#75 Practices

Asian countries like the Philippines, practices something I really hate and feel disgusted about; eating dogs, cats, and other exotic cuisines. I grew up in a place that you should never leave your dog or else the next morning you will never see it anymore. For me it is ridiculous!
I agree to the facts that pets are man’s best friends, they are there for our happiness, and sorrows, so I believe these animals should be treated like a family member.
I have experienced it from my pet, a nice black and white spotted, hairy dog. This dog lived like a human in our house. I used to care for him and daily feed him a proper diet. He was part of my family; my mother cooks his food, and we provided him shelter/ proper medication, and other necessities. Warmth, and affection from us, and in return he gives us security, companionship, and love; like a real family who share their feelings and enjoy a fruitful life. One day, we lost our dog from our house, and since then my dog never came back. A horrifying moment of my life; I cant express my emotion I felt the feelings of sadness and anger during that time. I felt horrified!
You cannot complain to the authority because it’s useless. The biggest problem of our country doesn’t have a law to regulate how to love and respect animals. These animals deserve to live like a human being.

#48 My Best Friend Shobie

I didn’t like Shobie the first time I met her during the first day of school in the Philippines. Her hair perfectly highlighted; a designer hand bag slung over her shoulder. Her long colored fingernails made her look like a witch. She introduced her self laughing loudly; she was flashy I thought the complete opposite of me, so I figured we’d never have anything to talk about.
Then few months later I found myself sitting next to Shobie at lunch. She seemed less lively that time than the first time I met her. “Is everything okay?” I asked her. “My husband died last month” she said, “we’ve been married for 7 years” I really miss him.
“ I’m so sorry, I know how you feel” I said. Soon we were in a deep conversation about our children. We are talked for 2 hours. At the end of our conversation Shobie gave me a hug.
Now, 11 years later, Shobie and I are best friends. She doesn’t hold back- before I left we made a commitment, that we will live close to each other. She did her best keep her promise, so she made it to America with her children, and now she lives in Connecticut. Every holiday we never forget to send cards to each other and for our children. We talk almost everyday over the phone, talking about our week in work and about our families. I have never met anyone else like her, and that’s what I love about her.

# 41 Mission Trip

The 10-day mission trip to South Africa last year; called “Nurses For Africa” Their mission is to provide medical care and HIV/AIDS education to patient and the surrounding population; It needed applicants for a mission trip.
Adrian Warner is our Nurse care plan coordinator in Rosewood; she’s one of my good friends at work. She said, “As soon as I read it, she knew, she wanted to go.” And right away, she turned her application and received an acceptance, and been a member since of the 16 special trained nurses sent to the Republic of Zambia in Africa. I am so proud of her to hear that there are people like Adrian that go to other countries not for a vacation but to serve other people who are poor, like Africa without pay. She said it’s very scary but her heart tells her to go and served.
Adrian said, it was a very shocking sight for her when she visited one of the schools. The school did not even have any chairs or desks for the kids to sit at during lessons. “They would sit on bricks or in the cold dusty floors. She also said, everybody was amazed of how these people survive; family member dying of sickness and hunger, and they never complain about anything. In fact they have so much faith in God and they never feel like he has forsaken them,” Adrian said, In fact they have a motto “ God is good all the time” and she can see that the love they have in their heart.
Adrian said, she couldn’t express how this mission trip changes a nurse’s heart; her parents, husband, and three children have all expressed interest and support in going on a mission trip with her. Adrian, inspired many nurses at work and now She's getting ready again for her next trip in Africa this coming July.

40 English

When I was in the Philippines, I was remembered my English teacher, I was fortunate a teacher who was very compassionate and caring towards my stuttering. She did everything in her power to make me feel comfortable when I had to recite in front of the class. I can remember giving an oral presentation and she told me that when I got stuck on a word, I could write on the blackboard. The first few times that I did this, it was kind of funny and I joked about it. The further into my presentation I got, the more blackboards filled up with words, which I was unable to say. The more I wrote, the more embarrassed I became and the worse my stuttering became. What had become an attempt by this caring teacher to help me in the best way she knew how had become a complete disaster. After class we had a little talk about what happened and what she and I could do next time I had to speak in the class.
My school experiences…. I know times have really changed for the better.I will be a better speaker one day.

# 35 The Ugly House

When I was a little girl, I remembered one morning my mother was packing our belongings. I don’t know why, I was young to understand the whole situation then I heard my father was screaming, “hurry up! hurry up! We need to catch the train.”
At the train station I wanted to ask my mother where we’re going and why, but I was caught up with a lot of emotion. Because I knew something was wrong. I felt there will be a big change in my life, in our life. Finally I heard the train coming, and I watched my dad putting our luggage in the compartment, while my mother are taking all her children one by one inside the train. It was an eighteen hour trip from the big city of Manila to a small town of Sipocot , and from the town of Sipocot we took a bus. The bus was crowded, loaded with people (smelly people), animals like chicken, pigs, and monkeys. I can hear the pigs making noises at the back, and every time I looked behind me these different kinds of creatures stares at me as if to eat me. I can’t recognize which are the animals and which one are the human beings. At a very young age I remembered saying to myself “my gosh’, My mother is too pretty to ride in this stinky bus.
Watching the bus from the outside you will never think the bus will able to make it to our destination. The road was rough and dusty, It was a bumpy ride, but for a child it was fun. Finally we arrived to a small village, and then I saw a very ugly house.
The house was very small, ugly and scary. It was made from old salvaged wood and the roof was webbed from coconut leaves. There is no electricity, or running water, no bedroom, or a living room, but there was a four-legged piece of wood and I’m not sure if it was a table or a bed.
It was a very exhausting day for all of us. We all went to bed early, Oh’ I forgot we didn’t have any bed so we all went to floor early. And I remember all my sisters and I were very scared, we can hear the animals crying from the woods and we also realized we barely have any roof, We can see the bright stars from the skies....

My First Flight

My first flight to Hong Kong was one of the most memorable things that has happened in my life. I remember going to the airport and just looking at the huge airplane with red stripes on the surface of the wings. Once I got inside of the plane and sat down, I started to look at everything around me. I noticed the small white air vents above my head, and with little lights next to the vent. It was so comfortable because the control was on my armrest. There were small monitors hanging in every seat, where I could watch my favorite movie. After everyone got settled the stewardess page over the intercom and explained the safety procedures. They also showed us how to properly use the seat belt and how to use the oxygen mask in case of an emergency. Other stewardess gave us some food to eat; their food is so fantastic and delicious.
As the airplane approach the runway, I felt really excited. My stomach felt odd, going up in the air for the first time. It was a very exciting feeling when I looked out of the small window and watched everything getting smaller and smaller.
And when I finally reached my destination. I heard a weird noise it was the landing gears coming down. After the plane touched down, I heard the tires screeching and I couldn’t believe that I was finally in Hong Kong. Everybody was rushing to getting their luggage; excited to be getting off the airplane. The amazingly, heavy airplane that brought us safely to reach our destination.

#25 A Young Girl With a Pigtail

While I was driving going to East Peoria ICC campus, I saw a young Asian girl standing at the stoplight before I turn left toward ICC. What was weird is that I don’t just see her once, but I see her everyday on the way to school. She waits for the stoplight, obviously so she could cross the road. She has a backpack, books on her hands, and she has two pigtails on her hair. She is wearing a white jacket, and a pink scarf on her neck. She was so cute and adorable that it kind of remind me of my self when I was young. So I decided that I want to meet this young girl, and I was so excited. So I hurried up to park my car, and waited for the young girl to cross the street. When I saw her coming I started to get ready and I opened my door and I walked with her. I started a conversation with her, I asked her about the weather and how terrible it was hoping to get a conversation going. I introduced myself to her, and she told me her name was Cecelia. She said it was cold, and I noticed she wasn’t wearing a heavy coat, and it was very windy and dry, that you have to face the direction of the wind just to keep yourself breathing. While we were walking to ICC from the parking lot she told me a brief story of her life. She said she didn’t have a car to drive, so she has to walk to school everyday. She lives with her brother renting a house at Armstrong Street across ICC. She doesn’t have parents, she said. So I asked her why? I don’t know, she told me. I can see the sadness from her face. My brother and I escaped from our parents, and we just moved here in Illinois six months ago. I felt sorry for her and her brother, and I don’t want to end our conversation, I want to spend more time with her and listen to her story. Our time is over, and we have to say goodbye to each other, but I don’t know if I will ever see her again. I reached my classroom; I am still thinking of that young girl with a pigtail, wishing if I could see her again.