Regenerative farms where every month is Earth Month

 Beyond Earth Month itself, many farms are already practicing regenerative agriculture for the sake of healthier people and environment.

BY RALPH LAUREN ABAINZA

Apr 25, 2023 10:47 AM

  

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Earth Month is an annual celebration every April, highlighting the importance of environmental movement in achieving a more sustainable future for the planet. 

Regenerative agriculture is an emerging movement from conventional agricultural practices to more resource-efficient and environmentally conscious ones. It consciously aims to reduce the use of water and other inputs and prevent land degradation and deforestation. It improves soil, biodiversity, climate resilience, and water resources while making farming more productive and profitable.

Here are some local farms that are taking regenerative agricultural practices into their day-to-day activities: 

Terra Grande Farms

Close-up of the herd happily eating grass in the pasture area. (Ruel Silvano)

Terra Grande Farms is a goat farm in Negros Occidental that raises Anglo-Nubian goats and upgraded Philippine native goats. The goats are raised as naturally as possible using semi-intensive management, and it also hosts a nursery for agroforestry. The farm is known for its various regenerative agricultural practices in raising goats, such as rapid rotational grazing systems, silvopasture, keyline design principles, permaculture, and even agroforestry. With the sustainability concept at the center of its operations, the farm also has more than 50 kinds of high-value crops. 

Raskin Timmangao’s Farm 

A pond where Timmangao grows an expensive aquatic species locally called chalet, the same type of eel being popularly consumed in Japan. (Daniel Jason Maches)

Considering indigenous farming and sustainability, the Raskin Timmangao’s Farm was started by Arnold Timmangao by planting native trees in heavily denuded land in Natonin, Mountain Province. The area that was previously landslide-prone and with virtually nonexistent wildlife is now an integrated agroforestry farm that acts as a rainforest, while raising high-quality Arabica coffee beans, such as Mondo Novo and Bourbon. In a bid to create a more productive, yet sustainable ecosystem, Timmangao also planted different fruit trees such as durian, rambutan, and cacao. The farm is also home to native vegetation, including swamp gabi, to grow on the site.

La Granja de Reyna

View of La Ganja de Reyna farm atop a hill. (Daniel Jason Maches)

La Granja de Reyna, located in Tacloban City, Leyte, is known for growing a variety of crops cultivated organically and even has an organic-integrated farm certification. When it was established in 2010, the farm first produced legumes, kangkong, cabbage, and mustard. With an agricultural engineering background, the farm owner, Martina Reyna, was able to craft farming practices that are organic and regenerative, especially after the onslaught of Typhoon Yolanda in 2013. The farm's kangkong also became one of the food sources for many typhoon victims in Leyte after. The farm highlighted the importance of collaboration and consideration of regenerative practices to ensure that the farm's ecosystem can fully recover after a disaster, such as a typhoon. 

These are just some examples highlighting the vital role of considering the environment in making farms more profitable and sustainable. There are still many farms taking the idea of Earth Day into their day-to-day operations, ensuring a more sustainable future for all. This Earth month, it is important to remember the farmers who are taking care not just of the world's food and other raw materials supply, but also help in taking care of the planet's environment. 

VP Duterte highlights value of sports in Filipino youth

BY RAYMUND ANTONIO

Apr 25, 2023 10:20 PM

  

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Vice President and Education Secretary Sara Duterte on Tuesday, April 25, turned the spotlight on the role of sports in teaching Filipino youth the discipline and hard work they need to succeed in life.

Vice President Sara Duterte speaks at the inauguration of Oriental Mindoro Sports Complex in Naujan, Oriental Mindoro. (OVP photo)

Speaking during the inauguration of Oriental Mindoro Sports Complex in Naujan, Oriental Mindoro, the official emphasized that sports could be the key in the growth and development of Filipino youth.

For her, sports and education are deeply connected in ensuring that children are protected from forces that hamper their pursuit of better lives and future.

“Winning becomes the fire that ignites their (children and youth) desire to win more games,” she said.

“But most importantly, sports teach them that winning is sweeter when it is celebrated with humility and when magnanimity becomes a source of inspiration for others to play future games better,” Duterte added.

She believed that those who get into sports learn “the value of discipline, hard work, and healthy competition.”

But more than winning, the Vice President also stressed the lessons learned from losing in competitions.

“In defeat, on the one hand, sports teaches them to harness their inner strength and maturity to persevere, work harder, and pick themselves up when they fall — and stand with a strong resolve to once again fight and fight to win,” she said.

She commended the local government of Oriental Mindoro for building the sports complex, which she described as a “symbol of the aspiration” of the local leaders for their children and youth.

“Magsisilbi itong simbolo ng pag-asa para sa ating mga kabataang may interest sa sports (This will serve as a symbol of hope for our youth who has interest in sports),” Duterte said.

However, this should also serve as a reminder for the officials that they need to push for the programs that would guide the youth toward a better future.

The sports complex features a multi-purpose hall, standard-sized track and field oval, tennis court, basketball court, and a volleyball court.

The inauguration of the sports complex was in time for the opening of the Oriental Mindoro Provincial Athletics Meet, where six teams have enlisted to compete in various fields.

Duterte extended monetary contributions to all six participating units, their coaches, and technical officials.

The joys and fruits of language learning

By: Inez Ponce de Leon - @inquirerdotnet

Ambeth Ocampo, my friend and colleague from both the Ateneo and the Inquirer, had an interesting column last week. He talked about how he had to learn Spanish in college, and then linked it to the value of Filipinos learning another language besides English and Filipino to equip themselves for a globalized world.

To this, I have two things to add.

First, I agree with the idea of investing time in learning a language. Most people will contend that they are too old or too busy to do it. A 2019 review of research over the past decades by Fox and colleagues, however, shows that being multilingual has a wide range of benefits, no matter what age you start learning.

Multilingual people can associate with multiple cultures and are more confident. Later in life, those who spend time learning languages also have stronger memory, can do more cognitive tasks, and delay the onset of dementia.

Language learning can be difficult and costly, but there are free, helpful apps. Ambeth and I use Duolingo. I’ve been on a streak for over six years now: I started with Italian; when I finished it, I added Spanish, French, Portuguese, and Ukrainian. I spend 30 minutes a day on weekdays, 90 minutes on weekends.

What’s the point? Language learning has indirect benefits: The brain stretches its memory-retaining muscles, so to speak, because it is forced to remember where words are placed, how sentences are formed, how verbs are conjugated to meet both tense and doer. This is why most of our first memories revolve around our first words: The capacity to remember things is connected to the capacity to connect words with objects, and objects to meaning.

Learning languages has since helped me spot themes in data, making analysis easier; it also helps me check students’ papers faster.

This brings me to my second point: The fruit of learning new things goes beyond knowing.

A student recently posted online that she didn’t need to learn things beyond her college major, like writing, languages, or philosophy. She needed only science because it was the only thing she would ever need anyway.

I was disappointed in the post and those who agreed with it. To confine oneself to a single field is to betray one’s ignorance of how all fields and professions are integrated—how all fields and professions should work together to solve our wicked problems. To ask, “Why do I have to do this?” is to refuse to learn how other fields are related to one’s own.

True: having more classes does not mean better students; but having quality classes, even in subjects outside one’s field, can strengthen one’s toolbox of ideas and skills. Having well assessed tasks can also help students grow beyond the classroom.

Writing research papers, for instance, helps students organize their thinking and trains them to always cite sources for their claims. Relegate the entire task to ChatGPT, and a student loses their ability to work independently. They are no better than the troll that ends their empty rhetoric with “you’re ugly and stupid.”

Interpreting literary texts helps students deepen their understanding of the human condition, allowing them to develop a sense of empathy. Philosophy trains them to use logic to build arguments. To dismiss such fields and skills as useless betrays a lack of imagination.

This lack of imagination then leads to arrogance, in this case, the state in which one refuses to learn new things because they believe that they should learn only what their field appears to be about. This is arrogance because a beginner in the field truthfully has no idea what the future will hold and how their field will evolve.

They have imprisoned themselves in the present and condemned themselves to a state of not adapting to the changes that will eventually, inevitably come—because knowledge will not always be the same.

That, too, is the gift that any kind of learning brings: the willingness to open oneself to other worldviews in a globalized world.

One might be learning a new language in their old age, restarting their career in middle age, reading a new author in college, embarking on a project in high school, identifying colors in elementary, forming their very first word—learning is and should always be a joy, whether or not one is in school, no matter what field one is in.

iponcedeleon@ateneo.edu

Read more: https://opinion.inquirer.net/?p=162663#ixzz7zwsPNijJ

Follow us: @inquirerdotnet on Twitter | inquirerdotnet on Facebook

Cut the lines of scam call centers

BY MANILA BULLETIN

Apr 25, 2023 00:00 AM

  

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A scourge of these tech-driven times, scam call centers have proliferated, like a viral infection that threatens not only to destroy a body, but intends to infect an entire society. Scam call centers do a myriad of illicit activities, usually implemented by people who were illegally recruited or trafficked from economically challenged communities.

With the end goal of embezzling money from hapless victims, all illegal methods are used, most of which involve a call center agent making a series of calls to phish personal details or account numbers. All tools are used, even fake Facebook profiles, dating apps, imposter websites copying legit company websites, or AI-generated texts and voices.
Again, these scam call centers exist because there are people that they could fool, and it seems that global authorities are having a challenging time to shut down their operations. In fact, the Wall Street Journal has written that “Americans lost more than US$ 10 billion to online scammers in 2022, the highest level since the FBI began tracking losses in 2000.” The FBI even said that it “recorded more than 800,000 complaints in 2022, or more than 2,000 complaints a day.” The numbers are staggering and this does not include other nationalities who are victims, too.

Online articles have revealed that these scam call centers are usually located in South Asian countries, but recent investigations have revealed that these have been sprouting in Southeast Asia, particularly in Cambodia and Myanmar. The Philippines, however, is not far behind.

This was revealed by a statement from Senator Risa Hontiveros, when she raised the alarm on the notorious cryptocurrency scamming industry, saying that many of its operations are “also conducted right here in the Philippines.”

"Sadly, right under our very noses, the Philippines is hosting its very own scam hubs. Large condominium buildings are being repurposed as living and working facilities for trafficked human beings forced to perform scams on hapless victims," Hontiveros said.

The senator warned that the scam call centers are now “employing foreigners trafficked into the country,” noting that the trafficked victims are from Vietnam, Cambodia, Myanmar, Indonesia, etc.

In Hontiveros’ statement, she was doubly alarmed with the so-called “pig butchering scam,” which is now a thriving fraud scheme. A cursory research on this scam, also known as “romance scam” is a “long-term fraud where scam call center agents search dating and social media sites for victims. The scammers typically create a fake profile and reach out to potential victims through dating apps. The goal is to become the victim’s ‘lover’ or ‘friend.’  Once trust is established, then it would be easy for the scammer to access personal details, bank accounts, or credit card numbers.“

"It is frightening that these criminal activities have been made easy by social media platforms. But it is more frightening to hear how effortless foreigners can get into the country, with the aid of unscrupulous immigration officials. This is a serious national security concern that we must urgently address. We cannot allow these syndicates to turn our country into outlaw territory," Hontiveros said.

All efforts must be done to cut the lines of these scam call centers. A community must be vigilant, especially since these call centers operate in condos or villages. There should also be support from the social media platforms as illegal ads still proliferate the online world. It would take a high-tech solution to combat this fraud which uses online tools. Our authorities have to keep up with the times, or else, the scammers will always be one step ahead.

Dina Bonnevie: 'I need to work hard to earn everything what I want to have'

BY MANILA BULLETIN ENTERTAINMENT

  

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Dina Bonnevie (Screenshot from YouTube)

Actress Dina Bonnevie revealed how her father brought her into business at an early age.

During a recent interview with broadcaster Korina Sanchez, Dina revealed that she was raised in a well-to-do family, but that she knew how to work to make her own money.

At 11, Bonnevie already understood what the business is, her parents coached them to work hard and earn whatever they want the hard way. Because they believed that "not everything is easy."

Bonnevie, who rose to fame via the movie "Underage," remembered what her father had told her. “You can do better than that, you should never settle for mediocrity, but always aim for excellence. If you want to have something, you should earn it. She needs to work for everything she wants to have.”

Dina Bonnevie (left) and Korina Sanchez (Screenshot from YouTube)

Aside from being an actress Dina also has businesses in the country - the ‘La Bonne Vie’ which means ‘Good Life’. It is handloom woven textiles for the home, clothing, shoes, and bags.

Bonnevie, 61, also co-owns Victorino’s Restaurant with her husband/politician Deogracias Victor Savellano.

Victorino’s Restaurant isknown for its Ilocano dishes: bagnet, bagnet chips, poqui-poqui, warek-warek, to name a few.

Since then, Dina has worked hard to get everything she has at the moment. She also listened to the advice of her parents.

(Contributed by Hannah Nicol/Malabon University/OJT)

SC sets work skeds for courts in areas under Covid-19 Alert Levels 1 and 2

BY REY G. PANALIGAN

  

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The Supreme Court (SC) has ordered a 50 to 75 percent workforce from April 25 to April 30 in courts in areas under Covid-19 Alert Levels 1 and 2 as identified by the Inter-Agency Task Force for the Management of Emerging Infectious Diseases (IATF).

In a circular, Court Administrator Raul B. Villanueva said that while face-to-face hearings “are given priority,” trial court judges are allowed to conduct fully remote video conferencing for court proceedings for at least three times a week.

With clearance from Chief Justice Alexander G. Gesmundo, Villanueva said that courts are physically open starting at 8 a.m., Saturday duty and night courts are not allowed, and pleadings and other documents may be filed or served through registered mail or through accredited couriers.

“All health and safety protocols against Covid-19 prescribed by the Court and the Office of the Court Administration (OCA), as well as those required by the IATF and the Department of Health, shall be complied with whatever is the Alert Level of a particular area,” Villanueva also said in his circular to judges.

Also, he said that “court personnel who are not scheduled to report to the court/office shall be considered under a work-from-home arrangement, wherein their official time for work will be in accordance with what is prescribed in OCA Circular No. 09-2015.”

Those working from home should make sure that their communication lines are always open, he also said.

Based on IATF, the OCA said areas under Alert Level 1 in Luzon are National Capital Region (NCR); Cordillera Administrative Region (CAR): Abra, Apayao, Kalinga, Mountain Province, Baguio City, Benguet (Buguias, Sablan and Tublay), Ifugao (Alfonso Lista [Potia], Kiangan, Lagawe, Lamut);

Region 1: Ilocos Norte, Ilocos Sur, La Union, Pangasinan, Dagupan City; Region 2: Batanes, Cagayan, Isabela, Nueva Vizcaya, Quirino, City of Santiago; Region 3: Aurora, Bataan, Bulacan, Nueva Ecija, Pampanga, Tarlac, Zambales, Angeles City, Olongapo City;

Region 4A: Batangas, Cavite, Laguna, Rizal, Lucena City, Quezon Province (Alabat, Atimonan, Candelaria, City of Tayabas, Dolores, Gumaca, Lucban, Mauban, Padre Burgos, Pagbilao, Perez, Plaridel, Polillo, Quezon,.Sampaloc, San Antonio, Sariaya, Tiaong, Unisan);

Region 4B: Marinduque, Occidental Mindoro, Oriental Mindoro, Romblon, Puerto Princesa City, Palawan (Cagayancillo, Culion, El Nido [Bacuit], Kalayaan); and, Region 5: Albay, Camarines Sur, Catanduanes, Sorsogon, Naga City, Camarines Norte (Basud, Capalonga, Daet, San Vicente, Talisay), Masbate (Balud, Batuan, City of Masbate, Mandaon, Milagros, San Fernando).

In the Visayas, areas under Alert Level 1 Region 6: Aklan, Capiz, Guimaras, Iloilo Province, Bacolod City, Iloilo City; Antique (Anini-y, Barbaza, San Jose, Sebaste, Tobias Fornier [Dao]), Negros Occidental (Cadiz City, Candoni, City of Himamaylan, City of Talisay, City of Victorias, Enrique B. Magalona [Saravia], Ilog, La Carlota City, Murcia, Ponteverde, Pulupandan, Sagay City, San Enrique, Silay City, Valladolid);

Region 7: Siquijor, Cebu City, Lapu-Lapu City, Mandaue City, Bohol (Alburquerque, Balilihan, Batuan, Calape, Corella, Dimiao, Duero, Garcia Hernandez, Jagna, Lila, Loay, Loboc, Maribojoc, Pres. Carlos P. Garcia [Pitogo], San Isidro, San Miguel, Sevilla, Sikatuna, Tagbilaran City), Cebu Province (Alboy, Borbon, City of Naga, City of Talisay, Oslob, Pilar, Poro, Santander, Tudela), Negros Oriental (Amlan [Ayuquitan], Bacong, Dauin, Dumaguete City, Valencia Luzurriaga], Zamboanguita);

Region 8: Biliran, Eastern Samar, Northern Samar, Southern Leyte, Ormoc City, Tacloban City, Leyte (Abuyog, Albuera, Bato, Barugo, City of Baybay, Dulag, Hindang, Inopacan, Javier [Bugho], La Paz, Leyte, Matag-ob, Matalom, Palo, Pastrana, Tabontabon, Tunga, Villaba), Samar [Western Samar] (City of Catbalogan, marabut, Mpotiong, Pagsanghan, Paranas [Wright], San Sebastian, Talalora, Tarangnan, Zumarraga).

In Mindanao, areas under Alert Level 1 are: Region 9: Zamboanga del Norte, Zamboanga del Sur, Zamboanga Sibugay, City of Isabela, Zamboanga City;

Region 10: Bukidnon, Camiguin, Misamis Occidental, Misamis Oriental, Cagayan de Oro City, Iligan City, Lanao del Norte (Bacolod, Baroy, Kauswagan, Kolambugan, Lala Linamon, Tubod);

Region 11: Davao Oriental, Davao City, Davao de Oro (Mawab, Montevista, Nabunturan, New Bataan), Davao del Norte (Braulio E. Dujali, Island Garden City of Samal, Santo Tomas), Davao del Sur (Padada), Davao Occidental (Don Marcelino, Malita, Santa Maria);

Region 12: South Cotabato, General Santos City, Cotabato [North Cotabato] (Antipas, Arakan, City of Kidapawan, Kabacan, President Roxas), Sarangani (Maitum), Sultan Kudarat (Bagumbayan, City of Tacurong, Kalamansig, Lebak, President Quirino);

Region 13 (CARAGA): Agusan del Norte, Agusan del Sur, Surigao del Norte, Surigao del Sur, Butuan City, Dinagat Islands (Cagdianao, Dinagat, Libjo [Albor], Loreto, Tubajon);

Bangsamoro Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao (BARMM): Lanao del Sur, Cotabato City, Maguindano (South Upi, Upi), Sulu (Hadji Panglima Tahil [Marunggas]; and Tawi-Tawi (Turtle Islands).

Areas under Alert Level 2, except in provinces where certain cities or municipalities have been placed under Alert Level 1, are Luzon: Cordillera Administrative Region (CAR): Benguet, Ifugao;

Region 4A: Quezon Province; Region 4B: Palawan; and, Region 5: Camarines Norte, Masbate.

In the Visayas, areas under Alert Level 2 are Region 6: Antique, Negros Occidental; Region 7: Bohol, Cebu Province, Negros Oriental; and, Region 8: Leyte, Samar [Western Samar].

In Mindanao, under Alert Level 2 are Region 10: Lanao del Norte; Region 11: Davao de Oro, Davao del Norte, Davao del Sur, Davao Occidental; Region 12: Cotabato [North Cotabato], Sultan Kudarat; and,
Region 13 (CARAGA): Dinagat Islands; and, Bangsamoro Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao (BARMM): Basilan, Maguindanao, Sulu; Tawi-Tawi.

25 YEARS IN THE PHILIPPINES AS GERMAN EXPATRIATE (I)

 

Klaus Doring <doringklaus@gmail.com>	Sun, Apr 23, 2:07 PM (2 days ago)
to Mindanao, DANTE, Joel, richardlagunda.bsee

25 YEARS IN THE PHILIPPINES AS GERMAN EXPATRIATE (I)

by Klaus Döring

Music was not only my passion, but also that of my Filipino (later German) wife. 

Already as a youngster, I found that music is an important part of our life as it is a way of expressing our feelings as well as emotions. No matter where you are living on this globe.  Some people consider music as a way to escape from the pain of life. It gives you relief and allows you to reduce stress. ... Music plays a more important role in our life than just being a source of entertainment.

Music affects our emotions. When we listen to sad songs, we tend to feel a decline in mood. When we listen to happy songs, we feel happier. Upbeat songs with energetic riffs and fast-paced rhythms (such as those we hear at sporting events) tend to make us excited and pumped up. 

Music means the world to me. It makes me think about how it relates to life and I love the beats. Music is a way to express yourself, keep you company while you're alone, and always give you something to do. Music is a way of expressing me and being able to relate to other people.

It won't be a surprise to most that music can affect the human brain emotionally. ... Happy, upbeat music causes our brains to produce chemicals like dopamine and serotonin, which evokes feelings of joy, whereas calming music relaxes the mind and the body.

Music is a form of art; an expression of emotions through harmonic frequencies. ... Most music includes people singing with their voices or playing musical instruments, such as the piano, guitar, drums or violin. The word music comes from the Greek word (mousike), which means "(art) of the Muses.

Music is love. David Crosby sang this wonderful song already in 1971. "Everybody's sayin' music is love

Everybody'sayin' it's, you know it is..."

Music tells stories. Well, composers and musicians use music to tell stories. From all over the world.  Music can be used to depict characters, places, actions and even emotions. Music is often used to heighten a mood, or to express a thought or feeling when mere words are not enough.

“[Music] can propel narrative swiftly forward, or slow it down. It often lifts mere dialogue into the realm of poetry. It is the communicating link between the screen and the audience, reaching out and enveloping all into one single experience.” The best stories engage all of the senses.

One of the great things about music in general, and in particular concert music, is that playing it opens up a whole new world of experience that further enhances the mind, physical coordination, and expression. Music lovers, who are also amateur performers, may choose to play in community ensembles (orchestra, band, choir), take lessons, perform with others, compose, and nearly anything else a professional musician may do, while maintaining their regular lives. All of this involves intense physical coordination in performing an instrument alone or with others, while reading musical notation, and adding delicate or strong nuanced changes to the music that only a performer can bring. In general, to an amateur musician, music can provide an escape from everyday life or an alternative means of expressing one's own capabilities. It is an important part of their lives and fills a need or an urge to create music.

I have been a music lover since my 4th birthday. Meanwhile, living as a German expat in the Philippines, I found out that Filipinos and Germans are music lovers. Among indigenous Filipinos, one important function of music is to celebrate or commemorate important events in the human life cycle. Fortunately, until today, these rich indigenous musical traditions live on. They serve as a reminder of the Filipinos' long history of musical talent and ingenuity.

Such is the case of Philippine music which today is regarded as a unique blending of two great musical traditions – the East and the West. ... The majority of Philippine Music revolves around cultural influences from the West, due primarily to the Spanish and American rule for over three centuries.

Becoming a German expatriate in the Philippines in 1999, I have attended many music events. I fell in love with Filipino classical music. So what does music really mean to Filipinos? It simply tells them where they've been and where they could go. It tells a story that everyone can appreciate and relate to, which is why it's a big part of every Filipino culture. 

Music of the Philippines (Filipino: Himig ng Pilipinas) include musical performance arts in the Philippines or by Filipinos composed in various genres and styles. The compositions are often a mixture of different Asian, Spanish, Latin American, American, and indigenous influences.

Notable folk song composers include the National Artist for Music Lucio San Pedro, who composed the famous "Sa Ugoy ng Duyan" that recalls the loving touch of a mother to her child. Another composer, the National Artist for Music Antonino Buenaventura, is notable for notating folk songs and dances. Buenaventura composed the music for "Pandanggo sa Ilaw".

Music occupies an important place in my life. Definitely also in yours. This morning, I was sitting on my porch and realized that it's kind of lonely around me. I really can’t live without music. I turned on my radio.

Well, people have different musical tastes depending on their age, education and even mood. Some people like classical music, others prefer rock, pop or jazz, but nobody is indifferent to it.

As for me, I used to sing in front of the mirror in my childhood. A pencil box served me as a microphone and I imitated a show on the stage. It was great fun! At the age of 9, I wanted to become a radio host. Not knowing then, that one day it will become true.

At present I can’t spend a day without music. In the morning I prefer fast rhythmic music. It’s like a cup of coffee or a cool shower that encourages you and freshens you up. So, since the early morning you are in a cheerful spirit and the forthcoming day seems to give many pleasant surprises. Isn’t it a great start to the day?

I am  in a bad mood, so I turn to music. Nothing can help me better to forget about my problems than a merry song. Listen to your favourite melody and your spleen will disappear, and you are in a good temper again. What's my favorite melody? Well, I don't have one. Or something between Beethoven and the Apo Hiking Society. 

After a hard working day I like to listen to some slow, beautiful melody. It helps me to relax and to forget about my tiredness.

My whole Filipino family cannot live without music. They listen to music, dance to music or learn to play musical instruments. There is music everywhere: at home, in the car,  in a concert hall, in the park, at the seaside, in the forest and even in the street.

Music is not only a combination of pleasant sounds. It is an art which reflects life. Music reflects people’s ideas and emotions. My ideas and emotions. In this world of ours, filled with conflicts, tragedies, joys and hopes, music strives to speak to people of what is most important.

Music in the lives of different people is different: some compose music, others play music, and others only listen to it. A lot of people who cannot play any musical instrument love to listen to music either at home or at a concert. Different people like different kinds of music. I tried to "compose" my first pieces on the grand piano, when I was 11. Something between Beethoven's "Für Elise" and Freddy Aguilar's "Mindanao". 

At the age of 7, I started collecting records. The then vinyl long plays. Later I got a lot of CDs. I downloaded music whenever I got the chance to.  I tried to watch all the programmes dealing with it on TV and went to the concerts as often as possible. 

Different people like different music. The scientists say that they can define your character if they know what music you like. For example, they suppose that people who listen to rock music are very clever and reasonable. British scientists confirm that most young people listen to aggressive music such as metal and rock. Scientists say that these people are good students, because of their character and assiduousness. I agree with this statement, because I think that music shows your soul and nature.

I always adored people who compose music and write poems. I think that such people are very talented. Also I believe that they can draw pictures and show their feelings by their music or poems. They can make you cry or laugh. Moreover they make you think about global problems or you may lie soft and just dream while you are listening to the music.

Nowadays we have relaxing music, which we use in medicine. More helpful than all kinds of music is classical music by such famous composers as Bach, Beethoven, Mozart and Vivaldy. I didn't expect that Filipinos would like (or even love!) this kind of classical music. Up to the day, I started hosting classical music radio shows.

The music I hate is heavy metal. I find it noisy and dreadful. When I listen to this style of music it presents to my mind pictures of dark days. Though some young people are fond of this style of music, it is not to everyone’s taste. To my mind, too loud music can do damage to our ears. I am indifferent to other styles of music. For example, I don’t mind listening to jazz. Improvisation is an important part of this style, that’s why a jazz song may sound a little different each time it is played. I think that jazz is a mixture of many different kinds of music, but I consider it a bit complicated.

My mother and father approved of my tastes in music. Though they prefer to listen to classical and “bard music”, they think that, on the whole, modern music is not too bad. My parents agree that each generation has its own tastes.

It goes without saying that music plays a very important role in people’s lives. It reflects our moods and emotions. Music appeals to our hearts and transforms our feelings. It conquers our souls and enriches our minds. Besides, listening to music is the perfect way to spend free time and not to feel bored. You can hardly find a person who doesn’t like or need music and who never sings or dances. Music is beauty in sounds; it is our magic source of inspiration.

Well, and then, one day during 2001,  I was  introduced to Philippine (Classical) Music. I was invited to several performances. And, living as an expat in the Philippines means more than  enjoying music. Culture shock knocked at my door. Life doesn't consist of music alone. Or sunny weather or days at the beach.

(To be continued)