Categories
Parenting

Children and chores

On a recent family trip to Hong Kong, we saw a woman asking her granddaughter to pose for a photo. The girl, probably 7 or 8 years old, was obviously not happy about it and smacked her grandmother’s hand so hard, the mobile phone flew a few meters away. My mother could not help herself […]

Categories
History

Chispaña: Chinese in Spain

In Spain, there are officially around 200,000 Chinese residents, spread out all over the country but primarily in the main cities and the most vibrant regions. There are 28,800 in Andalucía in the south while out of the 54,432 in Cataluña region, 45,636 are in Barcelona and 54,512 live in Madrid. Despite the serious economic […]

Categories
Life

Chinese names: Why the Spaniards got it right and the Americans got it wrong

The 16th century Chinese adventurer 林鳳 is known throughout the English-speaking world as Limahong or Limahon, but also, and especially more recently, as Lin Feng. Which is right? Lin Feng is the pinyin romanization of 林鳳, but that is not what he would have called himself. He was from Teochew, and his full name, 林阿鳳, […]

Categories
Life

SUMMA-bit: The insecurities of a summa who made it, but barely

‘Yuri, send mo na yung thesis mo sa department email!” reminded Ate Erika, our department library staff. I was in the library writing some letters. I looked up from my laptop and nodded assent. A few minutes after I’ve sent what I thought was the PDF copy of my thesis, she came up to me […]

Categories
Tsinoy Beats and Bytes

When politics precedes economics

A president is elected to office with a mandate. He is handed stewardship of the nation’s welfare. People place in him their collective trust that he will do right by them. Yet, the specter of dictatorial rule hovers over the country ever more so. This makes even more poignant the memories of Sept. 21, 1972, […]

Categories
Gems of History

The first Chinatown: Miton

The Chinatown in Manila is said to be the first Chinatown in the world. But it’s apparently not the present Chinatown that is synonymous to the famous Ongpin Street. The street, formerly Calle Sacristia, only got its name in 1915 in honor of Roman Ongpin, the famous Chinese-Filipino financier of the Philippine revolution. To be […]

Categories
History

Merlie ‘Milet’ B. Mendoza: Unbowed, undaunted, undeterred

I knew of Merlie “Milet” B. Mendoza 10 years ago, before she knew me.  The evil kidnapping menace was rampant then, in Metro Manila as well as in Mindanao. Mendoza was abducted and held for 61 days, together with her fellow social worker, Esperancita “Espie” Hupida, in Basilan on Sept. 15, 2008. Both of them were working […]

Categories
History

Lawrence Trust Fund for Volunteer Efforts

The spotlight this year is on Merlie “Milet” Mendoza, recipient of the Lawrence Trust Fund for Volunteer Efforts. She is a social activist involved in peace, humanitarian and development efforts. Her work experience could fill a book and then some. It is activists like her, living for others, that the Lawrence Trust Fund had set […]

Categories
Health

Too much sitting is bad for your health

Sitting for long periods of time is linked to a number of health concerns. They include obesity, high blood pressure, high blood sugar, and high blood cholesterol levels. Too much sitting, or prolonged periods of sitting, consequently increase the risk of developing and dying from heart disease and cancer. Any extended sitting – such as […]

Categories
Kaisa Page

Kaisa Para Sa Kaunlaran highlights of 2017

Kaisa at 31 continues to undertake its regular activities like the weekly medicine assistance to patients at the Philippine General Hospital, the fortnightly Tulay, weekly Yong Hap, meetings, conferences, forum, outreach and networking with mainstream and Tsinoy organizations. However, the highlight of Kaisa’s activities continues to revolve around Bahay Tsinoy. We had more than 23,000 […]