Skip to main content

Wonderful Copenhagen

Muse of the Philippine delegation

In 2008, Copenhagen was ranked as the Number 1 Most Livable City in the World. To this day, it is living up to its reputation as the host of the World Outgames 2009. Last Saturday, July 25, was the Opening Ceremony of the Outgames. All the delegates to the Sports, Culture and Human Rights tracks from the different countries of the world trooped to the city square for the Parade of Nations and the Opening Program. For this purpose, I brought a modernized traditional Filipino garment, the patadyong (see pic above). The patadyong is just a piece of colorful woven fabric that Filipino women from Panay Island wear as a wrap-around. Since, I was the only one in traditional Filipino wear, the members of our delegation, composed of members of the Filipino community in Copenhagen and others from other parts of the world (see pic below), decided for me to be the muse of the delegation, allowing me kindly to walk in front of them as the front liner.

With members of the Filipino community in Copenhagen

The Parade of Nations and the Opening Ceremony

Before the Opening Program, all the delegates were asked to line up by country (see pic below)near the City Square where the stage was built for the Opening Ceremony. Each country got its turn walking center stage while almost 8 thousand people surrounding the stage cheered on.

Parade of Nations

There was some wait before we walked the short distance from the back of the Copenhagen City Hall to the stage. While waiting, I tried to take pictures of the other nations. I could only take pictures of the delegations near the Philippines though because we could not leave our post. Many people dropped by to take pictures of us. Some members of our group brought the Philippine flag which they proudly unfurled each time someone wanted to take pictures. We were approached by people from various countries but the most heart-warming were people of Filipino descent who were not born in the Philippines. They would say they were half-Filipino or pure Filipino but that they were born in Canada, the US, and other places. It was truly a touching experience and I was happy to represent our country well.

When it was our turn to to be introduced on Center Stage, I felt like I was having an out-of-body experience. There was a sea of people to the left and right of the stage and they broke in loud, welcoming and warm applause as I stepped onto the stage first. I could do nothing else but smile and wave. It was like 15 seconds of fame in a good way. It made me feel both small and big at the same time. Small, because I realized that I was just one person in this mass of humanity from across the world, and big because I was only one of two people (the other one was Sass) who came all the way over from the Philippines for the Parade of Nations. I beamed happily in my traditional attire as I walked that stage, happy to represent the country that I am very proud of.

Two days later, I still could not get over the experience. I kept repeating it in my head. When I spoke with the other delegates, they had their own profound experience during the Opening Ceremony. The delegates from Nigeria said that someone approached them for a picture and after said "Okay, I will head to the next continent now." This touched the Nigerians so much especially the thought of the Outgames bringing together thousands of people from all over the world in an event that truly erases borders.

Run For Love

The next day Sunday, members of the Outreach Program of the Outgames braved the early morning cold to go to Beach Park for the Run For Love marathon. People had a choice to run a full marathon, half marathon, 10K and 5K. All of us decided to go for the 5k. The event was very special because my friend Sass and my room mate Tamara Adrian, a lawyer and trans activist from Venezuela were there with me (see pic below).

At the Run For Love

I have been running for more than 10 years now and have never been in a race before. I was so thrilled to be doing my first 5K in Europe at that. I finished at 28 minutes 33 seconds which of course stuck in my head as I passed by the finish line. I learned in running class not to sit immediately after a run so I was walkind around near the finish line before I realized that I forgot to take a picture of my finish time! I was able to take it almost 2 minutes later (see pic below).

My finish time

At any rate, the marathon was great. After the race was over, everybody that participated hung around the beach park looking at the sights. There were sports workshops to be held that same afternoon and the beach volleyball event was happening right there as well. Sass and I decided to head back to the Outreach camp to get on with our day. Today we are excited over the opening of the 2nd International Conference on LGBT Human Rights. I am heading there now to begin my day. I will talk about the conference in my next post.

Comments

Ming Meows said…
that must be something memorable. makes me proud:)
BUHAY BAYOT said…
This comment has been removed by the author.
BUHAY BAYOT said…
Saludo ako sa inyo ni sass!

Ang ganda nyo!

Congrats, girls!

Popular posts from this blog

Mga parausang lumang sinehan

NAG DESISYON na ang Korte Suprema na labag sa Konstitusyon ang ordinansa na nagbabawal ng short time sa mga motel sa siyudad ng Maynila. Wala na ring balak pa umanong maghain ng apela si mayor Alfredo Lim sa naturang desisyon. Nagbabala naman si Lim na handa niyang ipasara ang anumang motel sa lungsod ng Maynila sakaling may makita sila na pinapayagan na magpapasok ng mga estudyante para magshort time. Pero, teka, ito talaga ang pakay ko, ang mga lumang sinehan sa Metro Manila. Taong 2005, balak ko na itong iparating sa dati kong boss na Kongresista, ang patuloy na pamamayagpag ng mga lumang sinehan sa Maynila. Subalit, may tila tinik sa aking lalamunan na nakabara. Tila, wala akong boses sa tuwing ako ay maghahanda sa aking mga sasabihin. Tila, nakagapos ang aking mga kamay para isulat ang mga hakbang na dapat kong irekomenda para masulosyunan na ito. Alam ko, ikaw ay pamilyar ukol sa mga lumang sinehan sa buong Kamaynilaan. Sa unang pasok ko sa ganitong sinehan, ako ay tuwang tuwa.

PILIPINAS, TUNAY NGA BANG MALAYA NA?

NGAYON ANG IKA 111st NA ANIBERSARYO NG ARAW NG KALAYAAN NG PILIPINAS. Ngunit, sa paglipas ng isang daan at labing isang taon, tunay nga ba tayong malaya na? May mga pagkakataong gusto kong isipin na hindi na tayo nakagapos sa mga bansang banyaga dahil nagkaroon na tayo ng kalayaan sa pamamalakad ng gobyerno. Ngunit, ano ang kalagaya n ng mga Pilipino ngayon? Mayroon na nga ba siyang dangal na matatawag? Taas noo na nga ba ang bawat Pilipino kahit kanino? Sa mga nakalipas na araw, samu’t saring problema ang dinaranas ng ating bansa. Mga problemang lalong nagpapalugmok ng bawat mamamayan. Mga problemang animo’y walang ka tapusan. Paano babangon ang isang Juan dela Cruz kung mismong mga namumuno sa ating bayan ang nagbabangayan? Paano tayo makakalaya kong mismong mga halal ng bayan ang siyang nanguna upang itali ang bawat mahihirap na pinoy sa kanilang pamamahala? Paano na ang walang tigil na pagbulusok ng presyo ng mga pangunahing bilihin? Ang walang humpay na pagtaas ng gasolina. Paano

Rainbow Blog of the Week

The search is on for the most anticipated competition in the world of blogging parrots. Presenting..... Rainbow Blog of the Week Mechanics. Nomination 1. All members/supporters/visitors are welcome to submit their nominations on the comment page of "Rainbow Blog of the Week". 2. All submitted links or nominations are subject for verification and authenticity. 3. Only the fist five nominees will be accepted every week. 4. The lists are then consolidated and submitted to the screening commitee. 5. All blogs that are previously nominated can be nominated again, except the blogs who won the Rainbow Blog of the Week for three (3) times. Voting 1. Everyone can vote on a daily basis. 2. The poll result shall constitute 40% of the total score. Criteria for judging Aside from the number of votes garnered from the poll, nominees are also given additional points by the judges based on the following criteria. There shall be three (3) to five (5) judges and the average of their scores for