doris novicio / letter from beijing

November 7 was a cold and chilly day in Beijing. But the overwhelming support of the Filipino community brought warmth and splendor to an event dubbed Pista, or the Philippine Charity Ball, organised by Beijing-based Filipino professionals in cooperation with the Philippine embassy.

A brainchild of two pioneering spirits and highly respected members of the Filcom here – Jimi FlorCruz, CNN Bureau Chief and Vlad Reyes, general manager of the Double Tree by Hilton – Pista is the second charity event (the first was Rigodon in 2007) aimed at raising funds for charities.

While last Saturday’s event was themed Pista, it had a more meaningful twist, focusing on the spirit of bayanihan, an age-old Filipino tradition, which, as co-chairs Jimi and Vlad describe, “encourages the coming together to help neighbors, especially the less fortunate”.

These days, bayanihan not only means helping our immediate neighbors but the global community as well. For this year’s ball, help goes to Chinese and Filipino children, through the UP-PGH Child Foundation, BICCO or Beijing International Committee for Chinese Orphans and victims of recent flooding in the Philippines.

I have been privileged to be invited to this year’s 14-member organizing committee, which was a great learning experience for me. Since all of us had our day jobs, and three of the members were out of Beijing, meetings and brainstorming sessions were held on weekends or after work and unfinished tasks and sharing of ideas were continued via email.

Thanks to the wonders of cyber-age, we worked on the tickets, flyers, souvenir program and other paraphernalia promptly and efficiently. Making sure that financial resources are spent only on important items, each of us volunteered to tasks related to events management, writing, editing, designing, accounting, making presentations, etc. It was teamwork at its best.

All of us must have had our own heartwarming, inspiring, funny, not to discount, outrageous experiences as we we went about selling tickets to meet the 300-guests goal. It’s both touching and overwhelming how friends, acquaintances and our respective social networks expressed support not only by buying tickets but also by referring other people and encouraging them to buy tickets for a worthy cause.

With Pista came good food, a showcase of genuine Filipino talents and all-night dancing in the company of great friends, new-found friends and patrons who banded together to make a difference in the lives of others.

World-class comedienne Nanette Inventor brought the house down with her stand-up comedy act and lively songs, the biggest hit of which was Frank Sinatra’s My Way, interspersed and sung to the tune of the late Michael Jackson’s hit song Billie Jean.

Cocktails and dance music were provided by two famous Beijing-based bands – Sound Forge and Sound Page, while the menu was a fine cuisine of a truly delectable combination of sinigang, lumpiang sariwa, adobo, kare kare and mango crepe.

Raffle prizes came from generous donors from the airline, hotel, restaurant, pharmaceutical and consumer industries, and local and multinational companies. We also sold raffle tickets. It’s amazing to realise that over 35,000 yuan was raised from on-the-spot raffle ticket sales that night.

As of this writing, unofficial amount raised from the event, is over a million pesos, net of expenses. It’s moving how our kababayans and our friends and patrons from other countries have unselfishly shared their resources all in the spirit of giving for charity.

Along with the rest of more than one billion Chinese, we were glued to the TV the day the People’s Republic of China turned 60.

Months before the big celebration, we had read and heard reports about the grand parade along Tiananmen Square and the whole stretch of Chang An Avenue (the longest street in Beijing).

We were looking forward to witness the parade live from the streets of Beijing or at least from the rooftop of a friend’s apartment. We imagined the festive streets of the city, with every nook and cranny decorated with red lanterns, fresh, multi-colored flowers bearing congratulatory symbols to mark the country’s founding 60 years ago.

It’s like reliving the days of the Olympic Games, we thought.   However, the last few weeks leading to October 1 somehow dampened our excitement when word came out that the whole stretch of Chang An Avenue will be cordoned off to the public. 

Only top government officials, top diplomats, foreign dignitaries and special guests will have the chance to watch the parade live from platforms specifically built along the sides of the Forbidden City and Tiananmen Square. 

For two consecutive weekends, there were huge traffic jams in Beijing’s thoroughfares due to the rehearsals. People were inconvenienced and that was expected for a show with a cast of more than 200,000 people.  

Like the Olympic Games, security was heightened.  Heavily armed men in full battle gears guarded major streets and establishments, including the South Cathedral Church where a big number of expatriates and diplomats go for Sunday Mass. 

The streets of Beijing went through another facelift. Tiananmen Square was dressed up in full regalia exhibiting themes of 60 years of  the republic. Giant TV screens showed video playbacks of  the country’s milestones. Beijing’s major parks and temples – were dressed up in celebratory moods and right within our community, a new park by the river was built in less than a month.

We called it our instant park because we saw right before our very eyes how trees were transplanted, flowering plants were arranged and how workers toiled 24/7 to finish it  days before October 1. A new China National Science and Technology Museum, near the Bird’s Nest and Olympic Green Park opened 10 days before October 1 to the delight of the people, especially the children. 

We went to the new museum right after the National Day and our children and their friends had a blast exploring, experimenting, tinkering with the exhibits and simply having fun in the science paradise. Amazing, is how I describe China’s way of preparing for grand celebrations. 

Once again, this country took center stage, as it showcased to the world a two and a half hour parade of its latest, state-of-the art  military weapons and equipment followed by a parade of 60 magnificently designed floats each depicting China’s accomplishments in the fields of governance, economics, education, medicine, science and technology, sports, international relations and a lot more. 

In between watching the parade on screen, we would once in a while go out in the garden to witness the spectacular air show. As spectators and expatriates in China, we couldn’t help but share the thrill and pride with the people of our host country, albeit, some sense of envy for what they have accomplished compared to their state of affairs some 60 years back.

And like the thrill and excitement we felt during the Olympic Games, once more, we felt lucky to be here to experience a piece of Chinese history.

Our visit to Korea was so memorable it inspired our  young son Paolo to write down his experiences.

I thought I’d give him space in this column to share his thoughts about the journey but as it turns out, he had more than a mouthful to say. So here’s Part Two of his piece:

We went to a cave called Manjanggul which has the longest lava tube in the world. Most of the time, water drips from the ceiling and it is freezing cold.

The lighting there was not so good and the trail was really rugged. Then we went to Mysterious Road. It is called Mysterious Road because even if your engine is off, the car can still move.

That was our tour for the day. It was an amazing tour. The next day, we took another tour. The first thing we did was go to a tea plantation and see how tea was made.

It smelled very fresh. Then we went to Hallim Park. Hallim Park is one of the most beautiful parks on Jeju Island. There are many animals from different countries there.

There are folk villages and gardens as well. There was a lovely bonsai garden and my Dad took a picture of us near the so called tree of peace.

The tree of peace was planted to symbolise hope that someday, North and South Korea will be one again. It also has long caves which show bones of dragons and rock formations. We also had our lunch of Korean food there.

Then we went to Hyeopjae Beach. The tide was strong and the breeze was really fresh. It is one of the most beautiful beaches in Jeju Island and the water is shallow and sweet which makes many people visit this beach.

But my parents think we still have the best beaches in the world.

We then went to Jusangjeolli Rocks which is near the sea. They have huge rock formations and hexagonal pillars. This place is a popular tourist attraction.

Then we went to the biggest Buddhism Temple in Asia called Yakcheonsa.

We saw huge Buddha figures and observed how people prayed to them.

Then we went to Jeongbang Waterfalls. It is a waterfall that leads to the ocean. We spent time playing, resting and simply enjoying the beautiful scenes around us. We also took photos. That was the end of our tour. Then next day we did a submarine tour. We transferred from a boat into the submarine.

We saw fish we never saw before as well as a ship wreck. A diver was also feeding the fish. We went more than 40 meters underwater.

The following day, we went to Seoul which is the capital of South Korea. It was an hour’s drive from the airport to our hotel. We did a lot of sight-seeing and enjoyed some Korean food during our stay. We took the Day City Tour Bus and we stopped at the Korean War Memorial.

We found out about the war between North and South Korea. More than 10,000 people died, including more than 100 Filipinos. My sister Clara found that special place in the war memorial with all the names of Filipino soldiers who died during the war.

Our Dad took our photos in that place. We saw tons of machines, aircraft, sea vessels, parachutes, motorbikes and more that were used during the war. We also went to a palace and saw old fashioned hotels and houses.  

We also visited the Olympic Stadium. My Dad said he was at the Seoul Olympic Games in 1988 and it would be a good experience for us to visit the place as a family. Then next day we took the shuttle bus to the airport and came back to Beijing.

That was my memorable experience in Jeju Island and Seoul with my family.