It never ceases to amaze me that I’m able to access internet from my remote corner in Antique, even if the connection is so slow and intermittent.
I have always dreamed of being able to file my stories from our place in Guisijan while listening to the chirping the birds surrounded by orchids, bromeliads, heleconias, lirios and milflores. It gives me so much pleasure that it has become a reality.
Our barrio has come a long way from my elementary school days when the only telephone in the barrio was a public phone, in a black box – double the size of a shoe box- installed in the balcony of a community official.
The reception must have been bad because the official would be shouting when talking on the phone. Passersby would hear the conversation. Usually, it was an emergency call like asking for an ambulance.
I remember overhearing a call one early evening for an ambulance for a pregnant woman who was attending to the wake of her brother. The next day, we learned that mother and the unborn baby never made it to the hospital in the capital town of San Jose, an hour away by car from our place. It became a triple wake which the whole community mourned.
The coming of the internet was preceded by cell phone signal just about six or seven years ago. Before that, the few cell phone users in our barrio (usually family members of Filipino overseas workers) would go to an elevated area, some two kilometers away, where they could get better signals
When my mother was alive, I used to go home every month. Sending my columns was a problem. I would write them by hand and my uncle would fax them in San Jose.
I tried doing it in the internet café in San Jose but making the trip takes a lot of time. One time, the jeepney that I took had to bring a passenger with several sacks of rice to an interior barangay. Another side trip to another barangay to bring a balikbayan passenger. The trip that normally took one-hour stretched to three hours. The two- hour session in the internet café became a whole day undertaking.
With a broadband equipment, I can enjoy the peace and quiet of barrio life, tend my garden and still meet my deadlines. Oh well, not all the time. Last Thursday, Globe Visibility was “No service” for several hours. Every time I tried I got the message that “A connection to the remote computer could not be established, so the port used for this connection was closed.“ It was past my 6 p.m deadline when I finally got connected.
I deal with the agonizingly slow speed by multi-tasking. I pray the rosary or read a book. (Does Smartbro give better service?)
Aside from being able to file stories while on vacation, another reason why I’m happy about the availability of internet in our barrio is the opportunities that it could open to the young, especially the students. Just by pressing a key, they will learn new things .Just a click of the mouse, their world will expand.
I hope that with the opening of knowledge windows, they will learn that they can dream big. Bigger than just becoming domestic helpers in Hongkong, Singapore and Middle East countries.
Right now, I don’t think the barrio public high school, which has a few computers, can include in their budget the cost of internet access. But it’s a start.
I have a new dream: free wifi in our barrio.
Ellen, that’s also my dream: “free wifi in our barrio” so I can buy my dad a laptop and often see him via cam or just hear him talk.
Sa ngayon, there’s a big internet cafe in town which is only 10 min by tricycle, and personal internet services like you have. Pinas has come a long way technology wise, si Gloria Arroyo and Pidal mafia na lang ang paurong.
Nice vacation Maám Ellen, take your time and enjoy with your loveones…and feel the blessings of peacefullness and freshness of air blowing around your enviroment.
Ika nga walang pollution at dalisay ang ihip ng hangin with fresh water na maiigib sa poso.
Best regards to all!
It the remote areas are equipped with hi-tech communication, it can serve two purposes…either good or bad. Good because they now have the chance to get updated with the current events locally and abroad. Masama kasi puwede pa rin silang lokohin ng mga propagandista tulad ng mga kriminal sa Malacanang na patuloy na niloloko at nagsisinungaling sa bayan. The media could be honest or dishonest. Corruption has no boundary even in the provinces. Pero okay na rin. Sabik na din ang mga tao sa bagong technology. Lalong lalago ang mga makabayan na blogs na tulad nito na nagsasalamin ng tunay na demokrasya.
Ellen, you do not have an impossible drea, It will come soon, I hope, under a corrupt free president.
There was a time when only letter by mail was available. When the pagers came out, it was already a big deal. Kapag nag-beep ang pager, pupunta ka lang sa pay phone at tatawagin mo ang nag-page sa iyo. Problema lang kapag nasa loob ka ng sasakyan…hihinto ka pa at maghahanap ng telepono.
Today, everything seems to be so easy. Hindi lang sa e-mail pati webcam pa. Lucky are today’s youth. Halos nasa kanila na lahat.
Being the conservative type and from the old school, the real Philippines for me is the life in a barrio and how I wish life is just like in the pre war days. Anyway, I’m glad you are enjoying your life there and reminiscing the good old days. However, also look forward to the good new days in your life.
Walang makakatumbas sa simpleng pamumuhay sa barrio. I will take that anytime!
In my 20s I bought a farm because I wanted to plant my own fruits, vegetables and produce my own dairy. Then, I was lured by the western way of life. Now, I am longing to go back and enjoy the interrupted dream. But my hesitance is the peace and order situation in the Philippines and also, the quality of medical facilities. Kung tumatanda na ang tao, we have to be concerned with medical issues.
With the dawn of modern technology, new types of evils are created alongside it and old ones also get more sophisticated. Cybercrimes are proliferating because all the criminal has to do is get access to the web. Anonymity and privacy makes it difficult to locate, arrest and prosecute cybercriminals while clueless victims get violated with much ease. The best defense is to get educated on the ills and the benefits of technology.
This is an area where a 3rd world country with corrupt leaders can be at par with the others cuz the technology is available on the cheap. And it favors us Filipinos who are generally techno-savvy and conversant in the language of the techies – English.
Today’s dissidents no longer converge on the streets, they do it in Facebook, MySpace, Multiply, Friendster, Twitter, Plurk, Blogger, WordPress and others. This makes it convenient for a “coward” population to be more proactive against a regime bent on terrorizing its citizens and stifling dissent. Although great achievements have been made in this front, those on the other side of the digital divide are being left out. Without the “masa” participation, this will again look like a fight between the elite.
The only solution, to me, is free WiFi access to all. This regime knows it cannot join the ranks of the progressive nations unless it is fully connected to the web. But in doing so, it will also expose itself to the dangers of a digital revolution so it tried to devise a plan that addresses both concerns – the ZTE/NBN deal. It gets the whole bureaucracy digitally connected at the same time employ devious schemes in controlling and censoring content that the supplier’s country of origin is notorious for. That deal, had it been implemented would have made the internet a tool for suppressing criticism, monitoring opposition, while gov’t itself hides behind the cloak of anonimity which purposes are totally against what the visionaries of the world wide web had in mind. Corruption, again, has set back our advancement by a few years. Immoderate greed leaves us stuck in this quicksand that makes us sink deeper the more we struggle to rise above it.
Armed with this powerful yet cost-efficient tool, and our savvy to adopt new technology, this is a platform wherein we Filipinos share with very few countries an advantage that could well translate into economic gains to all its citizens, wherever they may be located. In the future, it is not far-fetched to assume we can put an end to the OFW phenomenon and bring jobs right to our citizens’ desktops, right inside our homes.
Join me in my advocacy to provide FREE WiFi for All Filipinos!
I am all for the FREE Wifi for all Filipinos Tongue. But we can only do this when the corrupt boobuwit is gone! Baka mamaya, mag-tongpats pa siya sa project na ito!
No place like home or places where we were born. Regardless of the population boom, I think all of us can tolerate such conditions but what’s intolerable now are the unjust killings of peace-loving people and balikbayans in general. Knew a family of four from Florida several years back wherein they were robbed and murdered while visiting the Cordilleras. So despicable!
Off Topic
PSB: Sent an email to Ellen and hope she forwards it to you. Thanks!
@TongueTwisted
Yes,the government offices should be connected by a network..
We should have more companies that have broadband services na mura ang service,meron din wap pwede i view ang mga website na kagaya nito sa cellphone.;)
Haaayy! Sarap talaga kung maipatupad ‘yang mga pinapangarap ninyo.
Kapag nangyari ‘yan, ang magkaroon ng libreng HiFi, este WiFi kaming mga taga baryo at ma-educate kami’t umasenso, aba’y maligaya na akong mamatay na sana ‘yung mga dimonyo sa palasyo!
Sila ang tinik sa ating alalmunan upang tuluyang umasenso.
Simple lang ang pangarap ko para sa aking barangay. Sana’y hindi hawak ng Pangulo ang pondo laban sa kahirapan. Sana ito’y nasa kalapit lamang namin para kami’y makatulong o makapigil, depende sa pangangailangan.
Sana’y hindi natin iniaasa sa isang kagaya ni Secretary Yap ang production at supply ng bigas sa ating bayan. Sana’y magkaroon ng malaking bahagi rito ang kooperatiba ng mga magsasaka sa bawat lungsod at probinsiya.
Bilang isang magsasaka, kumukulo ang dugo ko tuwing sasabihin ni Yap na kailangang bilhin sa ibang bansa ang 10% ng ating pangangailangan sa bigas. Hindi lang ganito ang kaya nating idagdag sa ani, kung ang perang hawak niya ay nasa mga LGU.
Paki-usap sa mga kasamahan kong marunong ng ‘ritmetic. Magkano po ba ang bayad ni Yap sa bigas na kanyang inaangkat. Peso po ang gamitin natin, hindi dolyar para maintindihan naming mga magsasaka.
Nararamdaman ko ang iyong nararanasan, Ellen. Mula sa isang malayong bayan na salat sa yaman at karangyaan ako nagmula. Pagkatapos ng ika dalawang digmaang pandaigdig ay huni lamang ng mga kulisap at awit ng ibon ang aming naririnig pagsapit ng gabi, habang dumarampi sa aming mga mukha ang malamyos na hanging amihan kung nagkakatipon kami sa labas ng bahay, sa silong ng langit…sa liwanag ng buwan.
Maliban sa isang radio na de tubo, ay wala na kaming balita kung ano ang nangyayari sa ibang parte ng Pilipinas.
Mapalad ang mga mamamayan sa inyong baryo! Nananatili kayo sa isang pook na nilikha ng tadhana na sagana sa sariwang hangin at tanawin na hinubog ng Diyos, habang mayroon na kayong makabagong kuminikasyon na naghahatid ng balita sa buong daigdig at kayo naman ay nakapaghahatid din ng balita sa kanila.
Sana ay mahalin niyo ang inyong lugar at ingatan na di masira ang likas na ganda nito…..SA GITNA NG MAKA-MUNDONG sibilisasyon.Higit kayong pinagpala!!!
It’s nice to hear your barrio can be reached by Globe Tatoo internet signal. Now you ask whether Smartbro is better. I got both and I tell you both can be purgatorial. I know the agony because, like you, I am also journalist, although I am permanently based in Pampanga.
But do not depair. I advise you to invest on a relatively costly cellphone (mine is a very reliable Nokie e71 which is a computer in itself with full qwerty keyboard, although using the thumb for finishing an entire story is still a bit cumbersome). Then install in your computer the the Nokia PC suit in the CD that comes with the unit or, if for some reason, you don’t find the CD, simply google Nokia PC suit and download it.
You can use either Smart or Globe in your Nokia phone, connect it to your computer and click on the Nokia PC suit icon and simply connect to the internet… I tell you internet access will be much, much more efficient wherever you are, especially when there is 3G signal in your location. Or is it because I got 3g signal where I often am daily? Anyway, I’ve lost my patience over Globe Tatoo and SmartBro. I feel cheated.
I hope my advise works for you.
PS Include my intentions in your rosaries please.
DING CERVANTES
Mabalacat, Pampanga
Wow! Ang ganda ng poste ni taga-ilog, akda ng isang manunulat na likas na taga-ilog.
Thanks, Taga-Ilog. I feel privileged to have spent my childhood years in such a “pure” environment.
Ding, thanks. I will do that. I think pwede na my Nokia E51.
Ellen, ito talagang off topic, ‘siensya na dahil hindi ko mapigil.
Look at Gloria’s photo at Malaya’s front page. Hehehe! Nakaliyad na ang nangungusap na ang mga pinalaking suso ng unana! Talagang nagpapraktis bago humarap kay Pareng Barak! Kakasuka! Gwaaaaaarrrrrk!
I jsut got back from a 4-days get together with friends of old standing..we were all members of a chorale group in 1962..and since our friend Leni wrote about her bird watching experience in Nogas Island 6 years..they all asked me when are you going home..sama kami sa iyo..I am the only promdi in the group..paguwi daw naming lahat sa 2011 sasama sila. now I can tell them..ok come with me to Antique..may improvement na…I would love to take the elevator when I go home this Augut..
Chi, thanks for the comment.
Alam mo noong araw, talagang ang akala ko ay pinagmalupitan kami ng tadhana, dahil sa bako-bakong daan at makalumang kabihasnan ng aming bayan. Tuwing uulan ng malakas ay apaw sa tubig ang kalsada at kung tag-araw ay tigang ang lupa na halos magkabitak-bitak at natutuyuan ng tubig ang mga maliliit na batis.
Ngayon ko napaglimi kung gaano kahalaga ang biyayang dulot ng kalikasan….ngayong unti-unti ng naglalaho ang mga bakas ng kahapon na hinubog ng kamay ng Diyos.
Ang dahilan ay ang pagnanasa ng mga makabagong lipunan na pumantay sa mga mauunlad na bansa na may naglalakihang gusali at makabagong kumunikasyon.
Marahil ay ganyan talaga ang buhay…panapanahon, wika nga.
Para sa akin, ang kagandahan ng buhay ay wala sa karangyaan at pagiging makabago, sa halip ay nasa katauhan ng tumitingin.Sa akin naman, ang kahapon, gaano man kalayo ay bahagi ng aking buhay at ako ay mananatiling bahagi ng kahapon. At higit marahil kaming mapapalad dahil nakita namin ang katapusang ng kahapon at simula ng ngayon.
Memory Lane: noong araw when we went to Iloilo…para hindi kami mainip my parents would make us count the Narrow Bridge Signs…and we look forward to stopping by Tiolas Restaurant..ang ganda ganda ng view…pag dating sa Miagao we stop for camachili, ciricuelas, paho (manga), (now I stop vy the Miagao church–the oldest church ang ganda ganda) then Guimbal sa Sunrise Beach sa Nanga for a short swim..and more fruits..it is still “Abortion Highway” we pass through..but somehow hindi ako nakarinig ang landslide..aka ko sa Baguio lang sa Nagcarlan Road ang mayroon..talagang mabigat ang mukha ni Gloria at ni Esperon..
Ellen don’t tell me ang mga mukha ni Gloria at ni Esperon ang makikita ko along the way? The last time we went home ang mukha lang ni Gloria ang nasa bill board..I think I would just close my eyes..from Tiolas at magpagising when we reach the boundary..what an ugly sight it would be..hindi lang pala Abortion highway Horror Highway pa!
Corr: si Ebdane pala..kailangan pa ba ibandera nila ang mga mukha nila at gumastos..sana inilagay na lang nila sa mabuting pagtulong sa mga tao..after all pera naman ng bayan…what a waste of People’s Money..the people power should be shown not in terms of rallies but in terms of votes…against the law ba ang mag bura ng mga billboards na ito..o kaya lagyan ng malakin x across their faces..n’t vote
Nakakasuklam si Esperon!
Rose, escalator lang. Wala pang elevator sa Antique.