Fun Farm at Sta. Elena, Cabuyao

A few days ago, I went on a very spontaneous trip with some friends just an hour and a half out of Manila. We drove to Sta. Elena Country Golf & Country Club in Cabuyao, Laguna. 

The day before this, I was also at Laguna with my family, at our monthly get-away spot in Calamba. Here's a video of that fun rainy day:

As much as I love being outdoors and on adventures, I don't like surprises. I like being prepared...I always make sure to check the map, study the area, look at pictures of the place I'm heading to...but for this particular trip, I was absolutely clueless. I went over to a friend's house that morning to pick up another friend and head somewhere else, but when I got there, the host family invited both of us to join them. They told us we're going to a "farm"...but little did I know it was going to be a "fun farm!" yep, that's really the name of the place 

DIY: flower leis

How to make flower leis

1. Get different colors of crepe paper
When you guy them, they're usually folded like this. Run your scissors through both ends, cutting them into rectangles

2. Fold each strip like an accordion
Parallel folds that go in opposite directions one after the other; each fold the same size so you end up with a square. 

Inspired by inspiring each other

At our regional reflection meeting (for South Luzon) two weekends ago, we decided to have a gathering this weekend of potential animators in South NCR, Manila...as an effort to achieve the vision of the current five year plan. *too much Bahá'i lingo here...in simpler words, the purpose of the activity is to help make the world a better place :) 

It was the first time for some of the participants to meet each other...since we all come from different clusters within Metro Manila. Most of us have completed Ruhi Book 5, and some of us have had Junior Youth groups before...but none of us currently have a JY group...so the purpose of the gathering was to gather the potential animators, and study some material and make plans to start JY groups in our neighborhoods!

First on our agenda was to refresh our memories of Ruhi Book 5 (Releasing the powers of junior youths). First, we talked about who are Junior Youths. These are kids between the ages of 12 - 15...they're in between children and youths, so at this stage they're going through A LOT of changes (physically, mentally). They're very susceptible to peer pressure. They're also very curious and energetic...so we have the Junior Youth Empowerment Program to help them channel their energies and talents in a positive way. We read that animators are "mentors" of junior youths - so we should avoid being paternalistic, authoritative or self-righteous, and instead to form strong bonds of friendships with the junior youths and advise them in the most loving way possible. The Junior Youth program lasts 3 years - so an animator needs to be absolutely committed because she/he will grow with the JYs, so that at 15 year old the JYs themselves can become trained to become animators. 

Josef gave a really nice example; he said "we plant the seed in the minds of the Junior Youths, but we leave it to the Junior Youths to nurture that plant so it grows well." Of course we can guide them, and remind them to trim the weeds...we equip them to be able to nurture the plant...but the act of doing it lies in them. So we "enhance their spiritual and intellectual capacities..." to prepare them to become active agents of change in their societies. 

Graduation fever

I've been seeing a lot of graduation photos on my facebook wall these past two weeks; it's graduation time in many parts of the world! My students back when I was volunteer-teaching in India have been posting photos which make me feel extremely happy and proud - the junior youth animators graduated top in their classes, once again! It's so inspiring to see how they've been able to balance animating junior youth groups and keep up their grades at the same time (despite the crazy amount of pressure always put on them to focus on the sciences and maths). It just shows that students do NOT need to fragment their lives into study study and study. They can excel at their studies while simultaneously being actively involved in extra curricular activities. 

Seeing all these graduation photos has also made me reflect back on my life. It has been:

Eight years since I graduated from high school

Pace Setters' Academy, Nigeria

Celebrating the Earth: Part II

Link to Part I of celebrating the Earth - click here

We've all heard of World Environment Day, World Oceans Day, and International Forests Day. It's one thing to know; it's another thing to do. As students, we've gone on field trips to nature reserves; we’ve done marches and campaigns to raise awareness on certain environmental issues and we observe all international environment days through creative arts and crafts presentations. These are very commendable efforts, but how much environment-friendly activities are we doing in our daily lives, as adults? How much do we advocate on non-environmental days/events?

It's so easy for us to make presentations to school kids, but how about being a living example? I started making conscious effort to change my lifestyle only as recent as three years ago. Some new habits I formed:

• This year, I invested in a glass water container and a food container - even though it's heavier to carry around, but at least it saves me the hassle of checking every plastic container for a 'microwave safe' sign before heating up my food. 

•  I save every single empty tissue roll I consume (the brown part at the end). I've kept them for Junior Youth creative activities, and I've also created organizers on my table - for pens and wires... DIY is actually really fun

• I probably shouldn't be mentioning this here - but almost every time I have to give someone a birthday gift, instead of buying them something from a shop, I look through my belongings - I have a couple of things that are still new/unused...I find some colored paper at home and wrap it up. It's a lot better giving them to someone who I know can make better use of it, than just keeping them locked up until they have to be thrown out. 

• When I know the item I buy from a shop can fit into whatever bag I have on me, I refuse to accept it packed in a plastic bag; I just put it straight in my bag. 

These little new habits I've formed in the last few years made me feel confident enough to stand before some children and their parents just the other day (Monday - June 5) and talk about this poster I designed for World Environment Day. 

*fund fact: it took three of my colleagues to translate the words from English to Tagalog!

My new shelf

This morning, it finally dawned on me that I've been here in the Philippines for about 8 months now, and it looks like I'll be hanging out here for more than a year. Why is this news? Because since 2012, I haven't lived in any one place for more than a year. In the last 5 years I've lived in 5 different countries, living out of two luggages. And mind you, I still haven't completely unpacked one of those luggages...well, not until today. I've had this little pouch with mini souvenirs/ decorations that I've been bringing around with me for a couple of years now, always wondering when will be "the" time to take them out and display - because I think to myself "what's the point, I'm just going to have to take them down and pack them away soon". 

I finally decided today is the day I stop worrying about the non-permanence of my residence and start making my current space feel a little less temporary. Even if that meant drilling holes on my wall!

I bought this three-layer wall shelf from Ace Hardware. 

I initially wanted a corner shelf, but they were out of stock. 

Building the Team

I just realized that this has been sitting in my draft for over a month!
This was supposed to be posted back on April 22nd (date of the team building). So here goes

*imagine it's April 23rd*

***

I spent this whole week in the city of Solano in Nueva Vizcaya, visiting our Water Treatment Plant to learn about the operational and the business side of bulk water supply. At the end of the week, I joined the S.Water team's summer company outing - or shall I say, team building activity. Before this, I had an idea of what a team building activity was, even though I had never experienced one before. My last jobs in Nigeria and India had no such thing. In fact, I thought team building was just a Filipino thing because people here are very close to each other (even at work) and their favorite word is "bonding".

At first I wasn't really a fan of the idea - I mean when you come from environments where work is strictly professional and everyone functions independently, then you wouldn't fancy this either. But in the end, I really enjoyed it! The facilitator, Mrs. Kris from Ad Maioram was really, really good! She had power point presentations with related activities. I basically felt like I was in a seminar/ in school... her program was really well-organized.

The team building activity was mainly for the S.Water people - even though I was on one of the teams, I was pretty much there to help our Human Resource assistant and the facilitator and also take photographs. The venue was Villa Diana in Cordon (just an hour's drive from Solano). We had the resort exclusively to ourselves - and when I say resort I mean a huge compound with fields and trees and activity/conference halls, a swimming pool and the rooms. 

30+ of us were divided into four groups and had to give our groups a name related to water sports. So there was Soul Surfers (orange), Mighty Magat Rowers (yellow), Water Ski Riders (green) and Divers (red). It was really interesting to see how each team came up with their own way of wearing the bandanas! The orange girls' head band was really pretty, the yellow team looked like a boy's scout team and my red team's...well, sort of reminded me of the Amish people ..

If we were sea creatures...

This conversation happened over dinner a few days ago:

Me: Afshin, have you been preparing for your OJT interview?
Afshin: What's there to prepare?
Me: Google sample questions. Sometimes they ask the weirdest things.
Afshin: Oh yeah, a few years ago I was at an interview and there was another candidate beside me. The interviewer asked "If you were a shoe, what shoe would you be?"

Me: No way! So what was your answer?
Afshin: Actually, the other girl answered first. She said "If I were a shoe, I'd be high heels because when I wear high heels I become taller than everyone else, so I can go up up higher than everyone else" Then I burst laughing at her answer.
Me: You laughed?!
Afshin: Yes, then the interviewer looked at me and said "Mr Foroozan...can you please share with us what's so funny?"

Me: Oh my goodness!
Afshin: I told him "High heels is a good answer, but her reasons... she could have said high heels help you stand confidently, not that it makes you taller or higher than everyone else. Why would you want to enter a company and be higher than everyone else? Then what will happen when your heel breaks? You will fall and how will you get back up?"
Me: Afshin! In front of the girl!? You're so mean! I'm sure they'll all hate you for sounding cocky.
Afshin: Then he asked me what shoe I'd be,

Celebrating the Earth

I never got the chance to write about an important date that recently just passed - Earth Day. I was away for work that week, hoping to be back in Manila on Saturday, April 22nd to attend the Earth Day celebration at La Mesa Eco Park along with other Bahá'is. But even though I missed the event (which I heard turned out wonderful!), I enjoyed the day in a way I least expected - somewhere surrounded by mountains and forests, and well, with limited mobile signal. 

 No, this is not going to be one of those blogs that says Earth Day should be everyday - because truth is, there are times I forget to turn my lights off when I leave the room and there are times I keep the tap running while I brush my teeth. The good thing is that Earth Day isn'tjust one day because we have world wetlands day, world wildlife day, international day of forests, world water day, world environment day, world habitat day and so many more environmental dates to remind us all through the year that we need to stop and reflect. 

Shoghi Effendi, the Guardian of the Bahá'i Faith said, "Man is organic with the world. His inner life moulds the environment and is itself so deeply affected by it. The one acts upon the other and every abiding change int he life of man is the result of these mutual actions."

I was in Solano, Nueva Vizcaya for a few days and until the end, I still didn't get used to the view I woke up to and worked in every single day.  The mountains, the hills, forests, the farm lands... I was absolutely overwhelmed. Although... while enjoying the fresh air and the verdant topography, I never forgot that the Philippines' forests are rapidly vanishing. While in awe of our company's water treatment plant, brainstorming ways to get more people connected to our water system, I remembered what the former COP of Be Secure once told me "we are running out of water."

I asked my colleague to be my handmodel while I took this
picture at our Water Treatment Plant 

Balai Gloria, Solano

I’m someone who  really appreciates it when restaurant owners make effort to give their restaurants a theme, a personality. For me, Kerman's coffee shops remain number one in terms of creative ambiance. Speaking of ambiance, I surprisingly found myself in two really nice restaurants during my stay in Nueva Vizcaya last week. The first was Kainan sa Kainyugan in Bayombong - my Mom's relative took me and my colleague there. It was only 7:30 pm, but when we got there we saw a sign "We close at 8:30 pm". It wasn't only that restaurant, but it seems Nueva Vizcaya goes to sleep really early! The food options were pretty limited; we all chose roasted meat (fish/ pork/ then chicken for me). 
Just beside our table was a free soup corner! Even though the weather was warm and didn't call for soup, but the bricks, the fire log, the signs were very inviting; I got soup for all of us at our table.

My roasted chicken wasn't so special. In fact, it wasn't really tasty so I went over to a table that had bottles of soy sauce and fish sauce, abundant large calamansis and bagoong and I made my dip so that my dinner would have more flavour. The food was really JUST OK but the place was so lovely! First things I noticed were signs/posters everywhere - customers' comments, and some funny quotations. The tables/benches are wooden and give a very camping-in-the-woods feel.