So-Yeung: Past is past
IT WAS around six in the morning. The night's lingering shadows still cast gray tones over the cobbled streets and peeling walls. My friends and I sauntered down Vigan's Crisologo Street, a Unesco World Heritage Site that transported us to our country's colonial past.
So-Yeung: How to fall in love with Manila
“BEFORE we change the way Manila looks, we should first change how we look at Manila.”
Manila resident, theater actor, and well-known guide Carlos Celdran told our group this before he ended our tour of Intramuros. We had been following him for nearly two hours around Fort Santiago like...
So-Yeung: Failure
A FEW things in life can hurt more than failing. It grips the gut in a slow, twisting motion that causes the eyes to water and the heart to pound. Failure can make grown men weep like teenaged girls, and make teenaged girls pound walls with their balled-up fists like grown men. And no matter how...
So-Yeung: Family matters
FAMILY, the basic unit of society, is such a solid word, but in reality is so flexible it can be added, subtracted, multiplied and divided in myriad ways.
When I got married, I thought family would mean just my husband and I, and the kids that would come God willing. We would play house...
So-Yeung: The PBB dreams
HAS there been an epidemic? One day, all of the sudden, nearly a dozen students from the third year batch were absent. What happened?
So-Yeung: Cars collide
THE moment I learned how to drive, the moment I stood in line at LTO to process my Driver’s License, the moment I first drove onto the public road, the moment I did my first overtake and U-turn on the highway, I knew an accident was in my future. It was in the cards.
So-Yeung: 2012: The end is near
IF THE Mayans were right, then this year will be humanity’s last.
The family had already convened and unanimously appointed my brother, being the most muscled amongst us, as designated bunker builder, canned goods stockpiler, and overall protector in case of 1) a catastrophic meteor crash...
So-Yeung: Paputok in Davao
ONCE upon a time, firecrackers were allowed in Davao City.
The New Year’s Eves of my childhood boomed and crackled with life. They shook the ground, made children shriek in a mixture of excitement and terror, and reduced fierce guard dogs to shivering cowards howling helplessly in the...
So-Yeung: Ang Tiguwang
I GUESS this is what it feels to get old.
I am flat on my back, trying not to think of how the thin cushion of my sleeping bag cannot mask the hardness of the ground beneath it. I am already feeling sorry for myself and it is just the first night of the Girl Scout citiwide encampment...
So-Yeung: Sarah
PEOPLE think that inside the four walls of a classroom, teachers do all the teaching, but many times, it’s the students who school their teachers. Such is the case with my student Sarah.
So-Yueng: Stranger at the Cemetery
THE names on the ground, shimmering under the glare of the sunlight, are unfamiliar. "So Pue, So Sicheng, So Si An, Yu Phi (Siok Hong)" are like place names on a Chinese map, far flung towns unknown and unexplored by regular tourists.
The slabs where the names are etched look neglected...
So-Yeung: Tale of the Green Lady
DESPITE being a Protestant school that frowns upon students celebrating Halloween, reading about Hogwarts wizards, and watching horror flicks, some of the most enduring stories in our school are that of “aswang” and ghosts haunting the halls, like the tale of the phantom green lady who stares...
So-Yueng: Egg Saves
WHICH came first, the chicken or the egg?
So-Yeung: Stinking bad
"THIS stinks!" I sit like a statue, waiting for those words, a wince beginning to form on the left corner of my mouth. My essay is about to be critiqued by a panel of Palanca Award winners, published authors and literature professors. I may as well be in a ring with five Manny Pacquiaos. All...
So-Yeung: Dot your I’s
LAST Wednesday, October 5, an entrepreneur, inventor and visionary passed away. Steve Jobs, founder of Apple, owner of Pixar, and the brains behind such iconic products like the iMac, iPod, iPhone and iPad, died.
The global and public display of grief show how far Jobs’s reach has gone...
So-Yeung: Rants: Why driving in Davao can be a headache
TASK: describe driving in Davao. One family friend said she'd rather drive in Manila any day than navigate around Davao roads.
So-Yeung: Rants - Some things about Davao that I could live without
IT RAINED hard Thursday night and within minutes, parts of Davao City were flooded. Stranded, many of my students hunkered down in school and waited for the rain to subside. Though many were equipped with umbrellas, the water level on the streets made it near impossible to traverse to the main...
So-Yeung: My brothers, all grown up
A FEW nights ago, while everyone was glued to the screen watching Miss Philippines place third runner-up in the Miss Universe pageant and debating about the injustice of her not placing higher, I saw a clip of Shamcey Supsup's father jumping for joy and rejoicing at the success of his daughter....
So-Yeung: Glantastic
EARLY this week, hunters captured in Agusan Marsh a 21-foot long and more than 2,000-pound crocodile they named "Lolong". The size of the animal is astounding. The fact Lolong lived undetected for years and was able to grow that big made me realize just how vast and diverse Mindanao is, and how...
So-Yeung: Fruits, guests from Manila and one dead mouse
"YOU forgot fruits!" A friend cites Davao's fruits, readily available and affordable fruits, as what she misses most now that she is studying in Manila. And since I neglected to mention fruits, except for the cost of bananas, in the top ten things I love about Davao, she insists I amend this...
So-Yeung: 10 things to love about Davao
MADAYAW! This is the 25th year of Kadayawan, a celebration of bountiful harvest and the diverse cultures of Davao. What began as Apo Duwaling in 1986, before being called Kadayawan in 1988, has become a permanent fixture in the Philippine tourism calendar.
In the spirit of Kadayawan, let...
So-Yeung: K to 12
WE NEED two more years added to Philippine basic education system. I have been teaching high school for nearly 10 years and I am concerned about the future of this nation. I love the Philippines and I really believe that six years of elementary education plus four years of high school is no...
So-Yeung: Truth or Dare
TEACHER walks into the classroom and tells the students to prepare for a quiz. Someone grumbles loudly and says that they were not told about the test. Other voices pipe up in support. "Yes, we did not study because we did not know there would be a quiz!" "Oh no, we'll fail!" "Maaaaaaaaaam!"...
So-Yeung: Kapow! Punch
IT WAS a punch (or series of punches) seen, heard, and talked about all over the country. Last Friday, July 1, video of Mayor Sara Duterte landing big ones on the face of Sheriff Abe Andres went viral and after the massive floods in Matina, Davao City was again the talk of the country. The...
So-Yeung: Fantasy/reality
VERAKAI! A few weeks ago, my husband and I saw Cirque du Soleil perform in Manila. It was a visual masterpiece. Vividly colorful costumes, breathtaking stunts and special lighting effects created a fantasy world for young and old alike.
The characters moved as if devoid of bones but...
