“From Thee we came from so to Thee we go back.”

It is still so fresh in my mind what I uttered yesterday to my colleague and my superior in the company. “That’s what we called, expect the unexpected”, that was what I said to them, after our client’s incident of losing his documents, that supposed to be submitted to the bank. And this statement has been repeated today, December 17, 2011 to us.

06-11:58 P.M last night, December 16, 2011: Series of rain and flood drops of water to diverging direction with winds across our way.

12:00 Midnight: Rain stopped, but seemed-liked a flock of birds chirping on the street we heard heading their way out from the area where we live at. People from the nearby streets from our street were in distress and fear with their families; making sure that all of their family members are in-tact safely, while striding on the street out. There were children along with their mothers who were in deep anxiety of what would happened while they are a midst the road, looking up for their behalf. Seeing our yard was in high water flood, we immediately in motion to get our angles to be secure before anything else. Having a baby or a child, on this like of incident would really put us to deep discernment of compassion, loving and sacrifices to make. I,with my other siblings went to our room and got our beloved babies, who were never slept the night long.

I myself, changed my clothes, got my baby boy Bench on my arm, then picked up my bag which I used yesterday with the only net book and the papers I have inside it. Then went out from the house, where water was on my waste line level. My cellphones were gone in my thought. I stopped in the middle of the road to check my other siblings along with my nephew and nieces. I can’t find them by my eyes because of the so dimmed road. There was a total block out of electricity in the area. I entered the opposite gate side of the road, longing to find them, but it was me and my baby who reached there first. Again I went out, then I found them calling me by name with the children on my elder sister with her new born baby on her right arm, my brother with our nephew on his right side and my younger sister with the only shoulder bag with my baby’s few clothing, can of milk, and my bulky wimax. We strode ahead praying to reach the bridge in the highway, which is 100 meters away where we were; and where at first we saw there was no water yet. Only seconds had elapsed, great pressure and volume of water meet against our way along with the other people with their families, pigs, dogs and motorillas as well onward us.

The water was getting higher and higher until my sister was stumble and rolled to the drainage and got scratches on her left knee. Adrenaline rush would really comes in times of trouble naturally. That what helped me to pursue and to look for a way to fight against the current of water and to hold on and not to stumble until I reached the bridge side and, I don’t know, I managed to put my baby Bench on the bridge through the lower hole of the bridge and begged my baby not to cry or to panic. I managed to clime on the bridge and had helped my niece, then my brother, my 4 months old nephew, then my sisters, my brother –in-law and the woman who was with her daughter as well. After a while, my baby uttered that my only phone hanged on my neck fell. At first it made me think and worried about the phone with the clients’ contacts I have there. I shouldn’t have lost it if I never helped them, but that is a very worldly thing to consider. So I let it and think that I am more blessed that those others. When we were all on the bridge, since we were the first group or family we went up on the bridge, we found the other people struggling on the water. Most of them were pushed back to our previous areas due of its current. The water went up and up, up to the point of making those bungalow houses swallowed and washed away anything it passed by and those people who were still on the water fighting for their safety. Along with the volume of water are mud, logs, water poisonous creatures and rubbish from the upper portion and the rest of the areas.

We started our way to Chowking, Velez Street, longing to have a vehicle to let us ride to Upper Carmen. Where we can go home to our mother and have the safe zone area. Seeing the Velez street is so quite, I felt the tranquility deep-in, but somehow worried. I looked back on the road where we came from, to check if there are still people behind me fighting for their lives, and just to be sure as well, that I am not dreaming, since the Velez street is very peaceful and doesn’t have any water on the road. But it was real and not a dream. I found a taxi and asked the driver to ride us to Zone 10. He thinks first then said no. I found another one, which a driver was sleeping. I knocked on his window and he woke up. I begged him to drive us on the said area, but he said, no because we are so many. I told him I will give him 500, but still he was so blunt to say yes. I offered him 1000, but still he said no. Lastly, I told him that even just the babies and my sister, just to make agree to drive us to our mother’s area. Then he finally said yes. We rode the area through Taguanao road. But first we reached there; we followed the Rotonda Street, where water was already in higher level. That made us looks for another way out. I directed the driver of which road to take and prayerful to have a way out just to reach the higher area of Taguanao and to feel secure on there.

December 17 at 2:00 A.M: we reached the Taguanao highway. My baby Bench got feverish. He felt weak and sleepy. He begun to speak and talked to me a lot of things. He bid me “I love you to much mimi nako”, which made me felt weak and lower down the pressure I have inside. I wanted to cry, but I rather not to, in order for my other siblings to stay calm and strong. When we reached the middle way of Taguanao, the electric post fell down horizontally the road. We can’t pass by on the area, so waited for an hour while the driver and the people in Taguanao road tried their best to find a way for us to pass by. When we were along SM Mall area, we felt the security already and the little children begun to laugh and smiled with the Christmas Lights they saw hanged on the trees across the Mall. Finally, we came on the Zone 10 area and got down from the taxi there. We strode our mother’s house bare footed, wet and cold, with the things on our shoulders and the babies on our other hands. The rain begun once again, which made us colder, and we begun trembling under the rain with our getting painful feet due of pinning road rocks to our feet. After 20 minutes, we reached home and had ourselves warmed with the dry clothes we could use from our mother.

Consolacion, Cagayan De Oro is a vast area of numbers of inhabitants, where numbers of little children as well as elderly people are in. It is very sonorous view to think, that in that busy yet gay area could experience such incident, knowing that it must not be, or let say, shouldn’t be. But humanity doesn’t hold its own fate, as majority say. And I will accord on that idea. It really is.

What is my point here? It is the way of living by each of us, regardless of social status we have and family background we are in. Tantrums may vary among us, but that recently done tantrum is really destructive to all of us. What ever the cause of this, is soon to be known to all of us and I am pretty sure that there are still varying life survival stories there by those people who survived. How about you? What was your story during this natural calamity you also experienced? Share it with us for the world to know how still lucky we are, despite that tantrum we felt and had!

“Its Holiday time and a time for sharing and loving!”

As our city proper is getting busier for the preparation of the Christmas season, the Pueblo de Oro Development as well is now having their own business to tend with on its own area here in uptown! As part of their yearly events, they always have this Christmas Bazaar, just like last year. And now the management is inviting you all to come to the Christmas Bazaar at Pueblo de Oro! December 16-18, 2011 from 9:00 a.m. to 10:00 p.m. @ Masterson Mile ( fronting Masterson Avenue).

This will be exciting with those investors or businesses parties who would display as well with their products on the area on the mentioned dates. This will also consist or be participated with musical local bands and prepared events or program by the development. Thus, this will be fascinatingly preparation and Christmas program for all the brokers, agents, clients and enthusiasts to experience this event.

The development is inviting all of those interested investors to visit the area on the said venue to share as well their products and make the difference of this event to be more memorable for every one in brokerage profession. This will be full of fun, discoveries and the most, is the solidarity by those diverging realty, firm and those people in the uptown areas. This is to make good rapport among the group and the individuals involving real estates and selling, of course. What matters most here is the togetherness and Christmas essence for one another in this season.

Also, this will serve as the abundance of each personality in this field of profession. This is to extend the boons gained by the Pueblo de Oro Development to every on field sales persons and to all brokers as well. Thus, we are inviting all of you to come and join this Christmas Bazaar this on this season of Christmas. See you there!

Christmas is always being part of humans’ life; it’s full of meaning and excitement to all children, more basically. As they say, Christmas is originally and intended for children (in respect to what Jesus was). But obviously, it’s for everybody regardless of social, personal and family standing a person may be. It’s for everyone’s felicity upon celebrating the so called – Birth of Jesus Christ. But what is more important here is that, Christmas is for humanity to get together and acknowledge the true essence of love, sharing, forgiveness and family life.

Celebrating such occasion is quite in numerous ways according to the customary of whichever country an individual is in. Though, there are copious of ways in expressing the happiness in Christmas season, there’s always one thing which connect every body in one – The Christmas caroling. In Africa, everyone must prepare for their love offering for Jesus before joining the service, have their dinner prepared and does also the universal trend of caroling around the city or anywhere in the place. Alaska also does have Christmas caroling around the place by the children. They will sing the song ‘Christ is Born‘ and everybody will in unison to say the finale words ‘ God grant you many years’. In Brazil, they almost have the same Christmas customary as Philippines have. They go to church for masses (Catholics), they termed this as ‘Missa De Gallo‘ or ‘Simbang Gabi‘ for must Filipinos do. People will go to church too early morning as 4:00 or 5:00 A.M. people differ in their ways of celebrating Christmas following their varying ways of expressing love and solidarity with their love ones.

But what links them all? It’s their way of singing and praising to Jesus during the season. They all have the same action and message for thanksgiving and offering to Him. Though, each has uttered it in different way and language, still the great message is the same with the others.However, celebrating Christmas has also to deal with the different dialects or languages (might be mother-tongue or the other language). Anywhere, we could see many people coming foreign countries visiting or rather staying Christmas season in our country. They may tend to enjoy the stay while acquainting with some of our countrymen. The least I could point as proof is my employer before. One of their offspring had married a foreigner. Eight years ago, he came visited the Philippines and stayed in the house where I worked. He was well-discipline and courteous. He stayed there until the end of Christmas season. While staying there, he did socialize with us and even to me. He is a Dutch, and it was so hard for me to converse with him. When he asked me, I had couple of minutes to comprehend if he won’t accompany his utterances with sign language. And it’s absolutely- Funny! But there was one thing I do understand well when he left the house, when he said ‘ I’m happy staying here with so kind people like you ‘Ste—p—hanie‘. Yes! He said that in English with smile yet stressing my name in broken way.

What is the relevance of Christmas in relation to language? It’s the way how people speak the spirit of Christmas through action such as: singings, preparing for food, get together in praising His name in the church together with the family, and sharing and giving gifts each other as one practice of following God’s way. These are just ways of how Christmas speaks with its own language. Thus, I could say, this is the ‘language of Christmas.’

As what the majority could tell, though, our traditions and social behavior are seemed to be so far apart and so different from each other, still, Christmas could easily bind us together in terms of its way of expressing and mainly, its language.

Let’s say for instance some of your kinship would bring someone or people as visitors here in the Philippines in your household. They might be French, American or British. Of course, there would be number/s of languages then to be dealt with, right? Therefore, as hosts, you must learn or and be ready to welcome them warmly and in open hand. Language then could be the prime problem that had to be taken into consideration. Though it’s Christmas, everybody must be considerate, humble and full of perseverance to learn and to interact even to strange people to you.

Often times, i do hear people now a days are having chances to be more intimately attached with foreign people as well as with there culture as a whole. Let me cite an example. Some of my kinship is now married with Australian nationals. They are good fellows and had proven their good relationship with their off springs. Before, during the early stage of their marriage, they had hard time adopting each other’s differences in language, customaries, and most of all, principles in life. My kin are speaking Filipino and their husbands are speaking differently. Though, at all ends of their conversation, they did understand each other’s idea through sign language and numbers of explanation.

The great thing I do admire of those foreign people is that, every Christmas, they never forget to celebrate it with full of excitement, dedication, show and share whatever blessings and happiness they have to all of us. They were the one who even initiated how to put Christmas decorations, plans whatever recipe and foods to prepare, giving gifts and in praising the Almighty. It’s really satisfying to have these kinds of people; considering the fact that they are not purely born in our mother land with our own way of living, but still, in Christmas, and through Christmas, we and they are getting in one in one Language – CHRISTMAS.