ABAKADA, Ina

Abakada, Ina (FILM)

Abakada, Ina is a Filipino film fixated on how women strive hard to be the best for their children. The story is mainly about an illiterate woman named Estella who tries to cope with her mother-in-law, who’s doing her responsibility as a mother in Estella’s stead. Her husband Daniel, works far away from home and he is the breadwinner for the family. Matilda, Estella’s mother-in-law and Daniel’s mother, took care and taught the children every possible thing a human being could and should learn most especially education. She puts a lot of effort raising the children to grow as an literate citizens unlike Estella. That leaves Estella no choice and sells “kakanin” in the market instead.

I felt pity for Estella for her illiteracy. I mean, is it a fault if you’re unschooled? Just because there are really certain things that are not reachable at that time. I felt pity for Estella, for having a miserable life during the time when they transferred to Manila. Manila is a busy place, no time for learning and you should really immediately start working to live. They were culture shocked and their life was at stake. Her 2 older daughters were on the top of the class when they were in their province but when they were in the city, an unfamiliar and new place for them, they were nobodies. Estella also met a hostess. I really thought she would invite Estella on her job and would show her wicked intentions but she was actually a nice person. She even helped Estella to send her youngest daughter to kindergarten. There was one time when it rained hard and her youngest daughter just came home from school, she was shivering and soaking wet. She had a fever and Estella panicked. She looked for the medicine Matilda told her to bring. Being illiterate, she didn’t know which was the right medicine to give because there were two medicines, the one that she was allergic of and the one which she used to take when she’s sick. So she just eenie meenied the medicine and let her daughter drink it. Unfortunately, she’d given the wrong medicine and sent her daughter to the hospital. Daniel came wrathful and blamed Estella for being gullible and illiterate.

When Estella and Daniel realized that they were not suitable to live in an urban place, they went home to Matilda. Not to mention that Estella and Daniel were always fighting. There came a point when both of them separated. In the end, Lorna re conciliated with Matilda and she came back to her daughters but I was not sure if she and Daniel were still together. What I was certain about is that, their life started to work out and they were gradually picking up the broken pieces and building a new life together.


I can actually relate on how one of her daughters behave. Like, the grandparent’s favorite. My sister is actually like that, and she has also this tantrums and has an attitude.I was just wondering if what happened to Estella’s daughter, the Lola’s favorite? Will she learn to respect her Mom and treat Estella as her real Mom or she’ll ignore her Mom more for coming back to school as an elementary student? And will Estella graduate? Will she get a degree after sometime?I think that sooner or later when all of them will graduate, they’ll go back to the city and leave the province. Everyone wants a better life, isn’t it?

Reading Log November Entry

PART 1
Book title: Looking for Alaska by: John Green

I certainly feel like I have just been brought back to my high school and childhood days. I felt nostalgic in reading this novel. I partly felt how Miles felt in the story. When he entered high school and didn't know anyone and didn't know who to be friends with. It was really overwhelming to know that even in just a few months of spending time together with his friends, he was really attached to them, to Coronel like he was already a brother to him, and to Alaska that he fell in love at first sight but he can't even put a finger on (at first) because Alaska told him that she had a boyfriend and she loves him, so they just hang out and having lots of fun. What is more fascinating is that although they have vices at their young age (although people at that age in the United States have that kind of culture)  they all have their individual capabilities. Coronel is good in memorizing countries and their capitals, Miles is good in memorizing the last words of authors since he likes to read autobiographies of authors and Alaska likes Algebra. I was also moved when Miles was invited to Coronel's "home" to celebrate his Thanksgiving with Coronel's mother. It made me realize that there are 2 kinds of dreamers: 1. the "for myself" dreamers and 2. the "for my loved ones" dreamers. The  "just for myself" dreamers are those common people who wants to leave their poor past and live more comfortably without having ambitions for others, they just think for themselves.  Coronel's ambition was just to buy his Mom a real house because they lived in a house truck but never really asked to have his own car, his own land nor his own company, he prioritized his Mom over his ambitions and that is a very noble act as a son. In the end, I felt pity for all of them. Losing someone like Alaska was really a big loss from the entire campus, even the Eagle was sad when he heard the news. Miles' world drowned into the deep shallow corners of darkness and emptiness. I felt sympathy towards him. Poor Miles, he didn't even get the chance to confess thoughtfully to Alaska. The funny thing there was Miles will have to add another line in his list of "last words" he'd read. Alaska's last words were "to be continued". Alaska finally got out of the labyrinth. Maybe that was her answer.

I found out what liquors tasted like when I was in elementary but I never went drunk. It's really fun drinking especially when you're with your close friends or cousins but I never found it addictive like I would really ditch my parents or teachers just to get to taste a drop of liquor. And I've also tried doing pranks with my cousins when I was young and when I was in high school, we really did some pranks and crazy things that we were even called to the office and went to detention THAT WAS we washed the dirty curtains from our library. We ditched classes just to eat or rest some place cozy. We ditched class just to curl our hairs and use other subjects as an excuse. We ditched our computer classes, so when our classmates were still having their class at the computer lab, we went straight to our classroom's restroom and wait for our classmates to go back to our classroom. We used our phones and turned the music up and danced like there's no tomorrow inside the restroom. I felt really nostalgic while reading this novel since it is also narrating about the fun side of being a student.

I wonder what were Alaska's last thoughts. Was she really drunk or sober when she drove her way to her mother's grave? 

If Alaska didn't died in the story, maybe she would try to broke up with her boyfriend and would get beaten up by her boyfriend and then when Pudge founds out, he would fight back against Alaska's boyfriend but not through fist but through showing him that he is way too much better for Alaska and they would have romantic moments together and maybe the "to be continued" thing will be really be continued when Alaska and Miles will be officially dating.And in the end, Miles would try to bring Alaska to his hometown to let her meet his parents/

PART 2

Book title: Looking for Alaska by: John Green

Well, in John Green’s novel, Looking for Alaska, my questions would be the following: What exactly happened to Alaska that night before she got into that accident? What was on her mind? She might have been very drunk that time but I still bet that she has a purpose why she just ran away and just died like that. According to Miles and Colonel, with the help of Lara, Takumi, the police who was hit by Alaska, she was drunk and she just hit the police’s cruiser. She didn't turn, she didn't break, just hit it and she just simply lost her precious life like that. She left so many questions unanswered. I wonder what kind of person Alaska was, if how would I have actually felt if I met her and then hang out with her and eventually she just dies like that without proper goodbyes and without even giving signs that she would be leaving, not for the mean time but eternally. I also wondered if that was a suicide of accident. Miles stated that she was too sober she even kissed him that night before she left. No, not just kissing but they were playing Truth or Dare. It was Miles’ turn, when he chose dare, it was quick. Miles laughed, got nervous and they end up hooking up. After that short scene, they fell asleep but moments later, Alaska just got up and said she needs to go and she needs Miles and Colonel’s help. They both distracted the Eagle while she drove fast. The boys just let her go despite knowing that she was drunk. And then, that was the last of her. And then the next day, it was announced. The Eagle called everyone for an assembly and told everyone that Alaska was gone. They didn't see that coming. Everyone’s mind went blank. They were too devastated to speak. Even fakers tried to cry for Alaska’s death. Alaska’s friends were in deep grief in her loss. That made me wonder if how it feels to be one of Alaska’s friends. The tragedy was mind blowing, especially to Miles and Colonel, who she was with before it all happened.

Days after that, they still haven’t move on and so many questions forming inside their minds. They went investigating. They even tried to repeat the same way what Alaska did before she drove and got hit. But all of their investigation still left them with so many questions. Although they still found out an answer like: she brought white tulips with her in that accident and they assumed that it was for her Mom since that day was her Mom’s death anniversary. More days after the tragedy, they were starting to get back to reality that Alaska was gone and they have to continue living. That’s how life just how it should be. Losing someone, grieving for some time but keep moving forward. “There comes a time when we realize that our parents cannot save themselves or save us, that everyone who wades through time eventually gets dragged out to the sea by the undertow – that in short, we are all going..” I think it actually describes Alaska’s death. It was a line from Miles.

Well if I was one of the characters in the story, more specifically one of Alaska’s friends, maybe I would really be crying for weeks. If Alaska was my best friend, I would be crying for weeks. It was really surprising that after all Alaska shared a part of her life to Miles, she just simply goes like that? I really thought that she was going to realize that she already fell in love with Miles and maybe she found out that there were really something between them, that maybe they can work out more that her relationship with Jake. But it didn't, it just didn't. Everything was over after that kiss and line “to be continued?” .I really thought, and I sometimes wished that the body who was found dead was not Alaska, that it was mistaken identity. Or maybe Alaska had a long lost sister that almost looks like her.

I have an experience almost similar to Miles situation. I have a friend in elementary, we weren't close but I found out that she knows some of my relatives in Tupi because she sometimes lives there with her family too. I was happy to hear that because, me as a child that time, wouldn't have thought that I have a classmate who would actually know my relatives. She told me that the following year she would be transferring in a public school at Tupi. So as happy as her to hear that, I told her “Promise me you’ll meet me there this summer, okay?” and she gave me a pinky promise. But who would have thought that the following year, the New Year to be exact, she’ll be going? They met an accident along the highway when there were on their way to Davao with her older sister, who supposedly have to go to Cebu to take her license exam, her sister’s classmate and her Mom, when the taxi they were riding on fell on a cliff. Not to mention that the driver and their mother were the ones survived. The news said that it was raining hard and the driver was sleepy. So they just fell. She just left without keeping her promise. So when I heard about the news, I was shocked and asked myself “How about our promises, _____?” .In the end, we really met in Tupi, but I never have imagined that I would meet her there when she was already 6 feet below the ground, that I would visit her grave not her home.