The Jingdou Language Centre in Macau

Macau --- I am very grateful for the opportunity to see nearby Macau, almost a year ago, to get to know more about the Jingdou Language Centre. Managed by the Far Eastern Education Association (FEEA), the language center caters mainly to Macau locals who wish to improve their English proficiency. They are also offering Mandarin and Cantonese classes, programs aimed at expatriates and foreign nationals residing in Macau. Thanks to SKILLS, the technical-vocational school of Primary Structures Educational Foundation, Inc., I was given the chance to benchmark the English as a Second Language (ESL) Course being offered at Jingdou, in the light of the upcoming ESL Program to be launched in SKILLS sometime this year.   

Macau is about three hours away by plane from Manila. It is an autonomous region on the south coast of China, across the Pearl River Delta from Hong Kong. A Portuguese territory until 1999, it reflects a mix of cultural influences. 

I left Manila at 7:30 AM and arrived in Macau a little before 12:00 NN. I was met at the airport by May Chan, one of Jingdou's coordinators. She was so kind enough to bring me to Wahn Tihng Study Center where I stayed while I was there. We met Mary Anne of the Administration, and Iris, the director of the center. I was so happy to be there!

This is how the houses along the sidewalks in Macau look like.

After settling down and doing a bit of unpacking, May said we'll just walk going to a nearby Chinese restaurant where we'll have lunch. So we did. It was a pleasant walk, and I didn't mind the humid air while going through the streets of Macau. Doing so reminded me a bit of an area in Binondo, Manila where many Chinese nationals are residing, living in buildings where they operate their own businesses. What I find so nice are the quaint houses, vertical condominiums, government buildings still breathing the beauty of Portuguese architecture. As you may know, Macau was a colony of Portugal for more than a hundred years or so. The way the street signs are put up, plus the lamp posts and the flowers in each of them, make the streets of Macau a pretty sight to behold.

In the Chinese restaurant, we waited a bit for Joan Wallace to arrive. Joan is a British national living in Macau for quite some time now, and is handling drama classes for young students at Jingdou. The impression I got while having lunch was that the Chinese are really a healthy race, because of the abundance of green leafy vegetables in the menu selections. Plus the bottomless hot green tea served in all the meals. We enjoyed a hearty lunch. I was grateful to May and Joan for making me feel welcome in their country.

After lunch, we then headed for Jingdou, again, walking! May explained to me that since most of the areas here are walkable, it is more convenient to do so than taking the bus. I really didn't mind because by just looking at their buildings, I was already enjoying myself, holding in awe what a rich culture Macau has.

With May (left) and Marilou (center) at Jingdou

Finally, when we reached a certain intersection, May pointed out to me the building where Jingdou is located. We crossed the street and entered a not-so-new building, and just took the stairs up the second floor where we rang the doorbell. A smiling lady greeted us, and talked to May in Mandarin. I had a warm welcome from Jingdou's professors. I was really moved. She introduced me to Marilou Ygoa who used to live here in our study center in Cebu. And then to the rest of the team composed of Americans and British expats. Joan brought me around and let me observe in her drama class. She has 6 young students, who really look so cute with their chinky eyes. I was hoping I could have a photo opportunity with them, but it seems that it is not encouraged among the visitors. After the drama class, I was brought to the high school English conversation class of Kenneth. It was fun because he made me part of the discussion. He had about 8 boys and 8 girls in his class. I must say that most of the students could already speak in English satisfactorily. They could describe what happened to them in clear English, and they also got to use complex verbs and adjectives. After this class, May brought me back to their office where she gave me a sample course curriculum of the ESL program they run. She explained to me that the way they do it is really heavy on demonstration, promoting activity-based learning. Not so much relying just on books and pure lecture. I thanked her for being very accommodating, and for sharing with me details of their language program offerings.

At Coloane with May, Adalina and Veronica 

I was so glad to have met the other ones from Wahn Tihng: Emily and Peggy. And I also got to meet Monica from Hong Kong, who was in Macau at that time for business reasons.  May also brought me around: we saw the beautiful parks in the city where we rode the cable car, visiting The Ruins of St. Paul's, and the trip to the quaint town of Coloane, where we had excursion together with Adalina, a Portuguese, and Veronica, a Macanese. We ate in a Portuguese restaurant there, took the famous egg tart dessert at Lord Stow's Bakery, and visited the conference center in Hac Sa. It was Monica who invited us to see Hac Sa Conference Center where a seminar which she was assisting was going on. I never thought I'd see Our Lady of Macau up close. I am ever grateful for that gift.

Going up Penha Hill during the May 13 procession 

The highlight of this trip, I must say, was the opportunity to see Macau's Our Lady of Fatima at the Se Cathedral, around 2 kilometers from Wahn Tihng. It was really a memorable experience for me to attend the solemn mass at the cathedral, join the May 13 procession and go up Penha Hill, till we reached the Chapel of Our Lady of Penha where you have a beautiful view of the whole Macau. We were celebrating 100 years of the Fatima apparitions while I was there. I actually didn't know that the weekend I decided to be there coincided with the centennial celebration of the Fatima apparitions! It was nearing 12 midnight when May and I separated. I went home with Emily who was also in the procession with a friend. We walked all the way home, passing by a mini-grocery where Emily picked up some purchased goods for her Administration.

I am very grateful to Iris, Peggy, Emily, Marilou, Joan, Adalina, Veronica, Monica, and to May especially, and to everyone who made my quick stay in Macau so pleasant and enjoyable. God willing, I can go back there again.

Dumaguete Day Trip

We found one fine Sunday in March to explore nearby Dumaguete City in Negros Oriental, a neighboring province here in the Visayas! We had to hear anticipated Mass to set out early the following day. 

We left Cebu City at around 5:30 AM when it was still a bit dark, and drove down South towards Santander where Liloan port is. We were to take the barge bringing the van with us! There were eight of us, 6 from our study center and 2 from the training center. Gigi R., one of our ladies residing in Dumaguete, was expecting us in their house, to meet her mom and also to visit the house of her sister, Len-Len, where we are scheduled to do the summer Rural Service Project come May. It was an exciting trip, and we all enjoyed the scenic coastal area of Southern Cebu. From Cebu City, we passed by Talisay City, Minglanilla, the City of Naga, San Fernando, Carcar, Sibonga, Argao, Dalaguete, Alcoy, Boljoon and Oslob, before reaching the municipality of Santander, Cebu. We arrived a little past 9:00 AM. We waited to board the RORO (roll-in and roll-out ship) and when were finally inside, we went up the passenger and viewing deck to bid Cebu goodbye. It was really fun!

The big boat ride from Cebu took less than 30 minutes, since the port of Sibulan, Negros Oriental was just right across the port of Santander. This reminded me of a somewhat similar boat ride I took with my cousins when we went to Guimaras Island from Iloilo City in the island of Panay. You can see the mountains of your neighboring province!

When we disembarked, we were so happy to see how clean and green Dumaguete City is, a far-cry from the usual sight of Cebu City's streets which, unfortunately, are not really quite clean. The only 'trash' we saw were dried leaves on the sidewalk! Can you beat that? 

We first headed to Gigi's house which was not that far from the port. They have a big machine shop outside their beautiful home, which amused us because of their mini-playground. We had time to play in the seesaw, the monkey bars, the slide, and the swing. We were enjoying ourselves so much! 

We met Gigi's mom and sisters, and had a quick photo op in their house. We then set out to have our Dumaguete City tour, with a visit to Silliman University campus as main feature. We were lucky to have a very learned tour guide who calls himself a campus ambassador. His communication skills were very brilliant, and we can say he really knows his university inside and out. Later on, we learned that this tour guide had been a Silliman scholar and was one of those who topped his batch. 

Silliman is such a huge campus, reminding us of how the University of the Philippines Diliman campus looks like. They have so many colleges and hopping from one building to the next, we really had to ride the van because they are situated very far from one another! What we liked among the places we visited was the amphitheater where their university commencement exercises are held. We were treated to see ancient acacia trees in the university property that provide much shade and oxygen to the whole campus. We also took a nice photo with the bust of Silliman's founder, Dr. Horace B. Silliman, a retired businessman of the town of Cohoes in New York state, USA. As we may know, it was the Presbyterian Board of foreign missions who was behind the putting up of the university, which explains its Protestant roots. 

After the tour of Silliman, we went to see the house of Len-Len, Gigi's sister from the United States, who allowed us to use their house for our summer outreach project. That was where we took our lunch. It was a cozy house which could fit a maximum of 18-20 girls. It has a nice veranda where you could do stargazing, and a garden big enough to place a barbecue set-up for dinner. 

In the afternoon, we went to see the famous bamboo organ of the Church of Bacong, Negros Oriental! It's actually the Church of St. Augustine of Hippo, which also houses the tallest belfry in this side of Negros Island. Most of us went up the belfry to have a 360 degree view of Dumaguete City, braving the dark winding stairs going up and taking in the humid air and the smell of bat droppings. Well, that was such an accomplishment!

For merienda, we headed for the baywalk and parked near Sans Rival pastry shop. Topping the day was taking sweet silvanas, an all-time hit in Dumaguete and around the country!

We were back at the port of Sibulan by 4:30 PM to take the RORO back to Santander. It was such a short but sweet trip to this City of Gentle People. We arrived home in Cebu City a little before 9:00 PM, full of picturesque memories of today's excursion to enchanting Dumaguete. 

Break the Silence: Global Run for PWDs at SM Seaside Cebu City

With Rob, Rina and Lea after finishing our 3K run

March 19, Sunday, Cebu City --- I was so glad to have represented SKILLS in the primary run for Persons With Disabilities (PWDs) organized by the Philippine Accessible Disability Services, Inc. (PADS). Dubbed as, "Break the Silence: Global Run," PADS hosted approximately "10,000 global change-makers of all abilities and ages to participate in this fun run, in cities around the world," cited its press release. PADS stated that their goal is not to break world records. Their goal is to generate a wave of awareness across the globe which will contribute to STOP the sexual abuse of Deaf women and children. 

With Lea and Denven (right), our Deaf graduate

       The members of PSC's Runners Club were also present in the event. Denven Verano, one of our Deaf graduates now working as Housekeeping Staff at Quest Hotel, joined the Global Run with his colleagues in their community at Gualandi Mission for the Deaf. I was happy that my Banilad co-resident, Lea, ran with me! We were also delighted to see Rina, one of Banilad's friends, who is now part of SM Seaside's Marketing Department. Rob Gomm, PADS' event organizer, couldn't stop thanking everyone who came and supported the run.

It was an experience to leave so early in the morning, with the stars still out, and travel down south. The South Road Properties (SRP) look really scenic at the break of dawn, as we jogged, walked and ran along the highway, side-by-side the beautiful sea and the mountain ranges of Cebu which form the backdrop of SM Seaside City! Given our condition and capacity, Lea and I managed to finish 3K in less than 30 minutes! It was our full exercise for the day. We were laughing to admit that we suffered the consequences of this early morning run the following day! This is due to not regularly exercising!

The primary run was set here in Cebu City, where Filipinos and international guests took to the streets to show their support. Simultaneously, other cities in the country also hosted runs with the support of SM Malls. Manila also joined the event, with runners converging at McKinley West Park, Chateau Road, The Fort, Taguig City. On the same day, March 19, there had been confirmed runs across North and South America, Europe, Australia, Asia and the Pacific nations. The final run of the day was hosted by Google at the Googleplex  in Mountain View, California, USA.    

The race categories consisted of 3K (Php 350), 6K (Php 450), 12K (Php 550) and 21K (Php 650). For Persons With Disabilities (PWDs) who joined the event, a special 1K category was included. Race proceeds will be used for the awareness campaign of PADS' flagship project, Break the Silence, the prevention of sexual abuse of Deaf women and children in the Philippines.

      

Summer 2017: The Charm of Southern Cebu

At Mantayupan Falls with our Senior HS and  Tech-Voc team

We had loads of fun visiting Southern Cebu's very own Barili, Alegria and Badian municipalities during our teambuilding activity this year! Our first stop was Mantayupan Falls in Barili, Batong Malunhaw in Alegria, and Kawasan Falls in Badian.

Warming up for our first game

There were 4 vans that transported all 55 of us --- the staff of PSEFI-SKILLS along with some family members --- to Barili where you can find the majestic waterfalls of Mantayupan. We stayed there for lunch and afterwards, headed to the beachfront of Batong Malunhaw, which is Cebuano for "Green Stone." This was where we had the first round of games prepared for us by Janice and Mitziel, our HR and Guidance Counselor respectively. The following day, some of us tried going up the picturesque Kawasan Falls, a three-layered waterfall system located at Barangay Matutinao in Badian, Cebu. 

On the way to our location, we saw several tourists converge at a particular point where the passageway for Canyoneering is situated. We have heard so many testimonials about this kind of sport, which is drawing attention from a lot of local and international tourists, and the media. I even met Jen, a young professional from Manila, who came here to Cebu to precisely experience Canyoneering! And she said she loved it so much!

We are very grateful for the support of the Primary Group of Builders for this yearly escapade where we are given an opportunity to bond as a company. We have seen one another in a different light, away from our usual setting in the work place. Rest and recreation is truly a must to have a well-rounded character. It ensures one of preserving good physical, mental, emotional and spiritual health and well-being. And doing so with a bunch of happy and positive people is more than just a plus! It's like winning the jackpot, or the lottery, if you may!

Some quick facts about the tourist attractions we visited:

Tilapia-an in Barili

Barili, Cebu is located 61 km southwest of Cebu City. It borders on Dumanjug to the south, to the north with Aloguinsan; to the east with Carcar and Sibonga; and to the west lies the Tañon Strait. The word barili comes from the name of a local grass called balili. A cross was erected by Spanish conquistadores on their arrival at 1602, and still exists today. Its main tourist attraction is the Matayupan Falls. On the way, you will also get to pass by Tilapia-an and the famous Milk Station of Barili along the national highway.

The scenic beach front of Batong Malunhaw in Alegria

Alegria, Cebu is one of the 44 towns and considered a 4th class municipality of Cebu Province. It is bounded by Badian in the north, and Dalaguete in the east. Farming and fishing are the main sources of livelihood in this municipality, along with handicraft-making primarily using bamboo. No wonder, the town's festival is called Kawayan, a Visayan word for bamboo, celebrated every December 2. Townfolks celebrate this day with street dances and presentations by showing their locally made bamboo products or displaying them everywhere for people to see. Kawayan Festival is celebrated as part of the town's fiesta in honor of St. Francis Xavier, their patron saint.

Canyoneering in Badian

Badian, Cebu is located 98 km southwest of Cebu City. It is bounded to the north by Moalboal, to the south by Alegria, to the east by Dalaguete and Argao, and to the west by Tañon Strait. Its main tourist attraction is the Kawasan Falls, where Canyoneering is offered to tourists who need to go upstream Kawasan's waterfalls in order to experience it. 

Here's hoping we could all go back to this part of Cebu which has so much to offer not just during summer but the whole year round!

Photo credits courtesy of Reylie Bracero, raymondvasquez.com, Merry Grace Villegas, PSEFI official pictures.

PGB Palaro 2016 Closing Ceremonies

We all had an enjoyable afternoon last October 8, 2016, Saturday when we had our sportsfest's closing activity here in the Old Sacred Heart-Ateneo de Cebu Gym, SKILLS Campus. Everyone from the Primary Group of Builders took the time off to cheer for their team in our last event this year, DanceSports. Our company was represented by our young staff, Javic and Grace, who did their very best along with their team dancers from Primary Structures Corporation.

The afternoon kicked off with all of us registering to get our food chits, which served as our payment in all the food stalls that were provided by our Human Resources Department. Everyone was either wearing their Home Run 2016 singlet or their respective team shirts. I formed part of the Maroon Bahi Formworks Team, and was glad to see some of our teammates enjoying the afternoon bringing their small kids along!

Our COO, Ma'am Paulette D. Liu, attended the opening program with daughter Patty, who awarded the team winners per sporting event: Basketball, Badminton, Volleyball, Table Tennis, Chess and other board games. At around 2:00 pm, everyone was enjoined to go to the bleachers and occupy the designated area per team. We witnessed 4 groups vying for the Best DanceSports team of the year. Our team got the 2nd place, which was not so bad, considering that most of our dancers are relatively newbies. Their nights of dance practices paid off somehow.

There were also some fun games situated around the gym, plus a photo exhibit featuring the best shots taken during the different events we had for a period of five months. I went around with Senior High School faculty friends, Rochelle and Annaliza, in taking a look at all the winning photographs.

All in all, the PGB Palaro was a fantastic way to feel that we are part of one big family! We all got to meet again those we coordinate with regularly from the different affiliates, seeing them in a more relaxed setting, far from our usual work atmosphere. Plus, we made new friends and got acquainted with the newbies of the PGB family!

Till next year's PGB Palaro!

Radio Rounds 2016: Cebu City's DYAB, DYKC and Y101 FM

From l-r: With Ma'am Paulette, Mr. Jun Perez, Ms. Michelle and Gladys

Media exposure helps ensure that your services figure in the minds of the people you wish to reach. As we gain ground with our Senior High School offering over at SKILLS, we are grateful to the arrangements we have had the past months to be one of the guests of three radio programs that have a strong following among the Cebuanos: ABS-CBN's DYAB or Abante Bisaya radio, DYIO's Y101 FM, owned by GVM/Radio TV Corporation, and RPN's DYKC-Kusog Cebu.

Ms. Gladys Cabañero of Primary Homes, Inc. (PHI) played an important role in helping us promote SKILLS especially since we cannot really compete with the big universities here in Cebu City, in terms of offering the technical-vocational track of the Senior High School program. Thanks to PHI's big event for the year, Home Run 2016, we were featured several times in selected radio and television stations, with the excuse of being the main beneficiary of this run for a cause. Just recently, we were also glad to be the guest of RPN's DYKC-Kusog Cebu, in Tinubdan Sa Kalamboan, the radio program of Mr. Jeffrey "Ka Jeffrox" Cal. We were able to talk about the tech-voc scholarship programs awarded by TESDA Region VII this year. Guesting at DYKC for the second time is really enriching. Thank you to Sir Jeff and Engr. Berty who made it possible.

With Gladys and Mayline in an early
morning marketing break at Y101 FM 

Our COO, Mrs. Paulette D. Liu, was ever supportive in this marketing endeavor, knowing that we need to keep on working hard to make our advocacies widely recognized and accepted here in Cebu City. The Primary Group of Builders takes pride in the fact that with good people in the company, we can always forge ahead in coming up with different projects for poverty alleviation.

With Sir Bob and Ka Jeffrox at RPN's
Tinubdan sa Kalamboan program

SKILLS continues to be a leading institution that is committed to education as a way to reduce poverty incidence in the province, and consequently, in the entire country.

  

Cordova, Cebu Coastal Clean Up With Alegria Palms Dos Admin Team

With the Admin team of Alegria Palms Dos

April 9, 2016, Cordova, Cebu --- We left early for the Municipality of Cordova, Cebu to meet up with the Admin Team of Primary's project in the north of Cebu: Alegria Palms Dos. We have been anticipating this day, the first initiative of our corporate social responsibility program, with our Foundation as main collaborator. 

Representing SKILLS with me were Mayline and Engr. Teddy Taray. Ma'am Tess, our Executive Director, couldn't come because of a prior commitment. So we took on the responsibility to give the Alegria team all the support they need. We were happy that this has finally pushed through after an apprehension that arose earlier in the planning stage regarding the best date to schedule it.

Our volunteers from Alegria Palms Dos,
getting all the trash they can get their hands on

April 9 is the National Day of Valor (Araw ng Kagitingan) in the country. Being a holiday, people were really expected to troop to the tourist spots, and what better tourist spots to go to this summer than Cebu's beaches? There we were, witnessing loads and loads of pump boats transporting tourists, mostly coming from big families, gathering at the Roro Port where our coastal clean-up will take place. Mayline even met former trainees who were there with their barkada. We first had to assemble at the port and organized ourselves for the clean-up which took place for a little more than an hour.

Alegria was prepared with garbage cans, sacks and metal trash pickers. I wasn't expecting such a huge area where trash was unbelievably abundant! A part of the beach and a huge area where there are big boulders were the places we actually cleaned. On the side, we did some marketing campaign for our tech-voc programs among those in the port terminal and nearby local stores.

Cordova's Roro Port after the coastal clean-up

All in all, this activity was enriching for us. We yet have to give feedback to the municipal officials on the measures that can be done to make tourists refrain from polluting the port's surroundings with plastic trash. As always, we need to go through a deep and patient work of educating our people. I guess we need to somehow live with resistance and hard-headedness, until people get and see the right direction to go.

More power to the Municipality of Cordova, Cebu! More power to Alegria Palms Dos!