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A Somewhat Lame Apology, Immersion and Books. // September 15, 2009

I should have known.

That Blog-a-Day idea was a failure in the making. But really, in my defense (and I am going to be defensive), school was piling up¹, and I was away for the weekend.

My friend, Eira, and I went on a self-organized² “immersion” trip as part of our requirements for a Theology class. Essentially, you go to an area that is considered to be “less fortunate” or “underprivileged,” for a weekend, so that you can “immerse” yourself in what they go through and come out, hopefully, with a better understanding of how they live. I think that it’s also supposed to ignite some desire in your heart to reach out to the poor and make the world a little bearable for them.

We went to an orphanage over at BF in Muntinlupa. It’s called “My Father’s House,” and it’s run by Christian missionaries (Benny Hinn group) from the States. Compared to several other orphanages here in the Philippines, this was actually one of the best, I would say. They split us up (tear!) so I ended up with the girls (aged 3-13) and Eira ended up with the “toddlers,” which were the younger boys (3 to around 10, I think).

Their stories were so sad to hear. One was left in a Jollibee by the dad, after he bought the kid a meal. Another was left in the mall after her mother bought her shoes. The children were around 3 or 4 when this happened. Lots more horror stories that I don’t have the heart to tell.

What’s great about “My Father’s House” is that they teach the children to be responsible for themselves. They’re assigned chores and some of them have a “buddy system,” where they look out for each other. It’s not in the least nightmare-ish like in Annie. A lot of the children have been adopted by foreigners (from the USA, Italy, Sweden) and it’s nice to see that, unlike Filipinos in general, who tend to adopt baby-age kids, some foreigners choose to open their homes to older children.

This is Ella. She’s three years old, and she’s got a home
in Sweden now, I think. :)

My Father’s House seems like it has a considerable amount of funding, but what they really need are volunteers. As much as I would like to return frequently, I live up north (reaaaally far from the area) and it’s hard to find time to go there in between school, church and life in general.

In case anybody out there who is reading this wants to help out, My Father’s House is located at 135 Ramona Tirona Street corner Sison Street BF Homes, Parañaque City, Philippines.

In other news, I bought some books today:

Clockwise from top left!:

Erich Fromm’s “You Shall Be as Gods”

Aldous Huxley’s “Brave New World”

Sir Thomas Browne’s “Urne-Burial”

I.E. Mozenson’s “Behind Beavis and Butt-head”

Larry Sloman’s “On the Road with Bob Dylan”

Sir Arthur Conan Doyle’s “When the World Screamed”

I feel like the school duped me into thinking that I had time to read. You give me books, when I need is ~*time. Or something like that. Still, I must confess that I am excited about my purchases.

On yet another note, I took down the Dumbledore’s Army Sign-Up Sheets, and I have to say that the other sheet (the one I put up on the way to the library) has more promising members. Will post them later, then you can be the judge.

———
¹ Last week, I had to worry about my non-moving thesis, a Theology long test on the same day as my notorious Philosophy long test plus a few other things, so really. I was pretty stressed out.

² A small rant: It is my personal opinion that if a “branch” of the school cannot dole out enough areas for immersion for all the Theology classes, it should not be a requirement. We had to look for our own areas (Eira found us ours) because OSCI ran out of areas. I know a couple of people who still do not have areas. Just a thought.

In ateneo, books, dailies, good causes, thesis

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Where is this wonderful orphanage? Take me there sometime soon? :) I love the toes leaking into the photo. Hihi! And wow, was this book sale in school again?

I saw your uncle today. :) He’s funny! and he looks a lot like your dad (duh!) I’m excited about your dad’s show too! please be there next week, Tuesday the 22nd! :) How is you? :p

Comment by Nash — September 15, 2009 #
HEY NAAASH. I MISS YOU. :( I’m sorry I haven’t been replying to some texts. I’m kind of mad at my phone right now, only because it usually seems to be the harbinger of bad news.

Anyway, I’ll definitely let you know when I go back. It’s in Parañaque. :) And yeah, there always seems to be a book sale in school these days. My wallet doth protest!

I’ll try to be there, too :) Maybe we can have dessert or something like that.

Comment by Carina — September 17, 2009 #

Carina Santos is 21, recently employed & slightly slanted & enchanted. She likes to read, write & make pretty things.

Hello! My name is Carina Santos. I'm 21 years old, and I design stuff for a living. Writing is my first love. I like quoting Harry Potter, oversharing on the Internet, and places that echo. And, just so you know, I care about the Oxford comma. More!

NOTHING SPACES is my personal blog. It's sort of where I live.