Your VOICES.

One of our visitors posted a very sensible comment in “CDO By Day, Scenes” page of this BLOG (we intend to make this page as a depository of our interesting captures of CDO landscape from 6a to 6p).

We have a loud voice here, one that we cannot curb in that corner of the BLOG. And so, we are posting them here, verbatim — the caps and exclamations, included:

“My comment about CDO is good and bad. I start with the good ones. People are okay, some are friendly and SOME ARE NOT. Basic commodities are cheaper compared to other city like Cebu. CDO is doing quite better economically than the year 2000 I was here. More investors came and set up businesses and creates job to the locals. That’s great!!!

Cagayan is considered progressive city but people has to change the way they treat this beautiful city.”

By Thelma Macas, Contributing Writer - Texas, USA

In my 5th year of teaching in Texas, one of the most exciting part of the school year is Spring Break. Need I say more if I tell you we are only one hour and a half drive to THE SOUTH PADRE ISLAND!

You are right, ” Girls Gone Wild” parties are being held in the island. Our guys would always love to escort us, they would always declare they came to fish. Mind you dear friends, part of the Fishing paraphernalia they bring with them is a pair of “larga vista”or a telescope! They always come home with a bucketful of shipshead fish and some “beachy” anecdotes which they share in whisper and giggles.

Come on, we need a break! This year the Filipino Community of Rio Grande, chose an exotic place for our families to camp. “It is one of the best parks in Texas,” exclaimed Aleli (she’s a Reading Specialist in our college,a Filipina too).

We arrived at the camp at about 9 in the evening, I was delighted to see for the first time a Texas Ranger wearing fatigue uniforms like what Steve Irwin used in his Crocodile Hunting shows. “Okay , this is the map and park rules, you’re set, enjoy your stay,” said one of the park Rangers who looked like Tom Cruise.

In about eight minutes we navigated through a rugged road to cottage numbers 200-210, we parked our car across our campsite, I noticed some “Roan Beach looking cottages” neatly lined in a cul-de-sac with the Three Rivers Lake as background. As our Mayor (yes we have our Filipino mayor in our city, we fondly call him “Kuya Obot”) showed us where to put up our tents, I noticed a huge warning sign in red and white. I can feel my blood pressure rose to 180/100 when I read, “BEWARE ALLIGATORS EXIST IN THIS PARK”.

“Wow! How can I take a good night sleep tonight?” I whined secretly to my husband. “Mas nabalaka ko nga sila ang dili katulog sa kakusog sa atong hagok managan na ang alligators sa kahadlok!” I think he was right, the moment I hit the airbed, I dreamt endlessly untill 5 in the morning.

I said my morning Praises and got up early . As I stepped out of our tent, it was foggy and wet, I remember an old song in church, “Sama sa yamog nga nagabanig sa kaadlawon”. Aleli was already up and about as she invited me over in their cottage for coffee and bagels with Philadelphia cream cheese.

Part of the schedule that day was fishing, the kids used our alligator infested lake as fishing ground. We took turns in looking after them providing security as serious as the life savers in the Baywatch could be.

Then came the alligator, it was about 4 feet tall and one feet wide. It was about 15 meters away from us. Thank God there were four wild ducks he chose for his meal that day! Yes, an alligator hunting for food right before our very eyes! The act of the alligator eating those wild ducks was as thrilling as watching one of Pacman’s fight in it’s final round. Imagine the children’s screaming and the adults’ wild cheer as it mercilessly swallowed those helpless ducks.

I was in charge for cooking dinner that day so I miss some parts of the “Alligator Episode.” Well I was busy cooking hamonada, chopsuey, tinolang ulo sa “bass” nga isda.

If you are asking if we still eat rice? The answer is “yes!”. All households are required to bring their rice cookers with them. This is to ensure that nobody would shout “kan-on pa!!!”.

Inspite of the Alligator scare , I still would consider this year’s camp one of the best ever, or should I say it might be the alligator’s presence which made it awesome!

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CDOkay Staff , you are Genuises! I rate you with a Five Star for creating this one of a kind site!

ON SUBTLE RACISM! By Thelma Macas

I had a clash with a colleague in our English Department when one of them made a lesson writing about Asia being not only POOR AND VIOLENT; but he made up a character of which he implied that the only way out of this poor lady was to marry an American.

Maybe he has not heard and knew how many world-class workers we have in the medical, business and other fields of endeavor all over the world. I talked to him about how offended I was and he in turn had to ask an apology.

But that was not the end of the story, the next day, I found my Holocaust Mini Gallery in the hallway was mutilated! Guess what, he came to me and told me he was the one who did it. He said one of the pictures we posted was not so good to post. It is one great example of ignorance as teachers, we are suppose to show the truth! There was even this big brouhaha about some group of people who wants to deny that the Holocaust was a big hoax! Again he apologized for acting irresponsibly by taking it off the wall, without even asking permission from me. We’ll I was just stunned at how he retaliated, I only expressed my opinion of which by law I am entitled, he sent me a scud missile instead.

It is tough! Tough indeed to stand for your right as an Asian and Filipino! One thing is also clear to me though, my American co- teachers know how to say sorry and apologize! And to say that I am a forgiving person, is an understatement. Indeed there are always two sides of the coin and these will teach us a lot in terms of developing our character.

These are but one of the gazillion things I want to share with fellow educators who dreamt of serving/paying back the American people by teaching. By payback I mean to dedicate my services here to the Thomasites who were the First American teachers who came to the Philippines about a hundred years ago. And payback the Americans who taught my grandfather the Golden Rule and some maxims in English. (I always remember my grand father the late ,Pantaleon Dagus Villegas who served in the First American Hospital there in Cagayan de Oro as a “dietician”. He shared with me his unfulfilled American dream it was aborted only because he was too afraid to fly!

Ok , Thanks for your time reading this I hope I did not bore you to death! Hahahahahaha!

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The author, Thelma is currently teaching in Texas. She has plans of writing a book (and contribute articles to CDOKay!!!) on her experiences on the so-called ‘American Dream’.

She taught at MOGCHS for about 15 years. She wrote to CDOkay saying “(you) make a lot of difference in our lives abroad…when I feel bored and miss our city I just google it out! Bisaya man guihapon mi deri ,we eat the Ligo nga tinapa,bulad , kamunggay naa na deri…”

CDOkay is reconneting Thelma to other Kagay-anons based in Houston, Texas — where on weekends she serves in the Couples for Christ.

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