Speedo Jumpstart Swim Fiesta 2008

Last Saturday (May 24) was Karen and Che’s day of swim competition at the Philippine Columbian Association (PCA) at Paco. It’s actually their first ever experience at competing. It’s just too bad that DH and I were not able to attend coz of our prior registration to join World Vision’s Lakbay-Pagasa which coincided on the same date.

Anyway, Che and Karen have continued to swim with BLSS at Metropolis even after their graduation to makeup for some lost days (due to their school review) and in part to be trained by the BLSS teachers for competition. This competition was a surprise for us.

Here’s a nice shot of Karen doing a beautiful Butterfly. That's good body undulation with palms facing back at the recovery.

Meeting My World Vision Child through Lakbay-Pagasa

Today, DH and I had a very rare opportunity to finally see and meet our sponsored child in person. This is something that many World Vision (sometimes spelled as Worldvision) parents only dream. You see, World Vision has strict policies against sponsors meeting the sponsored kids on their own and this is to protect children (as well as the sponsors) from any kind of potential abuse or exploitation – and most sponsors understand this. And so communication with the kids is limited to letter-writing with letters passing through World Vision.


The invitation letters for Lakbay-Pagasa (Journey of Hope) have been given out a month in advance although I’m sure the planning has been many months before. This is a project of World Vision Philippines to facilitate a meeting of World Vision kids in Zambales and their respective sponsors. The meeting place would be the Ocean Adventure attraction at the Subic Bay Free Port.

Having been a child sponsor for over 3 years, I knew this was the first project of its kind from World Vision Philippines. The fact that I get to go to Ocean Adventure at Subic (my first!) was certainly an added bonus. And so, without much hesitation, DH and I registered for it for Php1,550 each. The amount also pays for the sponsored child’s trip from Zambales to Subic. We didn’t tag along our own 4 kids so our attention will be on our sponsored kid, Recalyn. And we’re glad we did coz Che and Karen would be competing in Speedo’s Jumpstart Swim Fiesta at the Philippine Columbian Association on the same day (May 24, Saturday) to culminate their swim lessons after graduation.

As planned, we left the car at the World Vision office at Quezon Avenue. We attended an orientation and finally met the WV coordinators whom, until then, I’ve only spoke to over the phone. These are Rochelle Balatbat and Elaine Esteves. They’re much warmer in person of course. To facilitate the activities, we were grouped into teams. We were in the Green Team. We met and chatted with other Sponsors as well. At around 7am, we left the World Vision office for Subic at All Hand’s beach.

We reached Subic at almost 10am. And I was rather disappointed that we didn't pass through the new SCTex Expressway (Subic-Clark). After halo-halo refreshments, the teams were paired with the kids’ teams as the sponsors were moved to the kids’ pavilion hall. It’s good that we were reminded of the names of our our kids. Since I sponsor 2 kids, I forgot who is from Zambales and who is from Palawan! After a few more seconds, I recognized Recalyn based on her picture folder that's been sitting on my office table for years. Her name on her green id finally confirmed it was her. Yup, for many of the sponsors, it was a dramatic moment.


Naturally, everybody started taking pictures. All the WV volunteers helped in taking pictures as it was expected that the sponsors were eager to get photos of their kids. From the pavilion, we moved out to the beach to take more pictures. Wow, it’s been a loooonnggg time since I’ve been to this beach. I don’t even remember seeing the cement structures (cottages which are mini-houses, actually) behind us. It was just all sand at my last visit here.


The sea however hasn’t changed. Except for the nearby mountains which weren’t as green as before, everything else looks the same. The sea beckons me for a refreshing swim and I’m glad I brought along my compact swim gear. The invitation program didn’t specify a slot for swimming although there was a “free time” slot. So I knew I had to sneak in a little swim in that free time. I’d be in a pleasant surprise later on.


Once again, the kids and sponsors were ushered into the pavilion and grouped into their teams. The sponsors introduced themselves to everyone and shared their experiences with World Vision. There was a priest (Fr. Jess) in our team and he's been sponsoring the child for the longest time - 6 years. The girl is now in high school. There was one OFW who timed his vacation so he could meet his sponsored child. After the sharing, the teams prepared the group cheer for the parlor games.

There was much activity at the beachfront. There was kayaking, jetskiing, and those humongous water bikes that paddle water. Curiously, lifeguards are posted and are active in hollering their warnings to the usual “pasaways”. Here’s the group getting ready for the games. Plastic orange cones were laid out for the obstacle course.


That’s the pavilion behind DH and Naneng (Recalyn’s nickname). I'm impressed that Naneng isn't very shy at all although she has a soft voice. Naneng is small for an eleven-year old. They're both the same age as my third daughter, Sandra, but Sandra's a full head taller than her. Naneng's in Grade 6 but she looks like a 2nd or 3rd grader. Of corz you have to realize that many of these kids are native Aetas or have Aeta ancestry.

There were 53 sponsors in all and 45 sponsor guests riding in 3 Victory Liner buses, so that’s a sizeable yet manageable group. It’s the Red and Green Team riding in our bus. WV volunteer Karen Sioson is our teammaster for the Green Team.


Finally the games have started. There were actually some foreigners among the sponsors. And interestingly, many of the sponsors didn’t look “rich” at all. And I believe they're just your ordinary employees or office workers who just want to help without expecting anything in return. Although most are parents, some were so young you wouldn't expect them to be sponsoring kids. And there was also Fr. Jess, a Parish Priest from Paranaque, who was having problems with his blood pressure. Maybe it’s the heat, but even a couple of the kids, Naneng included, became dizzy and nauseaus.




Here’s the Green Team getting instructions for the games. Looking like a golf pro with her green shirt, green cap and a matching green wrist band to boot, DH is dressed for the part, eh? That’s Karen with her back to the camera. The WV kids wore WV t-shirts for identification. The WV volunteers wore either orange or black shirts.


Lunch Time! And everyone is hungry, tired and ready to dig in. Again, it was the volunteers who were serving everybody. What great service! We had Chowking packed meals for our lunch. We had this nice chat with Nina, one of the WV who shared with us her career (Occupational Therapy) and her stay with WV. Wasting no time, I quickly wolfed down my lunch leaving much of the rice. I didn’t want to be too full for the swim.


And swim, I did! One thing I noticed now (and surprised me) is the water is so very deep in just a few meters from the beach. And that is why not too many people in the water beyond 10 meters. The nice thing about this beach is the lack of rocks and corals to hurt you underfoot. The downside is there’s not much color or variety to see if you wear goggles. Here’s me in my famous float, the “nakahiga sa banig” float.


Not convinced? Here’s a magnified shot. No camera tricks here. Cool isn’t it? Goggles on my forehead, eyes closed, I place the palms of my hands behind my head in a relaxed posed with the toes jutting out of the water. Can YOU do that? Seriously though, I’m glad I took that swim. It was cool and refreshing and the summer heat didn’t bother me at all.


It was roughly a one-hour swim. DH called me to say that the kids’ presentation was about to start. Yup, apparently they prepared a little number for us. The kids sang a song in a dialect we didn’t quite understand but it was certainly interesting and well appreciated.


And then a few kids gave a very funny and amusing native Aeta dance number. A boy with short curly hair stood in the center while a couple of girls danced with their arms flapping like those of a chicken. The actions seemed to portray an Aeta story. The boy in the foreground used a tin can to beat as a drum for rhythm.


After a few more minutes, results of the games were announced and our team only managed second place, but hey, everyone had a fantastic time. From the All Hand’s beach, we proceeded to Ocean Adventure.

It took quite a while to get tickets for the entire group, since there were so many people that day. Also, no food or juice drinks allowed! Water and milk are okay. The group was so big it had to be divided into several batches. Here are a couple of pics at the aquarium center.




As soon as we got out of the aquarium center, we realized it had started to rain. And this is a definite no-no if you plan to go to Ocean Adventure. Some of the shows/ tours will be cancelled when it rains. Luckily, the rain stopped and we were treated to one of the main shows, the Dolphin show. The place was packed!


After 30 minutes of waiting, the show started. Setting the tone were drummers and fire dancers (without the fire). And then the dolphins and the false killer whale (only one) started. Seeing the stunts live was simply breathtaking. It was awesome!


Here’s a closeup of the dolphins with the trainers. Too bad, there wasn’t much time to wait for the Sea Lion show which the staff from Ocean Adventure said would start at 6pm. The kids had to go back to the mountains of Zambales and the coordinators didn’t want a late trip.


Finally, it was time to say goodbye – to Ocean Adventure and to the World Vision kids. Here’s DH giving Recalyn a token (a keropee pencil topper) at the kids’ bus right before departure.

Goodbye Recalyn. We enjoyed the trip, meeting you and we certainly hope to see you again! My hope for you is always to pray and study hard for your future.


I suppose having a sponsored kid at Zambales has its side benefits like this Ocean Adventure treat, but meeting my sponsored child truly caps this wonderful trip aptly called Lakbay-Pagasa.

Swim School Graduation Day 2008

Well today was Graduation Day for Che, Karen, Sandra and Renz. All except Renz (Basic) were in the Advanced classes. The event was held at Tribeca. We were there at around 2pm to get our shirts and register. Here's them checking out the t-shirts and bags in the goodies bags.

Swim Graduation Rehearsals

Today was rehearsal day at Tribeca. Apparently the Lozada group wanted a nice graduation day so hired video/photographers to take some pics and footages of the swimmers. These will be collated for the video presentation on Saturday.

Here are some pics taken during the graduation rehearsals. Skies were overcast so that explains the dim pictures. Look, trees INSIDE the pool!

More Swim Lessons 2008

After Sandra’s and Renz’s swim lessons, it’s now Karen’s and Che’s turns. I’m astonished at the turn of events coz I thought Karen wouldn’t even consider taking lessons. She’s had some water phobias before and after much prodding, she agreed. The prodding of course included the fact that Renz has become better with swimming. Corz, she didn’t want to be left out. And I suppose every time she’s left at home (Ate Che goes to review classes), she got bored and gave it some thought. And good that she did! Not exactly good for my pockets though, but hey, getting better with this skill for me is ALWAYS worthwhile. Here’s Karen and Che for the morning stretches and warm-up.

The Monodrama, Interpretive Reading Manual

We had a jampacked Toastmasters meeting last night with 16 attendees! I took the role of General Evaluator which I think went well. There were some points that I missed though like commenting on the Table Topics master as well as the other Evaluation roles. I took so much time explaining the SOTTEN acronym, but I thought many found it useful.


I also gave the 3rd speech project in the Interpretive Reading Manual, The Monodrama. The title of the speech is “The Green Goblin’s Invitation” and the text may be found here. Based from the applause, I thought it went extremely well. Gov. Gles Fuerte evaluated me and commended the vocal variety, body movement and choice of topic. The (lack of) props was stated as an opportunity for improvement. Actually, I had props like the fake ears I made, but I wasn’t too comfortable wearing them. I didn’t think it would have made much of an impact though since the audience became familiar with the character when I gave the introduction. And the audience liked the performance just the same (especially the 17-year old kids!). Click here to see all my Toastmasters speeches online.

But he’s spot on regarding the topic – very interesting and relevant. I was looking for a topic/character that had great appeal to the audience. With Spider-man 3 just recently shown, I thought that was the perfect topic and quickly searched for a monologue on any of the characters. I found the Green Goblin’s confrontational monologue to be just what I wanted – very expressive and dramatic.

Swim Lessons 2008

This year, it’s no longer the Eric Buhain group (PROSCAP-Professional Swimming Coach Association of the Philippines) that gives swim lessons at Starland Resort Metropolis aka the Garden Resort. It’s Bert Lozada now and for a hefty fee too – Php2,750. I remember when I had my basic lessons way back in 1996(?), it was just Php1,800 under PROSCAP. I suppose the premium for insurance added much to the fee. But even with the higher price tag, DH seemed excited enrolling the two for the 2nd batch on the 8-9am slot. :)

Nobody had lessons last year coz of the huge traffic jams at Alabang with the flyover renovation. But with traffic easing a bit this year, Sandra and Renz (finally!) enrolled. Sandra’s there for her Advanced lessons having taken swim lessons in 2006. Sandra specifically requested lessons coz she said she wanted to learn Butterfly (great, Da!). Renz is taking the basic lessons (Jammers1) Tita Gay’s now taking the 2 for their swim lessons. Tita Linda’s Michael is joining the two. DH and I managed to take them last May 2 and 3.

Early morning stretching. Sandra's the rightmost girl with the black/blue suit. Renz is the smallest boy.