Blogs
A Student in a Foreign Land
By Mari-An Santos I was sitting at a popular restaurant in Bucharest, having lunch with a Romanian friend, and taking in the beautiful surroundings. There were blondes. There were brunettes. There were so many foreigners—and then it dawned on me, I am the foreigner....
Old School Study Habits
By Carmie Dulguime As a student over 20 years ago, we didn’t need the Internet and all those sophisticated gadgets that children have today. We can proudly tell them that we passed with flying colors without going online for research or having a laptop to use for our...
Work Trips, Discovery Trips
By Paula Bianca Abiog Traveling is one of my favorite things to do, and I only realized I loved it when I was already working. I wasn’t able to travel much when I was a kid, since I didn’t have the means and my family wasn’t big on trips. Fortunately I found work in...
Real World Battle
By Paige de Guzman When I was still studying in college, I thought I had my life all planned out. I thought I knew what I wanted. When I graduated and went out to the real world, my life’s certainties blew up in my face. All of a sudden, my best laid plans were not...
Surviving the Internet Age
By Maridol Bismark How does someone born at a time when computers were still unheard of survive in this techy world? Bombard your child with questions, that’s how. I work for an online entertainment portal. Every day, I am exposed to words and phrases that are just...
Make Your Own Luck
By Paula Bianca Abiog A few days before the Chinese New Year, my mom started sprucing up our home to welcome the year of the dragon. Up went the red curtains. Throw pillow covers were changed to red as well. On our dining table were the requisite display of 13 round...
Making the Grade in Romania
By Mari-An Santos I have always been a diligent student. Studying is something I take very seriously, and so I am accustomed to getting good grades in school. Every day, I remember, I would have homework in at least two of my classes and a quiz the next day. I would...
Animal Adventures
By Romelda C. Ascutia Father and son were squatting in front of their gate, hunched over black dots on the ground that as I passed by took on the shape of adorable ducklings. Children and animals go beautifully together like coffee and cream, and my two sons had their...
Revisiting College
By Maridol Rañoa-Bismark “What do you like more? High school or college?" I ask my son, who's on his third year at the university. “College,” he replies, without missing a beat. In college, he tells me, you get to meet more people from all walks of life. You also have...