lakambini 1

Payo sa Kagandahan

Para sa kaakit-akit na mga labi, gumamit ng mga salita ng kabaitan.

Para sa kaibig-ibig na mga mata, hanapin ang kabutihan ng mga tao.

Para sa maayos na pangangatawan, hatian ng iyong pagkain ang mga nagugutom.

Para sa magandang buhok, hayaan mong haplusin ito ng bata araw-araw.

Para sa postura, maglakad nang may kaalamang di ka naglalakad nang nag-iisa.

Ang mga tao, higit sa mga bagay, ay kailangang muling palakasin, baguhin, buhayin, kupkupin, at tubusin; huwag itapon ang sinuman.

Tandaan, kapag kailangan mo ng kamay na tutulong sa iyo, makikita ito sa dulo ng iyong braso.

Habang tumatanda, matutuklasan mong dalawa ang iyong kamay, isa upang tulungan ang sarili, isa upang bigyang kalinga ang iba.

Ang kagandahan ay wala sa pananamit, hugis ng katawan, o ayos ng buhok. Kailangang makita ang kagandahan sa mga mata, dahil ito ang daanang papasok sa puso, kung saan nakatira ang pag-ibig.

Ang kagandahan ay wala sa nunal sa mukha, bagkus nasasalamin ang tunay na kagandahan sa kaluluwa. Ito ay nasa pag-aarugang binibigay, matinding damdaming ipinapakita, at lalo lamang lumiliwanag ang kagandahan sa paglipas ng mga taon.

Hango ito sa tula ni Sam Levenson (1911-1980), "Time Tested Beauty Tips," na paborito ni Audrey Hepburn. Si Hepburn ay isang artistang ipinanganak sa Belgium, lumaki sa Netherlands, at nagtrabaho sa Estados Unidos. Binasa niya ito kina Sean at Luca, ang kanyang mga anak, noong huling Pasko bago siya sumakabilang-buhay sa Switzerland noong 1993. Inihahandog ko ang aking salin kay Coral, ang batang anak ng isang regular na bisita ng Café Voltaire. Gawa ang pampalamuting titik na may lakambini sa itaas ng Pranses na si Napoléon Landais.

roommate

On the second night, I meet Bram Buijs from the Netherlands- he'll be my roommate for the rest of my stay in Finland. I have the impression that he's a party animal, but he'll surprise me by being Ville's co-speaker on the environment and climate change in Parliament. He's also a concert pianist, a fact which I'll only discover right before leaving Finland- I'll almost miss it! There are many fascinating things about people and the world around us- one just has to learn to observe and be aware.

Here Bram and I are sunning ourselves and drinking cider and beer on the terrace of the Lasipalatsi (Glass Palace), doing what Fins do on summer evenings. Right behind us, at the center of the photo, is the Art Nouveau Finnish Parliament.

And here is a piece by Jean Sibelius, the Lucio San Pedro of Finland:

Finlandia - Jean Sibelius

first night

While Europe can be expensive due to different standards of living, one can travel on a budget of 30 to 90 Euros a day if one is able to establish rapport and make instant friends.

When checking in at midnight in the domus or hostel in Helsinki, I am greeted by a fellow participant of the conference, Constantin "Coco" Holzer from Austria. He looks like Josh Groban, only better groomed, and what I found most striking about him was his voice, which was like a gentle breeze- it sounds so polite to my ears, I figure he must have lived in Asia. Soon enough, I would find out that he has been to China and even to the Eastern ends of Russia, beyond Moscow- in fact, Coco speaks Chinese and Russian fluently.

Since we both have rooms with twin beds, we decide to just share one room for the night and split the bill. I open a coconut shell with lambanog wine and we talk about his travels and martial arts (he practices Brazilian wrestling) until 3 in the morning.

Since I haven't been to Austria, I draw on two stories from my personal hard drive to make a connection: the movie "Sound of Music," one of the first movies I saw as a child, and Persepolis, the comic book memoir of Marjane Satrapi (the film adaptation's website is here), who moved to Vienna to escape the war in Iran.

I must have been inspired by my French friend Romain's photos of Iran that I got Persepolis from National Bookstore in Greenhills. It's powerful and engrossing graphic work, expressing serious themes of war and destruction in the voice of an innocent child. Satrapi shows scenes of bombings in Tehran and its transformation from a secular into a fundamentalist religious state and her liberal family's reaction to these; her parents' decision for her to continue her high school studies in Austria; culture shock in Europe; dating; returning to Iran and meeting her husband; and getting a divorce and becoming independent again.

What makes Persepolis unique is its narrative: instead of glorifying the combat between a protagonist and his or her enemy, the comic book presents the details of everyday life of an ordinary child and her brave family while combats of powers-that-be rage around them.

Persepolis has become the inspiration for a future book project for me. I was surprised to find out that a similar comic book has already been done in the Philippines, though I'm still trying to get my hands on a copy.

Climb Every Mountain - Aria Clemente

Thanks to Aria Clemente for the song "Climb Every Mountain." Aria is the 2007 Grand Champion Performer of the World (Junior Division) of the World Championships of Performing Arts. 

journey

The light has gone out, I said, and yet I was wrong... The light that has illumined this country for these many years will illumine this country for many more years... and the world will see it and it will give solace to innumerable hearts. -Jahawarlal Nehru on Mahatma Gandhi

Why do we travel? Some people do so to get from point A to B; others, to take a vacation. For me, traveling provides an opportunity to go on a journey- to undertake a process of discovering the world and myself. 

This is the reason why, while I like to meet people and make new friends, I also enjoy a lot of time traveling in solitude. Away from the bonds of relationships and the usual markers of social roles and responding to a different culture and environment, I can find out about my true likes and dislikes. I can form my own opinions unmediated by those of another and get new inspiration. Ordinary acts, like bowing, drinking tea or relaxing in a sauna, take on new meanings. Ultimately, a journey strengthens one's sense of self or even reconstitutes it, allowing a new and better person to emerge.

As I would tell Irena from Czech Republic, upon reuniting with her boyfriend in Prague, with all she has seen and experienced by herself, she would have more to give to their relationship. And she would also have given them both a chance to miss each other!

What makes this journey different from previous ones is that I'm also trying to clear my head. Since the passing of former Pres. Aquino, I feel as Nehru did immediately after Gandhi passed away, that the light has gone out from the world. I know in my mind that this isn't so- that the flame of freedom which she carried would burn on in hearts of many more Filipinos- but I wanted to find that flame in my own heart, so that I would have more to give to my country and the world.

I've been wondering how people can love a country. Specifically, why do I love the Philippines? Is it because I've been told to do so by patriotic parents? Or because I feel a sense of obligation to give back to society for the excellent education and professional opportunities I've received? Or because love of country has been drilled into me through countless national anthems and flag ceremonies?

These may all be a part of it, but what I'll discover at journey's end is that love of country is part of loving oneself. 

When we travel, one of the first things that people look for in our passports or ask about is our nationality and, on that basis, form initial impressions about us. Politicians and businessmen would ask for our opinion about the problems back home that they read about in the papers or see on TV. So whenever each of us tries to solve one of these problems- to fight an injustice or right a wrong- we strengthen our self-esteem- our self-respect- and allow that "greatest love" to happen in our lives.

These are exciting times for the Philippines as we prepare for national elections next year. There are a number of relatively young and qualified candidates who are planning to run for national positions. Since I have a personal or professional connection to many of them- to quote my friend Anna, the Philippines is "incestuously small"- I would have to assess their track records and platforms closely.  

I'll vote and campaign, not on the basis of personality, but on principles and plans, particularly on the economy. I'll make choices, not with my heart, but with my mind. And if I don't find the perfect candidates, I'll support the ones who'll give me the least stress if they win.

In the meantime, enjoy the journey with me! Here I am before the Suomen ortodoksinen kirkko, an autonomous Orthodox archbishopric of the Patriarchate of Constantinople. Thanks to Zhaoxiong Wang of China for the picture.

Ikaw - Martin Nievera

amsterdam 2

Miyerkules, Ika-19 ng Abril, 1944

Mahal Ko,

May mas gaganda pa ba sa mundo kaysa umupo sa harap ng bukas na bintana at magpaligaya sa kalikasan, makinig sa huni ng mga ibon, damhin ang araw sa iyong pisngi habang yakap-yakap ang binatang ginigiliw? Nagpapahupa ng kirot at napakapayapa ng pakiramdam ng kanyang mga braso sa palibot ko, ang kaalamang andyan lang siya nang di na kinakailangan pang magsalita, di ito kasalanan, dahil mabuti ang ganitong kapayapaan. Nawa'y di na magambalang muli, maging ni Mouschi.

Sumasaiyo,

Anne

Salin ito mula sa Het Achterhuis o Ang Bahay sa Likod (1947), ang Talaarawan ni Anne Frank, isang 13 taong dalagang Hudyong may natatanging husay sa pagsusulat. Noong Ikalawang Digmaan, nagtago siya kasama ng kanyang pamilya at isa pang pamilya sa lihim na mga kwarto ng isang gusaling pang-opisina sa Esterong Prinsengracht. Pagkatapos ng dalawang taon, nahuli sila ng kalaban at dinala sa mga kampong pinagiipunan ng bihag, kung saan namatay ang lahat maliban kay Otto, ang tatay ni Anne. 

Pagkatapos ng giyera, nang mahanap at mabasa ni Otto ang talaraawan ng anak ("Kitty" ang tawag ni Anne dito), nalaman niyang naging kasintahan pala ni Anne si Peter Van Daan, ang 15 taong binatang kasama nilang nagtatago. Si Mouschi ang kanilang alagang pusa.

Sa isang panayam, sinabi ni Otto na- kung mayroon siyang isang natutunan- ito'y ang katotohanang di tunay na nakikilala ng mga magulang ang kanilang mga anak. 

Ngayong taong 2009 ang ika-80 taon ng kapanakan ni Anne (1929-1945), kung kaya't ang talang ito'y hinahandog ko sa aking mga kasama sa Amnesty International at iba pang tao't samahang nagsusulong sa karapatang pantao.

Beautiful In My Eyes - Jed Madela

amsterdam 1

My travel guru Cierlene Benipayo- Justice B.'s sister and Ogie's aunt- had been insisting these past two years that I visit Amsterdam.

Why Amsterdam? I would ask.

To smoke pot legally, see the Red Light District...

Ho-hum.

I thought I'd already seen it all, but after I tried the hemp hand lotion of The Body Shop in the Amsterdam train station (which I haven't smelled in Manila- attention The Body Shop Philippines!) and later saw the city's tall, improbably thin 17th century townhouses (which presaged New York's vertical architecture), I felt, if not love, then something close to it: a bond, a connection. 

Here is the actual embodiment of the ideals of my college years: a place with the highest respect for freedom and human rights, the town of Anne Frank in the country of "Big Brother" where people can see what others are doing and yet follow the principle, "Live and let live." No wonder Joma Sison chose to live in exile in this country.

And I remembered I. who, during one lazy afternoon in the green fields of Ateneo when we decided to give it a try, disclosed that she actually stayed with Joma here in the Netherlands. I was captivated by her description of the colorful flowers and gardens of Europe which she read from her diary- in a way, she colored my perception of the continent. She said those flowers were so beautiful, they made her cry- as an activist, because she remembered the faces of poverty back home, but I suspect also as an artist, because they awakened her senses and touched her core.

Though I'm not visiting Joma- my politics and sympathies are much too different now- the faces of his two brothers are very much with me, especially Tito Mon, who succumbed to lung cancer recently. The picture above shows them in Tito Mon's Beverly Hills home, where I stayed during my trip to Los Angeles in the U.S. I miss Tito Mon (you remember him: he's the man on the left)- his stories of Cary Grant and Nora Aunor, his show tunes, his joie de vivre.

It's ironic how close we were to each other- lovers and brothers- yet be politically oceans apart. 

In the microcosm of these relationships, I feel hope and am able to envision unity for our country: we may disagree today, we may have fought each other yesterday, but ultimately we're just one family.

...

Topping my playlist on the plane, something witty, not to mention politically relevant:

otaku

Finally, I knew a Japanese word that Ronnie-san didn't: otaku (おたく/オタク). After aikido practice, he saw the green streaks of paint on my hair and asked what they were for. I said it was my otaku day.

Otaku is a Japanese word referring to people with obsessive interests, particularly in anime, manga and video games. The term is loosely translated into English as "geek" (there is no close translation in Filipino- an entire generation here was weaned on Voltes V and anime).

Anyway, one morning during a Comics Convention in Megamall, I met this group of Filipino otaku. They reminded me so much of "Densha Otoko," one of my favorite Japanese TV series about the true-to-life love story between an otaku ("Densha Otoko" or "Train Man") and a office worker he met on the train ("Hermes"). With the help of fellow users of 2ch (a Japanese Internet forum where everyone is anonymous), he was able to overcome his shyness, undergo a make-over, and court Hermes. There was trouble, however, when Hermes found out that Densha Otoko was an otaku but- and the TV series became a hit because of this- love found a way to bring them back together in the end. The lesson is simple and resonates in anyone who has ever courted, dated or been in a relationship: just be yourself.

Memorable scenes from "Densha Otoko" are here.

How did it feel to have green hair? This has long been something I've wanted to try- it felt great, I felt instantly transformed into someone new. There's another lesson here somewhere but I'll need to think about that...

Here's the perfect Pinoy otaku song, "Maari Ba?" ("Is It Possible?")- thanks to balladeer Ariel Rivera.

maari ba - ariel rivera