Hokkien, on the tongues of Tsinoys, has grown and evolved, taking on a life of its own. Sometimes words simply fail us. With some creativity, Tsinoys have strung together words to form colorful phrases that simply hit the bull’s eye. Here are some expressions unique to Hokkien as favored by Tsinoys. 死啊未曉倒落去 si-ah bue hiao […]
Fixing up your home devours money and time. A small home improvement project, without adequate planning, can turn into a huge one, with the end stretching farther away each time you look, and cost you your peace of mind. Following are a few ground rules which may help. Know what you want. Identify if it […]
Vigan is one of the places in the Philippines that appeared in early Chinese maps and records. Vigan’s name appearS there as bi-an (美岸 beautiful shore), bit-an (密岸 dense or many shores), bit yan (密燕 dense or many swallows), bit ngan (密雁 dense or many geese). The choice of Chinese names explains well how the […]
Municipal and provincial authorities vigorously promote Vigan, the major tourist hub in the province of Ilocos Sur. After all, its capital City of Vigan was included in the UNESCO Heritage list on Dec. 2, 1999. Vigan’s main tourist target is the people from Luzon. Air transportation to reach Vigan either from further north or from […]
If the need is not urgent, take all the time you want to mull things over, play with possibilities and ideas. I had been mulling at the problems and solutions for years before I finally upgraded my kitchen cabinets. By the time I started, I knew what had to be done and where to source […]
As children grow up, their conversations gain maturity commensurate with their age. It happens as they progress to higher grade levels in school, and when parents introduce topics and guide the conversations at home. In my family, we went one step further: Sioti and I went to meetings with our parents because there was no […]
Hokkien, on the tongues of Tsinoys, has grown and evolved, taking on a life of its own. Sometimes words simply fail us. With some creativity, Tsinoys have strung together words to form colorful phrases that simply hit the bull’s eye. Here are some expressions unique to Hokkien as favored by Tsinoys. 好心被雷撞 ho sim t’o […]
During the Sui Dynasty (581-618 AD), Xin Gong Yi (辛公義) was appointed as the governor of Mou Zhou (牟州) prefecture. Upon assuming his post, despite being worn out during travel, he went straight to the prison. He looked for a spot at an open air vacant lot and started interrogating the prisoners by himself. Continuing the […]
不可熄滅的光明 施文志 血淚與骨肉 鑄造的銅像 不可屈辱的尊嚴 完美堅定 黑暗中 不可熄滅的光明 讓她們 活在史冊上 Hindi Mapapawing Liwanag Estatwang nililok Sa dugo at luha, buto at laman Hindi maalipustang dignidad Walang pingas at matatag Hindi mapapawing liwanag Sa kadiliman Hayaang mabuhay sila Sa libro ng kasaysayan Light That Could Not Be Dimmed Figure carved From blood and tears, bone and […]
Chinese animal zodiac signs have always been part of the fun of our Lunar New Year celebrations. We are all familiar with its 12-year cycle but not everybody is aware that it is actually part of a bigger 60-year cycle, or that each birth year is also assigned to any one of the five elements, […]