the M weekend that was

1. Related to MWeekend: 116 (last is Gerry's message #860)(give & take baka may na miss)

2. First message posted re: MWEEKEND: 8:27am August 21, 2008 by Fr. Ronald, subject: Sana MWeekend na!

3. Two subjects most responded to: a. Sana M Weekend NA, b. M-Weekend Malapit na!

4. first message sent with subject M-Weekend Malapit NA: 6:25pm, 10/5/2008 by Fr. Ronald, Again!

5. # of messages exchanged under the subject: M-Weekend Malapit na! - 82 messages

6. members & # of messages:
30=Ricky
17=RTP
13=Joy
12=Glenn
12=Gerry
06=Delia
05=Tin-tin
05=Terence
03=Rezeil
03=Marnet
03=Gecca
02=Randy
01=Nestie
01=Ruel
01=Sheng
01=Joe
01=Margie


ATTENDEES!!!
1. Ricky
2. Fr. Ronald
3. Bishop Wens
4. Ariel
5. Connie
6. Gerry
7. Nancy
8. Glenn
9. Joy
10. Ruel
11. Rem
12. Myles
13. Ronnie
14. Rene
15. Angie
16. Terence
18. Tin-Tin
19. Ronald NTP
20. Rezeil
21. Mr. Novicio
22. Jun
23. Cecil
24. Sandra
25. Nelie
26. Berlie
27. Irma
28. Delia
29. REmy
30. Kai
31. Yaya
32. Terelj Girl 1
33. Terelj Girl 2
34. Terelj Girl 3
35. Terelj Girl 4
36. Jaime
37. Lito
38. Band-Enteng
39. Band-Darren
39. Band Member with Enteng
40. Band 1
41. Band 2
42. Band 3
43. Grace
44. Rick (joy's neighbor)

Kids:
45. John
46. Jaco
47. karen
48. Kara
49. Kevin
50. Karina (kai's daughter)

(Did I miss someone somewhere down the road? She may be the face I can't forget!!!)

VIDEOKE
Highest score = 99 (d ko alam kanino to) kung may 100 man dyan at na-off ang TV pasensiya na.

courtesy of Terence

catholic 'kumpil'

according to the catholic calendar, it was Christ the King Sunday. it was also confirmation for some - one of them was a son of a filipino and danish couple.

for catholics, confirmation is one of the observed sacraments by the members. this usually follows baptism, after reaching the age of reason.

the catholic church was housed by adjacent gers (local circular tents). it was a mongolian congregation. mass was mainly in the local language, with the homily being delivered in both mongolian and english.

the parish priest was a filipino. but for that day, a filipino priest from the catholic school in UB officiated the mass and confirmation rites.

after the mass, food was distributed to all attendees. as usual, the filipinos could not wait to have a group picture taken of them. it is unexplainable. but certainly this must be something about missing home - the philippines...

PS. paparazzi at church...

weekend at a tourist complex

it was only about 30 kms outside of UB, deviating on the left hand side before the airport. jargalant tourist complex.




the ger camp area







the gers were built in pairs. amenities: 4 single beds, telephone, cable tv, fridge, heater, hot and cold water, western type of bathroom, and extra floor space.







we put up a tent outside the camp for bbq, play area for the kids (and adults as well) and for sleeping too.








the kids at play. terence was the childminder.








the bbq chef









the official taster











the assistant chefs cum housekeepers







it's dinner time: chicken bbq, ox tongue, sausage and salad. of course, rice is a constant.










the 4 musketeers. one was behind the camera.










dining with a view











the other view








it was getting dark yet there were not any mosquitoes around, except for some flies during dinner. it was time for beers and karaoke.








the steppes around







houses were being built in this area. how would you like one? ask this guy....








a walk before lunch











what bird is it?








there was an archery area too









running








hiking - oh the kids were restless!










then it's time for a nap!








going for a bit change of ambience










some food and drinks before leaving







we only stayed overnight and during the day, but it was fun and very relaxing. it was good it did not rain. one even said it was great just lying down on the grass, and looking at the stars during the night. well, it was a good reason to unwind.

new band at strings

it is solid gold! that's the name of the new band. it consists of 3 filipinos, 2 singaporeans/malays, and 1 colombian. their playlist usually is a partymix. slow, jazzy and danceable music. they are not very loud yet warm in their renditions. catch them up at strings for the next 3 months (at least). to the band: welcome to mongolia!


i got a sight of the new band during the visit of vic - a filipino health consultant based in cambodia. vic did a training for UNFPA in mongolia for 2 weeks. he might be visiting again though. nice to have met you p're!

mark, jing and vic

i-witness documentary on pinoy volunteers

here is a video clip of what was shown on philippine tv gma7 last 13 august 2007. this is not the full version yet it gives us a view of what filipino volunteers are doing in mongolia.


For the latest Philippine news stories and videos, visit GMANews.TV

witnessing mongolia

courtesy of vso bahaginan, philippine's gma7 i-witness crew came to mongolia, to document the lives of filipino volunteers. this is sort of documenting too the 'documentarists'.

almost spring!

snow and ice still covered the landscape but it was about two days before 'tsagaan sar' - the mongolian lunar new year and the official start of spring. coming from a tropical country, we were looking forward to the less colder seasons of the year.

kare-kare weekend

it was an ordinary get-together but a good excuse to have kare-kare (oxtail stew in peanut sauce) with sauteed korean shrimp paste - almost as good as the 'alamang' back home . one filipino volunteer just arrived from the philippines for a short-term stint and so it became as well a welcome dinner party for her.

we came to meet a new filipino couple who were canadian immigrants but whose work assigned them to mongolia. aside from the kare-kare, there was noodle - cooked a la 'pancit canton'. a friend from the peace corps also came.

ulaanbaatar

about 60 filipinos more or less, are staying in mongolia. from different walks of life in the philippines and also with differing circumstances, they have come to mongolia - the land of chinggis khan, steppes and blue skies.

a side of ulaanbaatar, the capital of mongolia on a saturday morning.

a 'ger' (circular tent) district in the suburb of ulaanbaatar