*FAITH, Creative Writing?, Down Memory Lane, The World (TRAVEL)

That Rainbow in Prague (A Short Memoir)

Prague, Czech Republic (July 2017)

Prague. Sounds fancy, doesn’t it? After all, I know of some people who dream of visiting it. Praha, some of them even say. The Czech Republic. But not me. I didn’t dream of going to Prague. It just so happened that it’s included in the tour package me and my sisters booked for this trip. This Euro trip — now that, I’ve always dreamed of. And for some reason, I’m now living it. Maybe it’s God’s way of telling me that it’ll be alright? Because this is just good timing. I’m currently moving on and healing my broken heart, I’m embarking on a trip of a lifetime, and I’m emo as emo one can be — ain’t that the stuff of movies? But hey, I’m not complaining! I know that my life is a story and if the main author of it, God Himself, is orchestrating something to help me make something good, even great, out of this heartbreak, then why not? God did it to me before, and I know He can do it again. He always will.

So no, I didn’t really plan on going to Prague. But as I step on this wet floor after some rain, overlooking the city’s skyline, I was reaffirmed. There it is on the clouds above, perfectly positioned for all to see, for me to see, in all its seven vibrant colors: a rainbow. There’s a freakin’ rainbow in the city of Prague, and I love it! I always love seeing rainbows! It’s always like a dream come true after each rain.

And now that I’m standing here, seeing this rainbow in front of me, while I’m still going through my own “life storm,” it’s like God is telling me, “Mika, it’ll be alright. Just like this rainbow, life will be colorful for you again. Just trust Me, I got you.”

Looking back, it has been alright. Prague has been more than a year already, and I’m glad to say that life, indeed, has never been more colorful for me. And I’ve nothing left to say but, “thank you, God!” 🙂

And that, my friends, is actually a product of the most recent writing workshop I just attended: Scribblory‘s Your Past at the Tip of Your Pen: A Memoir Writing Workshop by Elaine Marie Factor (author of Kerygma Books’ Finding You: A Memoir on Dreams, Detours, and Destiny). We were given a few minutes to choose something to write about, and me, out of panic (haha!), the first thing that came to mind was my phone = photos — including my travel photos. And this rainbow shot taken during my Euro Trip last year is actually one of my favorites despite not considering Prague as one of my favorite destinations. Hence the post above that you just read. That’s the unedited version straight from my notebook, so apologies if there were some grammar/writing style issues. Wahahahaha! I wanted to keep it that way to help me in my progress as I start venturing into this whole “memoir writing” stuff. I’m loving it, by the way! 😉

I know I need more practice because one of my dreams is to actually write my own non-fiction book! There, I said it. Writing has always been a passion of mine (hello blog!), but I believe it’s high time to take this whole passion project into a whole new level. Sure, I’ll still blog — blogging is another form of writing I’ve loved doing since my college days (this blog alone is turning nine years old this December! yaaay!), but I’ve to get more serious with my God-given craft. And the best way I can think of to do that is to finally finish my book! Of course, all for His glory! 🙂

So yes, I’m on the road to writing my memoir in book form! Pray for me, yes?

TO GOD BE THE GLORY ALWAYS AND FOREVER!

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Mi Familia y Mi Amigos, The World (TRAVEL)

Euro Trip 2017: Imperial Highlights

Time to take a break from all the #hugot posts you’ve seen and read on my blog! I’M BACK, FRIENDS!!! Back to my beloved Manila. Back to reality. Back to my travel-loving single self (MWAHAHAHAHAHA!). And most especially, back to my own kaloka and unapologetic blog writing style! That was evident in my posts from early 2012 and before! Love it, then thank you! Hate it, I. don’t. care! 😛

So what’s the topic for this one? If it wasn’t obvious enough, well, I’ll spell it out to you: E-U-R-O-P-E. Yes! Two years in a row! Even I was amazed at God’s provisions in my life despite the setback I’ve encountered later last year/earlier this year. After my UK-Ireland trip last year, I thought I’d be seeing Europe again in, say, five years? But no, obviously, God’s plans are always better and THIS TRIP was just another testament to that! I’m claiming, though, that my third Euro trip will already be my honeymoon! So future husband, you better be reading! I want to go to France and Italy for that! Don’t worry, I don’t expect it to be next year (but who knows?! haha). I won’t even expect it the following year. In that year though, I’m claiming that I’ll be in Panama for World Youth Day 2019! Maybe you can come along? Haha! 😉 After that, then I think I can start to think about settling down. “Start” being the operative word! Char!

Rambling aside (serious muna ulit!), I went to Central/Eastern Europe — the “heart” of Europe they say because this region used to be part of the Austro-Hungarian Empire. Not just a kingdom, but an EMPIRE!!! Did you know that the last “empire” remaining now is Japan? I went there, too, in June, and I’ve yet to write about it! Hehe! Anyway, this entry will serve as a “teaser” of what you can expect to read and see on this blog in the next few months. Since pictures paint a thousand words, I’ll let them do the “talking” for me for now until I can finally write separate blog entries for each country. In summary, I traveled with two of my sisters in a tour group to the following countries: Germany, the Czech Republic, Slovakia, Hungary, and Austria.

GERMANY

Munich

Regensburg

Bavarian Alps /
(Adolf Hitler’s) Eagle’s Nest

Berchtesgaden

CZECH REPUBLIC

Prague

SLOVAKIA

Bratislava

HUNGARY

Budapest /
The Danube River

Szentendre

Gyor

AUSTRIA

Vienna

Salzburg

To be honest, my pictures don’t really do justice to the actual beauty of each place we visited. And that’s what I’ll try to capture through my words in the coming blog entries. Until then! ❤

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