If there is one thing you can give to the Philippines, what is that gift?

Every second of volunteering, every peso, every drop of perspiration counts.
But no matter how much we give, there is always this feeling that it does not seem enough.
There is a dream to give something bigger and to make a difference.

• From the Nuffnang Philippines website

It’s a New Year and it’s wonderful to start the year 2014 with a lot of good vibes and positive attitude. It’s a good thing that Nuffnang Philippines and Globe pop-up the question “If there is one thing you can give to the Philippines, what is that gift?”

I’m a bit tied-up with work lately and I can’t possibly visit all those places that need volunteers. As much as I wanted to contribute my energy and physical presence to these events, I’m home-bound. So the only thing I can give to the Philippines (without leaving my workstation) is my talent for photography and postcard-making.

Photography and postcard-making has always been vital in promoting the Philippines to other countries. We send postcards to our foreign pals to show them how beautiful the country is in spite of the several calamities that hit us in 2013. We use postcards to invite them to visit the country. This is our way to contribute to the tourism effort of the government. We use postcards to send our love and national identity to the world.

With so many beautiful places that I’ve visited in the country, I can create wonderful postcards of these places. In fact, I’ve already given some of these postcards to my foreign friends. This would be a great way to promote the Philippines as a tourist destination and to help our countrymen involved in the tourism industry.

Similar to the efforts made by the Department of Tourism (DoT) a few years back, when they launched the “It’s More Fun in the Philippines” campaign, I could transform the pictures taken using my DSLR into postcards! Look at some of the postcards I’ve made for my foreign friends.

Since I’m also online all the time and is active on Facebook and Twitter, I could also promote the country and Globe’s Project Wonderful 2014 by sending tweets with the hashtag #GLOBEProjectWonderful2014. Everyone is gifted, and everyone has something to offer for the country. Let’s do our share in contributing to the welfare of the entire Philippines.

You can also be part of this campaign. Simply leave your answer to the question “If there is one thing you can give to the Philippines, what is that gift?”on the comments section of this blog.

Help create a wonderful Philippines. If you’d like to volunteer or make a donation, visit www.projectwonderful.ph

Technorati Tags: Postcard Perfect Philippines,Globe,Nuffnang Philippines

Game of Thrones Season 4 Premiere

Season 4 of the Game of Thrones already announced the premiere date on April 6, 2014. I was able to watch it on YouTube. It definitely looks amazing.

Game of Thrones is one of my favorite TV series because it deals with subjects similar to Tolkien’s “Lord of the Rings”. I’ve always love shows (and films) that deals with dragons, magic, the undead, and kingdoms. Game of Thrones Season 4 is worth waiting for.

Who is your favorite Game of Thrones character?

Technorati Tags: Game of Thrones,Season 4,Loras Tyrell,HBO

“Living With The Amish”

“Living With The Amish” is a British TV documentary about 6 British teenagers who spent 6 weeks with the Amish, a religious group in the US who are known for their simple living and refusal to use modern technology like electricity or vehicles. This TV documentary is a follow-up to another British TV show entitled “Amish: World’s Squarest Teenagers”.

In “Amish: World’s Squarest Teenagers”, 5 Amish teenagers went outside their community in the US to experience life in Britain. They experienced things that they normally don’t experience in the US like dancing, painting, polo, surfing and going to night clubs. It was a bit of a shock for these ultra-conservative Amish teenagers who lived all their life without modern day gadgets and electricity.

In “Living With The Amish”, the scenario was reversed. It was the British teenagers’ turn to experience the simplest living. For 6 weeks, these British teenagers namely Charlotte, Hannah, Siana, George, James and Jordan. They lived in a community where most of their daily lives and roles revolved around obeying The Bible. Everything is based on The Bible, from the way they dress, the way the women cover their hairs, to the traditional role of woman being submissive to her husband and being a helper in raising the family.

This was my first time to encounter this religious group of people who migrated from Europe and settled in to America to follow their religion. They’ve been living in the US for more than 300 years and surprisingly, they have retained their way of living ever since they’ve migrated. What’s more surprising to me was their refusal to use modern-day technology like electricity, automobiles, radio and TV. In some case, like that of the most conservative of the Amish group, they also refused to use running water.

In “Amish: World’s Squarest Teenagers”, the father of Leah and Andrew Miller would read from The Bible the verses where they got derived their way of living i.e. their clothing. In “Living With The Amish”, the teenagers learned the things that are important to the Amish people – following The Bible, being a member of the Amish church, the joys of working hard, enjoying the fruits of their labor (i.e. eating their own produce) and learning all the important things at home. In fact, Amish children would only go to school until the age of 14 because they believe a child would have learned everything needed for a modest life at that age.

“Living With The Amish” is an eye-opener for me and teaches the things that are really important in life – family, having a strong faith in God, doing your work to the best of your ability, being in a community of similar-minded people, living a modest life, and being thankful for each and every day of your life. This is one of the best documentaries I’ve ever seen and hopefully my friends would also see “Living With The Amish”.

Technorati Tags: Living With The Amish,British,TV Documentary