Fifth Post - Donna Amayun

My Life, A Testimony To God's Faithfulness

I was born Donna Florendo (the oldest of five children) on September 9, 1955 in Santa Ana, Manila to Fernando Florendo and Thelma Estacion. My siblings are Fernando Jr. aka Nikki, Randy, Ariel and Chona. Our growing years consisted of packing our belongings and following my father to every town his job took him as an engineer. My mother had to find a job as a teacher too. We lived in places like Olongapo City, Bukidnon, Isabela, Iligan City, Quezon City, Manila and finally settled in Dumaguete City. As we traveled to these different places, I learned Ilocano, Cebuano and Tagalog. All my life, whatever my parents lacked in finances more than made up for it with a rich spiritual heritage and an overflowing Florendo sense of humor.

In 1972 at the age of 16, I went to Charlottesville, Virginia as an exchange student; it was there that I met relatives who played a major role in my life. Auntie Flora modeled generosity and faithfulness in remembering birthdays. Uncle Romy Escanilla of Maryland, became a second " father" to me. My mother's sister, Auntie Carmen, paid my tuition fees to the University of Santo Tomas where I received my medical degree.


In February 1983, my fiancé, Clarence Amayun migrated to the USA. In order to fulfill my promise to him, I followed. Tourist visas were nearly impossible to get but in June 1983, I arrived in New Haven, Connecticut. A few months later, we were married. Except for seventy-five dollars which paid for the wedding rings, we were both jobless and penniless. Fortunately, friends helped with other expenses. One of these was Manong Rene, who gave the wedding reception. Clarence had last seen Manong Rene as a 6 year old boy but by God's providence the cousins met. He also helped Clarence get a job at the lab of Yale- New Haven Hospital, which put food on the table, but more importantly, provided health insurance as I was now pregnant.

Our most pressing problem was my tourist visa. Friends advised me, " mag TNT (tago ng tago) ka" which meant becoming an illegal alien. As a couple, we vowed to honor God and obey US laws; by God's mercy, He chose to honor that vow. One Saturday afternoon, a congressman was one of the speakers in a gathering of demonstrators. Jeff Lennon, Clarence's friend and later husband of my sister, pointed out that the politician was none other than the chairman of the Immigration Committee. Clarence approached him and was given an invitation to discuss my case. The Congressman wrote a letter in my behalf which later became the first page in my file at the immigration office. I would appear before a deportation officer every 6 months in order to receive an extension of my visa. The last deportation officer was shocked over the impossibility of my case; nevertheless, he granted me an extension of my stay. After 8 years, I received my immigrant visa.


In early 1987, we started to make plans to go back to the Philippines. My husband had become increasingly discouraged. We had passed the ECFMG- an examination for foreign medical graduates and not ready to give up on our careers. But God had other plans. In the summer of 1987 after 4 years of looking for a position in a hospital, Clarence got accepted at DC General Hospital in Washington DC where he trained as a cardiologist.


We now reside in Kokomo, Indiana. I help manage the practice of Clarence. We have been blessed with 4 children. Nathan is in the US Navy with the aircraft carrier, USS George Washington. Clarence is a senior in Accounting at Purdue University. Matthew is a freshman at Purdue University. Dulce Ann Emiliana is an 8th grader at Northwestern Middle School.

My favorite hymn is " Great is Thy Faithfulness". As a Christian, I have not only witnessed God's faithfulness, but also His love. One of my favorite verses is Romans 5:8:


“But God demonstrates His own love for us in this: while we were still sinners, Christ died for us.”

God has been (and continues to be) our Provider all these years, for He is faithful!

Happy Thanksgiving! I am thankful to Jesus Christ my personal Lord and Savior.




Thelma “Nonet”, Chona, Fernando “Ando”, Ariel, Fernando Jr. “Nikki”, Donna and Randy



Thelma “Nonet”, Fernando “Ando”, Randy, Fernando Jr. “Nikki” and Donna
 


Ariel, Chona, Randy, Donna, Nikki, Ando and Nonet




Nathan, Matthew, Clarence & Dulce



Clarence & Donna



Clarence, Nathan, Dulce and Matthew

Fourth Post - Perla Ruby F. Niguidula-Gish

On July 25, 1943, I was born “Perla Ruby” to Flora, seventh child of the Florendo family, and to Pedro B. Francisco of Pililia, Rizal at the Bethany Hospital in San Fernando, La Union. Uncle Fred, Mama’s older brother was one of the attending physicians and his wife Auntie Puring suggested the name “Perla” after a pearl signifying a tear that also had healing powers. Mama added the second name, “Ruby,” which is my birthstone. I have one sibling, Pedro Jr., better known as “Spanky” who is my senior by one year and nine months.

The Philippines was occupied by Japan when I was a baby. Mama left me in the care of Nanang and Tatang while she and my Manong Spanky joined my Papa, a Philippine army officer, in some remote area. Auntie Nora, a teenager at that time, was my babysitter. When Mama returned to Bauang, I did not know her. She bathed and dressed me in new clothes and told me that she was my Mama. But I did not call her that right away until she was leaving the room, then I cried and said “Mama” for the first time – I was about two years old. My Manong Spanky told me that I was skinny and dark in complexion then. That was the beginning of the constant ribbings I received from my beloved brother growing up.

At the start of the school year in June 1950, I was one month shy of seven, the legal age to enter grade one. I could hardly reach my left ear when I placed my right arm over my head - the test if you’re seven years old. On the first day of school, I dressed myself and insisted on tagging along when Nanang took my cousin Nicky to attend grade one at Bauang Elementary School. The three of us walked from our ancestral home towards the train station, about three blocks away, crossed the railroad tracks, and took a short-cut by climbing a rickety makeshift ladder over a stone fence, walking through someone’s backyard, and crossing a narrow street to reach the back of the school building. Mrs. Sanchez, the grade one teacher who was also our next door neighbor knew me. She told Nanang that I could join her class as “saling pusa” (sit-in/observer). On that first day, I listened attentively to Mrs. Sanchez and would answer correctly when nobody else could give the answers to her questions. By the end of the day, when Nanang came to pick us up, Mrs. Sanchez told her that I was ready for grade one. I was class valedictorian in grades one and two at my first school in Bauang – a feat I accomplished successively throughout my school years.

Our family stayed in Bauang several times so I was close to Tatang and Nanang. Papa started a lumber business in 1948 and kept his inventory on a part of the ancestral property, and Mama gave piano lessons and took orders for homemade baked goods, birthday and weddings cakes. I helped her stir the cake batters by hand. Tatang who was bed ridden at the time, would ask me to sit beside his bed every afternoon and read the Bible to him, teaching me how to read the big words. He made me memorize his favorite Bible verses so I could recite them to him and to our house guests. He was proud of me. Patiently, he explained to me what the verses meant so I could understand and appreciate them better. Our morning devotional would usually start with Tatang singing an Ilocano hymn in a loud voice in his own key. He had a gentle smile and hug for me all the time. Nanang regularly inspected my hair for lice when I was little. Because I was skinny and a picky eater, she handfed me with fresh steamed shrimps and rice and little bits of her homemade chicharon to fatten me up.

We lived in Bauang from 1948 to the summer of 1952 when we moved to Manila. I remember that we were living in Felix Huertas when Uncle Ando knocked on our heavy door one day. Mama and I looked down from our second floor window. Uncle Ando looked up and mouthed the word, “Awanen,” (he’s gone.) Mama was crying while packing our suitcase to leave for Bauang. After Tatang’s funeral, we again stayed in Bauang to be with Nanang where I studied my first semester in fourth grade until Christmas break when we moved back to Manila where I finished all of my schooling.

Until I graduated from high school, I spent most of my summer months in Bauang. Nanang would come to Manila before school ended, bringing boxes of chicos, mangoes, and her special coconut candies and preserves. She would then take Manong Spanky and me (and any of our cousins who wanted to go) back with her to Bauang for the summer. We would ride the train from the Tutuban station early in the morning and arrive in Bauang right around lunchtime. The train stopped at several stations along the way and vendors would hop on the train to ply their hometown specialties. Nanang, at our insistent requests, would only let us sample the foods she thought were sanitary and of better quality.

Summer vacations meant endless games played with my cousins – “piko,” kick the can, “tumbang preso” and “patintero” on moonlit nights. Manong Spanky and my older cousins climbed the fruit trees like mango, chico, makopa, and our all time favorite mansanitas tree. The less brave and smaller ones like me waited for their handouts, if any. Nonetheless, Nanang always had fruits on the dining table for us to enjoy all summer long. I kept my own stash of chicos and mangoes to ripen underneath the bed where Nanang also hid her supply of tobacco leaves for her hand-rolled cigars. It was fascinating to watch her meticulously hand-roll her cigar, bite off one end before lighting the other end, and puff contentedly. When I asked, she said she was fourteen when she first started to smoke.

It was not all fun and games in Bauang. Even on vacation we kept a regular schedule that started with the traditional morning devotional. Nanang woke up around four in the morning to send her newsboys to collect the Manila Times newspaper from the train station. Then she would sit on her rocking chair and read her Bible until sunrise. She would then start singing a hymn with her beautiful voice and tap me on the shoulder to wake me up. As one of the “floor leaders,” I slept with the rest of my cousins on “banigs” (woven mats) on the wood floors in the living room. I in turn would wake up the others, including the privileged ones, who slept on beds in the bedrooms. We read scripture, sang hymns, and recited memorized verses and favorite poems. Nanang ended the devotional with a prayer, after which I helped put our beddings away while the rest read the morning papers, set the table for breakfast, or snuck back into the bedrooms to catch some more “zzz’s.”

Nanang, a disciplinarian, taught me the basics of cooking, how to bargain at the market, and how to wash dishes using plants and coconut barks with a minimal amount of water. I loved to watch Nanang cook our meals on a clay stove using firewood in her “dirty kitchen” under the old house. Using an iron turner and a big iron wok, she showed me how to cook “estrellado” (egg sunny side up) and taught me how to measure the water after washing the rice twice to cook boiled rice. My first attempt to cook rice was with Nicky. I used a small toy clay pot atop three stones on the ground. I may have put too much rice and not enough water or our little sticks burned out too soon, but we ended up eating raw rice with our broiled “tuyo” (dried fish). Nanang was one of the best cooks around and nothing can compare to the memories of wonderful meals served at our huge dining table that could easily seat twelve. One of my favorite breakfast foods was tortoise eggs that were hard-boiled but one could tear the soft shells. I liked playing with the fried frog legs before I ate them. These were field frogs that were a delicacy and Nanang cooked them to taste like fried chicken. Nanang also made the best “pinakbet” and “dinengdeng” and I can never equal her recipes for “lechon carajay” and “igado.”

In the early morning and in the late afternoon, Nanang would take me with her to the market to buy fresh fish and vegetables. A true Ilocana, she kept to her budget and we went home with reasonably priced quality food. She introduced me to her “sukis” (regular vendors) like Tatang Itong for rice, Nanang Piriang for her “padas bagoong,” and Nanang Carmen for dried fish. Occasionally, Nanang would ask me to buy “lomo” (beef tenderloin) from the beef supplier very early on Sunday mornings. I had to run as fast as I could to get there ahead of the maid of Doctor Floresca since only one cow was slaughtered once a week on Sundays in Bauang. Market day was every Thursday when we bought all kinds of goodies like “patupat,” “buyos,” “carioca” and “buchi” from the out of town vendors.

The older cousins were tasked to do more chores and errands. Nanang asked Nicky and me to mind her little store at the plaza (town center). She would give us money to buy halo-halo from Tatang Ricky, two stores down. I also had the task of washing dishes after meals. The older Joaquin brothers and my Manong Spanky took turns at the manual pump to fill up the water tanks in the house for use in our baths, toilet, and cooking. Sometimes Auntie Fema’s suitors would come and do this rigorous chore. A heavy downpour was always a blessing because the water drums around the house would be filled. Nanang also taught me how to wash my clothes with rain water using a “batya” and “palo-palo” large basin and wooden paddle). Frolicking around while taking a rain shower was a lot of fun and helped conserve our water supply.

During my pre-teen days, Nanang appointed me as Auntie Fema’s chaperone when she and her date would attend the jam session held at the plaza auditorium during town fiestas. In the summer of 1958, we had a full house in Bauang. As young teenagers, Nicky and I were sitters for our younger cousins – the Veloso boys and Uncle Teddy’s boys. To keep them occupied and out of trouble, we organized them into a singing band using crude musical instruments and entered them in the talent show during the town fiesta. After several rehearsals, they won third place and made Nanang proud of all of us.

Our ancestral home in Bauang was a haven and home to anyone that wanted to live there. During their early years of marriage, Auntie Melly and Uncle Ramon with Jeffrey, Gaye and Nitoy stayed in Bauang. I helped sell at their little sari-sari store in the summertime. While waiting for his Engineering board results, Uncle Ando also spent some time in Bauang. When he had a hot date, Nicky and I were asked to pick up his laundry from Nana Ining. When we arrived at her nipa hut, we waited while she finished pressing the last shirt using a coal-efficient iron resting on banana leaves. With the freshly pressed shirts hanging from wire hangers, we would run back home in record time – a miracle we didn’t drop them along the way. Auntie Nora and her family also stayed at least once in Bauang. Norissa was only a little girl when Nanang asked her to tell my visitors to go home before dinner time because we did not have enough plates for them. I had my share of suitors in Bauang, some traveled by train to visit me from San Fernando, La Union.

I cherish the anecdotes about our parents’ growing years told around the dinner table that I still remember to this day. Usually after dinner, especially when Auntie Lois was around, we had a program and talent show of sorts and each one came up with a number to perform. I would recite a monologue or declamation, sang a song or danced the hula, but never wanted to be the first number of the program. All these are precious memories and traditions that I am passing on to my children and their children as I inculcate in them the Florendo family values of praying together, working responsibly, loving and supporting each other, and keeping in close touch.

Photos:



Upper left – Perla at 4 years old
Upper right – Manong Spanky at 5 & 9 months
Lower left – Mama (23 years old) and Perla (3 years old)
Lower right - Nanang in 1956



Upper left – Auntie Fema (at 23) and Perla (at 15)
Upper right – Perla graduating Elementary valedictorian (1956)
Lower left – Perla (2 _ years old ) and Manong Spanky (4 years and 4 months)
Lower right – Mama and Perla in 1957




Upper left – Manong Spanky and Perla in 1957
Upper right – Pedro B. Francisco as a PMA Class 1940 graduate
Bottom photo – Francisco family picture in 1960

Third Post - Nicanor Florendo Joaquin

BIOGRAPHY OF NICANOR FLORENDO JOAQUIN

I WAS BORN DURING THE JAPANESE OCCUPATION. MY PARENTS ARE DONATO SR., A LAWYER, AND ELISA FLORENDO, AN ENGLISH AND DRAMA TEACHER FROM BAUANG, LA UNION. I AM THE THIRD OF 5 SIBLINGS--THE NEGLECTED ONE. MY OLDEST BROTHER IS RUDY, SECOND BROTHER IS DONATO JR., THIRD BROTHER IS DOEL (COMBINATION OF DONATO AND ELISA), AND THE ONLY GIRL SIBLING IS ELIZABETH.

SUMMER IN BAUANG, LA UNION:
MY FONDEST MEMORIES OF BAUANG WAS THE SUMMER OF 1958, WHEN PERLA NIGUIDULA, LECTI RABOR AND I WERE THE YOUNG ONES OF THE CENTURY. OUR YOUNGER COUSIN, JOY FLORENDO WAS THE RICH COUSIN WHO COULD AFFORD TO PLAY THE JUKE BOX AND TREAT US WITH HALO-HALO COSTING 10 CENTAVOS EACH.

MEDICAL SCHOOL IN THE PHILIPPINES:
I TOOK MY PRE-MEDICINE AT THE UNIVERSITY OF THE PHILIPPINES. HOWEVER, BECAUSE OF LACK OF FUNDS, I STOPPED FOR ONE YEAR. I JOINED UNCLE JOE RABOR IN EXPEDITIONS TO THE SOUTH OF THE PHILIPPINES. THEN I ENROLLED AT FAR EASTERN UNIVERSITY, COLLEGE OF MEDICINE. ON MY THIRD YEAR OF MEDICAL SCHOOL, MY FATHER DONATO SR. DIED OF A STROKE. MY MOTHER, ELISA BECAME THE SOLE BREADWINNER. SHE WAS A HIGH SCHOOL TEACHER DURING THE DAY AND IN THE EVENINGS, SHE WAS SELLING INSURANCE AND MAKING BRACELETS TO ADD TO OUR FINANCES. I HAD TO SIGN A PROMISORY NOTE BEFORE I COULD TAKE MY FINAL EXAMINATIONS.

MY INTERNSHIP WAS AT BROKENSHIRE HOSPITAL IN DAVAO CITY. I LEARNED HOT TO SPEAK VISAYAN. LITTLE DID I KNOW THEN THAT WHEN I MOVED TO HAWAII, I WILL BE USING ILOCANO, TAGALOG AND VISAYAN. I WORKED AT HOSPITAL NG MAYNILA FOR ONE YEAR, THEN I BECAME AN INTERISLAND SHIP PHYSICIAN.

UNITED STATES HERE I COME!
MY MOTHER, ELISA PETITIONED ME AND I CAME TO BALTIMORE, MARYLAND. I DID MY TRAINING IN INTERNAL MEDICINE AT MERCY HOSPITAL, AND SENIOR RESIDENCY AT FRANKLIN SQUARE HOSPITAL. I GOT MARRIED TO A GIRL I MET IN NEW YORK IN BALTIMORE. SHE MISCARRIED OUR FIRST BABY. THEN WE HAD 4 CHILDREN--NICOLE WAS BORN IN BALTIMORE, MARYLAND AND OUR NEXT 3 CHILDREN--NOELANI, TOREY AND ALEXI WERE ALL BORN IN HONOLULU, HAWAII.

ALOHA:
WHEN I ARRIVED IN HAWAII, I FIRST WORKED AT KAISER PERMANENTE, THEN I STARTED MY OWN PRACTICE. I THOUGHT I HAD A PERFECT MARRIAGE. I WORKED REAL HARD. I DID NOT SMOKE NOR GAMBLE. AND I WENT TO CHURCH REGULARLY. THEN I GOT DIVORCED. DURING OUR DIVORCE, MY EX-WIFE TOOK MY 4 YOUNG CHILDREN AWAY TO THE PHILIPPINES.

I JOINED A FELLOWSHIP GROUP AT CENTRAL UNION CHURCH CALLED EDGE OF ADVENTURE. I POURED MY HEART OUT AND TOLD THEM THAT MY CHILDREN WERE TAKEN AWAY FROM ME. THEN ON ONE OF OUR SESSIONS, THE GROUP LEADER TOLD US ABOUT THEIR BRILLIANT DAUGHTER, AT THE YOUNG AGE OF 19 RECENTLY DIED OF CANCER. I FELT SO ASHAMED. I WAS COMPLAINING TO GOD ABOUT MY PLIGHT AND YET I KNEW MY CHILDREN WERE TAKEN CARED OF IN THE PHILIPPINES.

NEW LIFE, NEW WIFE:
AFTER A YEAR, I AGAIN FELL IN LOVE WITH MY WIFE, IMELDA. SHE IS A NUTRITION GRADUATE FROM THE UNIVERSITY OF SANTO TOMAS AND AN ILOCANA. WE HAVE THREE CHILDREN--NICHOLAI, MA. DONELIZA (COMBINATION OF DONATO AND ELISA) AND DESIREE.

WHEN MY FOUR OLDER CHILDREN CAME BACK FROM THE PHILIPPINES, WE ALL TRAVELLED TOGETHER EVERY TWO YEARS, DURING THE SUMMER. WE HAVE GONE TO DISNEYLAND A FEW TIMES, SAN DIEGO AND LAS VEGAS. WE ALSO WENT ON A CRUISE ON THE BIG RED BOAT (DISNEY) FROM DISNEYWORLD IN FLORIDA TO THE BAHAMAS. OUR LAST TRIP TOGETHER WAS IN EUROPE (LONDON, PARIS AND ROME). THE CHILDREN BONDED WELL DURING OUR TRAVELS. LATER ON THE KIDS WERE LEAVING US ONE BY ONE, PURSUING THEIR OWN DREAMS AND AMBITIONS. AND WE ALWAYS LOOK FORWARD TO THE VISITS MAKE--RECITALS, GRADUATIONS, WEDDINGS, AND ESPECIALLY THEIR COMING BACK HOME EVEN JUST TO VISIT.

I AM A PAST PRESIDENT OF THE PHILIPPINE MEDICAL ASSOCIATION OF HAWAII,AND PRESENTLY THE PRESIDENT OF BAYANIHAN CLINIC WITHOUT WALLS (NEW IMMIGRANTS WITHOUT MEDICAL INSURANCE ARE SEEN IN OUR MEDICAL OFFICES FREE OF CHARGE). I AM STILL ACTIVE WITH THE CENTRAL UNION CHURCH CHOIR AND SILANGAN SINGERS CULTURAL FILIPINO GROUP.

I AM THE ONLY PHYSICIAN TO BE INDUCTED AS ENTREPRENEUR OF THE YEAR(2005), SPONSORED BY THE PHILIPPINE CHAMBER OF COMMERCE OF HAWAII. THIS YEAR, WE HAVE BEEN ENTERED AS PARENTS OF THE YEAR FINALISTS FOR 2009, SPONSORED BY THE PHILIPPINE CULTURAL ARTS FOUNDATION OF HAWAII.

ONE OF MY MANY HOBBIES IS TAKING AND COLLECTING PICTURES OF MY FAMILY. I HAVE A ROOM BUILT BY OUR SWIMMING POOL TO STORE ALL THESE PICTURE ALBUMS AND VIDEOTAPES. MY OTHER ACTIVITIES INCLUDE BOBY BUILDING, JOGGING, GOLF (I HAVE IMPROVED!), PLAYING THE PIANO AND SINGING.

MY FUTURE PLANS INCLUDE TRAVELLING WITH MY WIFE, IMELDA FOR 7-10 DAYS, 2-3X A YEAR. I WILL EVENTUALLY CUT DOWN MY WORKING HOURS FROM MONDAY TO FRIDAY ONLY THEN MAYBE AFTER 2 YEARS, JUST WORK 3X A WEEK.

LUCKY SEVEN PLUS THREE

NICHOLEETE (NIKKI) SKALUBA - BARNARD COLLEGE, NEW YORK--DOUBLE MAJOR IN BIOLOGY AND
FILM DIRECTING. SEATTLE UNIVERSITY-- COLLEGE OF LAW. NOW DOING PRIVATE LAW PRACTICE IN HONOLULU, HAWAII.

NOELANI (NOE) TILLERY - HIGHLINE COMMUNITY COLLEGE, SEATTLE, WA.--NURSING. NOW AN EMERGENCY ROOM NURSE IN PETALUMA, CALIFORNIA.

TOREY JOAQUIN - SEATTLE UNIVERSITY, SEATTLE, WA. - CRIMINAL JUSTICE. NOW AN OFFICER IN ONE OF THE BIGGEST FEDERAL PRISONS IN WASHINGTON STATE.

ALEXI JOAQUIN - SEATTLE UNVERSITY, SEATTLE, WA. - BUSINESS ADMINISTRATION.NOW WORKS FOR HAWAII TELCOM CREDIT UNION AND A REALTOR IN HONOLULU, HI.

NICHOLAI JOAQUIN - NEW YORK UNIVERSITY, NEW YORK--DOUBLE MAJOR IN CLASSICAL VOICE AND ANTHROPOLOGY, SUMMA CUM LAUDE. NOW EMPLOYED WITH NEW YORK POPS,NYC.

MA. DONELIZA (BUBBA) JOAQUIN - FORDHAM UNIVERSITY, NEW YORK--SENIOR MAJORING IN URBAN STUDIES. DEAN'S LIST.

DESIREE JOAQUIN - CONCORDIA UNIVERSITY - PORTLAND OREGON-- 1ST AND 2ND YEAR COLLEGE UNIVERSITY OF HAWAII, MANOA - JUNIOR, ELEM. EDUCATION MAJOR.

I HAVE 3 GRANDCHILDREN. THEY CALL ME PAPA NICK. THEY ARE THE TILLERY
KIDS: AIKO-7; POMAIKAI-5, AND KEKOA-2 YEARS OLD.

IT HAS BEEN A LONG JOURNEY WITH UPS AND DOWNS. I AM TRULY GRATEFUL TO TATANG, NANANG, UNCLES, AUNTIES, COUSINS AND MY FAMILY FOR THE JOS AND PRIVILEGE OF BEING A MEMBER OF THE FLORENDO CLAN.