publication visit

... Behind the scene...

"Wise is the man who learns from his experience, wiser still is the man who learns from the experience of others.”

I had seen and proved that learning things through experience would inculcate the lessons in us better and more intact. We usually just read the newspapers or any other kind of publication we buy but we don’t seem to notice how great the effort planted by the newspaper staff just to produce it and provide it to us for our welfare. This realization was brought to me during our publication visit.

Amidst the strong pour of the rain and our running nose, we were able to visit two respected local publications, the Sun Star Baguio and the Northern Dispatch.

Sun Star Baguio was our first destination. Just upon entering their building, I am already amazed. After the reception area, we pass through the printing room where printing machines were placed. We may not have witness the actual flow of the printing process, but I am still contented to have a seen a bit. It was my first time to have a visit on publications and I am really excited to be stepping there. We have waited for quite long before Mr. Sam Bautista, the Sun Star editor-in-chief arrived. He was the one who shared to us details about their publication. Sun Star Baguio proved to be a well-managed local publication. In fact, it is the only daily newspaper in Baguio and it really entails a lot of hard work and patience. Time is truly gold for them. They have to allot much of their time so they could accomplish their daily tasks and to provide the people good stories and fresh information.

Northern Dispatch on the other hand seems to be the number one Indigenous Peoples advocator. Since it had started as an IP advocacy network, there is no wonder why they focus more on the IP’s and the marginalized sectors. That is their unique characteristics and the uniqueness distinguishes them from others. Though they are not a daily publication, still they served well their fellows. They became an instrument and catalyst for change and heritage protection. Aside from providing worthy news and information, they keep the awareness of the people in Northern Luzon awake and alert. I could see that even they lack man power; they still strive to work harder to beat the time. They don’t chase after money and fame but more for their interest, passion, and willingness to help.

As a budding and aspiring journalist, nothing could be greater than looking on those efforts myself. The visit we had served me very well. We may not have totally explored the places but at least, we tried to look into the real world of newspaper men and see the beauty of effort engraved in every drop of ink. I must say that their newspaper or their publication is a wonderful product of their responsibility and their passion on their jobs. That their job doesn’t just require hard work but most especially it requires will, passion, and dedication on their job. For them money could never overturn their passion to write and serve other of their kind.

I strongly believe that one day; this experience will be of great use to us. And since we are to start our own publication, this will never be a waste of time and effort. Rather, we could be more motivated and inspired to work harder and more passionately to serve ourselves and the others most especially as well.

o7-26-o9

Everytime it rains, it pours
The water floods the streets
The wind blew the trees
The storm starts
The world hides

Night comes
Black embraces the world
The rain poured harder
Lightning struck the earth
Thunder roars
The world kept hiding

Morning came
The rain stopped
Trees fallen
Waters flowing
The world came out...smiling

fetus

If I could only have a glimpse of the world...

If I could only hear what people say...

If I could only feel what they feel...

If I could only taste the sweetest things...

If I could only smell the fragrance...

If I could only be like them...

If I could only be complete...

If only I could be...

But nobody wants me to be ...

They left me hanging on my wishes...

No more chances, no more hope.

Devoid of life, I am

Spared with nothing...

...but a wishful soul.

Power for the youth
power for the people

'Tis the time to use power wisely.

Comes great power, comes great responsibility.

With the alarming abuse of power in our society nowadays, how could we ever live in a peaceful and productive community? Each day, we see worst things happen, from politics to accidents; from great things to small things. We are made aware about these things so we could do something about it.

We, youths build the largest population. We hold the greatest power. We need to carry the responsibilty engraved in it. We could make a change. It is always tackled in class discussion even in national issues that youth are the hope of the father land. That is according to our national hero, Dr. Jose Rizal. Why not the elders? Because they've already done their part, they were once a youth. And I really think, it is also our time to help save our drowning country.

With the rising chaos around the country, it is only but proper to put at end to all these dilemmas. The number of the youth is almost half the whole population. And we have the greatest power in putting an end to these chaos.

We may have the greatest power but we must not abuse the power given to us. We must use it for the good of the many. Greediness could greatly destroy everything and so we must watch every step we take that we might fall into the wrong hands. A lot of lives are laid in our hands. Our future depends on us.

When we had the Pintig and Pantig Literary Competition just the previous week, I realize how great it is to help each other and make a little change. We had the theme , "Hinubog ng wasak na watawat, sinulsi ng bagong kabataan." No matter how complicated things seem to be, it is always simple when we really think about it. It's just a matter of time and realization. I believe that even in our simple activity, we already had mark a change not only for the community but most especially in ourselves. Everything starts within ourselves. That is what we always seem not to notice and so we miss the greatest part sometimes.

It is never too late. We are always a catalyst for better change.

Bring on the power, bring on the change!

CAUTION:

When Everybody Barks...

A(H1n1) Influenza flu seems to threaten everyone. Even ordinary flu are sometimes perceived as A(H1n1) virus. The increasing number of victims of this virus makes the threat more alarming. Now, there are already several cases of A(H1n1) in the Cordillera especially in Baguio; That even to go there is very disturbing. In fact, some schools already declare class suspension just because of a single case in their campus. If I only don’t have to go to Baguio then I would stick myself here. However, we have to pursue our activities at school. I love publication visits but I hate going to Baguio.

I am having colds and cough. As much as possible, I don’t want to go to Baguio especially that my resistance is low. I also feel the fear of acquiring the virus. I just don’t know if there’s already a case in La Trinidad or in the school. I just wish, there aren’t yet and I wish we won’t be one of the victims of the grueling virus.

I’m not the only one who is sick in our class. In fact, almost all of my journalism classmates have the same illness as mine. It only happens this week. I think the funny thing about acquiring the same sickness is that even our teacher is already afraid of us. When all of us bark (cough) at the same time, laughter would come next. At least we still lift our humor spirit to lessen the burden the sickness is giving us. But the fear won’t still leave us. Just thinking of the cost of the medicine I take is already a burden. Through prayers, we hope we would be well as soon as possible. This sickness has made us miss a lot of great stuffs and works at school. Sometimes, I would not attend my class because I’m not feeling well. I hate being absent especially that you have to get through to a lot of process before you could take the exercises you missed. I would even miss a lot of fun and opportunities. It makes me weary.

The cold and unpredictable weather is one of the reasons of our sickness. The danger of flu nowadays is inevitable. The first months of the school year are months of rainy season and flu are expected all the time. I think it is just but normal to be experiencing such cases. Only that, we have to be careful that we may not acquire worst cases than what we have now. Health is wealth, as they say. It is but proper to take good care of our health. Only not we promote health among ourselves but even among our families.

These are my words for the celebration of this year’s Nutrition month. (haha)

BSU Nature Park: a glimpse

06-30-09

Benguet State University Nature Park is a beautiful place to visit. Aside from experiencing the cool and relaxing atmosphere, you’re also learning from the things you see in there.

BSU Nature Park is located in a place where trees and plants abundantly grow. This gives the park a breezy and peaceful ambiance. There are few sites to visit in the park and the university continues to develop the place.

The buildings at the place were built by the Japanese since the 1970’s. That is why the buildings seems to look like haunted but it gives a cue of interest.

We visit the place for our Entomology subject. Our teacher, Mr. Corcha and Mr. Effrain Magpantay, assistant research aid toured us around the park. Even just as we step out of the car, we are already amazed to see the place. It’s like we’re in the province. Though it was not my first time, it’s still nice to be back in there and breathe the comforting fresh air.

For our first stop, we marched in the insect museum. Insects of different species were displayed. As we feed our eyes with amazement, our teacher gives us some points about those insects. We had a good interaction since he entertain our questions. Since our lesson is the beneficial of insects, he emphasizes on the importance and benefits of these insects.

After which, we went to the rearing room. We had to fit ourselves in the small room. Though it was quite sophocating, I had a wonderful time listening to the lecture. The room is for the rearing of the larva and pupa of the insects they have collected. The insights given to us are very helpful in understanding our subject better.

Our next stop is the Insectarium. This is where they put the insects reared in the rearing room. It is where they observed the insects. According to Mr. Magpantay, when the host plant dies, the insect will as well die. This is why they also have to take good care of the host plant along with the insects. Butterflies are mostly placed in there. The Bee Hives however is placed outside the insectariums.

To further enrich our knowledge about insects, we also had a film showing. We watched a video about the lifecycle of bees, butterflies and cicadas. My favorite part of the video is the life cycle of cicadas. Cicadas burrow themselves in the earth for 17 years after being hatched. After waiting for 17 years, they will rise from the earth and accomplish their utmost purpose, to reproduce. After which, they will die. They only live for few weeks though they wait for several years.

For our last and final stop, we went to the Tangere Farm. In here, it’s no longer insects that are to be seen but some animals that are being observed and studied by BSU. Some of these are the monkeys, the white neck hawk, and the wild pigs. I saw the white neck hawk first while feasting on the lifeless rabbit. It’s quite scary but it was totally enjoying. There are only few animals in the farm but there are a lot to learn about them. And maybe soon, they’ll be adding more.

The scorching heat of the sun and the miles we walk was really tiring. When we went there, we rode a jeep but when we returned, we had to walk down to the main road. We’re all sweating and starving. It’s already noon time. Though we had lost much of our energy, we are still very happy to see the beauty of the Nature Park. And I proud to be a student of Benguet State University.