…FrIeNdS

As the song that goes, “Many people say true friends are hard to find,” do you think so? Are true friends or we call bestfriends really hard to find? Do you believe in that? Or they are just all around. You meet them everyday but you just don’t mind them.

Friendship is very broad because there are many different kinds of friends as people define it. There are friends in need, friends at school, old friends, colleagues, boyfriends or girlfriends, friends in business, even “fucking” friends for some, best friends and so on. But they are all friends. Which would you prefer to be with? To whom do you get along easily with? Who do you care the most?

With my short stay in this terrific world, I have also encountered a lot of friends as I continue my quest for a brilliant future in this bivouac of life. They likewise belong to those kinds of friends aforementioned above. I have as well accumulated a lot of answers from different people to the question, “What is a friend to you?”

Some people I’ve met gladly said that friends are like plants that you need to care and nurture. Others bluntly said that they are like diamonds, so precious that they can’t stand without. Quite a few strongly believe that friends are like the best books, though oftentimes the cover may seem not to be so elegant, but the contents are like bars of gold that you can treasure for a lifetime. Many powerfully said that friendship is eternal. It doesn’t ask “Why?” because for them, it’s a reason itself. It doesn’t inquire, “What if?” because it is willing to risk all. It doesn’t wonder, “Until when?” because for them, it doesn’t end. And still others even give me a passage, “In life, you will realize that the people you meet have a purpose. Some were put there to test you, others are there to use you, a few of them would teach you, and very few would bring out the better if not the best in you. Many may even cause you pains and heartaches but one must learn to move on.” They added, “so let go the people who can’t treat you right and hold on to those who love you in return and see your worth.”

Now, dear friends, your life lies in the palm of your hand. Your tomorrow is just a product of what you do today. So, take the best choice. Select the best answer to that question and hold on to them. Learn from others’s experiences. Be keen in choosing who you want to be with, because you definitely become like them, as it is said, “Birds of the same feather flock together.” Take a very extra careful with the people around you. Have a nice friendship!

Friends, thanks for passing again. I just wish you’ve already found your true friends. Hope you find this valuable and you learn from it. See you again next time. Take care of your friendship. Once again, thank you and always, be the best of what you are!

…ToMb SwEePiNg DaY

Tomorrow, April 4th, it’s a holiday here in China because it’s tomb sweeping day. On this day, Chinese people visit and clean the graveyards of their folks. They spent most of their time of the day there and offer them fresh and beautiful bouquets of flowers. Cemeteries are filled with thousands of people on this very day.

In line with this, we have an additional day off. It’s another rest day for all workers in China. But in our case, we have plenty of classes in the weekends, in fact, we are going to have our English corners tomorrow late afternoon until evening, so our boss set today as our off, in exchange for tomorrow. Well, not bad at all.

I am wondering how to celebrate this. I don’t know how to spend my another one day of rest because I haven’t prepared an activity, for I just knew this yesterday. Well, I am just going to do my routines during my regular off. Do some exercises early in the morning, then take my breakfast, do laundry, clean the house, watch movies, sleep (actually most of my time is spent sleeping), do grocery, watch movies again and sleep. But sometimes, in addition to that, I go to park and enjoy its beauty, the flowers, trees, landscapes, lake and children playing. That’s how I usually spend my off. Somehow, I am going to do the same today. Rarely, I visit the riverside park, Changjiang river or commonly known as Yangtze river, just hiking along.

Well, what about you people, how do you spend your holidays? Your day off? Do you usually make plans in advance? Do you do the same thing every now and then? Or do you do various activities? Whatever they may be, enjoy your holidays.

I just hope you spend your holidays marvelously and enjoy them. Learn from me, we need to refresh ourselves after a heavy work. Have a good holiday and take care always. Have a wonderful day to all of us and as always, I say, everything happens for a reason. More powers to all of us.

…KTV at ABC

People around the world have their own various ways on how to amuse themselves. They do different recreational activities, some like fishing, swimming, camping, sailing, indulge in sports, traveling and many more. Here in China, common practice by Chinese people is going to KTV, especially when celebrating a special occasion. In fact, I was amazed that we had to book at least two (2) days in advance to surely get a reservation particularly on peak seasons like holidays. This is so because of China’s vast population and it was National Holiday. Well, pretty surprising.

One of our Chinese teachers celebrated her 24th birthday a couple of months ago. She invited us to a dinner and KTV right after. That was I thought. But it was all in one place. We went to the most known and expensive KTV here in our place. I felt like I was in a movie theater, for the screen is like half of a movie theater’s. Yet the roon is like one sixteenth (1/16) of its size. The screen is really huge. The rooms are well ventilated, well decorated and well cleaned. I thought I was in a five (5) star hotel. It is really nice and big. Well, it’s Chinese KTV, so there are only few English songs. But I did enjoy as well as all my colleagues including an American guy. We all had lots of fun.

Recreational activities help us feel relaxed after an arduous and backbreaking work. We need them once in a while for us to be energized. All work and no play makes you dull. So plan them ahead of time and make them as enjoyable as possible.

Enjoy your days everyone and have a good time. Be reminded always, everything happens for a reason. Once again, thank you for passing by and take care always. Hope you learn something. Catch my next blog. Thank you and more powers to all of us.

…HuAnGsHaN – tHe MoSt BeAuTiFuL mOuNtAiN iN cHiNa

Nature is eversince very beautiful. It existed for thousands of years, but its grandeur is still very eminent that no human creation can surpass. Its beauty is unending and never fading. It was, it is, and it will still be the same in the future. It is worth nurturing and taking care of.

Last year, when China celebrated its National Holiday (on the first week of October), people from different walks of life wandered around and visit some famous sites to celebrate the week of no work, including myself and some other friends. We visited Huangshan – the most beautiful mountain in China. We spent three (3) days there starting from September 29th until October 1st. It’s a four (4) hours away by bus from my place. But before reaching the mountain, our agent toured us to a nearby town which was built during the Qing Dynasty. Then, we continued to our destination. We stayed in a hotel at the foot of the mountain.

I’ve heard so much about this mountain long before from my students. But I just want to experience and witness how splendid the beauty of the mountain. I want to see it through my naked eyes.

Early the next morning, we hurriedly ate our breakfast to catch the sunrise on top. There I saw such a crowd going to the mountain.

Cable cars are also one of the highlights of the mountain. Since it is very steep, we decided to ride the cable car and perfect, because we were six (6) together and a cable car can only accommodate six people. Surprisingly, we saw its fabulous beauty as the cable car went up passing through gorgeous natural landscapes and a little spring approximately 1000 meters right down our cable car. About ten (10) minutes later, we reached the endpoint of the cable car, halfway to the top. We had to climb through slippery stairs because it was so foggy. We saw the sun once in a while and I extremely appreciate the color of the mountain, because it turns yellow once reflected by sunrays. That’s how beautiful the mountain is. They said it has different colors in different seasons. We spent our whole day climbing up and down from them and each has its own beauty to attract people.

I was totally amazed because there’s a hotel on top of the mountain, but it’s pretty expensive. When we stepped our feet on the highest portion, it felt so great knowing that we were about 2000 meters above sea level. Though very tiresome but it’s worth it. We rode another cable car as we went down at the other side of the mountains. As we reached our hotel, we were like logs lying on our bed after a short dinner because everyone is bloody tired from the whole day adventure.

On the third day, buying of souvenirs and traveling time going back to our respective places. Even if we slept soundly for about ten (10) hours, we still felt the fatigue brought about by the activity the day before. So we were also sleeping on our way.

Huangshan is indeed a great place to be visited. As Chinese people say, you won’t long of going to other famous mountains if you have visited Huangshan. Somewhat all the beauties of other mountains were put together in one place, and it is Huangshan. Waterfalls, springs, lake, natural landscapes, cable cars, restaurants, hotels, trees, all in one place. I absolutely had a well spent National Holiday.

So, everyone out there, if you have enough time, don’t miss to experience the magnificent Huangshan… And once again, thank you for your time and for passing by. Catch me up on my next blog. Have it in mind always, everything happens for a reason. Have a good time and take care always.

…JiUhUaShAn – ThE TeMpLe MoUnTaIn

As we often hear the quotation, “The only constant in this world is change,” we should try not to be stagnant, we should keep on keeping on. Since life is a journey, we should always attempt to keep on moving on. As for me, I don’t want to be stuck in one place. I always want to wander around and see the beauty that the world has to offer because it’s unfolding and welcoming us to reminisce its grandeur.

Eight months ago, I and some friends went to Jiuhuashan – a temple mountain. In fact, there are 99 temples and the montain is very famous especially to the followers and believers of Buddha. It was known since 719 AD during the Tang dynasty in China. We spent two (2) days on the mountain.

I just couldn’t imagine why we were having that experience without a meticlulous plan, no preparations at all. It’s just that a friend of us mentioned when we were eating at McDonalds that she and her student were going to that mountain the day after. We jokingly said we want to go with them. She immediately phoned her student to book for two (2) more people to the agency. We were just lucky that it was not peak season. So we went there early the next morning.

As we approached the mountain, we were shocked seeing the green and picturesque mountain on top. We landed at the middle of the mountain and put our things in the hotel where we stayed in. After lunch, we started climbing and visiting those temples that the mountain is known for. I highly appreciated how splendid the temples are. They are highly preserved and taken cared of by the monks who are living there. We went in and out from one temple to the other, and each has its beauty to present. They were built thousands of years ago. It was really a fascinating experience. We were very exhausted as we went down and proceeded to our hotel and restfully slept that night.

We were awaken by a hard knock at our door saying, “Please prepare because in few minutes, we are going at the back of the mountain.” We were surprised for we didn’t know our schedule. But actually, instructions and activities for the next day were given after our dinner but we were not there because we went out to buy some souvenirs. It was also our fault. We hurriedly prepared ourselves and took a shower hastily. Unfortunately, they had gone as we went out from the hotel. The guard told us that we can wait for the next bus. Anyway, there were many visible buses around.

As we were on the bus to the other side of the mountain, I was enjoying capturing pictures for it’s astonishingly magnificent, and clouds were just directly under the mountain. After reaching the endpoint for buses, we still had to walk for about 20 minutes to get to the cable car station. You could actually climb to the top with 1000 steps if you have that vigor to reach the topmost. We had a very great moment seeing the beauty of nature seen from the top.

There, as we wandered around, we saw the Phoenix tree – the

oldest pine tree in China. It was planted around 1400 years ago. I was overwhelmed with great joy watching and taking pictures with the tree. We didn’t want to leave the place for we are surrounded by nature, clean and green tress, fresh air, water, temples, cable cars, hotels and well-developed road system, such a comfortable life in there. We took another route to go back to our hotel for lunch. Then, we packed our things because we had to leave a short while after.

I can truly say that my two (2) days there were perfectly spent. Experiencing the glorious beauty of nature is such a wonderful page added to my short stay in this passing life. I just wish that all of us, dear friends, treasure every single minute of our lives. Brilliantly spend each day for tomorrow is another day. Once again, thanks a lot for passing by and remember, everything happens for a reason. Have a joyous day to all of us. Have a good time and more powers.

…aN uNaNtIcIpAtEd PrEsEnT…

Life is so magnificent that it is to be treasured every single minute of the day. As the expression, “Live life to the fullest.” With the presence of all pretensions, drudgery, misfortune, aridity and broken dreams, it is still so wonderful and worth living.

After a backbreaking weekends, I got up happily, did some exercise, jog for 20 minutes and went to work. I was astonished upon entering the office. A present caught my eyes on top of my desk, a white traditional Chinese shirt. Looking around wondering from whom it came from, I saw a brilliant smile from a Chinese teacher. She explained, “It is bought from Jiujiang Province. A friend of mine went there few days ago and I told her to buy a traditional Chinese shirt. I can still remember the time when I asked you about the meaning of souvenir, and you explained it very well and cited some examples. It’s one of your practice when you go to somewhere. So I think you can have this as a souvenir.” I heartily thanked her for the fantastic present. I highly appreciate it, amazingly beautiful.

I immediately went to the washroom to fit it. As I appeared in front of the mirror, it perfectly suits me well. So I showed them my attire. They commented, “It’s awesome. It looks good on you.” I was overwhelmed with happiness. In fact, I wore that for the entire morning in the office. I thanked her a lot of times.

Does that define that in life, if you are good to all people, they, in turn, be good to you? Does it best explain the golden rule, “Do unto others as what you want them to do unto you”? If so, dear friends, let’s strive to be fair and good to everyone and it will come to us a hundred times. Thanks a lot for your time. I do hope I once again touch a part of your valued life. Come and learn from me! Let’s always remember, everything happens for a reason. Have a good time everyone and more powers to all of us.

…NeVeR GiVe Up!!!

Were you stuck in a place where all people have a strong belief in their own capabilities? Have you bumped somebody with an unparalleled ideals in life? Did you have a chance of debating someone of eminent regard of themselves? Have you adjoined a self-centered person? If so, what did you do?

An experience like this is one of a kind. You don’t even know where to place yourself. It’s hard to convey your own notions because somewhat you are not given a chance to speak them out. They just want to express themselves and make you believe that they are right, their side is the best, what they conceive is enormously the ones acceptable and lastly, they want to win you over. It’s really an arduous time meeting this kind of people. But they do exist. They are in our society and in one way or another, there’s a big tendency to meet them. Are you prepared enough for this? Do you have a bewildering reasons to defend your side? Are you courageous enough to meet them? Or are you a kind of person who just keep still and never argue even if you absolutely don’t gree with them? You just keep silent inorder not to make an argument because you don’t want to be in trouble.

Well, with my senior high class, we came to talk about realities in life, that life is full of mysteries and they were so eager to convey their own thoughts. We perfectly had a great discussion. We all enjoyed and everyone channelled their own opinions. There came an instant that someone mentioned about adversities that we normally come across with as we journey in this passing life. They had different views on how they look at them. Some attend to these as just trials that all people have and noone is excused, and it depends on how we are going to face them – an optimistic approach. They strongly said they can handle them bravely. On the other hand, there were also some who cited that these are just products of our carelessness. If we don’t do our best, we would surely meet them. Noone is going to have such a problem if he cares and knows how to handle his life. So everything depends on how he lived his life. For them, these were just the consequences of what we did with our lives. Do you think so? Do you agree with them? Which side would you back up with?

Well, friends, we should always bear in mind that in life, everything happens for a reason. Thanks and have a good time. More powers to all of us.