Wednesday, December 19, 2007

Centennial Celebration in Bontoc

Bontoc was the host of the 100 Years of Celebration with the CICM in the Apostolic Vicariate of Bontoc-Lagawe from December 12-15, centering on the theme "Remembering, Rerooting, Revitalizing". CICM is a Latin acronym which, in English, stands for Congregation of the Immaculate Heart of Mary. For better or worse, the CICM have greatly contributed to what we are now as a people. Our faith and our education came mostly from their work and contributions to us for a hundred years.

A little bit of history: the CICMs were the first missionaries to come to Bontoc in 1907. They were the first Roman Catholic order to successfully establish mission stations in the whole of the Cordillera region, particularly within the tribal groups collectively known as the Igorots. CICM was established in Belgium and was mainly composed of priests and brothers who hail from Belgium and Ireland, and only opened their order to other nationalities in the mid 20th century. Why am I saying this? It is to point out that these first missionaries who came to Bontoc were Belgians and were later called “Belgian Fathers”. They were young men priests and brothers who stayed among our people, and subsequently were helped by their female counterpart order, the Immaculate Heart of Mary (ICM). Old men and women have fond memories of these priests and sisters, some of whom died and were buried here. The CICM and ICM have since left the region and handed over the responsibility to the native or diocesan priests and sisters.

Here are some photos of the event (videos in another post later):

Street Parade and Dancing

Waiting for the arrival of the Papal Nuncio

History of the church in Bontoc

Offering for the Grand Celebration Mass

Saturday, December 15, 2007

Birth Month Meme

I was tagged by Ganda to do this meme. She has been teasing me about my mooncake blog not moving down for the longest time, so this is a good insert until my mind wakes up from vacation mode =)

The rules for this meme are:
- Pick your birth month.
- Bold the 5-10 that best apply to you.
- Copy to your own journal, with all twelve months. (Here's where you can get the list of the qualities for each birth month).
- Tag 3 people from your friends list (people you know personally) and 3 blogger/online friends.

My birth month is FEBRUARY,and my qualities (kuno hehehe...) are:
Abstract thoughts (I like listening to good ideas and thoughts). Loves reality and abstract. Intelligent and clever (naks!). Changing personality (sus, chameleon pala ako). Attractive. Sexy. Temperamental. Quiet, shy and humble (ehem, ehem, wen met a piman no mamingsan). Honest and loyal (nagkatugma kami ni Ganda nito). Determined to reach goals. Loves freedom. Rebellious when restricted. Loves aggressiveness. Too sensitive and easily hurt. Gets angry really easily but does not show it. Dislikes unnecessary things. Loves making friends but rarely shows it. Daring and stubborn (an inherited trait from my grandma and my mother hehehe). Ambitious. Realizes dreams and hopes. Sharp (I'd like to think so hehehe). Loves entertainment and leisure (who doesn't?). Romantic on the inside not outside (daw!). Superstitious and ludicrous. Spendthrift. Tries to learn to show emotions.

I tag my brother Andreas, Ading Sarah who needs to update her posts hehehehe..., and Jesse. Hmmm... My online friends have already been tagged so I guess I don't have to include them =D

I like Ganda's tweak to the meme, so I will put the birthmonth qualities of Ganda and these three friends and bold the qualities that I like best about them. Funny, Ganda, Sarah and Jesse have the same birthmonth. Hmmm... =)

GANDA
MARCH: Attractive personality. Sexy (noon daw pero sige lang, ituloy ang walking hihihihi). Affectionate. Shy and reserved. Secretive. Naturally honest, generous and sympathetic. Loves peace and serenity. Sensitive to others. Loves to serve others (I just asked her a favor and she couldn't say no hehehe). Easily angered. Trustworthy (which is probably why she's one of my close friends). Appreciative and returns kindness. Observant and assesses others. Revengeful. Loves to dream and fantasize. Loves traveling. Loves attention. Hasty decisions in choosing partners (hmmm.. daw? ehehehe). Loves home decors (I was there when she decorated her Christmas tree and her house). Musically talented (katulad ko, hihihi). Loves special things. Moody.

ANDREAS
JULY: Fun to be with (hey, that's why we clicked). Secretive. Difficult to fathom and to be understood. Quiet unless excited or tensed. Takes pride in oneself (I would say, arrogant in some respects hehehehe). Has reputation. Easily consoled. Honest. Concerned about people’s feelings (definitely!). Tactful. Friendly. Approachable. Emotional temperamental and unpredictable. Moody and easily hurt. Witty and sparkly. Not revengeful. Forgiving but never forgets. Dislikes nonsensical and unnecessary things. Guides others physically and mentally (he makes me think too much also). Sensitive and forms impressions carefully. Caring and loving (the best part about having a big brother). Treats others equally. Strong sense of sympathy (he has concern for other people). Wary and sharp. Judges people through observations. Hardworking. No difficulties in studying. Loves to be alone. Always broods about the past and the old friends. Likes to be quiet. Homely person. Waits for friends (even when I'm shopping, he is indeed patient). Never looks for friends. Not aggressive unless provoked. Prone to having stomach and dieting problems (ahahahaha... Right!). Loves to be loved. Easily hurt but takes long to recover.

SARAH
MARCH: Attractive personality. Sexy (walang panama si Ganda dito ehehehe). Affectionate. Shy and reserved. Secretive. Naturally honest, generous and sympathetic. Loves peace and serenity. Sensitive to others. Loves to serve others (I also asked a favor from her and she couldn't say no hehehe). Easily angered. Trustworthy. Appreciative and returns kindness. Observant and assesses others. Revengeful. Loves to dream and fantasize. Loves traveling. Loves attention. Hasty decisions in choosing partners (nyahahaha, hasty ba?). Loves home decors. Musically talented. Loves special things. Moody.

JESSE
MARCH: Attractive personality. Sexy (isa pa to). Affectionate. Shy and reserved. Secretive. Naturally honest, generous and sympathetic. Loves peace and serenity. Sensitive to others. Loves to serve others (kaya bagay nito na Information Officer e hehe). Easily angered. Trustworthy (the holder of my secrets hihihi). Appreciative and returns kindness. Observant and assesses others. Revengeful. Loves to dream and fantasize. Loves traveling. Loves attention. Hasty decisions in choosing partners. Loves home decors. Musically talented (birit baby to). Loves special things (yap, maarte to pagdating sa gamit). Moody.