LITFILI WEEK 4: Decisions, decisions

One time, I was riding an airplane and I look at the menu for dinner. "Oh my God, Cajun Chicken or Grilled Salmon." Now these are two of my most favorite airplane food ever and they were on the same menu. So which one do I choose. The chicken or fish..hmm...it may seem dumb but I had to think real hard because i've been travelling for 16 yrs and I only ate the Chicken 4 times and the Salmon 3 times. (Yes, i count it!). So here comes the stewardess and im thinking, "Chicken".. "Salmon.. "or maybe my sister wont eat hers..hmm."(Singaporian Accent) Good evening sir, would you like the Chicken or Salmon?" "(Oh no, sprite moment)umm.. Chicken pls." Did I regret it, of course not because my mom gave me half of her salmon later (okay, i asked for some).

That's what I'd like to point out in the stories "The Corral" and "Love in the cornhusks." Your decisions are yours to choose. That's why Tinay did not regret leaving her first love. She blushed and got emotional but at the end of the day, she goes back to her family. That's something that Pilar should remember if she were present at our times, she thought that she did not have a choice because one guy ignored her which leads her to a guy who she does not love. It's not the end of the road for her, move on and if she does marry Mr. Perfecto then its her choice.

So people, remember, your actions are your choices. Don't go Stallone and say "I had no choice" cos there always will be a choice. And if you do choose, choose it because you want to, not because it's in or you were told to. Good times everyone

LITFILI WEEK 3

Do you remember the time when you first felt that tingle in your heart, she walks by and as she approaches your direction, you get goosebumps and everything goes slow mo. I don't know about you guys but that's how i felt when I was going to start courting my crush back in High School. I always admired her for her charms and charisma, and so when it was her birthday, I gave her a present and asked her out. She agreed and our first date was.. well.. to put it in a word, horrible. Everything went wrong, she was late, we talked about the wrong topics, i forgot my bag at the movies, the mall was crowded and i found out that she wasn't the nicest person in the world. Although i did try to understand her unlike the boy in "Bread of Salt," her attitude was really stubborn and was sometimes very ignorant. So that's when I stopped dating her and we still turned out to be friends, my point is, people today tend to look at the physical aspects of a person rather than her "inner beauty," i myself, am guilty of this. I think that most teenagers are more infatuated with a person rather than really in love. You get kilig when your crush says hi to you or you see her staring at you but you really dont know the person.


Summer Solstice is a story that always reminds me of what my dad told me back in 1st year college. "When you meet THE girl you want to marry, treasure her cos she's the only one who will stick with you when your old and ugly." I think this is what Don Paeng felt, he felt he was back when he was courting Dona Lupeng. There was passion and intensity among them and that I think is what keeps a good marriage running. Nowadays, people could easily get divorced or annulled and you could change your partner whenever. That's why its important for us to realize that marriage is sacred, love is sacred and should not be broken. It's like preparing for an exam, you spend time to study it, review it, and practice it until you get it. We should remember to take one step at a time and not to rush everything else because if we do, the only end you'll meet is an F. Good times everyone

LITFILI WEEK 2

The two stories that were presented, The Mats and Divide by Two, both by Francisco Arcellana both showed traits present in Filipino Families. Between the two stories though, The Mats showed more good Filipino Values. In the story, the father shows a typical Filipino attitude about respect for the dead. This is present because Filipinos always give respect to their departed loved ones. We visit them at least once a year (All Souls Day) and give them gifts so they will know that we still remember them. The story also shows equality among children, typical in a Filipino Family. I think Divide by Two also shows Filipino Traits. Being Hospitable and friendly to the neighbor is a sign of Philippine Culture. A bad trait though that is seen in the story is how we can be "chismoso" about other people's lives. So to sum it all up, I think both stories were able to show an equal amount of traits present among us.

LITFILI WEEK 1

In "My father goes to court" by Carlos Bulosan. It is stated that Filipinos are happy people. I agree, in a recent survey. We rank among the highest in happiest people in the world. Notice how many Filipinos are struggling now, but they always seem to have the time to laugh it off. I think it's important to have a good laugh at least 5 times a day. The story also shows the bond and the love seen in a Filipino Family. Even through hardships, a Filipino family would stick together. Same goes with the story "How my Brother Leon brought home a wife" by Manuel Arguilla, it is shown how Filipino families show respect to each other. We would'nt just marry someone immediately, we show him/her to our family and we ask for our parents blessing.