Flowers are for me…for my smile and my photography…
So, here’s my flowers from Lebanon..every photos I took, it reminded me, how patient you were, waiting to finish my photos, scrutinizing every details , commenting on how I took the shot. Appreciating the moment, though at times, you told me to stop!
you said…
Stop taking pictures…
Feel the moment, smell the flower, appreciate the nature, see the colors…
and I said…
I like to take photos for other people to see the beauty of nature
you said..
They will appreciate your photos not the flowers..they cannot hold and smell it.
And yet, as the days passed you also took photos of every flowers on the streets or shops and sent it to me.
I guess you just want me to be happy 🙂
” no rains..no flowers”
Photos were taken from the mountain of Lebanon by jamilamimi@beautybeyondfifty.(2018 June)
Compliment what she does
Send her roses just because
If it’s violins she loves
Let them play
Dedicate her favourite song
And hold her closer all night long
Love her today
Find one hundred ways
Don’t forget, there could be
An old lover in her memory
If you need her so much more
Why don’t you say?
Maybe she has it in her mind
That she’s just wasting her time
Ask her to stay
Find one hundred ways
Being cool won’t help you keep a love warm
You’ll just blow your only chance
Take the time to open up your heart
That’s the secret of romance
Sacrifice if you care
Buy her some moonlight to wear
If it’s one more star she wants
Go all the way
In your arms tonight, she’ll reflect
That she owes you the sweetest of debts
If she wants to pay
Find one hundred ways
A love story of two people who were in love but doesn’t know how deep it was until they got separated and now that they met again..mixed emotion runs deep..confused on how to end their love affair.. tragic and ironic but hopelessly romantic!
The face is the mirror of the mind, and eyes without speaking confess the secrets of the heart. Saint Jerome
I often think why I like you. I could not single out just one reason. you have so many good qualities as a person and I think it’s the combination of all of these qualities that elevates you from an average woman. your good looks is the least of all these. I’m not going to spend anymore time thinking what is it that makes you look so attractive. It’s enough that I like myself when I was with you.
jun
I thought it will be heaven.. perfect for my dreams, I begun a journey with a partner with a different destination so when we finally “ arrived,” we don’t know where we are..
The third episode of “The Vin and Noira Show” is here
Are you a OFW? Expatriates? born in KSA? back in Philippines? you should listen to vin oh! and noira too, she is from Indonesia but studied in Australia.
Where are you from?
I usually say, from Philippines to make the story short, because I was born in Davao and was raised in Bicol, my father is from Cabanatuan City and my mother is from Taytay ,Rizal and you can find these places in the Philippines.
but..
What about if you are born in another country like Saudi Arabia with Filipino parents and was raised in Saudi Arabia and never had the chance to actually live in Philippines?
What about.. if you are born in Saudi Arabia and never had the opportunity to really live in Philippines but your parents are both Filipino and you immigrated to United Kingdom or Canada?
What about..if your mother is Filipina and your father is American and you are born and raised in Saudi Arabia?
Where are you from?
photo grabs from “the vin and noira show” Ep3
As my youngest always say ” WE ARE NOMAD” 🙂
GLOBAL nomad – one who grows up in a country other than their passport country.
EXpatriate – one who lives outside of his/her own home culture.
I got interested with the topic of “Third Culture Kids” since the first episode of the show and it’s relatable to all expatriates alike, not only for the kids but for the adult and parents as well.
What is TCK? Third Culture Kids is a term they used for kids who were raised in a culture other than their parents country and a combination of both. A good example is my son , who has both Filipino parents (first culture) but was born and raised in Saudi Arabia(second culture) and being exposed on both cultures (third culture). He studied in a multicultural environment and later on went to Europe and USA to finish his Bachelors degree.
It gives me a goose bump, remembering the day I organized a club named KFC (Kids Fun Club) and TFCK ( Teens Fun Club with Kids). My main goal is for him to be exposed in a Filipino culture while in Saudi Arabia at the same time teaching children to enhance their creativity in arts,reading and our culture.
So whats the big deal?
Is there more advantages than disadvantages?
Well, it’s a matter of perspective, I can’t speak for himself so listen to his show here hahahaha, kidding aside, but what I observed TCK has more adaptability and capability than those who has mono cultural exposure. Mostly of the studies done for TCK are American children living abroad, so let’s narrowed down the topic to Filipino kids who were raised in Saudi Arabia because of their parents employment.
They speak fluent english and have difficulty in Tagalog (Filipino language), unless all their friends speaks Tagalog or they are studying in Philippine School, then there’s no tagalog difficulties but definitely they don’t speak their parent’s dialect. Yes! one of the advantage of being TCK is the fluency in the English Language, they learned different languages too, but sad to say they are not well versed in Tagalog. Is this the fault of a parent? Well, in my case, I choose to speak one language to them, so they will not be confused in their accent and pronunciation. I was raised in Bicol, speaks taglish (tagalog-English) with a Philippine accent, I was afraid they gonna pick up my accent and other students will make fun of them. You see, living in Saudi Arabia is not easy, unfortunately,bullying is rampant at school and at work as well. And being in American School, Filipino subject is not included in the curriculum, it’s either French or Spanish, and of course the Arabic language of host country. I just wish, I insisted on learning them Tagalog and Arabic more fluently.
Even for us, as OFW, we tend to speak comfortably in English than in Tagalog, As for me, I still speak taglish (tagalog-English) but can speak English well if needed and can conversed in Arabic with my patients 🙂
One of the privilege of being TCK is traveling. It gives them a broader view of the world, a better understanding of different culture but at the same time, they tend to wonder, the need to see other places and at times lost their interest to go back home.Even in food, they acquired the taste of arabic cuisine. Who doesn’t? Oh ! I love it too! kabsa, shawerma,sambusak and broast 🙂 hmmm I’m getting hungry 🙂
Another advantage of being TCK is education, not only having the chance to study abroad but the ability to adjust, experience and learn to live in a multicultural environment. This is a real education to see how people live, interact, socialize in different places. This give you a broader perspective and independence.
What about emotionally?
I remembered my son, on one of his low point of being a Nomad, he uttered in a depressed tone of “just give me a home” to which I answered, your home is ME! Home is where your family! But at that time we were all in a different continent. It was a realization for me, yeah, home is everywhere and nowhere!
Saudi Arabia is my comfort zone, we live in a big house with free car, air ticket , free education and this is where my career started and bloom. But we al knew, this is temporary, and time will come we are all going home…where?
No one was prepared to go back home to Philippines, we were all fascinated and taken away by the comfort of living abroad, having friends all over the world,going to places.. though at times we feel we don’t belong anywhere, still living abroad has its own aura. Like what is expensive in Philippines, its just a normal affordable thing abroad. Communication is easier too, though we don’t speak arabic fluently, a lot of people here tried to speak English or even tagalog to us.(this is just me, ok?) I know, I am working in a private clinic with a good position so what I meet everyday are professionals, VIPs, but I think mostly of expatriate would have the same opinion. Am I wrong or right?
Sad to say, back home, speaking English with american accent and an Asian look, sometimes doesn’t create a good start without being perceived to be showing off.
the feeling of..
you don’t fit in… reverse culture shock… out of place
Vin and noira will surely tackle these feelings of being a tourist on your own home country. As for me, I am not yet there, but I am anticipating my retirement soon and I knew, I would feel the same way but hey! life is what we make it, if we were able to survived in the Middle East, we will surely survive in Asia!
Did I say ? TCK includes adult and parents?
Accept reality, face our own fear and sooner than we think, we can say, it’s not bad as we expected it too be 🙂
Ladies, I think Vin and Noira did express their take on TCK better than I did here 🙂
I haven’t completed my house renovation yet but needed some furniture for my covered lanai at the back of my house. I searched where to order rattan but what I found was either far from metro manila or the design were mostly the same anywhere.
While searching I came across a Facebook page “RATTAN ANJELIE FURNITURE” at first I was hesitant to send a message but looking at the photos of their finished product, I became curious and sent Amor a message. She responded immediately and while chatting with her, my guts told me she is a trustworthy person. I am aware of the presence of scammer on social media, so I asked a lot of questions and she seemed very polite and answered my questions with all honesty.
She was very particular about the design I was asking and their capacity to copy it. She told me what they can and can not do. She sent me a lot of photos and materials. So what I did is just to choose and agreed. I overestimated the size of the sofa and she over estimated the size of the pillows 🙂 The payment was also easy, its thru bank transfer. She asked for downpayment before proceeding and the balance is either cash on delivery or bank transfer.
This was on the day it was delivered, I found that the small pillows were too many, and the whole set will not accomodate on my lanai. Nevertheless, the finished product was beautiful!
She also made extra 20×20 pillows for my bay window and sofa. The sewing is neat.
Ladies, if you need to contact her, please feel free to go to their FB page.
From Jeddah to AL Ula (Madain Saleh) to Tabuk, a long four days road trip, 3 hotels, adobo, al baik, lamb mandi to pizza and ice cream, that was awesome!
Maqna or Magna is located in Tabuk province. It was known that “Bir Al Saidni” is the well from which Moses rolled away the stone to draw water for the flocks of Jewish settlers.
Fast forward, before we reached the area, we passed a small area of water along the way.And I was thinking how difficult it was for Moses and the Israelites coming from Egypt, passing through the Gulf of Aqaba to Mt. Sinai, a vast desert, hills of rocks and suddenly the rock was split open to provide water. Wow! I am fascinated by the history of the place.
The sight to the coastal area was like a “gasp on the air”.
an almost half circle, a place to pray?
Imagine you are lost in a desert and found this well, I think you will be shouting and jumping of joy!
Thank you to Gabriel Fam, Alji fam and Pino fam for this trip. I had a wonderful Eid holiday 🙂
and to the boys who drove us for four days just to see those wonderful places.
I guess the photo says it all 🙂 are we going ahead with this trip? hahahaha Who can say no to madame Rhea! clap your hand and raise your feet 🙂 o la la …
Along the way, we have seen a lot of beautiful sceneries that no photos can justify our feelings at that moment. Ladies, you should do wonders to drag your husband to this trip, it is worth a try, trust me!
After a long travel to reach Mt Sinai, the road has ended with a barricade. Oh yeah, there was no sign what so ever that we can get through. So, we just took in the scenery with a sigh and relief that at last we have seen how difficult the survival was.
For a little trivia, Mt Sinai is the mountain at which the Ten commandments were given to Moses by God. It was found in Egypt but contested later on by historian that the actual location is in Saudi Arabia. Whichever is right, this road trip is worth a try, having seen the red sand dunes, the archaeological arts of rocks, oasis,gulf of aqaba and the tip of Mt. Sinai, indeed, this is the most memorable road trip ever.
Another contested trivia is the Red sea crossing of Israelites at the gulf of Aqaba. We headed to see the coastal view of Gulf of Aqaba, which could be seen or divided between four countries namely:Saudi Arabia,Jordan,Israel and Egypt.
A half sunken ship can be seen 55 km south from Haql city in Tabuk province. The water is crystal clear, which is good for swimming, unfortunately we were not ready for this 😦 The place is known as “Al mashee well”, I would call it as Haql Shipwreck beach 🙂 because literally the half sunken vessel is just along the shore and with the mountain backdrop and the crystal blue water, one can imagine that you’re in a movie set.
I can’t say it was a good night sleep but we woke up early to have a sunrise view at the elephant rock.
This photo was taken after a car driven by crazy “young adult” circled around , I guess they were showing off and created a big sand dust around us. However, it didn’t get into our nerves, we still went on 🙂 the mandatory jump shot!
Back to road and we just found out there is a better accommodation than the furnished apartment we have rented. The place is “Shaden Resort” hmmm we will come back for sure.
It’s been a month since you have passed away…
Dr. Myriam- The Dental Aesthetic Clinic 
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