Sowing the seeds of hope and friendship

The Philippines and China are traditionally good neighbors with a long history of exchanges and friendship. Ilocanos and the people of North Luzon are friendly, and usually greet Chinese people with 'Ni Hao'.

With the deepening of China-Philippine communication and cooperation, the enthusiasm of Filipinos to learn Chinese is increasing. However, there has been a shortage of native Chinese language teachers for years in the northern part.

In order to cultivate a group of talents proficient in both languages and cultures of two countries, the Chinese Consulate in Laoag set up a scholarship to support local students to study in China since 2016. The consulate and local government jointly selected outstanding candidates. Melody Allado, a student from Paoay National High School, is one of the winners.

In June 2020, Melody successfully graduated from Minnan Normal University in Fujian Province.

Recalling the amazing experience in China, Melody said, "I am very grateful to the Chinese Consulate for granting me the scholarship. My life studying abroad has been joyful with a lot of unforgettable moments. Besides having knowledge of the Chinese language, I have also learned paper-cutting, tea art and traditional dances. I hope to teach all of it to my students.”

After her graduation, she went back to Philippines, and committed to be a Chinese language teacher and an envoy of Chinese culture and China-Philippine friendship.

Chinese Consul& Head of Post Zhou Youbin encouraged her to further strengthen professional learning on her major.

This August, Melody successfully joined the faculty team of Mariano Marcos State University and became the first native Chinese language teacher of the university.

MMSU President Dr. Shirley Agrupis said, "Her hiring spells my administration's commitment to sustain the offering of Mandarin language in the university and my pledge to further Chinese studies and culture as well. My vision for the next years is for MMSU to become a fountain of Chinese knowledge and tradition in this part of the country."

As the Chinese proverb says, "It takes ten years to grow a tree, but a hundred years to bring up a generation of good men." We wish Melody success in her teaching career, and sow new seeds of hope and friendship between China and the Philippines.

Comments

Empanada festival: A celebration of good taste and good life

By Dominic B. dela Cruz & Leilanie G. Adriano Staff reporters BATAC CITY—If there is one thing Batac is truly proud of, it would be its famous empanada-making business that has nurtured its people over the years. Embracing a century-old culture and culinary tradition, Batac’s empanada claims to be the best and tastiest in the country with its distinctive Ilokano taste courtesy of its local ingredients: fresh grated papaya, mongo, chopped longganisa, and egg. The crispy orange wrapper and is made of rice flour that is deep-fried. The celebration of this city’s famous traditional fast food attracting locals and tourists elsewhere comes with the City Charter Day of Batac every 23 rd of June. Every year, the City Government of Batac led by Mayor Jeffrey Jubal Nalupta commemorate the city’s charter day celebration to further promote its famous One-Town, One Product, the Batac empanada. Empanada City The Batac empanada festival has already become...

Free dormitories eyed for Nueva Era students in LC, Batac

Nueva Era mayor Aldrin Garvida By Dominic B. dela Cruz ( Staff Reporter) Nueva Era , Ilocos Norte—The municipal government here, headed by Nueva Era mayor Aldrin Garvida is planning to establish dormitories in the cities of Laoag and Batac that will exclusively cater to college students from the said cities. “Sapay la kuma ta maituloyen iti mabiit tay ar-arapaapen tayo ken iti munisipyo a maipatakderan kuma dagiti annak tayo a college students nga agbasbasa idiay siyudad iti Batac ken Laoag iti libre a dormitoryo a bukod da ngem inggana nga awan pay ket an-anusan mi paylaeng nga ibaklay kenni apo bise mayor iti pagbayad da iti kasera aggapu iti bukod mi a suweldo malaksid dagitay it-ited iti munisipyo ken iti barangay nga stipend da kada semester, ” Garvida said. Garvida added that the proposed establishment of dormitories would be a big help to the students’ parents as this would shoulder the expenses of their children for rent and likewise they would feel...

P29 per kilo rice sold to vulnerable groups in Ilocos region

BBM RICE. Residents buy rice for only PHP29 per kilo at the NIA compound in San Nicolas town, Ilocos Norte province on Sept. 13, 2024. The activity was under a nationwide pilot program of the government to sell quality and affordable rice initially to the vulnerable sectors. (Lei Adriano) San Nicolas , Ilocos Norte —Senior citizens, persons with disability, and solo parents availed of cheap rice sold at PHP29 per kilogram during the grand launching of the Bagong Bayaning Magsasaka (BBM) Rice held at the National Irrigation Administration compound in San Nicolas, Ilocos Norte province on Sept. 13, 2024. “ Maraming salamat Pangulong Ferdinand R. Marcos Jr. sa inyong pagmamahal sa Region 1 lalong-lalo na sa bayan namin sa San Nicolas,” said Violeta Pasion, a resident Brgy. 18 Bingao in this town. The low-priced grains were sourced from the National Irrigation Administration’s (NIA) contract farming with irrigators' association members in the province. Along with Pasion, Epi...

The Ilocos Times

Search This Blog