Posts

Life Changes in October and November 2017

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First, thank you so much to all those who supported my birthday fundraising. I am not sure how much I was able to raise but I am sure that my mom gave $20 as a birthday gift so yay for mom. Second, Jomar arrived in Canada last October 21 and was planning to stay here until November 22 but we've been in a long distance relationship for 2 years now and we've been discussing getting married even before I left for Canada (plus, we got engaged last 16.06.16 (June 16, 2016)) so we decided to elope. October Last October 26, 2017, in front of my family and with the blessing of both our parents, we got married at the beautiful King George Park in Richmond, BC. I got my "garden" wedding and it happened in the most beautiful season of all, Fall. One of the reasons why I decided to stay in Canada is because of how amazing and beautiful Fall is. It's just amazing. We had a simple dinner at Kisha Poppo an eat-all-you-can Japanese restaurant. My mom enjoyed her unlimited

Let's help build a home for my birthday

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My birthday is coming up (it's on November 8) and instead of gifts, I am hoping you could donate to Compassion.ca, specifically in helping Kenyan families rebuild their lives by providing stable homes. With Safe Housing , we can all make a difference in providing stable homes to 149 families in 11 centers across Kenya. We all dream of having our own house. I know I do. But when we think about having our own home, we think about how many bedroom and bathrooms we want, what color scheme we will use on the wall, the style of our kitchen. Meanwhile, these families just want shelter from strong winds and torrential rain and I hope that we can make a difference. For a minimum of $10 CAD, you will give me a birthday gift and we will help provide a home to this families. Give a Gift My fundraiser code is 8-10011711 so Compassion can keep track of this little campaign. Please feel free to share this short post to your friends and help me celebrate my birthday this year! Matthew

Two countries at once

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Have you watched the movie "A Walk to Remember" or have read the book? I will never forget one of Jamie's wishes, to be in two places at once. Landon made this happen by bringing her to a boundary of two states (North Carolina and Virginia). Ever since seeing that movie, I thought to myself, I should do that. Dramatic Sunset at the border Last Sunday, my parents and I went to Seattle to buy Jollibee, visit Pike Market, and attend Sunday Mass at St. James Cathedral. On our way back to Canada, there was a long line of cars at the border. Border We were right at the Peace Arch. I told my parents I will go down to stretch my legs and to take photos. I was so giddy since I felt like this is the only chance I have to be at this park. This is from the US side. This is the Canada side. I did what Jamie did, I placed my right foot on Canada while my left foot is still in the US. I was smiling from ear to ear, thanking God for the opportunity to do that.

My Canadian Dream

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My mom wanted our family to migrate to Canada for a better life, better compared to our already good life back in Philippines. Personally, I moved to Canada for three things: To be reunited with my parents and siblings (they moved here 2 years before I got here) and For the "free" healthcare. It's not really free but it's feels secure to know that when you go to a clinic, you don't have to pay anything. My "Canadian" dream. For this post, I would like to share more about my Canadian dream. Okay. It's not really a "Canadian" dream since I have been dreaming and planning all these things back when I was still in Philippines but somehow, I am able to achieve more of my dreams here than when I was there. One of my biggest dream is to sponsor a child's education. I really wanted to sponsor a child through World Vision or any other organization. Last month, when I celebrated my 1st year Anniversary at Gumstix , I decided that

Happy 150th Canada Day!

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It's my second Canada Day and Canada is turned 150 years young. Why do we celebrate Canada Day? My brother and I were discussing last Thursday (while watching the Canadian Football League game between Ottawa and Calgary) what's the equivalent of Canada Day in the Philippines. I told him it's the Philippines Independence Day. How come we don't celebrate it back there? As migrants to Canada, how come we (our family) feel this joy and excitement as we look forward to celebrating Canada Day? How come we don't feel the same way back in Philippines? Is this about patriotism? Does this mean we hate the Philippines? On top of head, the only difference I could think of is the way each country celebrates the day. Back in Philippines, there's no fanfare, no parade, no celebration as if indirectly telling Filipinos that this day is just any ordinary day and we're not celebrating anything. Not only that, in the news, you will learn and hear about people p