Cavite

Nitong tanghali nang ika-31 ng Marso ng 2023, kinakausap ng Mama si Perlita sa sala sa lupa ng aming bahay sa Isla Lulu. Nag-aral pala sa hayskul at kolehiyo ng Kastila si Perlita. Taga-Cavite si Perlita, at Taga-Ibaan ang asawa niyang si Glen. Sabi kong maraming marunong ng Chabacano, ang Kreyol ng Kastila, sa Cavite, pero hindi marunong si Perlita. Ang propesora raw niya ay marunong ng Kastila, Chabacano, Tagalog, at Ingles. Marunong ng tulang Kastila mula sa Noli Me Tangere ni José Rizal si Perlita at ang Mama. Sabi kong hindi ako naghayskul sa Pilipinas. Sabi kong marami naman akong Kastilang libro, at mabuti akong magbasa at medyo lamang nang pagsasalita. Nag-order pa ako sa Internet ng isang Griyego-Kastilang minidiksiyonaryo, isang Pinlandes-Kastilang minidiksiyonaryo, at iba pa.

Patianak

Noong pista ng mga kapitbahay kong Taga-Fiji nang ika-27 ng Agosto ng 2022, sabi ng isang bisitang Haponesang kapitbahay ko ring si Chika na “patianak” daw ako. Maraming Hapones ay Animista-Budista.

Crumbled Coat of Arms

In the grey-sky morning of the 31st of March of 2023, Greg and I, both Filipinos, talked at the teahouse on Lulu Island. Greg by then had already finished his coffee, and I had just ordered my Iced Black Tea. Greg bought two bags of Dried Apple Chips, one of which he gave generously to me. We discussed in Tagalog many things like the romanticization of history, Inuit, Cree Indians, Alberta where he lived before, and evolution. Greg still did not believe in evolution, and I mentioned the Filipino creation myth in which from bamboo out came a man and a woman. We both learned this legend in school. I went to the pizzeria to have a slice and a Diet Coke. The owner, the Sri Lankan Tamil named Tharsan, was at the cashier. He lived in Vancouver, not here on Lulu Island. He had a girlfriend, also Sri Lankan. At my table, I read a Japanese fantasy book, Kudaketa Monshou, or Crumbled Coat of Arms. In my red fanny pack, I also had an Esperanto Mini Dictionary.

Reality-Irreality

In elementary, high school, and a bit later, I studied irreality in the forms of fantasy and science fiction.  When I voyaged to Japan, I found out that there was reality that was really interesting that I could not find elsewhere, and I learned about Buddhoanimism.  Nevertheless, even as a child, I already had a tendency towards Buddhoanimism.

My Philippine nickname was “Nonong.”  With this nickname, I intuitively learned Zen without knowing the concept really existed, and I learned about actual Zen only later as a teenager and beyond.

Aleman II

Ngayong maaraw na tanghali nang ika-30 ng Marso ng 2023, dinala kong pagbabasa ang aking minidiksiyonaryo ng Aleman sa pizzeria. Matagal ko nang pantasyang mag-aral nang mabuti ng Aleman. Marunong nga ako ng pagbigkas at ilan-ilang mga salita. Gusto ko sanang magbasa ng siyensiyang piksiyon sa Aleman. Bulong naman ng may-ari ng pizzeriang si Tharsan, yaong Srilangkano, “Hindi mas magaling ang Aleman kaysa sa Lojban.” Sa arkitektong dalubwika nga, walang mas mabuti ngayong wika kaysa sa Lojban. Dinala ko rin ang minidiksiyonaryo ng Esperanto, at palagay ko’y magaling at pampalusog itong wika sa isip at katawan ng tao.