Sinulog: Aurea Mediocritas (Golden Mean)

           

      
 .              “Viva! Pit Señor"!

      The utterance that can be heard by almost all Cebuano. Celebrating the “Queen of all Festival” in the “Queen City of South”, Sinulog is known for its grandiose celebration to honor and to give gratitude to Sr. Sto.  Niño.

     Colourful customs, grandiose floats and various concerts are some of the front liners of this festivity. Families, peer of friends and colleagues are busy hopping from one place to another, enjoying their selves from this break of work and of school. Smiles, picture taking and boisterous laughters can be spotted anywhere. But behind those eye-widening, mouth-gaping and breath-taking sceneries, there is something that really captivates my consciousness. Tears for every laugh and pain for every smile. Taking a glimpse to the other phase of this festival captures me most. Thousands of devotees emulating the procession without minding the cold breeze of dawn and scorching heat of afternoon sun. Non-stop sacrifices of the dancers to have a good performance- performance not to brag the prizes but serves as an offer to our dear saint. This are the real scene that emblems Sinulog Festival. What lies beneath this festivity is the unfathomed faith of every Cebuano that whatever struggles they will going to encounter there is Sr. St. Niño  who can be their shield and protector.

      Whatever the means of celebrating this festival, Sinulog takes a great place in every Cebuano’s heart. Not just part of the culture nor part of religious affilation but a part of their lives. 

     Photo taken from www.wikipedia.com

My First Foreign Interface

January 7, 2012. As I go out of the house, the only question that keeps bugging me is that what are we going to do today? With Mr. Jayson Patalinghug as the instructor in our Functional Literacy in the New Media. Everything is vague to be guessed. Surprise activities await every one of us.

Sitting in the room, we attentively listen to our task- we are going to encounter some of his Korean students who are studying English in CTU. Mouths gape as we heard it. Having a conversation with Korean student? Well, sounds interesting and everybody is excited. Meeting new friends, new culture and new language. I think, studying cross-cultural communication is a great aid. Anyway, I’ll introduce to you my first Korean friend.

His name is Kim Sung Woo. But here in Cebu, his friends used to call him Tom, an electronic engineering student at Choong University. He is 21 years old and lived in Seo San, located in South Korea. He is the youngest. His brother’s name is Kim Kyu Jin who really likes chatting. His brother is a part-time student. His mother’s name is Kim Yang Ja who has the hobby of cooking and making scarfs. His father’s name is Kim Te Ja, an engineer, who likes playing computer games.

           Tom is a shy-type person but is very cooperative. He loves playing badminton and his favorite Filipino food is lechon ( pig in the stick- as what he said). He came here to study English. According to him, Korea has tall buildings and very populous yet Koreans are very kind. He loves his stay here in Cebu. In fact, he described Cebu as fantastic and Cebuanos are like Koreans who are also kind. This January 28, he will go back to Korea for unwinding his self but he will be back here in Cebu by the month of February.

Well, he is very nice and amiable aside from the fact that we differ in many ways. I really love the moment that is why I never miss any chances to have a photograph with him.