tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-20786707003167043962024-03-06T02:35:55.073+01:00Boholana WandererReg is a Boholana Filipino who comes from Tagbilaran City, Bohol, Philippines. She is currently taking her Masters in Development Studies with specialisation in Women, Gender, Development (WGD) at the Institute of Social Studies in The Hague, The Netherlands. This blog shall chronicle her wanderings.Reg Macalandaghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13660217648435205146noreply@blogger.comBlogger10125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2078670700316704396.post-63107590665711994372008-09-09T22:34:00.004+02:002008-09-09T22:57:49.968+02:00Trip to Zaanse Schaans & Amsterdam<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhfm5Iz2o47uY3SkltJB9duZMEkZ3n7_8aQNax4aafqr7fOqunaOcCj7BA3lm3VzePjzYJH04DfvqMR_am9kSWiShIzKN1YeF_jMriHF1Ob72Ofr3ZlaR9R-IHKGMU_rYHlZ_XzrHV6J0M/s1600-h/PICT0093.JPG"><img style="margin: 0pt 10px 10px 0pt; float: left; cursor: pointer;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhfm5Iz2o47uY3SkltJB9duZMEkZ3n7_8aQNax4aafqr7fOqunaOcCj7BA3lm3VzePjzYJH04DfvqMR_am9kSWiShIzKN1YeF_jMriHF1Ob72Ofr3ZlaR9R-IHKGMU_rYHlZ_XzrHV6J0M/s320/PICT0093.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5244126486301084258" border="0" /></a><br /><span style="font-family:lucida grande;">We were very fortunate and grateful that ISS Student Office took us to a trip to Zaanse Schaans and a boat trip in Amsterdam. We reached the preserved village through a bus (felt like a high school excursion) and we were greeted with a Dutch man who took our pictures as we entered. We thought it nice that he said "Ooohh...Filipinas, maganda...maganda" Somebody said his wife was also Filipina but we had to pay 5 euros for our "ambushed" picture-taking later. We were forced to claim it, otherwise, "basin ipanghadlok tong among mga picture sa mga creatures, if any, nga gapuyo sa old windmills." hehe Anyways...<br /><br />Zaan district, the oldest industrial area of the world held about 50 windmills, what are left of the 1000 in 1920. Now, the Zaan village has 12 windmills in perfect condition and operates them regularly. I was amazed at how meticulously the Dutch have preserved the mills for future generation, transporting for example, a whole mill, and even the old Dutch houses in Zaan from other districts. I find the old Dutch houses' architecture to be very practical and in-tuned with their climate. Most of the area is marshy so that when a person jumps in some portions, one could feel it reverberating or something.<br /><br />The wooden shoe factory was also another interesting that highlighted typical Dutch practicality. We were also treated to a variety of cheeses in the cheese factory. </span><span style="font-family:lucida grande;"><br /><br />The boat trip in Amsterdam took us to the main canal thoroughfares where we saw typical Dutch houses and flats along side the canals. Very interesting are the leaning houses that have withstood time and are still intact.</span><span style="font-family:lucida grande;"> <br /><br />Hmmm... it had been a great day!<br /></span>Reg Macalandaghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13660217648435205146noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2078670700316704396.post-76300302553569996562008-09-07T01:59:00.006+02:002008-09-07T02:29:43.581+02:00weekend getaway to Scheveningen<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjQNtk40Skkac3AwcOH2AEJvccLJJZ0WdMXEOxxTsE__4RVDAFNHJlU2jXEgqCvPolfXtgP7D7Lb0Ek2yBDng9xpetLDBN3ReSmm7vrIDYvscSzPbH58B0kqiUoiZxV0uisgpOqa5LUHik/s1600-h/PICT0275.JPG"><img style="margin: 0pt 10px 10px 0pt; float: left; cursor: pointer;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjQNtk40Skkac3AwcOH2AEJvccLJJZ0WdMXEOxxTsE__4RVDAFNHJlU2jXEgqCvPolfXtgP7D7Lb0Ek2yBDng9xpetLDBN3ReSmm7vrIDYvscSzPbH58B0kqiUoiZxV0uisgpOqa5LUHik/s320/PICT0275.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5243067962372557986" border="0" /></a><br /><span style="font-family:lucida grande;">After</span> <span style="font-family:lucida grande;">a long week, I thought it a weekend getaway at the beach in Scheveningen would be a treat. The morning was spent with doing our first laundry and since it was our first time to try out the laundrette at the Dorus building, we practically spent an hour just looking at the spinning machine and almost 30 minutes of machine-drying. It would also be my birthday the next day so I had all reasons... plus...we at the Dorus dorm (just the building beside ISS) would also like to check out the accommodations of our fellow scholars at Gondelstraat. They were near the beach at Scheveningen, already outside of the Hague.</span><br /><br /><span style="font-family:lucida grande;">I had a different feel to the place. I don't know if surreal would be the right term. It was different from the ISS vicinity...while the ISS vicinity feels more sterile with its surrounding offices and shops, Scheveningen beach was more relaxed and sub-urbany... more like the other sub-urb parts of the Hague (which we accidentally toured by getting lost in the way to the Open Market, riding by way of Tram 6 earlier in the day).</span><br /><br /><span style="font-family:lucida grande;">It was a blast capturing the beach environs in the afternoon before our fellows would have offered us the prepared dinner. The Museum Beelden Aan Zee was the highlight of the </span><span style="font-style: italic;font-family:lucida grande;" >suroy </span><span style="font-family:lucida grande;">with its sculptures of fairy tale stories: Moby Dick, Hansel and Gretel, Gulliver, among others.</span>Reg Macalandaghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13660217648435205146noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2078670700316704396.post-87070128199259849402008-09-01T22:15:00.009+02:002008-09-02T11:50:10.955+02:00interactions with a shoe shop owner<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://www.panoramio.com/photos/original/5598873.jpg"><img style="margin: 0pt 10px 10px 0pt; float: left; cursor: pointer; width: 332px; height: 249px;" src="http://www.panoramio.com/photos/original/5598873.jpg" alt="" border="0" /></a><span style="font-family:lucida grande;"><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br />My dormmate, Angie, and i went for a walk around the vicinity of ISS.</span><br /><span style="font-family:lucida grande;"><br />We also needed to purchase a new fone for our local numbers. Mine was not working, hence, the need. We also purchased a few warm clothing... a bit too excited for winter, eh?!:)<br /><br /></span><span style="font-family:lucida grande;">We started feeling slight pangs of <span style="font-style: italic;">gutom</span>.</span><span style="font-family:lucida grande;">We passed through the new Parliament house. A sandwich stand was right there before the entrance. Too bad we couldn't really figure out the english names so we had to forego the sandwiches.<br /><br />We found the Maurithius Museum bannering a large tarpaulin-like material of "The Girl with the Pearl Earring" picture. I felt awed staring at the tarp while remembering the film starring Scarlet Johanssen and Colin Firth. Angie and I noted that trip to museums in our tour list in the coming days. We passed by a plaza with William of Orange statue, with a large white bird perched atop his head. The Department of Justice stands at the side. We came to this road still full of small shops as we were about to head back to ISS.<br /><br />A man was looking at us uttering some vaguely comprehensible words... it sounded like greetings in different Asian languages. nagtagna-tagna diay sya unsa among nationality ni Angie and the greetings he uttered didn't quite hit the Filipino. He gave up guessing and asked..."alright what nationality are you?" We replied, "Filipino". And he uttered "magandang hapon" and "mahal kita". He invited us to his shoe shop. Incidentally, when he learned that we were new students at ISS, he began telling us about his friends at ISS and some tips in buying around Netherlands. He was also kind enough to tell us a brief history of how his Indian grandparents and parents migrated to the Netherlands. And the best part... he gave us a short lecture on Dutch people... more particularly men...differentiating them from Asian, Latin American and African men... Courtship and marriage was emphasized. His friend arrived at his shop and joined in the "culturation".<br /><br />We kindly told them it was the least of our worries as Angie and I were already married. But no, being married, he said, was an advantage as those married would suffice with certain "consenting adults" arrangements... more mature... less whiney, and the like. The weird thing is, he appeared to genuinely orient us with how things were around here yet we felt like he was suggesting that it was OK and that as we are human, some things just happen during weak moments. how existential. Angie and I were like: "Asa na man ni padung ning istoryaha ni?"<br /><br />Anyway, we thanked them for the info and graciously declined their offer to have dinner with them or hitch a ride in his car to ISS. We said goodbyes and rounded the bend, praying we wouldn't be too lost in the maze of streets. We were ready to get lost but the two spotted us so we couldn't anymore decline the offer for a ride back to ISS.<br /><br />Well, aside from the kindness, at least we got to ride a BMW for a few minutes... but boy was that both scary and film-material huh?</span>Reg Macalandaghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13660217648435205146noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2078670700316704396.post-36081734457870474102008-09-01T15:06:00.008+02:002008-09-02T11:41:12.392+02:00Settling in Part 2<span style="font-family:lucida grande;">since the first week here is supposedly all orientations, i have a relaxed schedule.<br /><br />funny though coz i woke up early, 5AM and had breakfast of brown bread, pesto spread, blue cheese and milk. haha lysho. back at home i woke up around 8-9 am and no breakfast. lunch had been my first meal of the day. it's my body clock may be. may be it's still confused. why else would i have woke up at 5AM. whew! i am amazed at myself. it was colder as i stepped out of the building. i was just in my knee-length shorts, t-shirts and shawl.<br /><br /></span><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://crossroads.journalismcentre.com/images/Reviews/secondhand/Regins_Kringloop.jpg"><img style="margin: 0pt 10px 10px 0pt; float: left; cursor: pointer; width: 200px; height: 271px;" src="http://crossroads.journalismcentre.com/images/Reviews/secondhand/Regins_Kringloop.jpg" alt="" border="0" /></a><span style="font-family:lucida grande;">i decided to wander a few blocks away from Dorus to find </span><span style="font-family:lucida grande;">KRINGLOOP, sort of a second-hand store (like ukay-ukay) and i found a handful of winter coats. <span style="font-style: italic;">apat wala na lang diay ko gadala og pangwinter. gabug-at-bug-at lang sa akong luggage diay to. hehe </span>i bought 3 pieces. it's past 11AM already so i hurried back to the dorm. i was keen on starting cooking my first meal this time. rice (mejo hilaw gamay) and ginisang string beans with sprinklings of cubed pork. plus a light soy sauce i bought at the oriental store. yummy!:)</span>Reg Macalandaghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13660217648435205146noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2078670700316704396.post-70662603849448639982008-09-01T14:36:00.002+02:002008-09-02T11:44:24.542+02:00Settling in<span style="font-family:lucida grande;">i usually make it a point to visit the church when i am in a new place. its a kind of thanksgiving for having been able to reach/visit the place.<br /><br /></span><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://www.denhaag.com/default.asp?id=7929"><img style="margin: 0pt 10px 10px 0pt; float: left; cursor: pointer; width: 320px;" src="http://www.denhaag.com/default.asp?id=7929" alt="" border="0" /></a><span style="font-family:lucida grande;"><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br />so, aug 31, being a sunday, i went along with the other Filipino ISS scholars to the Church of Our Savior. i was not disappointed. i felt the mass was well celebrated. most of the people shook each other's hands during the "peace" part. i joined in. i also sang the mass songs. i knew them back in high school at the Holy Spirit School. i felt a genuine feeling of thanksgiving. the whole church was also a multitude of cultures and i saw a good number of Filipino-looking fellows. judging from their smiles and congenial gestures, i think they also were pleased to find us there. after church, we went through the back of the church and walked to the grocery store, C1000.<br /><br />another pinay student, adel, was kind enough to accompany us to shop for some food stuff and bare essentials we need to get us through the week. <span style="font-style: italic;">palamuot</span> na experience. the stuff were probably not so expensive in euros but we kept doing conversions in pesos everytime we picked a product so it was like, <span style="font-style: italic;">aahhh...kamahal. a 4.5 </span>kilo of rice, for example, cost 3.99 euros. this went on as we hopped from one grocery store to another, looking for cheaper goods. C1000 to Xenos to Amazing Oriental to Albert Heijn. i found it interesting that the large grocery bags are not for free so our kind sister Adel, who had the proper sense to bring along extra grocery bags, let us borrow.<br /><br />we had to walk most of the time. it was supposedly cool as most of the people just walk around here or go on bikes but really... the groceries for the week weighed almost like a sack of rice so again, i could not appreciate the walking part just right there. <span style="font-style: italic;">dili pareha sa ato nga naay tricycle anytime or bagger or porter. </span>people were out in the streets by the time we were doing panic buying. you know those that you see in the movies, hanging out in the side streets, drinking coffee, relaxing with friends while we had another round of backbreaking and ungodly postures.<span style="font-style: italic;"><br /><br />haay... so much for pacute-cute.</span><br /><br />but the shops were really cute...quaint... they don't have a mall but really malls could not have compensated for that feeling of intimacy , quaintness and classy-ness of the place... i promised myself that i should go back here and do walking..paseo.. without the loads of commodities in my hands and back... soon...soon... </span>Reg Macalandaghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13660217648435205146noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2078670700316704396.post-23578916273062702942008-09-01T14:19:00.000+02:002008-09-01T14:30:10.922+02:00ISS registration<span style="font-family: georgia;"><span style="font-family: lucida grande;">right after i slumped down in one of the large chairs in my room, i had to immediately go to the ISS, for registration. there were sliding doors (murag door sa MetroCentre Hotel sa lobby bitaw:), kanang mo-open ra inig duol na ka) we met Ms. Cynthia Recto-Carreon, a Filipina who has long been working at ISS. her presence is very comforting. registration was a breeze. everything was arranged. the student affairs office people welcomed us warmly. there were free coffee, tea, apples and raisin bread to while us during the wait for our turn in the registration. we each were given kits and the key to our pigeonhole, sort of our mailbox at ISS. we had our picture-taking for our IDs in a flash. </span><br /></span>Reg Macalandaghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13660217648435205146noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2078670700316704396.post-73550210782525877192008-09-01T13:33:00.001+02:002008-09-02T08:44:28.453+02:00Schiphol Airport to Den Haag<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjLxmuZFaRtewAJS3d02H_3BxUisVsPhkhalh2vM7vNKg601V_uDqfW7Jqsf2_1BuhZ8-OzClR3QR63lLntZ_1Rn1X8NtIv8-YOwG9yRePSCMr2Ue8pc75kxaU7YybM0RMwEK3alhcxXXY/s1600-h/PICT0125.JPG"><img style="margin: 0pt 10px 10px 0pt; float: left; cursor: pointer;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjLxmuZFaRtewAJS3d02H_3BxUisVsPhkhalh2vM7vNKg601V_uDqfW7Jqsf2_1BuhZ8-OzClR3QR63lLntZ_1Rn1X8NtIv8-YOwG9yRePSCMr2Ue8pc75kxaU7YybM0RMwEK3alhcxXXY/s320/PICT0125.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5241309985653678418" border="0" /></a><br /><span style="font-family:lucida grande;">It was a weird feeling. i left manila at 10:45AM, the sun shining brightly and arrived at the Schiphol airport the sun still up. As soon as the plane touched down, I thought the scenery was familiar. Verdant fields, only more organized in a "planned" kind of way. Contrary to the Manila Airport, Schiphol was less noisy and less populated. There were seven of us NFP scholars in the same plane. We congregated at the luggage claim with our there gargantuan bags. A year's provision. Some of us stopped by the money exchange service available at the airport right in front of the luggage claim. we went out to the waiting area with our bags. My <span style="font-style: italic;">calvario</span> has just started. the backbreaking drag-pull-lift exercise had to be and i had no choice. A student volunteer from ISS was there to guide us to the school. This has been a tradition among Filipino scholars here. attend to new students as they arrive and help them settle in. We each had to take out 7.30 euros for the train ticket but as we only have bills, Mike had to pay for us for the moment. We went down the train station and waited for our turn. Not all of us could get in the train at once so some of us, including me, had to wait for the next ride to Den Haag Central Station. There is a 30 minute interval per train stop. At the bus station, we had to buy bus tickets to take us to Mortenstraat (am not so sure if i got this right, basta the nearest stop to ISS, our school). This is where we had to buy a strip for trams and buses. 6.90 euros. <span style="font-style: italic;">patatakan lang kada sakay</span>. The bus looked cute. It was real long with an accordion-type of something in the middle. perhaps to make it easy to turn around curves and bends. Another <span style="font-style: italic;">bitad-bitad</span> sa mga bags. <span style="font-style: italic;">makawa jud</span> poise. And another final bitad-bitad from the bus to ISS. But no! My dorm, Dorus Rijkersplein, was located still in the next building and my room was in the 5th floor... and mother of God---the elevator was stuck. huhu Buti na lang may kind enough pinoy student who helped me bring up my luggage to my room. haayyy. and my room was biigg with a large window overlooking the courtyard...hehe</span>Reg Macalandaghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13660217648435205146noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2078670700316704396.post-46067700572043818742008-09-01T12:57:00.000+02:002008-09-01T13:32:15.192+02:001st plane trip abroad<span style="font-family: lucida grande;">my first trip abroad. netherlands. from the malate pensionne, i taxied to the Ninoy Aquino International Airport with more than 30 kilos of luggage. KLM economy class has a 20-kilo limit so I had to squeeze in more than a year of clothes and study materials within the limit. good thing they still have a 12-kilo limit for hand baggages so there. i have not started problematizing the weight of my luggage. my husband ryan had been there to see me off. therefore, i get free porterage as yet.:) all i had to do was pray i would not exceed. excess baggage costs 30 euros per kilo. save for a few dollar bills and what is left of my Philippine money (barely P2000), i only have 200 euros as baon in case of delay of my student stipend. whew.but god is good and i passed thru without excess. at the immigration, the immigration officer wondered why there were quite a number of us students off to netherlands. hmmm... perhaps the netherlands fellowship is quite generous with scholarships this year. my passport holds a Schengen visa... i have only an inkling of what this implies at the moment.:) the whole plane ride took about 12-14 hours. food was good and the dutch steward/stewardess were genuinely nice and attentive. i stood up quite a few times in the plane, trying to check out which part of the world have we passed by. one also has to do this to ease up your legs. <span style="font-style: italic;">contra-binhod.</span>hehe at the backend portion of the plane, i chatted with other passengers while filling a plastic glass with juice. my sinuses felt a bit heavy with mucus or something. must be the altitude. overflowing juice, coffee and water. was even able to grab a chocolate in the counter too.:) i thought i saw the Gobi desert and the Ural mountains. i was in a different plane... level...not quite nirvanic though. back on the seat, i made it to about 3-4 movies: Kung Fu Panda, a Helent Hunt movie, and another two i could'nt remember. and yes, global music also in the radio station while reading "A Year in the World" by Francis Mayes. good one for travelling, thanks to liza m.:) i kept checking the temperature outside and how far are we from Amsterdam. KLM has this cool guide map and electronic data on distance, altitude, time (both in manila and amsterdam), & outside temperature. i relaxed as soon as i saw the outside temperature register at around 20something. i thought, <span style="font-style: italic;">kaya ra ni. mura ra'g aircon.</span>:)</span>Reg Macalandaghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13660217648435205146noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2078670700316704396.post-56673902170794798302008-08-29T19:51:00.000+02:002008-08-29T19:53:27.683+02:00New Post<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhaRKAd3S2VNpO9cgoOX0_cMC5mPMNPd8k-pSdXAWOHQT7A1GhPznrIaIp60b6_gyVzfVfZ5x0cvLq-QRbWJpo4qm5RpEMYBmHx6XwwHU3pEdPK1BGFCAj7I9fGySCCY6ErVegUChdgW1A/s1600-h/PICT0062.JPG"><img style="cursor: pointer;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhaRKAd3S2VNpO9cgoOX0_cMC5mPMNPd8k-pSdXAWOHQT7A1GhPznrIaIp60b6_gyVzfVfZ5x0cvLq-QRbWJpo4qm5RpEMYBmHx6XwwHU3pEdPK1BGFCAj7I9fGySCCY6ErVegUChdgW1A/s320/PICT0062.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5239999183506518562" border="0" /></a><br /><br /><br />Lorem ipsum sit dolor.Reg Macalandaghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13660217648435205146noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2078670700316704396.post-32528144863877280772008-08-29T19:17:00.000+02:002008-08-29T19:35:44.991+02:00Test Broadcast<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhNUdIjRDalPP2CCjMQ77FTPrwu-xZ13yrtXeSeH6IXvMXcZy-N3Ck0MkskEIsWQhqf-rAz85KNbgRpa86_dIK41wtL4j-Xmnyp23K7WURNLaOwh4Hugri8frcs9C_hB9pICuSa7QKvs5g/s1600-h/PICT0017.JPG"><img style="margin: 0pt 10px 10px 0pt; cursor: pointer;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhNUdIjRDalPP2CCjMQ77FTPrwu-xZ13yrtXeSeH6IXvMXcZy-N3Ck0MkskEIsWQhqf-rAz85KNbgRpa86_dIK41wtL4j-Xmnyp23K7WURNLaOwh4Hugri8frcs9C_hB9pICuSa7QKvs5g/s320/PICT0017.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5239994216374052226" border="1" /></a><br /><br />This is a test broadcast for Reg's blog. This website is created by <a href="http://ryanmacalandag.blogspot.com/">Ryan Macalandag</a> for Reg as a convenient online chronicle of a Filipina woman's travel to Europe.<br /><br />Hopefully, Reg will be posting stories, news and photos to journal her life in the Netherlands -- or wherever she may have gone to.<br /><br />Please come back regularly for more.<br /><br />-ryanReg Macalandaghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13660217648435205146noreply@blogger.com0