[Ereth]

One of the saddest moment/event I can’t forget was the typhoon Yolanda. Every year I can’t seem not to reminisce especially now that November 8 is approaching. November 7,2013 was a fine day, I and my classmates were in our apartment in Tacloban where we are currently preparing for our upcoming board exam in a month time. News says typhoon is coming but we stayed there because we didn’t want to miss review classes. When Yolanda hit tacloban, we just stayed in our apartment in the second floor, watching our neighbors houses flew by the strong winds, until it became zero visibility. The ceiling of the apartment fell down so we stayed at the stair as the safest space, watching the water going up, but it didn’t reach us. My classmates were crying and praying, afraid that the water will reach through us at the top of the stair they suggested we should go out and go to Astrodome as it is the nearest evacuation center, but I insisted to stay indoor and that going outside is impossible as heavy objects flying everywhere outside, and water is high. We stayed until everything is calm. We went outside when we saw there are already people walking outside. We went to the main road and saw how destroyed Tacloban is. The place looked like it has been hit by bombs. We saw dead people everywhere, the whole Real street was full of people going in opposite directions as if they don’t know where to go. It was a heartbreak. Patient’s from Bethany hospital walking in the street with their IV fluids with them, it was the most damaged hospital being near the sea. We know the typhoon was strong but we’re still shocked if what we are witnessing on that street. People were crying, hopeless and all, you can’t imagine. It was the most horrible day I experienced, I can’t bear to imagine the pain on their faces, losing people they loved and losing everything they have.

On the next day I insisted we walk home to Biliran, as we didn’t have food and water, no means of transportation and road are impossible for tranpo. We walked whole day, and the next day there was a bus going to Ormoc and gladly accommodated us, but run out of diesel at Brgy Lemon, so we walk again going to Leyte,Leyte where we hired a motorcycle going to Biliran.

My mom ran towards me upon seeing me alive as they heard thousands of people died in Tacloban. I was relieved they were safe home.

I will never forget that day, I am always grateful for the second life God gave us.

[Ereth]

Cigarette smoking is dangerous to anyone’s health, including second hand smoke. It has been established many years or decade ago that cigarettes’ components are harmful to humans. Toxic chemicals such as cyanide and polonium which are very toxic. One chemical to make tobacco is the chemical used to make batteries, imagine that? You are inhaling poisons and sharing it those near you whom can inhale the smoke form your cigarettes. There has no good physiological benefit smoking gives other than the euphoria you’ll feel while smoking. Cigarette smokers don’t grow old because they die young.

But if you are a smoker and want to quit, my advice would be, wean slowly and not abrupt because it can cause health problems and would trigger some serious health concerns. Withdrawal effect of abrupt quitting cigarette is fatal and can cause organ damage.

When you are into smoking cigarettes for a very long period of time, your body, your lungs, and other organs became used to it that receiving those chemicals form cigarettes is normal for them, like they need those to function. Once you abruptly quit, your brain detects the absence of those chemicals and creat imbalance. For example your lungs was used to have cyanide from cigarette to function then suddenly one day you stop, your lungs will fail. So if you will quit do it slowly, if you consume 20 sticks daily, make 18 next day, then 16, 14, 12, 10 and so on, until your body will get used to having no cigarettes intake at all.

[Ereth]

This rule would actually help each member in improving our communication skills admin, thank you for that. Mycoolchat allows each members to express ourselves in certain topics, our opinions and insights. Moreover, it helps us learn new ideas and knowledge from other members as well as they express their own. We can also share what ideas we do have. I believe this rule will encourage us to express more, learn more, especially that English isn’t our first language here in the country but an important one in terms of formal communication. This is awesome actually. Thank you admin.

[Ereth]

I remember a certain incident somewhere in my place, where a person in authority, a Police officer witnessed an illegal cutting of trees activity (kaingin) in their AOR or area of responsibility. As a person in authority he arrested the violators, and confiscated woods and reported to the police station. About a day or two maybe after the incident, that specific police officer was given ordered for transfer of assignment from Region 8 to Mindanao. It was noted then, that the illegal loggers he arrested was a friend of certain “municipal officer”. His price for doing his job exemplary is an impromptu transfer of assignment. See the dilemma? This is one of the reasons why illegal loggers still do their illegal activities, because of these evil officers in the government who doesn’t value our natural resources, who disrespect and disobey our law and those that doesn’t care for their people just for their own greed. A sad reality that we wish to change.

• This reply was modified 3 years, 1 month ago by  Ereth.

[Ereth]

Thank you for reminding admin.

[Ereth]

For me it would be Hot and Spicy Pancit Canton, the instant one. 😁

[Ereth]

This made me think of lessons my father taught us when he was still alive. He would always say “protect your siblings, love your siblings, help each other” he taught us that values, untill now it is still with me. He also taught us to be responsible person. Learn how to work hard, earn for a living, have diskarte in life. He was strict but now I realized it was for our own good. If he wasn’t like that before maybe I am not who I am now and what I have accomplished in life. I just wished he live longer so I could have made him prouder.

[Ereth]

Thank you too admin. I truly appreciate this forum and this community. I hope this will grow and would surely help many, especially Filipinos who are trying to learn and improve communication skills. This would not just help us improve our English communication skills but also helps us to be aware of some issues that are being open or discuss in this platform. And the points are just a bonus.

[Ereth]

Some has limited knowledge for family planning and the effect of over population and more to say on having many children, especially those that lives in areas where government programs aren’t accessible. Yes, because of mind setting that children can give them good life in the future they’re are not aware of the negative effect of this “having many kids”. Would you believe there are places in the Philippines where most of its people doesn’t know what ‘pre-natal’ is? Yes there is, and I had personal experience where a pregnant mother doesn’t know what does pre natal means. They need to be educated, to give them knowledge and to mindset them properly on this matters.

Of course NO TO ABORTION, for me, killing an unborn child is the heights form of murder and a mortal sin.

[Ereth]

I agree.

[Ereth]

And they’re not aware that because of having many children than they can take care of, they’ll add to the poverty rate in the Philippines. It is okay to have big family,many kids as long as we can take good care of them holistically. As parents we’ll be able to support their good education, secure their health and safety. Also support them emotionally and psychologically, which you’ll be having problems if you have kids beyond your means. So family planning really is important so we can avoid having this toxic mindset that children are their parent’s investment.

[Ereth]

Absolutely. Each one of us should be an advocate in preserving our ecosystem. If we know someone who is doing such act like illegal cutting of tress in our forest we should report it immediately to the authorities so this illegal can be prevented and those that involved will be sanctioned. Mining also is another thing, like what happened in Biliran last 2017 when Typhoon Urduja hit us, there were flooding and worst the landslides. One of the barangay was almost covered with muds and big stones because of big landslides in the area, it was devastating. Everytime we hurt or destroy our ecosystem,it bounces back to us, mostly in forms of tragedies.

[Ereth]

Yes we’ll just need to pray harder, just like typhoons, this pandemic shall pass. The world experienced a much worst pandemic than COVID-19, the Spanish flu in 1918, which killed around 50 million lives all over the world and that pandemic also lasted for more than two years, but it ended. So COVID-19 will end too, hoping it will be sooner 🙏🙏

• This reply was modified 3 years, 1 month ago by  Ereth. Reason: Grammar

[Ereth]

Yes true. In time that we are gone, they’ll gonna be able to survive in their own.

[Ereth]

That is true @May we parents should be the one providing for our children up to the time they can already stand up for their own too. I would encourage them to study hard work hard for their future and for the family of their own.