Journey to Hum014

After many days of sleepless nights and tiresome days because of the many quizzes and readings to fulfill, the first term for this year has finally ended. Hehe kidding aside, this first term had been a memorable one for me. To make the story more interesting, I took Humanities14 as one of my courses in the said term.

This Humanities course was all about Literature and our professor was Ma'am Joahna Eduarte. When we are told that we will be reading some poems, stories and even a novel, I thought that this course will gonna be a hard one. Another factor is that I'm not fond of reading poems and much more, books. As the days passed by, I learned and discovered the beauty of Literature with the help of our dear professor. As far as I know, every week is an activity week for Ma'am. We always have group activities which did not only helped us learn but also helped us gain new friends. I think this humanities course was the only course that I have in which I don't know somebody. There may be some that I know but we are not that close though. As far as I can remember, the first friends that I had in our class were Blanch and Jenny. They were my groupmates in our first group activity. I will also not forget our tanaga making wherein I made my poem in just one of our meetings. I will not forget what our professor said to me to imagine the process happening. I found it very effective and thus, I made my tanaga and I was very happy indeed.

Another memorable experience was when we were grouped for the stage play/ drama that we will be performing. At first I was assigned in the group of ate Ezrha but I asked to be replaced because I don't think I can do my part there. Good thing Jolo was there perfectly fitted to the part. It was in their play where he slapped Meriz's face and I was shocked because it seemed so real hehe. I hope Meriz is okay hehe. I was then transferred to Meg's group which is about Servant's Girl. Before joining the group, I was already thinking to volunteer as a technical assistant but then I think Leah asked me to join them, and of course I gladly accepted it. My group mates were Meg, Lara, Leah, Jeshca, Kim, Dom, Abie, Alex and Jordan. I was very lucky to have group mates like them because they were very kind to me and also fun to be with. I will surely remember during our rehearsals when I feel pity to Leah because of Lara's treatment to her ( hehe I know it's only the the way the story should go). And yes, my group mates were really talented. Meg really did a good job writing our scripts; for me she is the brightest one in our class and I just say wow whenever she answers our professor's question. Not only that, she is also very nice to me hehe. Next is Lara, not only is she good in acting but also one of the best students in the class. She taught me the proper ways to act even though I'm having a hard time doing it. I enjoy watching her act even just inside our class. Next is Leah - the servant girl. She is also good in acting and has a pretty face that is far enough from her role of being a servant. Next is Alex, he is I think the closest friend that I have in our Hum class. You'll surely laugh and have fun whenever you're with him. For the rest, all of them we're really good to me. I will surely treasure those moments that we had shared with each other.

I really learned a lot in this course. I would like to thank our professor for making this course a wonderful and a memorable one for all of us. You opened our minds to Literature and I don't know why how did you do that but maybe because you also showed us your passion about Literature which helped us understand it well. Thanks again to my classmates and to our teacher, Ma'am Jaohna.

Laughter by Maningning Miclat

Laughter by Maningning Miclat speaks about a difficulty Maningning has experienced. It is about how she fought for her love. They experienced problems but Maningning always laughed and laughed. Maybe it is a way Maningning used in order to forget all those bad memories; on the other hand, her loved one misunderstood her and thus left her. This poem consists of irony which were used and carefully chosen. This adds to the beauty and flow of the poem. Overall it is a good and nice poem to read.

img src: http://www.maningning.com/home.htm

Tanaga

img source:http://nicole0525.deviantart.com/art/Lone-rose-4619493

The flowers dance with the breeze,
I touch one gently, it falls down.
The little flower still lives on,
Braves the wind and learns to move on.

Estrella Alfon's Servant Girl

Estrella Alfon's "Servant Girl" speaks about a girl named Rosa who serves for a mistress. It was there where she experienced different trials and experiences that showed how her life as a servant is.

This story showed how a servant faces the challenges in each day that pass - teasing of other people, maltreatment of their bosses, and seeing them as low people. Estrella Alfon also used an image in her story which was portrayed by Angel, or later we known as Pedro, the cochero who helped Rosa in her injury and also in her duty. This image of Angel was the only thing that traveled along Rosa's mind that she felt that this Angel was there even if he was not. She thinks that this Angel will always be there to help her in times of troubles. What Rosa discovered in the end is that this Angel of hers who she thought of as an ideal person was not the way it was. It was also this Angel who returned her back to the place she does not want to go anymore which is the mistress' house.

The story of the Servant Girl is a good story that shows reality on its own simple ways.


Image Source:
http://www.sushidog.com/bpss/stories/servant.htm

Filipino Pride

BIENVENIDO SANTOS

A novelist, short story writer, poet, and activist, Santos's early writings were in the English language he learned at school, Tondo (the language of his mother's songs at home), and Tagalog (the native language of the Philippines). In 1932, he earned a B.A. from the University of the Philippines. Under the Philippine Pensionado program (a continuation of the U.S. one begun in 1903), Santos came to the University of Illinois for a master's degree in English. Later he studied at Harvard, Columbia, and, as a Rockefeller Foundation fellow, at the University of Iowa. His first two novels, Villa Magdalena and The Volcano, were published in the Philippines in 1965. Santos became an American citizen in 1976. One year later, the Marcos regime banned his novel about government corruption, The Praying Man, and he and his wife remained in San Francisco. Scent of Apples (1980), his only book to be published in the United States, won the American Book Award from the Before Columbus Foundation. He wrote more than a dozen books about exiles in both of his adopted countries, including the short story collections including You Lovely People (1955) and Brother, My Brother (1960).


(Source: factmonster.com.ph: People. 2000. Web. 24 June 2009.
<http://www.factmonster.com/ipka/A0880711.html>.)

Image Source: http://www.thewilyfilipino.com/images/santos.jpg



FRANCISCO SIONIL JOSE

Francisco Sionil Jose has been called a Philippine national treasure. Born on December 3, 1924 in Rosales, Philippines, he was introduced to literature in public school and later at the University of Santo Tomas. While working as a journalist in Manila, he moonlighted writing short stories and eventually novels. In the late fifties Jose founded the Philippine branch of PEN, an international organization of poets, playwrights, and novelists. In 1965 he started his own publishing house SOLIDARIDAD, and a year later he began publishing the remarkable Solidarity, a journal of current affairs, ideas, and arts, still going strong today.

Jose wrote in English rather than in his national language Tagalog, or his native language Illocano. In 1962 he published his first novel The Pretenders. Today his publications include twelve novels, seven books of short stories, a book of verse, and five important books of essays. His works are available in 28 languages. He has been awarded numerous fellowships and awards, most notable being the 1980 Ramon Magsaysay Award for Journalism, Literature, and Creative Communication Arts, the most prestigious award of its kind in Asia, and most recently, and the 2004 Pablo Neruda Centennial Award from Chile.


(Source: me.uvic.ca.com: Francisco Sionil Jose.Web. 24 June 2009.
<http://www.me.uvic.ca/~art/afsj.html>.)

Image Source: <https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhJ2cJ6gOF8zV1bUKcvwkDBoRPMwKQB3vxx5pa_Xy8GO8_hdCDRtVppRcj015vjWskPaUy2zm_0a6GIxVLRcaUh9n35fG0FkTLXVZGWDudh9lVXUqLorIDJQZ_Zj-Dr_aWhQ-e68_l_2HRg/s1600-h/fsj.jpg>

Literature in our midst

I see Literature as a growing seedling. It all started as a seed planted in a rich soil which then grew and developed into a young plant, hoping that it will become a mighty tree someday. Literature started way before and still continues to grow and live alongside with us. With the help of the writers as the light, and their experiences and emotions that pursued them, the seeds became cherished and loved by many. Though present in different forms, it is still understood by many because what matters is not the way it was done, but what content and message it portraits. When the right time comes, these seedlings will to turn to trees; trees that give life to us. Literature develops not only ourselves but also the people who makes it a part of themselves.

Image Source:
http://www.flickr.com/photos/jeremiah_johnson/3464744502/