The 'Little Red Roof' changes lives

“What do we teach our children?” This is a common question when it comes to primary education.

It is also an important question because many believe that the earliest form of education is that which will shape and guide children as they grow—the foundation of learning. The most important lessons like love for God and country, core values, and basic science and math generally comprise a student’s early years.

With a curriculum in a place, in the Philippines, it is a sad fact, however, that the next question often asked is, “Where do we teach our children?” Corruption in government sadly results in the lack of funds to give every Filipino child the right to education.

Thankfully, golden hearts in the private sector are there to provide the answers to the question. One such organization is Coca-Cola Foundation Philippines Inc., which has long helped out to provide students with a school roof over their heads.

Solutions sought

The shortage of classrooms in the Philippines is shockingly in the hundreds of thousands. With such a backlog, countless children who are determined to study often resort to walking unimaginable lengths, just to reach the “nearest” public school.

Once there, yet another problem arises. Not only are the schools remote, but the classrooms are old and dilapidated, or too small for the huge number of students, making them unfit for learning.

To address the endless problems, Coca-Cola Foundation established a corporate social responsibility arm in1998 called the Little Red School House program, under its Live Positively campaign. Since then, they have been helping elementary schools in far flung areas all around the country to build school houses and rehabilitate classrooms in the worst conditions.

Little Red School Houses: The red roof shines brightly

Red roofed classrooms

Coca-Cola Foundation constructs Little Red School Houses from the ground up. The red roof is the trademark of this benevolent endeavor. Every school house has three classrooms, complete with blackboards both in front and at the back to serve a multi-grade setting. In other words, each classroom can accommodate two consecutive levels at the same time—Grades I and II, Grades III and IV, and Grades V and VI. 

Over the years, more than 80 schoolhouses have been built by Coca Cola Foundation in the Philippines and over P100 million has been allocated for the campaign.

Claveria’s Little Red School House

One remote and fortunate barangay, which the Coca-Cola Foundation has helped is Sitio Bulahan in Claveria, Misamis Oriental. When the foundation first visited the area, they found a wooden public elementary school, which was built in 1970s. Too worn down to serve as a place of learning for the students, Coca Cola went straight to work and built the community a brand new school in 2008.

Organizing a media trip in April, the foundation showed just how the quality of education had changed in Bulahan after the Little Red School House was erected.

Bulahan Elementary School's principal

Principal Prescila Balaba, who also teaches Grades V and VI, recalled that the original two-classroom school house of Bulahan had been used by the community for a total of 35 years. Because they were made of wood, the old structure decayed rapidly and was unsafe for the children who continued to study there. 

When she heard about Coca-Cola’s search for beneficiaries of the Little Red School Houses, she went as far as telling a few white lies to convince the foundation that Bulahan is an ideal choice.

“I told the district supervisor facilitating the search that Bulahan Elementary School is not too far from the town proper even though it is!” she laughed. “I had to do it because they really needed to see the dilapidated condition of the classrooms we were using.”

True enough, after seeing the classrooms, Bulahan Elementary School was singled out in Claveria, and construction began in November 25, 2008.

Caring for the classrooms

The advocacy also stirred a change in the whole community of Bulahan. First, the number of enrollments in Bulahan Elementary School has seen a significant rise in the last three years since the Red School House was built.

Claveria's district supervisor for education

Panfilo Picot, public schools district supervisor for Claveria, added, “We also worked on improving the quality of education [with the Little Red School House]. The building itself is really conducive to learning [that is why] even the student’s learning abilities got better too.”

Moreover, the community also saw the value of caring for the classrooms, enticing parents themselves to see that the school house is always clean and well-maintained.

Balaba said that while the Parents Teachers Association (PTA) has no money for the upkeep of the school, they willingly give their services instead. They even built a garden in the school’s backyard and planted crops like camote and onions. The earnings they make from selling their harvest are automatically turned over for building maintenance.  They have also been able to build a cemented pathway for the children, and are almost done with the construction of a small stage for school presentations.

Encouraging new partnerships

The Bulahan Elementary School still needs more of your support

Seeing the vast improvement of Buluhan Elementary School, other nongovernment organizations were encouraged to follow suit. The Rotary Club of Claveria donated books to organize a small library small library. Other donations also came in from new partners.

Principal Balaba’s next goal is to have computers in the school, in order to arm their students with the requirements of the outside world. She knows someday it will happen, just as the Coca Cola Foundation made the dream of new classrooms come true.

*First published for The Manila Times. Photos by Jonathan Neri and Bon Roa.

Pepe destined for greatness?

Alam kong tapos na ang kaarawan ni Rizal, tapos na rin ang mga kung ano-anung palabas patungkol sa buhay nya at pagsasabuhay ng kanyang kabayanihan. Nasariwa na siguro uli natin ang buong pangalan niyang Jose Protacio blah blah blah Rizal, ang paglalagalag nya sa iba't ibang bansa pati na rin siguro yung mga babaeng nagdaan sa buhay nya. 

May nagsabing si Rizal daw ang unang OFW, ang isa sabi syang ang unang Filipino at ang ilan, tinuturing syang kayumangging kristo(mga ilang Rizalista sa Laguna ay naniniwalang si Rizal  ay ang Diyos Anak). Napakakulay kasi ng buhay ng mokong o magiting nating bayaning si Pepe, at napakaraming nyang iniwan sa atin, hindi lang mga nobela, prinsipyo, kaalaman at dunong pati na rin mga intriga.

Minsan sinabi ng kapatid ko, masyadong pa-cool si Rizal, ang daming alam, ang daming kabalbalan.Cool nga ba sya? Tila ba raw na planado ang pagiging bayani nya mula pa pagkabata. At tila ba hindi na sya totoong tao pag pinag-usapan ang tungkol sa kadakilaan nya. Tila ba halaw rin sa fiction na nobela ang buhay nya paginisa-isa mo ang mga pangyayari nito. Pero henyo nga kaya talaga si Pepe? San nga ba nya nakuha ang mga prinsipyo't dunong nya?

Masasabi kong maraming syang naiwang misteryo at intriga kasi hanggang ngayon, may mga bagay tungkol sa kanyang buhay na hindi natin malaman ang katiyakan at nangangailangan pa rin ng sagot.

At ayun na nga ang mga bagay na gumulo o naglalaro sa isip ko. Ang dami rin kasing naiwan na tanong sa mga tao, kung nag-retract o nagbalik loob ba sya sa simbahan bago sya namatay, kinasal kaya talaga sila ni Josephine Bracken, anu kaya ang nilalaman ng sulat na nilagay niya sa kanyang sapatos bago sya mamatay?

Ayon sa mga librong nabasa ko, at mga artikulong nababasa ko sa dyaryo (Looking Back by Public Historian Ambeth Ocampo, Inquirer) wala naman pinagkaiba si Pepe sa ibang bata ng kapanahunan nya kung hindi ang humongous o malaking ulo nito. Lampayatot pa nga raw si Pepe kaya tinuruan sya ng kanyang tiyo na mag wrestling. Nag-aral si Pepe sa Maynila sa murang edad, nag-aral sa Ateneo. Ayon sa mga libro, magaling raw si Pepe sa acads(academics) nya pero naisip ba natin kung ilan sila sa klase? Outstanding nga kaya sya sa acads nya? Eh ilan naman kaya sila sa klase nila? Sampu? Baka mamaya lagpas sampu lang sila at slighty average lang ang IQ nya. Marami na nga kayang mag-aaral nung mga panahong iyon ni Pepe? Di kaya siksikan rin sila tulad ng nangyayari ngayon sa mga pampublikong paraalan? At teka, may nakapulot kaya ng tsinelas nya ng mahulog ang isang parehas nito sa lawa ng Laguna? At napulot rin kaya ng nakapulot yung isang kaparehas na ibinato nya sa lawa?

Nasa edad bente pataas si Pepe ng lumisan para mag aral sa Europa at dito makikita mong lagalag talaga si Pepe, napakarami nyang napuntahang lugar. Nilibot nya nga ata ang boung Europa. At napadpad rin sya sa Alemanya.At nagkaisyu pa nga siyang tatay daw ni Adolf Hitler dahil minsan itong napadpad sa Alemanya, pero napatunayan naman na ito'y imposible sa hindi pagtutugma ng mga petsa ng mga pangyayari sa kapanganakan ni Hitler at pagpunta ni Pepe sa Alemanya. Kung ako ang tatanungin mo, oo sasabihin kong gala si Pepe at tunay na lakwatsero (kahit sabihing nag-aaral sa dun sa ibang bansa, sympre may mga perks yun :P).

Hep-hep-hep! Kung akala mo sa Europa lang sya napadpad, hindi ah napunta sya Hongkong Malaysia at Japan! Grabe tong taong 'to. At marahil dun rin umusbong ang labis niyang pagmamahal sa bayan ng iniwanan nya ito. At alam nating 'di sya nakatiis. Dahil alam niyang ang tunay na laban ay nasa Pilipinas at wala sa ibang bansa. At kung may nagawa siyang kadakilaan, sigurado akong hindi nya yun nagawang mag-isa.

Maraming na-link kay Pepe, ang ilang bilang ay siyam pero ay nagstand-out. Si Josephine. Nagpakasal nga kaya sya kay Josephine? Kung oo, nasan ang marraige certificate? Nasan ang NSO sa panahong iyon at kailangan natin sila? Kung meron mang pinatunayan si Pepe rito, isa lang yun. Mala Balagtas pala sya, isang masuyong mangingibig. Nagretract nga kaya talaga si Pepe para payagan makasal kay Josephine? At totoo kayang may syphilis ito?

Maliban sa Mi Ultimo Adios mayroon pang sulat na ginawa si Pepe bago sya mamatay na isinilid nya sa kanyang sapatos. Kaso hindi na nakuha ito kasi hindi na binigay sa mga Rizal ang bangkay ni Pepe. At marahil kasama na itong na decomposed nang mamatay sya. Anu kaya ang nilalaman nun? May hawak kaya talaga si Pepeng rosaryo sa kamay nya nung nabaril sya? Kung meron man, sapat na katibayan na ba ito para sabihing totoong nagbalik loob sya sa simbahang Katoliko? Hmm...

Bago bitayin si Pepe, may nagpropose na iligtas sya sa Fort Santiago, pero unang 'di sumang ayon ang kapatid nyang si Paciano. Bakit kaya? Ginusto kaya niyang isakripisyo ang kapatid nya para lalong maghimagsik ang taong bayan? Ginawa nya kayang trigger ung kapatid nya? At bakit ni minsan hindi nagkwento si Paciano patungkol sa rebolusyon sa mga anak nya matapos ito? Camera shy nga rin kaya sya? Kasi dalawang larawan lang meron si Paciano sa buong buhay nya. Bakit kaya?

Ang hindi ko kasi maintindihan ay kung planado ang nangyari sa Bagumbayan nung barilin sya? Kung bakit normal ang heartbeat nya ng suriin sya ng isang doktor bago sya barilin? Hindi ba sya kinakabahan? Hello papatayin ka na! Bakit napili pa nyang sabihin ang consumatum est ng barilin syan na ibig sabihin ay all is done? Na sya ring sinabi ni Kristo bago sya mamatay? Di kaya sya nga talaga ... uhmm, teka malabo yan!

Parang sumasang ayon na nga ako sa kapatid ko ngayon, pa-cool si Pepe. At pa-cool sya hangang sya'y bitayin at mukang hanggang ngayon cool sya. Tsk. Kung tatanungin rin anung tingin ko sa kanya, masasabi kong tulad rin natin sya, isang  kabataan, na naghangad lang ng mas mabuting kalagayan sa ating bansa. Walang syang pinagkaiba sayo o sa akin. Dahil tulad nya, marami tayong kayang gawin kung gugustuhin at pagsisikapan lang natin. Nag-aral sya, naglakbay, naglakwatsa, umibig, nabigo pero umibig muli, naghanap ng kasagutan sa mga tanong at naghanap ng dunong. At ginamit ito bilang sandata.

Eh anu bang kinalaman ni Pepe sa atin? Malaki mga mokong, gawin natin syang ehemplo si Pepe 'di lang para sa ating mga sarili kung hindi para na rin sa bansa natin, mag aral tayo, maghanap ng dunong, kumilos at tulungang bumangon ang ating bayan. Dahil tayo rin ang hahalili sa ating bayan pagdating ng panahon at kailangan nating itong pangalagaan para naman sa mga susunod na henerasyon. 

*Blogger's Note: No, I am not the author of this post Jose Rizal story tackling on the National Hero's greatness and its underlying, unending questions and mysteries. This is written by a very good (and smart!) friend of mine. Si Ayban. 

I was actually kinda envious on how knowledgeable he is regarding Rizal. While me, I'm all talk. I say his my idol while there's so little I know about the hero. But even if I'm less competent, let me do say that Rizal is my greatest inspiration in writing. He made me believe that with words, one can give greatness to his country. 

And Rizal, he made me dream, that with writing, I can, even just a little bit, make change. :)

P.S. Only the second time that I've borrowed someone else's writing. :)

Louis Vuitton uplifts the Filipino family

Partnership for children’s future.” Louis Vuitton has pledged a total of $120,000 to help the SOS Children’s Villages’ projects for striving families in Davao, Tacloban and Lipa

Louis Vuitton and SOS Children’s Villages Philippines will work hand in hand to protect Filipino children from being separated from their families. According to the high fashion luxury brand, “family-strengthening” will be the major focus of its local partnership with the non-government organization, which was formalized on June 16 at the Makati Shangri-La Hotel.

To support the many programs for the said cause, Louis Vuitton has pledged a total of $120,000 to be utilized within a two-year course. 

The announcement was made by Louis Vuitton president for Asia Pacific Jean-Baptiste Debains, Louis Vuitton Country Manager for the Philippines Rhea de Vera-Aguirre, and SOS Children’s Villages Philippines National Director Bienvenido Delgado.

Global partnership

According to Debains, the global partnership between Louis Vuitton and SOS Children’s Villages International began in 2010 when the two institutions signed a five-year agreement, which they called, “Partnership for Children’s Future."

This program focuses on a child’s right to education and protection from any form of child labor and abuse. When the agreement was signed, the key beneficiaries that were chosen were China, Vietnam, the Dominican Republic and the Philippines. 

Back then, Louis Vuitton’s Intellectual Property Department donated and distributed $500,000 among the SOS Children’s Villages in each country. 

Debains clarified that the donations do not come from the company’s sales but from Louis Vuitton’s anti-counterfeiting activities.

He explained that the luxury brand continuously fights counterfeiting in countries where big organizations are involved in the manufacture of fake Louis Vuitton bags. 

“There’s a lot of money involved around it [counterfeiting]. We believe that the persons selling the bags in the streets or in the stores are not the big criminal but the organizations behind them.

Turning to counterfeit laws, Louis Vuitton is able to get damages from the organizations involved in this criminal activity.

Louis Vuitton Asia Pacific President Jean Baptiste-Debains, Louis Vuitton Country  Manager Philippines Rhea  de Vera-Aguirre and SOS Children's Villages Philippines National Director Bienvenido Delgado

Local cooperation

The month of June saw Louis Vuitton’s first initiative to aid the SOS Children’s Villages Philippines. The funds from its Intellectual Property Department will go to SOS Children’s Villages in Davao, Tacloban and Lipa, the three oldest children’s villages in the country.

It is also notable that while Louis Vuitton’s partnership with other countries focuses solely on the SOS Children’s Villages, here, the partnership extends all the way to the local community.

This was explained by Delgado, who told The Manila Times, “We move from the Children’s Villages in Davao, Tacloban and Lipa to the communities around it. And this cooperation [with Louis Vuitton] is significant because these communities are the natural areas of growth. We go out where the children live with their biological families.”

SOS Davao, Tacloban and Lipa will soon hold its family strengthening programs, the top priority of which is to send as many children to school as they can. Louis Vuitton and SOS value education as the cornerstone of their partnership. Meanwhile, parents will also undergo training programs to learn how to best raise their families, so they will not resort to giving their children away due to hardships.

“This is actually the specific program that we’re [Louis Vuitton] supporting because it focuses on protecting the family and keeping the family together. I suppose a lot of these children have the risk of eventually having to go to the [SOS] villages that is why these efforts aim to prevent that situation from happening,” concluded Aguirre.

*First published for The Manila Times. Read here. 

A bigger and better Ballet Manila

Philippines' Prima Ballerina Lisa Macuja-Elizalde

In the next three or four years, prima Ballerina Lisa Macuja-Elizalde will just watch her beloved company, Ballet Manila (BM) from the sidelines.

“My major, major assignment as artistic director of Ballet Manila is to prepare the company and its 53 dancers to be on their own,” Macuja proudly announced at a press conference at the Makati Shangri-La Hotel. “I will just be leading, teaching and coaching them the way I’m doing [right] now, but without being the principal dancer on stage.”

The 47-year-old ballet prodigy believes that it is important for “Ballet Manila to live on and prosper as Ballet Manila,” and not as “Lisa Macuja-Elizalde’s ballet company.”

To do so, she is taking BM on a tour of London, Ireland, Singapore, Indonesia and Korea for the 2011 to 2012 performing season, in order to expose the dancers to an international audience. The company’s official calendar includes the “East Meets West” tour in London from June 30 to July 2, and in Ireland from July 4 to 6; “Ballet Under the Stars” in Singapore from July 15 to 17; the “5th World Gyeongju Culture Expo 2011” from September 4 to 11, and the “Andong International Mask Festival” from September 30 to October 9 in Korea; and lastly “Ballet Manila and Ballet Indonesia” in Indonesia from January 27 to 29, 2012.

Classical ballet foundation

Lisa with Ballet Manila's best dancers,
Rudy de Dios and Jennifer Olayvar

It is not known to many that at this stage, Ballet Manila’s dancers can already divide themselves into separate groups and perform in different venues without Macuja as principal ballerina.

Over the years, Macuja is proud to have trained highly skilled ballerinas, owing to the foundation of classical ballet. Together with co-artistic director and former dance partner Osias Barossa, she starts everyone off on the Russian Vaganova technique.

“I think with the Russian Vaganova technique, we properly train the dancers to tackle any form of ballet, whether it is contemporary dance, modern ballet or Filipino ethnic ballet,” Macuja explained. She further believes that it is this particular foundation that distinguishes BM from other ballet companies.

Last hurrahs

Now that Macuja has fully recovered from chronic tendonitis in both her ankles (she underwent surgery in December 2010), she is all set to perform the last full dances her favorite classics for the season.

In October, she will take on her final performance of Swan Lake as the twins Odette/Odile, to be followed in 2012 with her final bow as Kitri for Don Quixote.

The prima ballerina also plans to do the The Nutcracker, Romeo and Juliet, and Giselle before permanently going back stage.

Macuja confessed though that she will definitely find it painful to say goodbye to these full length classics, and will miss the feeling of being able to grow as a character from one act to the next.

Lisa shares Ballet Manila's busy season

Acceptance

Dancing for almost three decades now, Macuja admitted that she envies her current crop of dancers whose bodies are younger, jump higher and spin faster.

She knows she can never go back to her 20-year-old physique, even if she gives “200 percent” in training. “Tomorrow, ganun pa rin, mas mataas pa rin ang talon nila kaysa sa akin [it will be the same tomorrow, the younger dancers will still jump higher than I do],” she laughed. “I cannot jump as high as them anymore, ever. And that kind of acceptance is so important to me.”

But the prima ballerina still has something the younger generations of dancers don’t have. She has wisdom, experience and an illustrious reputation gained through sheer hard work throughout the years. Despite her age, it is certain that any performance by Lisa Macuja-Elizalde will draw in the crowds.

“It’s just what a live performance brings,” she humbly remarked. “A painter leaves behind a piece of work that can be hung on a wall—100 years from now, we will still be marveling at Leonardo da Vinci’s ‘Mona Lisa.’ But a performing artist leaves behind a memory of the performance where audiences see the sweat, the blood, the human machine that was pushed to the limit to do something very athletic and at the same time very artistic. Iba yon, hindi na yon mauulit [It’s irreplaceable].”

*First published for The Manila Times. Read here. Photos are mine. 

The one who wished me happiness

I am sitting here in the most forlorn corner of a nice cafe. It's a really nice cafe, the ambiance is bright, so I don't know how I was able to make this corner, where I'm unenergetically sipping my coffee, look like it's not part of the lovely Sunday morning. 

I'm an old man, fortunately I'm not poor. I can afford whatever luxury I might want. But at this age, there's something missing...

Overlooking the park just outside the cafe, I saw a young girl. A pretty girl perhaps 9 years old. She's not wearing a pretty dress for a Sunday mass. She wore shorts with pocket and a graffiti blouse matched with a green sneakers, what a statement! She was running around, laughing, playing, her parents were watching her while sitting in a nearby bench. 

The young girl was full of so much life and happiness. Her life is simple. 

I thought, at this age, I should have a granddaughter like her. But as forlorn as this cafe corner, I am a lone man. And I remembered the girl, years ago, that always wished me happiness. 

When I was in my teenage years, she said to me, "If you love someone, she must make you happy."  

When I was in my 20s, she said to me, "Look for a job that will make you happy."

When I was entering my prime, she said to me, "You need to search for your own happiness. If you can't find it, then make it." 

She always wished me happiness. 

Now, I wished that I listened to her. That I should have seen the kindness in her eyes and that I should have felt the hope in her touch. If I only did, maybe, just maybe, her wish could have come true. I think I would be happy if I only took her in my arms. And I'm quite sure, even if she did not wish for her happiness, it would make her happy too.

And then it would be like the universe conspiring things. Untangling the mesh of unending loneliness. But all this talk is like a young silly romantic girl fresh from a heart break. I'm an old man.

But I can't help it. I was a freaking stupid man. I didn't know what would make me happy. I was continuously aspiring for things, thinking and believing they were the things that would make me happy. But I was never happy. I was always messed up in the end. But she was there. It's as if she knew I was heading self-destruction. 

And know what, she would still tell me that I will be happy in spite of it all. I never believed her. But I wished I did.

I should have believed in her affection. I should have realized how beautiful her laugh is. I should have delighted in her childish spirit. I should have found happiness in her.

I wonder if I hurt her, the one who always wished me happiness while I go to the opposite end swallowing sadness? 

Look at me now? Hah! Pity. If I see her right now, maybe she'll have lines under her eyes and in her forehead too. But I'm quite sure that when she smile, her eyes would still smile and her wrinkled face would still bring a ray of sunlight.

Sa Boracay

Iba noong nakita na ng sarili kong mga mata ang Boracay. 'Yong pakiramdam na hindi na lang 'to likha ng imahinasyon mula sa lahat ng mga narinig ko sa kung kani-kaninong tao nakarating na at naranasan na ang mabakasyon sa lugar. 

'Yong maitapak ng sarili mong mga paa sa puting buhangin. Pero kailangan kong aminin sa ngayon na hindi pa ako nakakalubog sa tubig dagat. Mamayang maaga. 

Toes on the sands

Ngunit bakit nga ba ako nandito? Oo, sa maniwala ka at sa hindi, ako mismo parang ayaw kong maniwala, nandito ako para magtrabaho. Haha! Trabahong pasarap sa buhay. 

Kasama ako sa media fam tour para sa Boracay Garden Resort. Nandito kami kasama ng iba pang manunulat sa dyaryo para maranasan at maisulat ang lahat ng naranasan sa aming mga pahayagan. Pero saka ko na yon mararamdaman kapag malapit na ang deadline. :) Uhm, ang lapit na ng deadline..

At ganon na nga. Nakakainggit ba na malaman na nakarating ako sa pinaka-sikat na tourist destination sa Pinas ng walang gustos? Lumipad at tumuloy sa magandang hotel, pinakain ng pinakin ng masarap na pagkain ng walang ano mang sentimong nilabas sa pitaka? Oo nakakainggit talaga kung iisipin. Pero sa totoo lang, ang katotohan, sinabi ng kaibigang kong reporter na si Anton delos Reyes, "The irony is, Lifestyle Reporters get to experience things they can't afford." 

Haha. Couldn't help but nod. And that truth just makes me more thankful than I am already now. :)

Opportunities in life like this, you can't miss. These are the memories you'll always remember, "the firsts," ika nga! 

Klasik. Paglubog ng araw

P.S. Tatatak din sa isip ko na boring din dito sa Boracay. Haha. Para lang akong nagpunta sa mga sikat na bar strip sa Maynila (na hindi ko ginagawa at hindi ko naman masyadong ikinatuwa nung ginawa ko nga dito), pinagkaiba, nasa buhangin ito. Ang masaklap, 'yong komersyalismo, maari ring sabihing ekonomiya ng lokal na gobyerno, e sinisira na ang natural na ganda ng dagat. 

Sana naman, ang mga tao dito at wag kalimutang pangalagaan ang kalikasan. Masayang maranasan pa ng ibang henerasyon ang ganda ng Boracay. :)

P.P.S. Next blogs would probably just be photo blogs. Abangan! :)

Mamaya, lalangoy na ako sa tubig dagat. Exciting! Tubig!!! :)