Pink Flower

I took these photos in one of my visits and early morning walk at the People's Park in Davao City. At the moment I cannot remember its name but I will settle by calling it -pretty pink flower.

MarieAntoinette

My Favourite Pillow

smile and believe in miracles!

The Sunflower

It's supposed to be summer in the Philippines but due to the Climate Change, the past three days has been rainy for Manila. I am glad however I was able to take these photos of the sunflower, which never fail to catch the attention of those who are going inside the Diliman Campus of the University of the Philippines in Quezon City. Seeing these sunflowers does not only signal the summer season(which has become erratic) but the much awaited Commencement Exercises for the university students who have successfully completed the courses that they opted to take from the arguably, top university in the country.

The Sorrento Trip

group photo on top of the Queenscliff- Sorrento ferry

There are places that have become memourable if not most memourable for some for certain reasons. For my part, its always the Sorrento and why it has become exciting to remember was because I enjoyed the trip immensely. Our group were quite lucky to have met someone who has cared a lot and treated us like his own children. He is such one happy face or in many ways has made not only me but the whole group happy. His name is Caesar whom we fondly call as "Big Brother" not only because of his huge body frame but also given his advanced age, he became a huge fan of the television reality show "Big Brother Australia" and he watches the show until early morning. Most importantly, he has been and is always a big brother to us although I have always been privileged to be treated like her most favoured daughter.

taking a boat ride with our Big Brother Caesar

Few years ago, I took this trip with my dear friends, courtesy of our Big Brother Caesar. He has drove us to far exquisite places across Country Victoria, but this place has become very unforgetable to me because of the boat ride. We took the long drive to this place a year before but this is much more memourable to me well because I was with my friends whom I shared my life with as an international student and they shared their life unselfishly in return. Arguably, save for one, these friends have loved me too much beyond beng a friend- I was taken cared of like a little prodigal sister.

my favourite photo with V and Eden, photo by Jamie

It was a lovely day in autumn and a new student then just arrived from the Philippines. Kuya(Filipino term for an elder brother) Caesar offered to drive us to Country Victoria, this time in Sorrento and we are more than willing to come. This is a great respite from a quite hectic student life. It would have been great if we had our dear Primo but he was too busy doing his thesis outline then. But we had great time nevertheless and took great photos to which to date, are still my favourite. One of these days I will go to the studio and have them printed to be arranged in my unfinished scrapbook about my life as a student in Melbourne. I loved this place too much I was hesitant to leave but I have to. After suffering from a severe separation anxiety, I have realised that there is no place like "home" where my parents and loved ones are. But Melbourne has been and is always be a place very close to my heart for many reasons.

my most loved photo in Sorrento, taken by Dahwin

I haved always loved any body of water most especially the ocean and the beach. Water has its calming effect and gives me the feeling of connection to the universe. Merely looking at the waters has given and still do gives, that unexplainable "joy" that only my heart can feel. For so many reasons and in so many seasons, the deep blue seas has always and still gives me the assurance that I am loved as endlessly and as deep as the ocean by people close to me and by my Creator. Being in Sorrento for that matter has erased any homesickness or pain or disppointments over words left unsaid and things left undone. Being at the sight of Sorrento and being with friends at the time has given me immesurable joy.

happiest faces in Sorrento, photo by Jamie

I haven't seen friends I have been with on this Sorrento Trip for quite a while but taking a look at these photos has given me that feeling of being alwyas with them. Looking at these photos has in many ways brought me that joy reminiscent of what I felt when we took this Sorrento trip together, around four years ago.

MarieAntoinetteGorospe

Arnie's Birthday

Arnie in my favourite bench at uni

bonding time at Maline's graduation

joining the Melbourne Cup festivities

having fun at the racing stands

blooming with the flowers in Spring

Happy birthday Arnie! May all your birthday wishes come true and may you continue loving and living life! Cheers, Cheers!

Darwin's Birthday

Darwin at Princes' Bridge with Yarra River on the background

Today Darwin(pronounced as Dahwin) celebrates his birthday. His parties has always been big because he has to accomodate huge number of friends, across cultures and across ages who always take their time to join him as he celebrate his birthday. While we were overseas students, I am extremely tired before and after his birthday celebration because he always wished to have many guests around and we girls, Maline, Nikkie and Arnie try our mighty best to do our share in his party. It is quite difficult to prepare for a party with minimum of fifty guests without any household help but all those years that he celebrated his birthday with us, he united the Cutie batch. Each reluctantly or willingly has to do his or her share in making his party a truly memourable one. Somehow, I am quite relieved for being not around when Darwin now celebrates his huge birthday parties. But of course I miss joining his birthday celebrations as much as I miss him.

the luscious birthday cake baked for the "luscious boy"

Although I have been an unwilling participant/helper/coordinator in the birthday parties(and many other parties that he organised) I have learned to appreciate him as a nice person whose happiness is to make others happy. Darwin is a personification of patience and tolerance to the highest level. I know this because as his lone classmate from the Philippines, I spent a lot of time with him in class, in uni and in the city. He is very kind because he has weathered me as an extremely bitchy girl whenever I want to.

at the Royal Parade in autumn

As a leader, he is very objective, reasonable and most of all selfless. I have met and made friends because he simply reached out to these people and tried his best to encourage me to discover the good in any person and eliminate my preconceived notions. Fresh from a verbal assault, years back, I was very indifferent and refused to reach out to people who came from the same group where my assaulter came from. I listened to Darwin, reconsidered and finally reached out to people and in the process, I have found a great friend named Prime.

joining me and other friends in celebrating the St Kilda Festival

Happy birthday Dahwin! May all your birthday wishes and dreams come true. Cheers, cheers!

Most Memourable Flower and Garden Show

a happy face in the garden, photo by James

a happy face with lovely friends

These photos were taken when the whole gang went out and met up in the Royal Exhibition Building Gardens one day on an autumn, few years back in Melbourne. It was one of the happiest time of my life as I am with friends who loved me so much to be with me through it all.

MarieAntoinetteGorospe

Dumaguete City

the old building of Silliman University

I have been in this city dubbed as the "City of Gentle People" thrice. The most memourable time was on my third visit few years back because I was able to sing with a local musician in the Rizal Boulevard. I was waiting for my friends who flew in earlier for a meeting with the University President in Silliman, while I took the last flight from another island .

the boulevard

The memory of sitting in the bouleyard waiting for the sunset sans my camera never fails to make me smile. I had a taste on all the foods being offered by the vendors and I never refused to talk to anyone who approached to say "hi" or asked if I am alone or if it is my first time in the city so when this musician approached me and played a couple of songs using a musical instrument that looks like an accordion, I was entertained. He was quite surprised when I requested him to play the popular Visayan love song entitled "Usahay"(Sometimes), a favourite folksong of the Visayans both residing in the Visayas and Mindanao islands). He obliged and to his delightful surprise, I sang along which attracted quite a few " sunset watchers" as our audience in seems to be a "street performance." The most articulate of them remarked " We did not realize earlier that you are from this country, are you? We thought you are a tourist- how come you know that song?". Of course I do! I answered them in the native dialect that they used which elicited few smiles and laughter. I am up for more conversations with thise who bothered to gather around me and the musician in that " boulevard performance" but the friend I was waiting for came to fetch me. I just smiled and waved them goodbye. I was unable to tell them that I consider myself a tourist (albeit a local one) and it was my third visit to this city. It has been very memourable because it was my first time to watch sunset by the bay, in my biding own time- alone. I was unable to tell them that although I loved the music accompanying the song, I was able to perfectly memorise its lyrics- ironically, while doing my studies abroad.

a bell tower in the city of "gentle people"

I was unable to have a taste of all the the native delicacies that this city offers. My brother who was able to visit this city ahead of me insisted that I have to find where the fried ice cream is. I never had the chance to have a taste of that fried ice cream that he loved, but during my visit to this city by the bay thrice, I have always got the friendly smiles of the people whom I have eye contact with- some smile quite shyly, quite warm but most of the time I got friendly smiles. I have heard that this is the city of "gentle people" and somehow, I have felt how gentle they had been to me. I spent the entire day touring every nook and crook of the city while waiting for the afternoon flight back to Manila and all that I experienced were the kindness of the people in this city, from the English speaking with American accent waitress in a restaurant close to the boulevard, the attendants of the local bakery where I had bought native goodies from Negros provinces, the security guard who gave me assistance on how to tour the Silliman University campus, the sales staff of the Handumanan(a Visayan word meaning Remembrance) Souviner shop where I got my favourite heart shaped capiz earrings for twenty pesos(around half a dollar) and the tricycle driver who brought me safely to the airport who was very hesitant in receiving any tip for a job very kindly well done.

a church close to the downtown

I will be going back to Dumaguete for the fried ice cream and for a day or two in one of its beaches, catch up on my readings, watch the sunset, hopefully the sunrise too and take more photos. These and many others, are the reasons why I believe I have to go back to Dumaguete, the city of "gentle people"

Michelle

photo taken from Michelle's multiply account

Today is Michelle's birthday and she is celebrating it in her home city of Dipolog. Happy Birthday Michelle, may all your birthday wishes come true.



To love and to life, cheers!

MarieAntoinette