ON READING "NOLI" IN SPANISH: now, and i mean NOW, is the best time to learn spanish. i've been studying the language for more than two and a half years already and i've seen how the spanish cultural community has gotten more and more active in spreading la cultura española in its former colony.
a few weeks ago i participated in a non-stop public reading of rizal's immortal novel, noli me tangere. i also joined the non-stop reading of cervantes' don quijote a year ago and it was a great experience. thus, having the opportunity to read a novel close to my heart, and in the language it was written in, was definitely something i looked forward to. the event was part of the inauguration of instituto cervantes' new building along kalaw st. in manila. quite literally, people read the novel non-stop beginning friday afternoon until saturday morning. you'd be surprised at how many people still show up even at 3 AM just to read, participate, or listen.
here's how it looks like. one person reads a few pages then the next person follows right after. sayang lang kasi nasira camera ko when i was about to read so no one was able to take a picture of myself while reading.
spanish level 17 classmates and fellow readers ernest and camille. ernest was born and raised in india while camille was born and raised in the US. we all take up classes with other filipino 'indios' born and raised in the philippines under the tutelage of a professor born and raised in spain. talk about a multi-cultural experience.
another reason why you should take up spanish now is because spain's premier spanish language and cultural center, instituto cervantes de manila, just inaugurated its swanky new building and has also just revamped its curriculum. better building, better curriculum. the number of levels were extended from 18 to 24 and the price per level went up just a little bit but everything will be worth it. vamos!
the lobby's atrium.
classrooms on the ground floor. offices and library on the second floor. beautiful patio outside which connects directly to the cafe of casino español de manila.
ON FRIENDS GETTING INTO RELATIONSHIPS: for some weird reason, so many good friends of mine have apparently decided to go steady with another person. and for some, their new partners just happen to be someone i know too. talk about small worlds. is getting a girlfriend or boyfriend an after-summer thing?
1.) isang babae na itatago ko na lang sa pangalang janice santos is now with her ideal guy: a xavier-educated chinese-pinoy officemate. 2.) another good dlsu friend is now with a guy who happens to be the ex of two very good zobel/dlsu friends. 3.) a good zobel/dlsu friend of mine is now with someone who's also from zobel/dlsu but a batch lower, who happens to be the brother of one of my very good zobel/dlsu friends from #2 AND whose ex is a friend of mine from dlsu who also happens to know my good zobel/dlsu friend. 4.) another one is now also with a guy who she says has been her friend since childhood. 5.) now i hear that two more soon-to-be relationships are in the pipeline.
i think i've been watching too much entertainment online.
that's me and a bunch of good friends when the girl na tinago ko sa pangalang janice santos announced that she now has a boyfriend and introduced him to us.
ON 'ME' GETTING INTO A RELATIONSHIP: i went to keesa's despedida dinner get-together last weekend where the topics in the previous section was discussed, among other things. then one of my friends kept on asking me why i haven't been into a relationship before or if i ever plan to pursue one or if i've ever wanted one, etc, etc. ayayay! for the record, if the topic of the conversation is about relationships and someone else, i join in the conversation (albeit for chismis purposes, haha). but if the topic is about relationships and me... good luck getting the conversation last the whole night.
but after watching the film "kinsey", which i shall talk about after this, i'll answer some of the questions here. i haven't been into a relationship before because i've never pursued one, i've never actually looked for one, and i've never cared to have one in the first place. it simply is not part of my personal needs. do i plan to be in one in the future? of course. was there ever a time when i almost got into one? possibly, if i pursued it. but i didn't. for reasons i've already answered. call me a dense and insensitive guy who just doesn't know how relationships go, but i simply never felt a serious need nor longing to get into one. i admit to have wanted it at times but they were very short-lived and shallow moments of desire. something i knew i shouldn't take seriously.
jc, joei, jay, keesa, gino, me, jeff, and russell at keesa's despedida.
ON SEX AND WATCHING THE FILM 'KINSEY': beautiful film. just brilliant. everyone should watch it. especially everyone in this country who feels that the topics of sex and sexuality should be something kept to themselves. to serve as a background, dr. alfred kinsey was a popular sex researcher in the early part of the last century. his studies on human sexual behavior unraveled truths about sex and sexuality that the general public in the US never knew about, or at least, never admitted to. he conducted his research by interviewing thousands of people about their sexual behavior and the results were basically shocking for the people at that time. literally, he would ask men and women questions like "how often do you masturbate?", "have you ever had sex with an animal?", and other questions which nobody talked about before. but apparently, people opened up to kinsey and thus provided him with the wealth of information to publish his work. wow, i sound like a biographer.
anyway, the movie is shown only at greenbelt and glorietta so go get your tickets now since it's bound to be on a limited run. every single aspect of this film contributes to such a cohesive work that i wonder why it was never a hit or never got an award. from acting, directing, score, to screenplay. wonderful, amazing, fantastic. galeng.
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