Reflections on my Christmas vlogs

I’m still in awe of what I’ve achieved these last two months - the vlogs!

If you're reading this, before you go any further PLEASE spare 5 seconds and go to my youtube page and click SUBSCRIBE! It would mean so much to me and my #youtubegoals! 
Thank you! 😀😀😀

It all started sometime in October, while I was cleaning out the folders on my laptop - I stumbled across several videos I took during my stay in Lucknow last year. The first project I worked on was the subharrambh dance and the Diwali celebration. It was really simple - I just cut and put clips together, using iMovie. The comments when I posted it on facebook were really encouraging, so I decided to make more projects with the other clips. The next was a Typical week in Lucknow

Apart from uploading them on my personal page on facebook, I decided to put them up on youtube. While I was there, I started watching other people's videos, and then became familiar with the term 'vlog'. I instantly became inspired by/became a fan of Wil Dasovich! I really liked his 'the art of learning tagalog series' and then his travel/adventure vlogs, and how he got his sister Haley to start too, just a few months ago. SO! I decided to give it a try. I bought a little tripod for my phone, because I wanted to start with something small and basic, rather than use my DLSR. 

I spent a lot of time thinking of a series to start with, rather than just a 'random' vlog. I thought that Christmas would be a good theme because Christmas preparations here in the Philippines, or specifically Manila where I am, are insane! People start decorating the malls and streets as early as September every year. Hence my first vlog Christmas in Manila: Episode 1.

This first one was really simple, even though it was pretty long. I didn't play around with iMovie that much so there were no effects. At this point, all I knew was how to trim and transition! But the experience was really interesting because it took me a lot of courage to hold my tripod and talk to the camera (lol) in the jeepneys and while walking in the malls. Once in a while I felt conscious of the people around me, but it didn't take long before I got really used to it and felt confident. I guess I felt too comfortable that I didn't realize how much I kept wiping off the sweat from under my nose and on my forehead (that's something I wish I hadn't done!) 

The second vlog had more work put into it. I literally bought a little notepad to write my scipts! So that I could talk straight without stopping and thinking or looking around (because I noticed I kept looking away from the camera whenever I spoke in the first vlog/lacked eye contact) so I decided that having a script would keep me focused (or else I'd talk on and on). So I added monologues here and there, and added music to the b-rolls. I really felt that Christmas in Manila: Episode 2 was a big improvement from the first.

I had really big plans for my 3rd vlog because I received lots and lots of encouragement from my second vlog on facebook (with people giving suggestions of places to visit). Also very happy with the number of views!

BUT filming was a fail. I had planned to visit MANY places, but it was impossible because of Christmas traffic! Yes, there's such a thing here. Everyday before Christmas, the taffic on the roads here were insane! Everyone was out shopping for Christmas; the malls extended their closing times. There was this one day I left home to go to Cainta, Rizal to visit the famous Christmas house in Filinvest, but it took me 45 minutes to cover the first 1km from home. It was already so tiring, we made a U-turn and went to Rockwell. Inside the mall I brought out my DLSR to take better quality videos (by the way, up until now, I've just been using my Samsung S4. It's 13 MP, I'm very very happy with the quality, it's sharp, BUT the videos are shaky, no matter how still I hold my hands - I guess it's an internal thing because with my DLSR, even when I run, the video is really smooth and stable, so I have to admit in all my vlogs I'm not happy with the way the walking/moving videos are shaky). Back to Rockwell mall, a security guard approached me after a few minutes of filming telling me I wasn't allowed to record videos there without a permit. Since I couldn't really reach anywhere I had to go, for many weeks all I could do was just take out my phone whenever I saw a Christmas tree, while driving by. That said, here's Christmas in Manila: Episode 3 which is more of a b-roll of Christmas decorations that I've seen while driving by.

And finally, the last in my Christmas series - this one wasn't shot in Manila; it was in Mindoro instead. I spent a few days there (where my Mom's parents are from). We arrived two days before Christmas, and then had some friends and relatives over on Christmas day for lunch. The first part of the vlog really didn't have anything to do with Christmas, but the second half - well, just a little. This is my FAVORITE vlog so far, I had so much fun making it! I spent a lot of time thinking out the stories, the script, the plot. I also had my power bank with me at all times, to recharge my phone every now and then because I did not stop recording! Choosing the music and sound effects was something I also took seriously. My Dad's presence in the vlog also made it funny, so it had many light moments. I really enjoyed this, hope you do too! 

***

Even though being a Bahá'i, I don't celebrate Christmas (no trees, lights, etc) I really felt the Christmas spirit around me this year and I think it's because of making these vlogs. Every time I went out, I'd notice the Christmas decorations around the city. For example I've seen paroles all my life, but this is the first time I really went up close to see how they're made, and to really appreciate them (see Episode 2, and Mindoro vlog). On a personal note, I created some Christmas-inspired decorations for my room:

Apart from decorating my room, I also made some Christmas-inspired art on my nails 😜

I participated in my first Christmas gift-exchange. It happened that my Mom and I co-incidentally picked out each other's names, so I had to get her a gift and she got me one. This was my very first time ever having to get a Christmas gift for someone.

Christmas ham! It's tradition for people here to buy ham for Christmas dinner/ new year's eve. We went to Excelente Ham in Quiapo to get ham for our Mindoro trip; it's the number 1 ham here, media men were even there filming and the owner was around, attending to the dozens of people flooding into her store every minute, just to get their special, truly excellent, ham!

Apart from this year, I've spent a few other Christmas holidays in the Philippines before. I've also spent Christmas holidays in Iran and Nigeria, once in India (last year) and once in France (the previous year) and I must say, the Philippines takes Christmas to a whole 'nother level. EVERYONE is really in the festive spirit...that even if you're not a Christian, you will definitely be affected - the happiness is just so contagious... from the music in the malls to countdowns at the end of every TV news report to the fact that everyone (people who put fuel in your car, security guards who help you reverse, sales ladies) will religiously greet you "Merry Christmas po!"

at Powerplant mall, Rockwell

STOP AIDS...in my lifetime

All year round, we celebrate World Day of this, International Day of that...there are so many but there is one particular date that I never forget, which is World AIDS Day on December 1st. No, I do not know of anyone personally that has been infected by HIV and AIDS. I don't have any personal stories to share. The closest I've been to people living with HIV was the time I helped host three Speakers (who were doing a Speakers Tour around England) at the University of Sheffield. You don't have to have experienced something to really care about it. Of course, most people become very compassionate about certain things based on their experiences. My experience with HIV and AIDS is not that deep. It goes back to February 2013 when I started my first job, with the Communications Unit of Management Sciences for Health, Nigeria. I remember it was sometime during my second week that my boss started giving me some background information on a story I had to write, and I guess she thought I looked very confused or blank that's why she paused and asked "How much do you know about HIV?" and I said nothing. I knew that MSH worked around HIV and AIDS (improving clinical services and training medical workers, and providing assistance for orphans and vulnerable children who had lots parents to AIDS). I thought that going through the MSH website, reading their brochures/success stories (from Nigeria and around the world) was enough, but no - I needed to understand things like CD4 cells and anti-retroviral treatments, mainly because when I had to interview my colleagues in order to write a news report or story based on their work, they would use scientific terms (I didn't always have to write those terms in my story, but I had to understand them in order to translate them into something that everyone else would understand).

I guess the highlights of my year at MSH were 1) when we met the Head of the Global Fund to Fight AIDS, Tuberculosis and Malaria (Mark Dybul - trust me, I was star struck when I saw him in the distance!) and 2) when we attended a Special Summit of the African Union on AIDS, TB and Malaria (in which I got to stalk several African Heads of States with my camera!) Sitting through these two events really helped me see the tremendous efforts done by Governments and different non-government organizations in the fight against this pandemic HIV/AIDS. 

When I was in England for my post graduate studies, I found a student society called "Student Stop AIDS" at the University of Sheffield, and I became a very active member. Of course it was not compulsory to join a student organization; but I wanted to maximize my post graduate year (so I joined other societies too). That was back in 2013/14 - it wasn't a big society at all; only 4 of us were very active and met all the time. The other three members were medical science students, so the language they used during our discussions was a bit difficult for me to follow at first, so I was more helpful with planning events and promoting them. Our very first project was a video - one day we decided to go around the University and ask passers-by a few questions just to know how much they know about HIV/AIDS. *A few days after this, we met in the library to put the video together, but we spent SO MUCH TIME just "hanging out" talking/laughing about every other thing rather than the project at stake....so this video was never achieved😕

me taking the video; STOP AIDS president Harvy asking the questions

Favorite reads of 2016

One of the first things I do every morning is check the news, browse the headlines and click on a few things to read. I love readings about global affairs (historic and current), I love reading stories about people. I read at least one article a day. This helps me form intelligent opinions, think of out the box, and most importantly just connect with the world. We are one with the world; even if events on another continent don't affect you directly, knowing about it does not take anything away from you. 

I'd like to share with you some of the articles I've read this year that I enjoyed/found very interesting. Of course I don't remember ALL of them, but these are the few that I still remember having come across. I'll share the links too, so you can read the full thing too in case you're interested 😉

1) Should We Execute Dylann Roof? by David Langness

I didn't know about Dylann Roof until I read this article.  Last year (at the age of 21) he entered a church and shot nine people who were praying - all of whom were "African Americans". People call this a "hate crime" because his sole motive was racist. Anyways, this article was really moving for me. In the beginning it showed all the reasons he should be executed. I mean, why not? He killed nine people just because they were "black", who hadn't done anything wrong to him, and who were in the midst of worshipping. BUT not everyone thinks he should face the death penalty. And you know who some of those people are? The family/relatives of some of those victims/people he shot; they prefer to forgive him. The article also shares the Bahá'i perspective on capital punishment. 

Interfaith seminar, UST

I was supposed to write about this last week, immediately after the event, but I got so carried away with my other life - VLOGGING, with letter V! It's good I remembered my blog today, and this particular event, before it becomes too much of a past. Sometime in October, I was contacted by a student from the University of Santo Tomas, who wanted to meet Baha'is, as part of his school's project. I invited him to the Baha'i Center here in Manila, then he came with a bunch of his classmates and were then presented an introduction to the Baha'i Faith by some of the Baha'is present. A few weeks later, they shared with us (the Baha'i community of Manila) an invitation to a seminar they were organizing, called IISA: Investigation on Interfaith Solidarity and Action, to participate in the dialogue. I decided to go for two reasons: 1) I generally like interfaith dialogues. I have been to so many, both here in the Philippines and in Nigeria and they're very meaningful. It's step one to world unity! peace! harmony! oneness! equality! all the good things! Also, we all know that our world has so so many problems. We've tried political solutions, economic solutions so many times. The problems continue. Have we tried spiritual solutions? 2) I have only been to that part of town "España"(where UST is located) once, so it was a good excuse to visit somewhere I'm unfamiliar with and see if there are any Christmas-y "stuff" for my vlog!