movies. Nevertheless it is true to life, with a lot of exaggeration of course which makes up for its humor.

Allen plays Jerry in the film, an art producer who dreads retirement, and finds solace and approval from his pyschiatrist wife Phyllis (Judy Davis).  He finally wounds up with his daughter's future father-in-law, a mortician whom he successfully promoted to be an opera star on the shower.

Each couple in the film are entangled in a situation whose twists and turns are as wacky as the plot and their punch lines. Allen resolves each situation with a powerful knot of convincing endings.

There is Leopoldo (Roberto Benigni), a predictable, routinary family man, who suddenly became the object of endearment of the paparazzi and becomes an instant popular celebrity.  He is constantly hounded by the press, asked the dumbest questions, meant to poke fun on how intrusive and obnoxious media people could get.

John (Alec Baldwin), a celebrated architect in the US, returns to Rome to visit his old home and meets Jack (Jesse Eisenberg). He acts as an active observer of the love triangle happening between Jack, his girlfriend Sally (Greta Gerwig), and Monica (Ellen Page).

Anna (Penelope Cruz) is the high end prostitute in the film who accidentally had to act as the wife of a neophyte business who came to Rome to visit his family and begin a new job.

Allen did a terrific mix of characters in the film, and the plot, although absurd, guaranteed big laughter from the spectators. To Rome with Love is surely entertaining, however shallow, only Allen has the genius to be able to pull it off.