Job Gallevo

Soooooo …. I’ve been stalking around lately (through means of Facebook) and I feel like I’m the only one going through this weird anxiety attack over the Fiji group taking over.  I feel territorial, it’s like somebody is evading the Global room when I/we have already claimed our space. And trust me, I already have “marked” that room quite a bit already (you know what I mean *farts*). But with jokes aside, I’ve read a lot of reassuring emails saying stuff about torches being passed and moving on but frankly I’m like a record on replay. The routine kind of looks like this: look at pictures, listen to Goyo Goyo Goyo, look at pictures, listen to Fusion, look at pictures, stalk next year’s group THEN repeat. It’s so weird … I feel dirty; it’s like I’m spying … it’s like I’m trying to be part of their experience too. I mean everyone else is handling it so well, while I’m going through some sort of stalking anxiety attack over next year’s group, when I should be sleeping. I guess their competitiveness plays such a big role because I feel threatened, but in a good way because more money for the program the better. Another reason I’m probably experiencing “separation anxiety” is because what the 2011’s group is going through is exactly what we went through just this time last year. It’s like we are reliving memories, which makes moving on so much harder because you remember everything you felt back then, which was: OMG WE ARE GOING TO __________. For me, it still feels like I’m going on the trip next year. Yikes! I should snap out of this soon.  I guess I’ll soon have to realize that we had our run and that our memories will always live on just like the program. I’m hoping this weird feeling is temporary because I can’t take this feeling of being pressured to move on. It is up to me though to ultimately take a decision and go forward and use what I have learned, and apply it to my life and to the ones I love. For now, I’ll keep a piece of this torch for me just for my own sanity, but just wait … when I’m ready, I will fully and open heartedly give and PASS this piece of the torch to their rightful owners, the Fijian’s of 2011. Seriously though, doesn’t Mongolia 2010 sound so much better? OH SNAP!

Anyways … WELCOME TO THE FAMILY: COLTS TO FIJI 2011! You all deserved this wonderful opportunity like us, so make us proud or else I am not giving that piece of the torch back to you guys. Haha

Job … now know as an old (Mongolian) fart *sighs*

This blog entry was written within the first week of coming back from Mongolia but due to personal reasons I decided that it might be better to share with it to everyone at time I felt more comfortable with the situation:

            Goodbye. One of those words that we take for granted in our regular lives but never really see the power of how this one word can make a difference in our lives. When we left Mongolia, goodbye was one of the words that I or should I say we sadly shared with our new found Mongolian friends (Nymaka, Justin and many more). It was a word that brought upon a sense of closure that was needed when we departed from that little village of Zuunkhara. Even though one word cannot explain everything you want to say, a simple goodbye can mean so much and also give a glimmer of hope that one day you might see each other again.

Upon arrival back to the YVR I received some major news that was the total opposite of what I imagined I would be hearing the first thing back from the amazing and beautifully enlightening trip from Mongolia. A vision of my parents and sister filled my eyes as I rushed out of the doors of the international arrivals in my grey Mongolian deel ready to share every memory with them. In reality though, all I saw was my dad out of the enormous sea of other people’s parents and familiar faces of some close friends. The only thing that ran through my mind was: “Where the heck is my Mom and Ate (ate is sister in Filipino)? They HAVE to be here!”. But as the distance between my Dad became shorter, the more my anxiety level climbed. So we hugged, like any other person would do after being reconnected to a loved one, but at the back of my mind a big question still lingered in my head: “Where are they?”, so I had to ask my dad this question before curiosity turned into rage. The answer was … they are at the Philippines! Confusion and anger filled my head! Why did they have to leave and why were they not here when I wanted to see them the most.  The demeanor of my dad quickly changed from happy to concerned and my peripheral vision sighted a couple of my closest friends near me. Things were not looking good. Something happened, something not good. In a few seconds I was informed that my grandfather died from lung and kidney complications on March 22, 2010 on my Mom’s birthday during my time in Mongolia.  At the airport, I was angry and in pain. WHY? Why did it have to be now? Why did he have to die? Why couldn’t he hold on longer? Why didn’t I get to say GOODBYE? Tears flowed, and it was too much to handle. The long awaited arrival I have been so excited for turned to be one of the most shocking and depressing days of my life. The contrast from being excited to feeling pain virtually took seconds. The thing that makes me the saddest is that I didn’t even get to talk to him before he passed on. I can still remember the 5 am jogs at the Riverbanks in the Philippines, the endless times he would give me money to buy some fishballs and candy from local street-food carts and driving on the passenger seat on his Honda Civic with the aircon on full blast in the boiling hot weather.  The memories make it even harder to move on and the feeling of emptiness that lies within me makes it difficult for me to do anything with joy.  One thing that is for sure that my arrival at YVR is one I will have never expected but it is one I will always remember. Being the last grandparent I had, the death of my beloved Lolo triggered many tears and countless dreams about him which made moving on very difficult but I’m glad that I had my friends, Mr. Matheny, my dad and my Mom (who was a phone call away) to recuperate from the past events of the amazing and equally tragic three weeks. At this point acceptance and sadness is still playing its part in the story but standing one week from the bitter-sweet arrival, I can truly say that I now fully know the meaning of a Goodbye and the closure that comes along with this simple word. So with that: Goodbye Lolo, I love you so much!

            On a lighter note, I can fully say the trip was amazing. So many memories and lessons learned have been acquired in such a short time period. The one thing I can say is that I now know how important my family is to me. Not being able to see my mom and sister is quite difficult especially after one of my loved ones has passed away but it makes me appreciate my family so much more. Family = blissful support and love. I also have a new appreciation for my toilet and shower, which I may add looks quite beautiful. Home cooked food is so delicious, but that’s a given. My bed here maybe soft but jetlag still takes over no matter how tired or awake I am, but this luxury is still so weird to have. But as much as I love being at home, I miss waking up to 29 other smelly students. I miss seeing McCallum the first thing in the morning and sing “Part of Your World” every other minute of the day. I miss hammering away on the school and picking up rocks, as Ms. Thomsing pushes us to drink some water. I miss Mrs. Kippan’s support and her awesome seat sharing ways *wink* hahaha. I miss dances offs with a particular teacher named *cough* Matheny. I want to relive the Mongolian discos, see Anji, Buddy, Sete and Chinggis. I want to eat potatoes with hot sauce. I want to make more benches, sing goyo goyo like there’s no tomorrow and chant every possible PUHA and Jasmar song while teasing Laura about her police man. I miss helping the dentist with their patients and learning about so much cool stuff about teeth and the smile that come from it. I miss conversations with Jeremy a.k.a. my crying buddy and Alex a.k.a. my spill-my-guts person to talk to. I miss being like an annoying brother to my BFFs: Natasha and Justine. I miss long bus rides filled with rapping and songs and Nicole’s weird riddles. I MISS EVERYTHING! But as much as I miss all of these things I need to slowly sink back to normal life and try to work as hard as possible in school (one of the epiphanies I experience on the trip is the value of education and the wonders it can do).  So where does this leave me. I guess reflecting back on the past three weeks (the 2 week trip and the 1 week back in Canada) I have become a stronger and more life-loving individual. I guess all the trials I went through just the first day back in Canada will live with me forever because I know I have learned so much about the importance of life and family that day.  The experiences on the trip paved for a stronger and passionate Job and I know that this Job will value more things in everyday life more than he has ever did. With this, all I have to say is: THANK YOU GOD for the loving teachera, amazing friends and family you have given me and lastly for letting me experience a TRIP OF A LIFETIME IN MONGOLIA! Thanks everyone and I miss my fellow Mongols

Job

P.S. Rest in Peace Lolo. I love you and there will always be a space in my heart for you. I hope you’re watching over me from up there

HAPPY 18^TH BIRTHDAY TO MY BESTEST BFF MIGI!!!! WOHOOOOOOOO 18!!!

First of all I just want to say that yesterday was such a good experience.  Yesterday I had a chance to be part of the dental team. I got to see people get teeth pulled out, decaying teeth, and all kinds of disease which was kind of nasty but cool at the same time because we were helping people relieve their pain. That experience also taught me that oral hygiene is really important because seeing kids suffer first hand made me realize that I am truly blessed to be living in such a developed country. The day before yesterday we also got to host our very own cultural night in the village.  We taught the kids to play hockey and we got to play basket ball against them.  Its amazing how sports can bring people together without words.  Construction wise, the school looks really good, yesterday we got the ceiling finished (I made a benchJ) and  we finished some of the floor, a fire pit and a rock pathway.  I’m really excited because in an hour we are officially going to hand over the school to the village. The closing ceremony is going to be sad but it finally ties up everything we have worked so hard on this year. Goodbye for now …. And Happy Birthday Migi!

Job

P.S. I MISS MY SISTER … weird right?

MRCH 20^TH 2010 Part 2

After heading home from the closing ceremony, I feel so complete.  Everything that everyone told me I would feel or learn totally sunk in. The ceremony showed me in reality that the school we built will educate those who are too poor or have no other school to seek refuge in.  This school might and hopefully provide an end to the cycle of poverty for some kid because education can lead to jobs and jobs can lead to a future for some child that will attend our school.  The closing ceremony was really cool because each student was part of it.  I got to say thank you to Sete, our translator. The funny thing was that we thought that Sete would have to translate a thank you speech about himself.  Sadly, he didn’t … hahaha ! The talk after the closing ceremony was so heartfelt because we all got to express our feelings about the program, our family, basically anything that we felt that we learned today.  Today, everything came into place. Everything that dad and mom would say to me, all the things I heard about Global Perspectives and thoughts and questions that I have been thinking were either solved or made sense to me today.  I finally understood what my parents were talking about, especially my dad when he says: “Sanay ako sa hirap” meaning “I’m used to living a hard lifestyle”.  My dad would say this when the going gets tough in situations and you just have to live with it.  This made more sense to me because I got to see poverty first hand, and now I know that it the people’s problems here are much more severe than any problem I’ll have in Canada.  I also got to hug everyone today, and share some tears of joy.  Down to the point it was an emotional day, and at the back of my mind I could not help but thank GOD for everything, especially this past week.  I guess everyone here (Global Perspectives group) knows by now that I’m truly a family person, because today I got to share to everyone here how important my family is to my life.  I’ll totally miss all my new found Mongolian friends and cute children I have seen the past week.  I definitely have learned something from all of them, which is the value of a smile.  What can I say, this day has just been too overwhelming, all I can do is soak it all up.  Good night for now because we are off to a late night train to a different Mongolian city, Erdenet. Bye Bye

Job

P.S. Happy Birthday Migi and I MISS YOU, MOM, DAD AND SIS!

*Entry was accidentally posted on Darren’s blog, Sorry about that Thank you Laura for letting me know

- Tony*

Today is the third day of working on the school at the work site. Today is also the third day not showering. The day of nasty fingernails and dusty
buggers. But the third day at the work site is also know as the day that triggers the fights and disputes among the class.  The good thing is that so far today nothing has happened yet and hopefully nothing will arise. As I sit and write this blog one and a half walls have been built since the first wall, which  was built yesterday. The school is starting to look like a school. Yesterday we also got to go to another cultural night which was really cool because we got to learn even more about Mongolian culture.  It is really neat to see the how they like to dance to music from the western world as well. This cultural night like the one before had a dance party component as well which was really fun because lots of Mongolian teens tried to get to know you. Today though, for lunch we ate at the other side of the dormitory where they have a culinary arts program. The program is not as elaborate as the one at Richmond High’s but it is so cool to see people who are interested at the same thing as I am.  The food was really good, its just like the food that we had to research for when Justine and I were looking for traditional Mongolian food when we helped Mrs. Anthony with the menu for the Global Perspectives dinner. Looking back on the past six days of the trip, I really have learned to love my family so much and the home that I live in.  Though the village where we are staying at is quite modern and is not as deep in poverty as I thought they would be (some people use cell phones, there is internet, and Lady Gaga is listen to here haha)it is still so hard to accept the fact that necessities we have back home are totally not common here. This really taught me the value of warm water, electricity, heat and the comfort of having a toilet because back in Richmond these things are so accessible.  I guess I better get back to working Ö Bye for now!

Job

P.S. I MISS MY DAD’S JOKES and we went to a VODKA FACTORY yesterday and my Mongolian name is Sukhe (pronounced Sooh Khe)

WOW! I’m finally here in Mongolia! Let me first say that I miss my Mom, Dad and Ate sooooooo much! I wish you could see how little food I’m have been eating. Yeah right. Anyways, the first day in Mongolia was amazing! We stayed in Ulan Batar for the night then we took the train to the village where we would be building our school. It’s so cool to see the Russian influence in this country. When we were on the train you could see the never-ending nothingness and a blanket of white snow covering everything.  I’ll say this now … IT IS FREEZING HERE but not as bad as I thought it would be. When we got to Zhunnkhara we were welcomed by such a cool group of teenagers, some dressed in their traditional style of clothing. We then got to see the Yurts where we would be sleeping and staying for the trip. Sadly things did not go as plan because when we stayed the night there the fires inside the traditional tents could not keep aflame.   It was a long cold night, but I just want to thank all the teachers for keeping us alive in that hellish night, because they were the ones who put wood into our fires every hour.  I think that moment right there just made me realize how important a home and shelter is in our lives.  But before that frosty night in the yurts, we went to the opening ceremony the village held for us.  That was some experience! I learned so much about Mongolian history, music, dances, writing, games, in short all most anything about Mongolia. I felt that we all united as one in this celebration because it was so cool to see how all the Mongolian teenagers connected to us, even though we are from totally different worlds.   We watched some pretty amazing traditional dances and presentations but the topper of the night was when there was a Michael Jackson dance break where the Mongolian teens danced to an MJ medley of songs. I think our class went crazy for that because they presented something to us that we all know and love. You can see how they are making an effort to show us that we are all the same. The next day we went started the work project, which was really tiring but it paid off so much at the end of the day when we could see our hard work.  We even have a little pet on the work site, he is a small black dog named Chinggis which is pretty cute but we have to stay away due to the risk of rabies.  I don’t think Chinggis has rabies though. After a hard days work we went to another cultural night hosted by a local high school.  We were expecting an evening full of traditional Mongolian facts, dances and culture but the funny thing was it was kind of the opposite.  This cultural night was about the unity within the two countries. And what else brings people together than dancing! So that night we had a dance party which consisted of some amazing music from North America and Mongolia.  Mongolian pop is sooooo cool, I think the whole global class is going to find that song and download it after the trip.  After the cultural night we had to head back to our new home, a dormitory because the yurt situation had to be sorted out again before we attempt sleeping there again. The dormitory space we had was quite small but we managed … it was a hot and cramped place which was the total opposite of the Yurts but at least I could feel my toes when I was sleeping. Right now, we are at the work site now so I guess I should say good bye for now!

P.S. I MISS MOM’S COOKING

Job

Today is THE day! Off to MONGOLIA

AHHHH!! I can’t sleep! I tried sleeping on my couch because I know that is one place where I am guaranteed a good night’s sleep. There is just something about my living room couch that make me so sleepy, but I guess the excitement and nerves are just to much that my family’s miracle couch cannot do anything anymore! Since I am awake, I took time to reflect on my journey in Global Perspectives. It is so weird how 1 year of preparation leads to 2 short and memorable weeks that will be forever etched in my mind.  Today especially, I found that a lot of people I knew that had a beautiful piece/speech they wanted to share with me before I leave. Some words of advice, some prayers and a lot of: “Don’t forget to get me a Mongolia (place word here)”, but all of them relevant and heart warming nevertheless.  Looking back, I feel so blessed to be part of this program and I am truly proud to be part of this family. My mind is all in a jumble because I have so much to talk about but there is one thing I want to touch upon before my mom starts to pull me back into my bed. I remember in one of the Global classes, Mr. Matheny said something about how we (the Global Perspectives class) are not just going to be helping people in need but they in return are going to be helping us as well. I remember Mr. M saying that we will understand what we he is talking about after the trip, but right now I’ am starting to some what understand what he is talking about.  While surfing my iTunes library a few day ago, I stumbled upon a song by an independent artist from San Francisco, musically know as Passion.  In the YouTube and Filipino-American community, Passion is widely popular acoustic artist. His music is greatly influenced by his love life, church and past experiences like any artist. In my iTunes library is a song called “Listen” by Passion which is about the Passion’s experience in Africa where he volunteered his time at a school for the blind and deaf.  I recall listen to this song so many times just for the soothing tone but now actually reading the lyrics and listening to the words, I truly know why I’ am so attached to this beautiful song. The song shows how his experience opens his eyes to reality of life and how he thanks God for all the blessing he has. You can find the song on this link where Passion explains his experience and the background info on the song, I greatly recommend EVERYONE to listen to this amazing song: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3jGLFBpeTKg

The lyrics are below (taken from his YouTube page, link above):

“Listen”
written/composed by Jeremy “Passion” Manongdo
inspired by the children of the Mampang School of the Deaf and Blind
written for David Manongdo (my younger brother with meningitis. He is deaf and cannot speak, walk, or talk)

Mama, you shoulda seen me today
Conversations with our hands
and smiles on our faces
Silly pictures, kodak moments for when I need it the most
Cuz once I fly away
I know my heart will stay right here
And I hope it never fades away

The sound of silence
The smile of a blind girl when she touches my hair
And realized that I had tears of joy rolling down my face
All i can sing is

chorus:
La, la, la, la , la, la, la, la
No better way to say it then
La, la, la, la , la, la, la, la

Papa, see this is more than words can say
But you would’ve been so proud
18 is just a number, cuz I became a man today
I realize that, we’re not alone in this circumstance, no.
See Love is the answer
and through this will God be glorified, be glorified

The sound of silence
And a picture of David in my pocket
Made it easier to understand
You’ve held them in Your hands all this time
All i can sing is

Da Na Si Da Na a si
Da unya me na si (it means Thank Him, Thank the Lord)

I found that this song somewhat helped me to mildly understand what Mr. Matheny is saying but we all know that the only way I’ll truly know what Passion and Mr. M are talking about is by actually embarking on the trip. I guess I’ll just have to wait … good thing where are only 9 hours left until we leave. Talk to you in Mongolia!!!!!!!

JOB

p.s. just to let you know mom … I already miss you

Must Check Off …

- Trying on an Olympic Gold medal

- Holding an Olympic torch

- Meeting an Olympic gold medalist

 Though most of us have all dreamed to do all of these tasks but I found a particular warm spot in my heart when I found out that I  would get to do all these tasks (mentioned above) in our very own Global Perspectives class.  Aside from that amazing class I also learned so much about Mr. Matheny’s brother (which he has been bragging about for quite a bit). I find his story (Mr. Daniel Igali) so inspiring because one simple dream changed and paved the way for his life. It’s so cool to see that when someone helps one person, that same person would be influenced to help others as well.  A prime example of that cycle in action is Daniel Igali because he now utilizes his foundation to help the less fortunate, because when he was in need of help there were strangers that continued to embrace him and help him in his times of need.  I hope in Mongolia that the help that we extend to village spreads so that the cycle of help and aid continues. Overall, I think that my outlook on our project in Mongolia has broadened because I came to a minute realization that we can really make a difference towards others, which in reaction will cause others to help.  This might seem obvious, but to me it is much more because we are not only helping a village but possibly a city or country due to the education we will be providing to the children. Now isn’t that exciting!

~24 MORE DAYS!!!

 Job

Since the last blog entry, a lot of things have happened.  School has gotten harder.  Marks have been getting tighter and university applications have been sneaking up around the corner.  I know that these reasons are not an excuse to neglect prior responsibilities but lately I have noticed that it’s just hard to remember to make time for certain things.  One of them is to blog right on this very website. It might seem weird that I’m saying this but I really have forgotten to update.  But as I write this right now, I have realized that blogging is a way to let out all my feelings. I’m just going to keep this short and sweet :and say that, thought there is little time, one can always make time for things that make’s one feel good inside.

A plane ticket to Mongolia would be really convenient right now especially after watching that Lonely Planet special during class.  I would never imagine that Mongolia would be like that.  All the interesting lost temples, deserts, and open grassy fields seem so enticing. The nomadic lifestyle seems really appealing because it is totally opposite to what we have in North America. Just the thought of some random stranger coming into your house for tea and leaving after a light meal seems so different, yet quite heart warming because everyone seems so friendly and open.  Here in North America, when a random stranger walks through your door, your first instinct is to call 911 or get them out of the house.  In addition, there is usually a negative connotation that comes along with strangers inviting themselves to other people’s houses.  Just the thought that people in Mongolia are so open makes me want to go there right now because if they are that inviting, I feel that we all would adjust even easier due to the openness in the community.  Even thinking about riding a horse through the open fields seems so freeing right now.  There has been so much stress lately that getting away from it all and doing something completely opposite from my daily schedule would truly replenish me.  I think that people really underestimate teens because they think that we all have it easy and that all we want to do is sleep.  Even though the last point may be true, the first one isn’t because being a grade 12 student is pretty difficult and tiring.  The pressure is really high as well because this year of school can pave a lot of our direction in life, which is quite scary. Maybe someone should try juggling these tasks: studying for a test, making a French brochure, going to work, directing a practice for a scene for the theatre festival, and writing a 3000 word essay. I know there will always be stressful situations but I think that right now it would be great to get away from it all and do something that doesn’t involve deadlines and the “future”.  All in all, I know that these annoying situations do fade and in due time we will all get to Mongolia, but for now I will just have to make do with some chocolate ice cream and Youtube to relieve some of the stress on this Friday night. I think I’m going to the fridge right now ….