Food Trip at Asia's Latin City

I was in Zamboanga from the afternoon of July 26 to the morning of July 29. I was with some co-teachers to attend a training there. On our arrival, we stopped at a food court in Sta Maria. The beef stew was so delicious. We decided to stay at a pension house in Baliwasan. Here are some the accounts of our food trip, which we unexpectedly experienced in Asia's Latin City.

Breakfast at D Twins Fried Chicken @ San Jose Rd. Baliwasan

(Beef Tapa, Fried Rice, Sunny-Side-Up Egg, Balbakuwa, Hot Tea)

The beef was really tender and moist. Balbakuwa was truly savory. A serve of P 55 could be enjoyed by four.






Dinner at Chowkings @ the City's Commercial Center
(Pork Lauriat)

Added to the soft pork fillet, the stir fried noodles, rice, fried dumpling, crunchy chips and the sesame seed coated dumpling offer a mouth-watering and satisfying meal after a long walk around the city. Just be sure to have a drink as your mouth would surely be stuffed; you might get choked.

Night Snacks @ the Boulevard
(Balut and Tempura)

Nowadays, the vendors are not anymore allowed to sell at the boulevard area. Just a short walk from the seaside, the balut vendors situate themselves in a street near the City Library. Other stuffs sold are tempura and chicharon. In my case with my friends, we bought some food stuffs and had them eaten at a bench in the boulevard.

A Drink at Paseo del Mar
(Fried Peanuts and Tanduay Ice)

One of the city's major attraction, Paseo del Mar has so much to offer. I enjoyed a bottle of Tanduay Ice and had deep fried peanuts as pulutan.

Snacks at Mindpro's Food Courts
(Squid Balls, Kiquiam and Shawarma)

I have always been enjoying eating at Mindpro's Food Courts. Last Wednesday, I tasted the "Shawarma" upon the recommendation of a friend. I had Gulaman-Buko as my drink.

Manang Terry's Chicken Inato @ Canelar
(Grilled Chicken Pecho, Bijon Guisado, Bulalo)

Although the chicken is not as good-grilled as in Ati-atihan or Mang Inasal, the ambiance of the place is great for a food trip. As for the group, we loaded our tummies with grilled chicken, bulalo and bihon guisado.





Now the price? Added kilograms and lessened savings! But I should not set aside the memory we have made. We have become even closer and no amount of diet or peso can pay the bonding moments we made on our food trip at Asia's Latin City.

Here in Zambo

Together with Leonneth, Lotta and Bulak, I came here in the Latin City of Asia last Tuesday. We left Ipil at around 2:00 pm. We are here for the UBD (Understanding By Design) batch 2 training at Don Pablo Lorenzo Memorial High School. We stay at a pension house in Baliwasan.

Yesterday, we had lots of fun and experience. We had a sumptuous breakfast at a local fast food chain. The balbakuwa was truly tasty and the beef was undeniably tender, juicy and delicious. After sessions in the seminar, we went to the commercial center and shopped. We took our heavy dinner at Chowking. We rested for awhile at the pension house then we went to the city's infamous boulevard. We ate balut and took pictures there. We proceeded to the newly established Paseo del Mar, where we roamed around and loaded ourselves with ice cold Tanduay Ice. We went back to the pension house as the night got old.

This morning, we packed our bags and checked out and proceeded here in the training venue. Hopefully, this training would end this afternoon so we could go home tonight.

As soon as we are back to our station, we shall be applying the learning we gained from this seminar.

ZSNHS Jaguars won 3rd

Yesterday, the town of Ipil celebrated its 62nd founding anniversary. There was a contest on cheer dance, which was participated by three college and two high school learning institutions. Our contender, the Jaguars managed to present a truly outstanding cheer dance despite the errors somewhere at the start. I videoed their presentation and left the venue right away to prepare my things for my travel to Zamboanga. I heared from their trainer, Loenneth, that they won third place.

I think, whether they got a place or not, they are truly winners. The Jaguars obviously gave their best during the competition.

2011 Miss Ipil

This year's Miss Ipil is Jaddie May Villafuerte, who represented Liga ng mga Kabataan. She bested over 15 other equally stunning ladies. Our student, Veronica Rufo (No.2) did not make it to the magic 8. She somehow gave an outstanding performance, as told to me by her trainer, Ms. Ipil Runner Up Jenylyn Chiong.Miss Sibugay '11 and the '10 Miss Ipil Amelia Caubalejo, one of my former students turned over her crown to this year's Miss Ipil.

(Thanks to Mary Josette Marquiala Din for these pictures.)

Church Visit: Cathedral of Malaybalay City, Bukidnon

It was the last day of the music module I attended there in Malaybalay when I unexpectedly visited the City's Cathedral. I was with my friend, Amiel for some transactions at the commercial center. He took these pictures via his phone. I did not bring my camera at the time, having the thought that we'd just be going to the centro. While Amiel's files were still being photocopied, we decided to visit the cathedral, which was just a few steps away. I wouldn't be much thinking about church visits since at the Institute, we have a chapel, and we had just went to the famous New Transfiguration Church. When we're nearing, it appeared that the church was closed but having learned from a fellow that it was open, we entered therein. I prayed for a while inside. Before we left, we took pictures of our selves to capture a remembrance of our visit to a House of the Lord in Malaybalay City on June 3, 2011.

ZSNHS Choir sings in a program the Opening Prayer and Phil National Hymn

Ma'am Vivian informed me ahead that our choir would be singing the opening prayer and Lupang Hinirang for the PTA 2011-12 Induction Program. And so I practiced the kids Fr. Nilo's I Believe in Peace and the national anthem. From the rehearsal, I could see that the children are quite ready to present their performance. Here's a glimpse of their rendition during last Friday's induction program:

Will I soon replace Facebook for this?

This has been just a usual try just like any other novel offering on the net. So far, Google+ has its advantages over Facebook. A comment that you have posted can be still edited even after a day or more. The ones in the link can be grouped into circles easily as friends, acquaintances, and so on. It's hangout feature looks more attractive.

If most of my Facebook friends will be hooked to Google+ one day, that would probably the time when I shift to the latter.

Bienvenidos aqui na Ipil Nuestro Padre Jesus Nazareno

His Excellency Bishop Julius Tonnel, D.D, upon seeing the Black Nazarene at the Paul VI Institute of Liturgy in Bukidnon, was hearwarmed by the image of the Lord. At the time, the Parish Priest of Quiapo, where the original image of the Nazarene resides, was there too. From their conversation, Bishop Tonell wrote a letter to Archbishop Rosales of Manila, requesting that the Ipil Diocese be given the image of the Nazarene. The bishop of Manila in his reply to Bp. Tonnel, happily informed that the Nazarene Statue be made soonest. It was also mentioned in the letter that the Diocese of Ipil would be informed on the time of shipping the holy image. That was last April.

Now, July 14, 2011 at past 10 am, the image of the Black Nazarene arrived at the premises of the St. Joseph's Cathedral, with Bp. Tonell, leading the welcoming of the Lord's image. Last Saturday, I have been practicing with the Interlude Choir, the singing of the Nazarene's theme: "Nuestro Padre Jesus Nazareno." During the blessing of the image, we sang it meaningfully with the faithful present. After the para-liturgical rites, the Bishop approached me and gladly asked how I came up with the hymn for the Nazarene. I told him that I got it online. He suggested that we also sing it during the communion on Sunday as a gesture of welcoming the Lord's image.

This 5:oo pm, we'll be singing during the Thanksgiving Mass in honor of the Black Nazarene of our Lord.

Training up a school choir

To have an SATB choir has been a big dream. Never have I thought that I'd train up one group of talented high school students, sing in harmony. So far, it has been more than a couple of weeks and the choir has three pieces that are ready for presentation. The first one, "I Believe in Peace" by Fr. Nilo, is truly a meaningful song. I have also found a piece from the Internet, the "Lupang Hinirang" (Philippine National Hymn), which is arranged by Ed Nepomuceno. The third piece is Dan Schutte's "These Alone are Enough", which is a good music for doxology. (Picture on the left was taken during our practice last Friday, July 8, which we did at a Kiosk as we would want to have it done outside a room.)

The job hasn't been like doing the work there in the music room. Before each rehearsal, I have to encode each note of the songs into a software program for music. (Thanks to a real great friend from Davao City, who installed the program in my net book. He is Amiel G. Baculna - an instructor at John Paul II College and the church organist in Davao.) Without the program, it would have been so impossible to train the kids. I usually save each file as sound format so it can be played during our practice.

There are challenges that lie ahead. The kids have to master yet the art of singing. We have yet to purchase a keyboard. There are times that some of the choir members have to attend to other extra-curricular activities during our practices. But with the good remarks we have been hearing so far, there is no reason for us to slow down. This is the first time the school would have this kind of group, and there's more to come, God bless us.

I have had it washed anyway

It's been raining 24/7. The road, muddy; everywhere, wet all day. My motorcycle has been dirty with mud for almost two weeks now. I would think that it is not wise to have it regularly washed. This morning, I looked at my XRM-RS 125 and I saw it was not necessarily have to be that untidy of the mess it got from the wet weather. I was on the way to campus B when I saw a car wash open. And so, it was washed. Despite the thought that it will get dirty again, as the rains are still around, I have had it washed anyway.