Musings in the Month of November

November is a very special month for me. In this month, I had (and will have) my "firsts": first Halloween in the United States, first time to witness the US Presidential election, first Thanksgiving holiday, and most of all, first taste of what some students describe as a "hell week" in the university.

Halloween here in the United States is very different from what we have in the Philippines. I was flabbergasted by how Americans treat this holiday. I was amazed to see students wearing costumes in my class during the Halloween week. There was a Mickey Mouse, a Harry Potter, a witch, a Dracula and even a Michael Phelps! I didn't know that we were supposed to wear costumes. It was for this reason that I wasn't able to dress up. Have I known, I would have pulled out some of the costumes that I brought from the Philippines. My datu-costume-with-matching-landap-and-tubao would have made head turns. Nevertheless, I participated in our hall activities for children (“trick or treat”). I also went to some "haunted houses" organized by the student government. It was tons of fun!

I also felt so privileged to be able to witness what they declare as the most historic U.S. Presidential election. During the Election Day, I went out with my friends to personally witness the election process. We went to the polling precincts and took pictures (yes, we did). The voting process here is very organized, and less cumbersome. It reminded me of how we conduct elections in Lanao del Sur, wherein hundreds of armed men roam around the area. Oftentimes, series of gunfire are heard and massive election fraudulence is very prevalent. That night of November 4, I joined the millions of people who celebrated for Obama's victory. It's not that I preferred Obama more than McCain (although I really do). More than that, the fact that the Americans were able to elect their first black president is overwhelming. The recently concluded presidential election is a perfect epitome of "people power". Change isn't far-fetched, only if we religiously work towards attaining it. I'm also impressed with both candidates' sportsmanship. After the results were out, John McCain bravely faced his supporters in Arizona to inform them about their loss, acknowledging Obama's victory and his defeat. If it were in the Philippines or in Lanao del Sur, a recount would have been called for, accusing the winning party of cheating (not all the time though). "Yes we can", Obama said. Listening to his speech that night reminded me of ARMM once again. It made me asked the question, "When can we?" Trapos continue to proliferate (or say flourish) in the ARMM region. It’s sad though that our very own SSG in MSU becomes the training ground for some of these trapos. Corruption in Lanao del Sur or in ARMM exists in the grassroots level. Our very own officers in the student body could not even explain the thousands of money that are lost every year. They cannot declare that the money goes to the materialization of their projects, because there aren’t any. The Senior’s Council last year even lost 27,000PhP and there was no resolution to that. No investigation I guess. The culprit was set free.

Although my idealism continues to wane, I still remain optimistic. I still see the glass half-full. In ARMM, we can initiate change too. Yes we can.

Anyway, I also volunteered for Habitat for Humanity. Along with some Global Culture Club members, I visited the work site in Belgrade, Montana and helped the entire organization with its work. It was very fulfilling, and it somehow relieved me from stress. The UGRAD-Montana also hosted a South-East Asian dinner. Ella and I cooked chicken adobo from the Philippines, and we're very glad that everyone liked it (it wasn't as great as my mother's chicken adobo though). Nothing was left at the end of the dinner. The dinner became an opportunity for us to also present our countries to the American and other international students present during the dinner. We really had a great time. Two weeks after that, Ella and I were once again invited to talk about the Philippines to a middle school in Bozeman. Ella and I brought several items from the Philippines, and presented some videos and PowerPoint slides to our audience. We were doing our job as unofficial ambassadors of the Philippines.


I just finished my midterm exams for this semester, and here are the results:

CHEM -- 95/100
EE 261 -- 86/100
COM 110 -- 92/90

In my Public Communication class, I got the highest rating in our midterm speech presentation. I talked about the wedding ceremony among the Muslim Maranaos in the Philippines. I feel so proud because there are 160 students in my class, from 8 different sections. My score went beyond the highest too, and the next highest was 88. My exam scores in chemistry are improving too, and my professor is very happy about it. In fact, he wrote a note in my midterm exam paper. He said he is very glad that my scores are improving and that he is very impressed with my neat work (solution). On the other hand, I will have to strive harder in my EE 261 class to beat the A-grade range. As of now, I am in the B+ range.

Thanksgiving holiday is only few days from now. I am staying in one of professor’s house. She invited me to celebrate Thanksgiving with her family. I am very excited. I also plan to go to California this Christmas break, and I am very glad to know that Kuya Zaldy is willing to welcome me in his payag with arms wide open. Thanks to Ate Matet for endorsing me. Special thanks goes to Ate Perl for the Disneyland treat that she promised me. =)

Note: This article was originally published in Global MSU Network.