Destination: Athens

Greece, known as the bastion of philosophers and great men, gifted by
the gods with every possible — beautiful things.  The cradle of
civilization — .

Moving to Athens for me is like reliving the
old ancient Greek mythology life of the god.  In my High School English
class, where we had Greek mythology (still stuck in my memory bubble),
I had been fascinated by these timeless tales.

Hmmm, I figured
it must be exciting and will be quite an experience — to actually be
where the great philosophers and men once lived. I wanted to go to Mt.
Olympus to meet the Olympians — Zeus, Hera, Athena, Aphrodite and the
others.  To like breathe the same air they have inhaled a long –very
long, time ago.  To walk the steps they took.

I researched very
little about the place having studied it in HS and College, I thought I
have enough knowledge stored and will be given a short briefing by the
husband in relation to his work there.

It was mid-autumn when we
arrived. The place was extremely lovely. Out of excitement, I had a
severe bout of jet lag. I had forgotten about my wild thoughts about
Greece.

Consul General Vingno, the hubby, said that about 30,000 Filipinos are in Greece and that an estimate of 10,000 are in Athens.

His
Excellency Rigoberto D. Tiglao, our Ambassador to the Hellenic Republic
and the Republic of Cyprus, was known to be the spunky Spokesperson of
PGMA before this appointment.  Amb. Tiglao had been appointed as Press
Secretary, Chief of Staff and as PMS Head.   



The Ambassador is with his lovely and chic wife, Getsy.  Both are veteran journalists.



I met several Filipinos living in Athens.  Some say they have
considered Greece as their home while others are still planning to come
back and retire in the Philippines.

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Denial

Three years ago, I wrote about depression.  The year was 2005. It was my first year as a blog writer.  There were only a few bloggers then.  It has been three long years.  A lot has happened, even unimaginable things – have happened.  And the world has changed.   I took out my blog because I found out that there were sites that used my piece as a reference and would link up to my site.

2008. This is the year of Obama and Palin stardom.  And this will also probably be the year of the second world depression.

With all the economic downturn, world stock markets are sinking – the whole world will definitely feel another attack of economic depression, again. I say again, because the first one was in 1929, and it was called the Great Depression.

But what is the real impact of all these financial chaos to an ordinary individual?

In Japan, it has been reported that about 90 cases of suicide which is an alarming statistics. Japanese are known for their “hara-kiri”, a ritual of suicide – an honorable way of taking their own life — dying with their dignity up to their grave.

Is that what we are when we die?  We become a matter of statistics – a variable to it?

Real poor people are living everyday – struggling to work, to have a decent life for themselves and their family. 

There are child laborers – .  There are people/families living under a dollar per day. 

In the 70’s, I remember, in school and in literatures I have read, that Africa has been described to be a poor country. 

Now, I see people living in the streets.  Some with tents/shanties but some of them, they live under the bridge.

This is not Africa.

Africa has moved forward and progressed.

What is one to do?  What is one suppose to feel about all these?

The signs of depression in one’s life would be:

    Restlessness or irritability;
    Sleeping too much or lack of it;
    Feeling of emptiness;
     Persistent anxious and sadness;
Physical Pains or symptoms;
Weight loss or weight gain
Loss of pleasure or interest in daily activities;
    Indecisiveness or cannot concentrate or dementia;
    Fatigue;
    Thoughts of suicide or death;
    Feeling of unexplainable guilt.

But there is also another character of depression – denial!

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Unbreak my heart

I love this song.  I love Tony Braxton. 

Every time I hear this song – I am filled me with so much emotion inside me – then the next thing that I feel is like I am being enveloped and transported back in time – to that phase of my life that I want to forget.  That I wish did not happen.

Sometimes, the emotion is just too much to bear that I cannot help but shed a tear.  And have goose bumps all over.  I feel like there is too much pain, sadness, grief and emptiness.  It’s like a desperation of something — of a longing for someone – for that someone to come back – and to love you as if it was the first time.

My husband would be laughing at me again if he sees me in this state – of being maudlin. 

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