Sunday, November 25, 2007 Gil: The white board's 'Gureito' By Sandy Gil Sunday Dunes
I REMEMBER around the end of last July, my eldest daughter, Alex, was preparing to leave Manila once more for her final semester to complete her master's degree at the National University of Singapore. I had then flown to Manila to help (or, according to her, to create havoc) in packing her stuff. Aside from that, of course, it was also the time for a Mommy's hug to bid her daughter farewell.
I can remember rather clearly that I took notice of something different then with my children's bedroom door. The door had always been kept open since I come from a family that does not really care that much for doors. All rooms in the house are kept open, and yet strangely enough, personal privacy is consistently maintained.
In any case, I had noticed that the children had removed the usual posters that decorated their bedroom door. On the door, they had secured a small white board beside which hung a small plastic container that held white board markers of various colors.
The white board was divided into three horizontal spaces. On the top left corner of each space, the children had written their names: Alex, Diego and Toni.
***
Of course, I had to ask them what this white board thing was all about. It looked like fun, and I wanted to be included.
Toni patiently explained to me that she and her siblings decided to put some of their savings together to buy the white board and markers. The idea was to keep in touch with each other. Since each sibling had invented his/her own lifestyle, they felt that they were growing apart - particularly since they had developed their own daily schedules, interests and ambitions. And so they wrote little notes to each other on the white board just to keep in touch.
I thought that that was really a great idea!
***
But more important, Toni informed me, was that the white board allowed their father -- who was left alone in Manila to supervise (?) the children and to ensure their safety (?) -- to know details of each child's whereabouts.
Surely, Alex and Diego's white board spaces were filled with lots of such information. Toni's space simply read: "School and then home. Tomorrow, more of the same." Sometimes, she would add: "Sigh."
***
During my most recent visit to Manila, I looked at the white board again. It was a bit nostalgic to see Alex's space. The same note in her clean and graceful handwriting had been there since July before she left: "Final words: Labsya all and good luck to me!" Diego and Toni did not erase it... After all, it is still Alex's space even though she is still in Singapore.
***
Diego's space had its usual scrawls that showed that he was always on the go. But it was Toni's space that made me wonder. On her space was written one word in BIG, BOLD, ALL CAPS writing. It said: GUREITO!
What on earth does 'gureito' mean?
***
I asked Toni. She just laughed. She even taunted me with her usual: Omigosh, you don't know what gureito means? I had spent one whole day nagging my youngest daughter - bribing, cajoling, and threatening her to tell me what it meant. I could not ask Diego since he was either asleep or was rushing out of the house. I tried guessing. The word sounded like the name of some food (like ginisang gureito?), or was it the name of a new disease (like I can't make it to work today, I have a gureito attack?). Toni simply laughed at me.
And on my last night in Manila, she hugged me and said, "Mom, YOU are gureito!!!"
Gureito turned out to be the Japanese word for "great" in anime productions. I think that the white board idea is truly gureito!
