Bago City Project 2006

i never knew i could do all these, until i really gave it a shot. =)


part 1


part 2


part 3

that was in December 2006. i was still a student then, when i had more time planning and collecting donated items. lady luck was with me as well, i managed to secure a few sponsorships to make the project very much possible. this video was painstakingly produced by biyun, because i know nuts about making videos.. hee..

i think the message of this video is very simple, it's just to let people know that it's not difficult to help others. a small toy, a few stationery, games.. it's enough to brighten up their day, to bring a smile to them. and of course, the video is even more meaningful to me, because i see my friends, it brings back beautiful memories. it may even be a good thing for TRY, because more people would get to know of the efforts of TRY and the situation over there in Bago City.

when i showed the video to my friends in Bago City, it was simply heartwarming. the smiles on all their faces, the laughter.. when Manang Stella cried after watching it, i felt like crying too. i didn't know that the video could touch the hearts of people.

i hope this video is inspiring enough to make people to come forward to reach out to the needy ones. it is inspiring for me, at least, because i hope to do better for my future projects.

thank you to all who have helped me for all my projects, whatever ways it may be. without all the encouragement, i wouldn't have make it this far. and don't worry, it's not going to be the last time. haha..

P.S. tricia? what is 132 + 12? hahaha.. oops..

pictures of bago city..

photos of Bago City has already been uploaded to flickr. =)

actually i've finished uploading them a week ago, just that i didn't have time to update, or rather, i was still preoccupied with other things. haha.. after removing a lot of repeated photos, there are still 455 photos in there. quite a lot, for a 18-day stay. hehe..

the photos can be accessed from the flickr tab at the side of the blog, or you can click below:

http://www.flickr.com/gp/41736852@N00/1m72cV

enjoy! =D

bad dream..

i dreamt that i was leaving on a jetplane~

if you are smart enough, you would probably get it right.

yup, i dreamt that i was leaving Bago City, and i was already at the airport. usually, it would be the usual gang who would send me off, but in that dream, a lot of people were there. most of them were the HRMO peeps. i can't remember how we bidded goodbye, i could only remember i was wailing out loud in the dream..

i don't like this dream, not my first time, but i never like it, and i never like the thought of leaving Bago, and being separated anyway. i felt drained when i woke up. it was tiring.

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it was mentally challenging to have a 4-hour tuition. oh well, the parents wanted to add more lessons, and saturdays are the only days i could cater to long hours of teaching. for the sake of my future dreams, i'll have to bear with this for all my saturdays. wish me luck.

Riza Santos want to be back in Bago City.. to look for her papa P.. haha.. ok, joke lang..

happy birthday tricia and papa momoy!

Happy birthday, tricia and papa momoy! =D

i've sent a parcel over to Bago City last week, and was told that it would only reach there around the 28th.. but i was elated to hear from nina that the parcel reached yesterday, just in time for tricia's and papa momoy's birthday celebration! woohoo~


with papa momoy and the Matti family

papa momoy is a very nice man.. he will always make sure that i won't go hungry, and would tell tricia and the rest to bring me to different places.. he would make sure that i feel right at home, and truly enjoy my stay there.. maraming salamat, papa, for everything.. wishing you good health and happiness.. from your adopted daughter.. =)


with tricia, mama remia, nonoy and jun

tricia is another amazing lady.. she puts her heart and soul into her work, and of course, TRY.. looking at the activities and projects TRY has been doing and achieving so far, i can't help but admire this adopted sis of mine.. haha.. and i'm always amazed at the fact that she has over a hundred of godchildren, and she could have a children's party of her own.. haha.. i can't thank her enough, for all the arrangements and for making all my stays that wonderful.. thank you gid! =) you are already blessed with so many frienships and happiness, but i would still wish you good health, more happiness, and many more good things to come.. =)

oh, tricia, don't keep thanking me.. just send me papa piolo.. hahahaa..

and of course to the entire Matti family, TRY, HRMO mates, and all my friends.. maraming maraming salamat, thank you gid, para sa lahat.. =) let's cross our fingers, and hope for the day i return.. haha.. miss you all! =)

pinoy food..

i think i'm committing a great sin by wasting food.. such an irony because i've been trying to reach out to the needy ones, but yet i'm wasting food here.. nonoy! mama remia! serlu! where are you?? who is going to help me finish my half-rice??


porridge we prepared for the children..

ok, seriously, i can't finish my food because i'm still adjusting.. over there in Bago City, i only eat half plate of rice because they have a lot of side dishes, and their BBQ chickens and lechons are in huge portions, so i would tend to eat less rice.. and living in a pinoy community, eating is their favourite pastime and you will never stop eating.. imagine, food is presented to you every few hours.. i always hear papa momoy shouting, "yuhui, eat na!".. haha.. and i was having ice-box cake for almost every meal.. manz.. how not to get fat..

and the festive season is all about food.. partying, eating, beer-drinking.. it's like having a feast every other day..


lots of food on new year's day night.. wow..

but there are pinoy food which i really do love.. ice-box cake is one.. haha.. the sotanghon (stirred-fried vermicelli) and the seafood.. and BBQ chicken.. and eating with your hands the pinoy way adds flavour to the food (and i don't mean it the nasty way.. haha).. oh! and fried squid rings!! haha.. biyun's favourite too..

and of course, there are some pinoy food which i've yet got accustomed to.. especially those extra-super-sweet pastries and snacks.. i remembered there's this snack made of pounded banana, but it just taste weird to me.. i think serlu and nonoy would remember me saying this, "a banana that doesn't taste like a banana".. hahah..

and i came upon this new dish while in Bago City.. fried kangkong.. sounds foreign? the kangkong we usually eat is the entire leaves and stems stir-fried with sambal chilli or just some simple sauce.. over there, they fry it, and it's only the leaves.. so the leaves are dipped in some batter, and then fried, and are served with mayo sauce.. i got a little shocked when the dish was served.. haha..


this is what fried kangkong looks like..

but anyhow, i'll still miss my favourite pinoy food, and will look forward to having them again.. or i could try making the ice-box cake again, and hopefully the taste and the feel is there.. =) unless i know of people who can make it, or have them teleport here.. muahaha..

it's all about being pinoy..

it's not the first time i've been mistaken as a Filipino.. haha.. maybe when i'm really able to converse in Tagalog, i could start making plans about migrating.. hohoho..

and surprisingly, my graham biscuits are sold out in all the shops i've stepped into in Lucky Plaza.. perhaps it's still the festive season and everybody is making the ice-box cake.. haha.. that was just a random guess..

it was good to see a friend, and reminiscing about the good old days, where we bonded closer during our last 3 days in Bago City.. nice to know that all is still fine, and i don't mind being your postwoman everytime when i get to visit Bago City.. hehe.. and thank you for the cute Stitch box! i really love this handsome little monster.. haha..



the first week has gone by, and really, all seems too fast.. i'm still trying to adjust back to the lifestyle here, although i think i wouldn't be able to shake off the little pinoy spirit in me.. hee.. work is all coming back, and it's starting to get real hectic soon.. and it's going to make me ponder, when will i get to have my getaway in my hometown.. aww..

i wanna be back! right now!!

P.S. photos are still being uploaded.. hang on, people..

adjusting back..

my big tofu is back into my arms again! =D hehe.. fresh and clean again..

i'm still trying to re-adjust back to the life in Singapore.. no more nicely-prepared breakfast, delayed meal times, back to wearing painful heels to work, no more slacking time.. at some points of time, i felt lost at work.. i guess i've been missing out a lot of things, and the momentum has slowed down a lot..

and i could actually fell asleep while watching tv yesterday, when i didn't do much of any exhausting or tiring work.. mild withdrawal symptoms? perhaps..

and my computer has a problem.. no sound coming out from it.. so i can't watch my teleserye.. damn.. it always has to happen when i'm into the final few weeks of the shows.. arghh..

i really miss everyone there in Bago City, even though i didn't manage to meet up or spend a lot of them with some of them.. Philippines ain't that far anyway, it's just a matter of buying the air tickets.. but work and other committments will be tying me down, and i really don't know when i'll be back again..

let's cross our fingers, and hope that this will be real soon.. =) and this Riza will be back to her hometown again..

P.S. photos will be up soon.. will upload to flickr, a whooping 500+ photos.. hehe..

thank you..

back here in Singapore..

but like what manang Stella said, everytime i go back to the Philippines, i go to take my heart back, but would leave it there again.. boohoo..

back to work, although i really don't feel like working right now, but yar, have to face the reality, the real world.. no more holiday-ing.. working is the only solution to putting my mind away, so that i could minimise the withdrawal symptoms.. but thanks to the colleagues, for the pleasant little balloon surprise.. =)

i was alright when leaving the house, i was alright when entering the airport.. but once the plane took off, that's it, i got teary.. i guess i'm still a crybaby, not yet grown up..

i'm missing the lagaw-lagaw, ice-box cake, walking around with slippers the whole day, all the chats, all the laughter.. it's all too fast..

but thank you, to all in Bago City, all of you have given me such a wonderful time there, and i really truly enjoyed myself there, always not wanting to come back.. thank you all so so much, from the bottom of my heart.. hopefully i can be back there again.. siguro, summer? haha.. let's cross our fingers.. =)

so thank you, from the adopted daughter of papa Momoy Matti, a.k.a Riza Santos =)

the last 2 days..

it's my last 2 days here in Bago City (not counting the day i'm leaving).. good news, bad news, fun activities, long slacking time, making new friends, in all it has been a wonderful stay here..

i'm thankful for everybody here who has made me really feel right at home, treating me like a baby princess.. haha.. thank you, for trying to give in to whatever requests that i may have, and for everything you guys have done for me..

it was heartwarming to see the smiles on the kids.. even a simple gesture of me whipping out my camera, they would pose or put on their best smiles.. the genuine smiles when receiving the gifts.. thank you, kids..

even though this stay has been shorter than before, but it doesn't get less meaningful.. i'm getting more attached to the place, to the people.. think i'm going to miss the time where everybody sat down and watched Kapamilya Deal or No Deal, and everyone got excited at the briefcases being opened, and papa would laugh at my reactions.. haha..

thank you all.. from the adopted daughter of papa Momoy Matti, a.k.a. Riza Santos.. =)

my boxes have arrived!

hello all! =)

good news! my 2 boxes have just arrived!! yeahhey!! thought that it would take at least a month to reach here, since it's the holiday season right now, but it took less than 3 weeks! woohoo~

tomorrow i'll be going to schools to distribute the stationery, so i'll have to sort out the things in the boxes later on, so that i can distribute them as well to the children..

muahaha.. i'm getting excited now..

yeah, this last week is going to be a meaningful one.. =)

one more week..

phew.. is more or less done with the packing of the stationery for the school children.. 200 packets, each with a notebook, a writing pad, a pencil, a pen, an eraser, a sharpener, and a set of crayons.. will be distributing them this coming tuesday..

the past few days have been a fun yet embarrassing one.. that's the problem when you are the only foreigner in the whole pinoy community.. the pinoys love singing and dancing, and they will make you do it.. i sucks at dancing, so i could only entertain them by singing, which really turned out super embarrassing.. oh manz..

and now i have a new nickname, 'Riza'.. she's a player in the reality show Pinoy Big Brother, who speaks with an American accent.. and i'm beginning to imitate her.. her catchphrase? 'Oh my gosh!'.. haha..

one more week.. *boohoo*

introducing Ryzel..

introducing to you..

my godson, Ryzel!! =)



only 10 months old, and he knows how to pose already.. haha..

anyway, new year here in the Philippines has been good.. with all the eating and the drinking and the sleeping.. haha..

i went shopping for stationery yesterday, to be distributed to kids, since my boxes would probably not be arriving during my stay.. so i bought 200 each of notebooks, writing pads, pens, pencils, erasers, sharpeners and crayons.. hopefully at least these items would be able to reach out to the needy kids..

my stay has been an enjoyable one, so far so good.. =) hopefully i'll get to see my white sand beach this year.. *crossing fingers*.. heheh..

so till then, tata~

Happy new 2008!

hello again! Happy New Year to everyone! =)

sadly, it's raining right now here in Bago City.. but i did have a good time during the day, eating the lechon (roasted pig) and getting entertained by the kids.. haha.. and finally, my ice-box cake! yeahhey! ahaha..

the past few days were fine too, so far i've been to a few barangays where the mayor had a few rounds of gift-giving to the village people.. it was kinda embarrassing when he mentioned me in his speech although i did nothing much.. the credits should all go to the office people who have been doing most of the work..

tricia had her children's party, where near 100 kids came and had their real share of fun.. and this year, the craze is the 'papaya dance'.. let's see if i can upload any video of that when i get back..

and the new year's eve was filled with loud firecrackers booming non-stop, as if war has begun *choy!*.. there were some fireworks, simple but still splendid..

any new year resolutions? yar, there are some in my mind, which i think a few would be expected.. haha..

12 more days, so all the more i should cherish the times i'm having here..

so anyway, happy new year to all, and may everyone be blessed with endless happiness and love for the entire year! love you all! =)