Your first year abroad should be fun and exciting decision. Remember that you are part of the so-called minority which has decided to live a life of adventure. Why did I say this? It’s because living in a country very new to you is really an adventure. You don’t know the culture of that country and you are strangers to the inhabitants. This means big adjustments in your part immersing to the new culture which you are not used to.
You should remember that the first year of your living abroad is an adjustment year. There maybe a few problems but as soon as you have successfully immersed it wouldn’t be a problem anymore.
As a Counseling Psychologist, I want to normalize the feelings that most people go through as they are adjusting to a new country. I have lived in four countries and with every move, I still go through an adjustment. Just knowing and expecting some adjustment makes everything easier.
SOME thought of the business community and civil society over the weekend on the return of a gaming casino in our city deserves a review by both our elected local and national legislators of Cagayan de Oro and Misamis Oriental.
The public pulse is whether we host the casino right smack in the city proper or find alternative location for the casino in some areas away from the residential zones, schools and places of worships and not just in any 200 meters distant radius as prescribed by law.
An economic zone in Misamis Oriental is just 21 kilometers from City Hall and about 35 minutes travel time by car. It is an enterprise zone reserved but which is not fully occupied by manufacturing locators.
The zone was created by Presidential Decree No. 358, which amended to the original P. D. 253 otherwise known as the Philippine Veterans Industrial Development Corporation or PHIVIDEC which is a good alternative to host a casino and other leisure locators.
As a backgrounder, P. D. 358 was promulgated in August 13, 1974 during the incumbency of the late President Ferdinand E. Marcos when the Philippines were under Martial Law. It has the vision for the industrialization and economic development of southern Philippines through job creation both for retired military officials and the growing manpower force in the technical field of engineering and labor.
Inspired perhaps by the success of the Iligan Integrated Steel Mills in the early 70’s, Marcos has the PHIVIDEC charter drafted designed for industrial and manufacturing activities in Misamis Oriental with the military in mind as beneficiary.
During those years, nothing of the information technology (IT) or electronic gaming (E-Games) was then heard off when P. D. 358, was promulgated. In comparison today, the information technology (IT) form the backbone of doing business worldwide through fast and efficient transmission of data and communication infrastructure that shape business, banking and industries.
Whether you like it or not but I feel that when you transfer to another country for some good reasons, you also become an ambassador for your country of origin. Well, I don’t know how you see this situation but that’s’ what I feel when I moved on to other country. Basically, many of your new found friends will ask you questions about your country, the culture and the kind of people that live in that particular country. What else can you do but to answer all their questions because you know them? In this way, you become indirectly an ambassador to your own country. Your new friends are very curious about you and why you transfer your residency to a different country. Well, these are leading questions which must be answered diligently.
Many of you have already experienced this. You are walking down the street, doing you normal routine and someone says to you, “Congratulations on your new president”. Another may say “We’re so happy for you” or “You must be so proud… we are proud for your country.”
I know this is happening all over the world. Currently Americans have become a subject of pride and admiration in their host countries. It feels good. It has been a long time. I was often met with these comments when Bill Clinton was president. I had forgotten how much pride I feel when I hear these kind words.
ROYAL Agricultural Resources in Sayao, Pangadian City has been pioneering in sweet coconut propagation of the Thai Coconut variety for the last eight years. In a 24 hectares former fishpond clearings, entrepreneur, Rey Quisumbing, an Agricultural Engineering graduate of Xavier University has been farming thousands of fast fruit bearing coconut trees that he periodically harvest first for his roadside restaurant until the resorts and hotels in Zamboanga, Sibugay discovered the unique sweetness quality of the young coconut water.
Land commuters from Zamboanga City to Pangadian or Cagayan de Oro have made regular stops at his Sayao Farm along the national highway in Pangadian City to sample the freshness of his sweet water. Touted as a natural drink that helps tired bodies rehydrate, coconut water is hitting a growing number of followers in the Mindanao. A tiny fraction of the Philippines non alcoholic beverage production finds its market in the first class hotels and restaurants in Cebu and Manila up to the export market in Hongkong, Macau and Taiwan.
Coconut sweet water keeps the body cool and at the proper temperature. It threats kidney and urethral stones according to our old folks. Recent medical findings point to coco water as best cure in removing toxins from the body and helps in digestions and many other health benefits. A hotel in Cagayan de Oro City specializes in serving the Thai Coconut sweet water. It is not in the menu because it sells fast and the Bar always runs out of stocks and would have to order online from Pangadian City.
