It was 22 years ago my father was hit by a bus in Manila, Philippines. I was just 7 years old. From what little memory I have of my father he was a hard working man and tried so hard to just feed and clothe us. Doing so in a poor impoverished country such as the Philippines is not always an easy task.
When I say "us" I mean myself, my sister, my brother and of course my mother by the way.
My father's untimely passing was the spark that lite up my imagination and dreams as a young girl growing up in a poor country. I often found myself daydreaming of what #life was like on the other side of the world.
It was only in some outdated books from school that I could see some reality of what life over there was like, or if I was lucky enough to get a quick glance on a neighbor's TV as I walked by.
In school, I tried very hard to master the English language the best I could. You see English isn't my native tongue, but I knew through my dreams and imagination that someday I would go to that other world, and I needed to master English.
As I sit here typing this #introduceyourself for #steemit I can say I am proud of myself. Is my English perfect? No, of course not, but I am thrilled I can share my life's story and introduce myself to all of you from the other side of the world.
Wait .. I am getting ahead of myself here. Back to growing up as a child. This is the very first time I am sharing my story with other people other than my "asawa" (hubby). Like so many other children in the world, my childhood too was filled with what seemed to be endless days of feeling hopeless and helpless. I often experienced what true hunger feels like. But I never gave up, my dreams told me it will get better and it eventually did.
A spoonful of rice often was all the food my body would consume as a child. One spoonful per day, that is. I didn't have a roof over my head or walls around me to protect me, at least not how many know it on this side of the world. My home was a hut made of bamboo and banana leaves. As I sit here today on the other side far away from this home in the picture below ..... oooh how I miss it. I yearn to go back. Life was so hard there but so much easier at the same time, how can that be?
Often times on this side of the world we forget about important things in life, such as family, friends, nature and even our country. We are often entrenched in our daily routine of going to work, making sure we have enough to pay the bills leaving little to no extra time for many important things. I think that is why I yearn to go back to that bamboo hut.
to be continued ......
Hi, I'm Jenelyn. I was born and grew up in the Philippines. Seven years ago I married my wonderful hubby and left everything I knew in the Philippines. I am a mother of two boys
, a wife, and a freelance writer. I hope you enjoyed my introductory story of my life. There is much more to my story and I hope to share it if you all wish to hear more! ♥♥♥
If you want to hear more of my story and help me full fill our families dream of moving back to the Philippines in that bamboo hut please give me a upvote! ♥♥♥
❣ Jen ❣
P.S. I am completely new to this and need to learn how this all works.
Hi Jenelyn. I am in Mindano right now. I actually lived in squalor for couple of years in the 1990s and I experienced what it was like to not have enough food to eat. I was actually living in a very overpopulated squatter community and there was human feces every where and if I turned my head, my spoon and my underwear would be gone.
But I did also travel to the farm lands and so I know the environment you grew up in and I do very much feel and understand what you mean about missing “home”. Even I grew up in New Orleans and in the 1960s it was a much simpler place somewhat similar to the Philippines but not as poor. We ate rice and fish in New Orleans and in the summer the climate was very similar to the Philippines.
Please tell me how did you find out about Steemit? Do you think many filipinos are hearing about it via their friends and connections on Facebook?
Hi anonymint, thanks for taking the time to check out my post. I heard about steemit from my husband. He knows I have been wanting to share some of my writings and we both thought steemit would be the place to start and try it out on. I also recently in the past few months started a recipe and food blog which I might just convert over to here possibly.
I am not sure how other Filipinos are hearing about steemit, I would guess at this point mostly word of mouth from a friend or family member.
I think you'll need the features available to build and target a sub-community of followers in order to target a recipe and food blog. Steemit appears to me have a long way to go before it can help you build that audience. But I hope you'll stick around and see what develops over time. I'm working on this area as a developer, so I want you to know developers are aware of this need for new features.
Yes, I am not sure I plan on completely moving my food/recipe website over here to Steemit. My hubby and I talked about this last night. I think I would use steemit to help drive traffic to it in the future if I feel it will benefit it.
Regardless both my website and my venture here are on Steemit are both in their infancy stage. As a stay at home mommy right now I am enjoying being able to play around with both and see where they lead me into the future! Thanks for your interaction with my post here!
Ditto thanks for your feedback. It is very helpful for me as a blockchain and crypto-currency developer. The big challenge now for us to cross the chasm to mainstream use cases and also not just male nerds (no offense intended to ourselves, lol). We'll be trying to add the features you need either here on Steemit or other competitors. Enthused having read you will likely stay tuned in.
Apologies I am not interacting on the content of your blog. I do have an interest in food/recipes (e.g. I cook Cajun from the bayou) although lacking time.
Upvoted because - one of first female posts I've seen that was somewhat humble and not mindlessly vain or a bimbo.
Thank you for the upvote and the kind words. I am here to share a story and write for those who might find it interesting.
Welcome to America, enjoy your stay!
Thanks, I have lived here for 7 years now. It truly is the best country in the world, regardless what you might see on the news today.
tamojunto
Welcome to Steemit. I moved to the Philippines for my expat assignment 10 years ago. You should come back and visit. A lot has changed
We are making a trip next Feburary for a month! If all goes well here on steemit I will be sharing pictures and stories here when we get back!
Welcome to Steemit!
Thank you (salamat)
Welcome to Steemit!
Thank you (salamat)
'..chromium steel in america, i like to be in amerrricca' whistle
Welcome, where did you grow up in the Phillipines?
I was once in Sagada for 2 weeks in the north but never in the states.
Ormoc City, Leyte
Thanks
Welcome to steemit make a better blog here in steemit !
Hi Jenelyn,
Welcome to Steemit and to the US of A.
I loved your story, and I look forward to reading more from you. Don't let go of your imagination and dreams. You never know where they might lead you.
Cheers!
P.S. I just posted my #introduceyourself 2 days ago. Check it out if you get a chance.
https://steemit.com/introduceyourself/@albertfall/hi-steemit-and-steemians-my-name-is-albert-fall-and-i-am-an-entrepreneur
Welcome to steemit!
Welcome @jenelyn
Maganda ka !
paia