mOtHeR cOuNtRy Of PeArLs

TOURIST SPOTS IN THE PHILIPPINES

Philippines is a group of islands. There are 7200 islands all in all. The country is consisting three largest islands, Luzon, Visayas Mindanao. Luzon is located in the North part while Mindanao is on the south part. Visayas is in the middle part.

Luzon is the biggest island in the Philippines, where the capital of the country located, Manila. There are many things that can astound my eye sights in the north such as

1. Pagsanjan Falls is the mini waterfalls located in the small village of Laguna. Laguna is just 1-2 hours southward of Manila. If are the kind if person who wants adrenaline junk, then this fall is for you. You need to take row boat to reach the fall. The waterway becomes wilder passing through cliff rocks.

2. Laguna Bay is the largest bay in the Philippines. It has majestic coastal view. The countryside scenery can make you relax and enjoy the fresh the trees provide.

3. Hidden Valley Spring. If you are the kind of person who likes spring with cold, hot and soda water, this place is the best for you. The valley settles just at the foot of the Mountain Makiling. Mount Makiling is one of the famous myth in the Philippines. It is a story of lady.

4. Baguio City. This place is famous for its mountain weather and indigenous settling here. Panagbenga is one of the famous festival in this place. The word derive from the local word which means LET THE FLOWERS BLOOM. The festival last for 1 month. It is better to visit this place on January and February.

Baguio has a good vegetation and it provides vegetables all over the country. It is also famous through its strawberry and hand made craft, waved clothes, silver and pine trees.

5. Sagada is situated west of the west part of Bontoc, Bontoc is the capital of Mountain Province. As the name suggest, the place has a lot of mountain. One famous place is Sagada. It has majestic astounding view of the beauty of mountain. The weather is so cold especially every January and February which crops are even frozen.Towering cliffs, subterranean cave and virgin forest are the major scenery of Sagada.

6. Intramuros in located in Manila. If you wanna have an idea about the life way back during Spanish Era, you better hit this place. It has strong influence of Spanish life. Anticques, old house and old pictures can be seen here.


7. Ilocos Sur. If there is Intramuros in Manila, there is also another place in Ilocos Sur. You can the the big influence of the Spanish. Ilocos is the hometown of the late President Ferdinand Marcus. He was a president for more than 20 year.

8 Hundred Islands. If you the person that likes snorkeling, you better hit this place. Hundred Islands, as the name suggest, it composes of 100 islets and it is located in the Golf of Pangasinan, Philippines, northwest of Luzon. Pangasinan is famous to its MILK FISH (bangus) particularly boneless bangus ( BONELESS MILK FISH)

9. Puerto Gallera. This place is known as marine reserve and endowed of its caves. It is called Galleon Port and its the famous resort in the Philippines. Galleon Gallera can be reached from Batangas port to Mindoro by ferry service. You gonna enjoy the magnificent of the nature

10. Subic Bay. It is nor hub of tourism
and commerce in the country. I was former US naval base in the Philippines. If you want to be licensed scuba diver, visit this place have your class here.

11. Boracay. One of the most expensive places in the Philippines. It is where the art of tourism. White sand and beauty of nature can be seen here. It is known as the finest place in the whole world. The tranquility of the water is good for swimming, fishing, diving, and sunbathing.

If you wanna see the beauty of the Philippines, you better not to stay in Manila or avoid urban areas.

ESL JOB IN CHINA

APPLICATION PROCESS

Do wanna see the beauty of China? Do you wanna save while traveling? Working in Asia is the answer especially China
China is the biggest country is Asia. It is one of the countries survived under the great recession in the year 2009. It is also one of the countries that has 5000 years of great history from different Dynasty. And of the countries in Asia that is in need of demand of teacher. This fascinating country is well- known to its tourist spots like The Great Wall, The Silk Road, The Summer Palace, The Forbidden City and the Terra Cotta Warriors.With all the good scenery in China, anybody can travel and at the same, they can earn some pennies. Others people are here to have higher education, part-time by teaching English and hit the different tourist scenery.
Working as an English teacher is not that complicated. Steps are as follow:
1. We need to look for university. Through the power of Internet, check LIST OF UNIVERSITIES IN CHINA. We dont have to look for agency for hunting jobs for us. This agency are play a very small role on your application. Why do we let others do a piece of cake task if we can do it.
2. Visit the university website. Checking the university website is to have an idea about the school. Some agencies will give bogus information about the school. There are groups of employers in China who in need of ESL/EFL teacher. First, school under the registration of the government such as elementary, middle school, high school and university (Public). Majority of the schools in China are run by the government. The other one is language schools, for those individuals who want to improve their English skills or any languages.
* It is better to work to any schools under runs by the government because other benefits and to legalize every thing. For language school, It can give a nice salary however, the school wants to tie your neck which most westerners do not like.
3. Contact the FOREIGN AFFAIRS OFFICE. FAO is the office in-charge to all foreign teachers.Ask the office if they are in need of ENGLISH teachers and ask the requirements. In this part, you can enclose your application letter
4. Send your resume. The university would reply you immediately. JUST wait for their reply. If you have not receive any response in a week then maybe your email sent to their trash/junk mail. In this part you can send all your requirements such as TESOL cert. TESL/TEFL certificate. If you dont have any teaching experience then It is advisable for you to have TESOL cert.
5. Sending you the draft of the contract. If the university wants you, then they will send you the draft of the contract including the appendix (English Version). You need to read the draft carefully and sign, then email it back with your signature including your medical exam's result.
6.Official Contract. After the university had received your the draft with signature from you, the university would apply for Official contract in the office of foreign expect of the city or nearest city where the university is located. The university would send you the final copy of the contract for you to sign it ( English version and Chinese Version)
7. Read and compare the Draft and Final Copy. It is better to read this two for comparison. If there any difference, you better ask the university. email them.
8. Contract Singing. Sign the contract and send it back to the university. The university would sign it then send the English version back to you. You need this for your visa
7. Acquiring working visa. You need to bring all your passport, medical exam's result, contract for your visa. The consulate would give you working visa, however you need to have it Residence working visa once you have arrived in China, 30 days after the issuance.
8. Converting your Visa. FAO of your university would help you o this. It is part of there work.
This are the steps to enter China legally with a lot benefits. It is very easy, even high school students can do it. You dont need to look for agencies to help you. For agencies, they will look for schools for and will not tell you the exact salary coz they keep some of it.

LeGeNd oF sLEePiNg bEaUtY

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In those days, tribes were not in good terms with each other. Tribal wars were common.

There was a man in Tinglayan called Banna, who had extraordinary bravery and strength. He had an unusual charm so people look up to him for leadership. He was also a very good "ullalim" singer.One day Banna realized that he needed a life time partner, someone to share his life with, so he went in search for a wife. Since there were no eligible women in his barrio he decided to ascend Mount Patukan, a mountain east of Tinglayan and go to the sitio of Dacalan, Tanudan.

Banna was mesmerized...captivated by the lyrical voice. The leaves of the trees around him seemed to be dancing in unison with the woman's ululations.

He knew it was extremely dangerous for him to reveal himself inside the village territory, but his burning desire to meet the woman, was stronger than his sense of survival. He knocked boldly at the "sawali" (bamboo made) walls of the hut.

" Anna tago," (Someone's here.)

" Umma sanat?" (Who is it?), the singing stopped, but the spoken words were the most appealing sound Banna had ever heard.

" This is Banna" from Tinglayan.

He heard hurried movements from the house, then a male voice spoke harshly, "What do you need?"

The natives were very protective of their women and properties, and Banna knew that he could get killed by his boldness.

"I don't mean any harm, I come in peace. I would like to meet the woman who sings the ullalim with passion."

The family was so nervous of letting a stranger in the house and had urged him to go home instead. But Banna was persistent and had refused to go.

Dongdongan - the father of the woman - slowly opened the door and saw a young, handsome man standing like a sentinel at the door. He repeated his plea for Banna to leave but the stance of the Banna indicated, he would not be budged from where he stood. So, he reluctant to

let him in.

"I am Banna from Tinglayan"

Once inside the house, as dictated by tradition, Dongdongan handed Banna a bowl of water. It was an old tradition that once a stranger is accepted into a house, it is also understood that he will be protected and kept safe by the host family. As a symbol of this unwritten agreement, the stranger would be given a drink of water. This is called "paniyao". If a stranger is not given one, then it denotes an existing hostility which may result to a deadly fight if the stranger does not leave immediately.

The second phase of the ritual continued. Dongdongan offered Banna the "buyo" - a bland, powder which when chewed with certain leaves would produce red tinged saliva. This concoction is called "moma".

Tradition also dictated that Banna had to stay with Edonsan's family for 7 days to prove his sincerity and purity of intention. Banna and Edonsan had their honeymoon along the slope of the Patokan Mountain picking guavas and wild strawberries, making love and dropping by the river to catch fish for supper.

In the evening of each day for the seven days that Banna was there, Edonsan took Banna to each of her relative's house. It is considered good luck to do so, as it is believed that the blessings and approval of relatives are vital to the happiness of the couple.

At the end of the 7th day, the couple prepared to leave for Banna's village where they will establish residence. The parents of Edonsan and the village people prepared native cakes and tobacco as gifts for the departure of the newly married couple.

As dawn broke, the village people came together to see them off. The two left happily, with their hands entwined against each other. The trail was adorned with guavas and strawberries and they had a handful as they trek towards the summit of Patokan. It took them 8 arduous hours to get to the top.

As soon as they reached the top, they heard unusual noises coming from Banna's village which was a few miles below them.

Banna had a premonition that it was something dangerous so he instructed Edonsan to stay put and wait for him. He was going down to his village to investigate the cause of the ruckus. Banna ran all the way down to the village. As soon as he was seen by the village people, a cheer reverberated in the air. He was informed hastily that their village was under siege and that his leadership was needed to drive the trespassers away. The bloody, face to face encounter of the two warring tribes went on for hours, spears and bolos clashed against each other as more bodies piled up in between the cluster of the nipa huts. The great number of the invading tribe slowly weakened Banna's men. One by one they fell, bloodied, to the ground. He could not possibly go back to Edonsan, Banna thought. He would fight up to his very last breath - but he had to make sure Edonsan does not come down to the village.

Hastily, he instructed one of his men to warn Edonsan, but the man never made it far. He and Banna were simultaneously wounded and fell bleeding to the ground. Banna died with his spear in his hand and his last vision was the face of Edonsan .

Edonsan, on the other hand, waited and waited...and waited. But there was no Banna to take her home. She was weak from weariness and heartache. She had no desire to live without her Banna.

When it was evident, Banna was not coming for her, she slowly crumpled to the grassy- matted forest and wept uncontrollably. Tears flowed down from her cheeks as she grew weaker and weaker and the tears flowed more and more copiously. Night came and Banna had not returned yet...and Edonsan had grown weak with grief and fatigue, her breath slowly coming out in gasps... until she closed her eyes and breathed her last. On the spot where her body was laid to rest, sprang two waterfalls which are believed to be the tears of Edonsan.

In Tinglayan, one can clearly see from a distance, the beautifully, shaped body of a reclining woman.

And that is the legend of "The Sleeping Beauty" folks, as handed down orally, from one generation to another.

As the story is passed on, additions and omissions are done by each set of generation. What is important is that the undying love of Banna and Edonsan will always be remembered by the people of Kalinga.

 

Land oF nO reTuRn (KALINGA) HEAD HUNTER

Kalinga, a landlocked province, is located at the central western part of the Cordillera Region. It is bounded by Apayao on the north, Cagayan and Isabela on the east, Mountain Province on the south, and Abra on the west. A glance on the map reveals a likeness of the physiography of Kalinga to the bust of a man akin to former president Ferdinand Marcos. 

            “Kalinga” is derived from the Ibanag and Gaddang word that means “fighter” or “headhunter,” a product of the time when headhunting was a prevalent practice to prove bravery and prowess. With no ethnic basis, the name is considered as a misnomer; yet, the term became the official ethnic name accepted even by the Kalinga natives themselves. 

                        During the short-lived Philippine Republic, President Emilio Aguinaldo pushed to the north in his vain attempt to elude his American pursuers. He established his headquarters at Lubuagan (Kalinga) on March 18, 1900 and stayed there for 35 days until he was forced out upon learning that his pursuers were sighted at Mabongtot.  

With the creation of (old) Mountain Province 1n 1808, Kalinga became one of its seven sub-provinces. The signing into law of Republic Act No. 4695 – the Division Law of Mountain Province – on June 18, 1966 divided the old Mountain Province into four provinces. The sub-provinces of Kalinga and Apayao were merged to form a single province, Kalinga-Apayao. On February 14, 1995, Republic Act No. 7878 converted Kalinga-Apayao into two regular provinces namely: Kalinga and Apayao.

 

Kalinga is fast emerging as the “Land of the Living Waters.” Kalinga’s Chico river was recently declared as the White Water Rafting Capital of the North Philippines.  

Inhabitants: 

Divided into 36 different tribal groupings, Kalinga form the largest ethnolinguistic group in the province. Culturally, the Kalinga people is divided into southern and northern groups – considered as the most heavily ornamented, most colorful and gaudily attired of all the ethnic groups of Northern Luzon

The Kalinga people identify strongly with his tribe. This strong tribal identification resulted to frequent bloody conflicts in the past with other tribes of Kalinga Province and neighboring provinces. 

“Bodong” or peace pact is used to minimize traditional warfare and headhunting as well as maintenance and reinforcement of social ties. Recently, the concept of “Bodong” was expanded into a multi-lateral peace pact and provides a means in strengthening unity in the entire cordillera region.

Dialect:

The people of Kalinga spoke one dialect, kalinga or kinnalinga.

Ilokano is the dominant dialect spoken in the lower parts of Kalinga, specifically in the municipalities of Tabuk and Rizal