Introduction: JENESYS 2.0: Disaster Prevention Course

One of the most sought for travel destinations today is Japan. Many travellers want to experience the rich historic culture as seen in their festivals, temples and pagodas, traditional wear and of course, traditional Japanese food. Moreover, some enthusiasts want to buy merchandise from their favorite anime, manga, or Jpop, and thus the reason to go to this country.

Last September 29 - October 7, I was privileged to be one of the delegates who passed the application to JENESYS Program.
(From over 300 applications, my 34 co-delegates and I made it to the cut.)


Japan-East Asia Network of Students and Youth Program 2.0 (JENESYS 2.0: Disaster Prevention Course) was  initiated Japan Overseas Cooperative Agency (JOCA) and the Japan Information Cultural Center (JICC) of the Japanese Embassy, in partnership with National Youth Commission (NYC), having these objectives:
 (1) to disseminate knowledge regarding disaster prevention and risk mitigation actions in which Japan operates since Japan is one of the countries that is most hit by calamities, and
(2) to deepen the delegates’ knowledge and interest in Japan and its culture and traditions through the COOL Japan brand.

To sum up, here's what we've done:
We visited Tokyo to observe the cutting-edge technology that the Panasonic Center caters, to visit Honjo Life Safety Learning Center to experience calamity simulations, and to experience Japanese culture in Asakusa and Akihabara. Then, on the third day, delegates went to Shizuoka Prefecture to visit some of the infrastructures built or being built after they were hit by the Great East Japan Earthquake of 2011. We went to Hamamatsu City Coastal Levee, tsunami evacuation tower, and in The Forest of Hope. Also, for cultural experience and exchange, we went to Shizuoka University of Art and Culture, Toumon Homeland, Green Tea Field and Factory and undergone homestay program for 3 nights and 2 days.


And because we had a packed schedule from Day 1 to Day 9, I will blog the detailed version of this unforgettable journey. Stay tuned!

Batangas Foodtrip: Barako (Coffee) Jelly

Original post at Batangas Foodtrip: Barako (Coffee) Jelly: It's Christmas season once again! Christmas parties will start filling up our schedules, and food will overflow like crazy! Good thing I have something new for you on your Christmas party menu! 

Try my very own barako-coffee jelly! 

Yummy dessert! Wine glasses for pictorial purposes only XD

The darkness of barako coffee mixed with choco chips and creamy milk is so good, one serving will not be enough. :) [I used black gulaman here, thus the darker-colored milk.]

Aside from being delicious, it's cheap too! Only 35php per 250ml! How cool is that?

Contact me at 0922-24-25-334 for orders. 

Hope to turn your party one level higher with these yummy desserts! :D

Between Lenses: Urban

Hola! Here I am again to join Between Lenses bloghop!

It's a bloghop initiated by Tara Victoria and of trees and hues

This month's theme is Urban.

When I hear 'urban', I think of tall buildings and perfect architecture. I have never really lived in a city filled with high rise buildings - I have been to a highly urbanized area but it doesn't look like what 'urban' sounds like - I just thought it's all a clutter of people and structures.

That's why when I went to Japan last month, I was astounded and truly amazed to see perfectly designed urban area. It's like an OC-to-the-bone person measured everything and put all buildings, highways, and greeneries in the right places. It's heavenly.

Tokyo Skytree as background. Shot in a moving bus

This is one of the many breathtaking views as our bus drove along Tokyo. Look at how clean the water body is, and it's in an urban area! It's totally foreign to me,  having only seen Manila. My hopes to have a green Philippines was brought back to life.

Reaction: Abra and Julie Anne San Jose's Dedma

Browsing Facebook, I fortunately stumbled into this music video by Abra and Julie Anne San Jose's Dedma.

I was so shocked by how ballsy the lyrics are. Here are some verses:

Punto, san patungo ang relihiyon?
Sa katapusan ba ng mundo o sa Panginoon?
Ba’t ganun?

That's why it sparked comments regarding atheism, although that's really not the point of the song.
What I loved about the lyrics are:
[1] it made the listeners think and reflect about this country, and
[2] the topic is something that most of the mainstream artists would not delve into because of the negative association.


This is what we need right now - something to think about regarding our current situation. OPM is infested with love songs that have repetitive lyrics already - what they sing about have been sung better by Ariel Rivera, Basil Valdez, etc. Those lyrics made us think that love is the only thing there is, but it's obviously not.

If Dedma will become as famous and as mainstream as, say, Sirena by Gloc9, which is as good as this (or better), I will be as happy as f***. It will be one of the best moments of OPM this 2014.

NESCAFÉ Cappuccino is the most indulgent coffee I’ve ever had!

Hola there, bookworms and coffee drinkers!

I love coffee so much. I tried many types of coffee, depending on the availability and time of day.
When studying, I preferred having coffee on sachets because they're easier to prepare.

Recently, I tried NESCAFE Cappuccino, and it's the most indulgent coffee I've ever had!
Even if I have 3 cups or more, I still enjoy it because the coffee flavor is not too strong.
Also, the coffee foam and choco sprinkles make it a more indulgent experience! It's always fun drinking the first sip because of the foam. :D

Indulge. Drink  NESCAFE Cappuccino now. :D

Giveaway winners!

Hi guys! Thank you so much for participating and supporting my giveaway! October was such a hell of a good month to me, plus your support made it even better!

So... here are the winners!

Bundle of books - Ricalyn Sicad

Human Nature goodies - Kimberly Tiu

Congratulations!