Wednesday, July 4, 2012

The Philippines Panorama

Kapayapaan
Katahimkan
Mabuhay

3 ways to say 'Peace' in Tagalog
the official language of the Philippines

El Nido, a protected municipality of the Philippines

Today, let's explore the Philippines!

Thee are 8 major dialects (languages) in the Philippines.
There are 2 official languages:
Tagalog & English

Kalinaw
Kahusayan

'Peace'  said in two ways in the Cebuano language
One of the 8 major dialects

28% of the Philippines are Tagalog.
13% are Cebuano.
Now you can say 'peace' to both language groups!!
:0)

There's lots of ground to cover in the Philippines -
literally!
The Philippine archipelago (good word to  look up)
is made up of 7,107 islands!!!

msnbc.msn.com

The Philippines has one of the longest coastlines in Asia -
36,289 kilometres to be exact.
That's a lot of fine powdery white sand
and clean, clear and cool waters.

I can think of many things to do on a pretty, clean shoreline -
and I bet you can too!!

Like showing off your new swim suit:

Katy Keene on Cape Cod by Winnie McKelvey

or playing beach ball -
vintage paper doll with beach ball, origamibears

The Philippines have lots of sporting type activities that draw many tourists.

Paghidait

'Peace' in the Ilongo or Hiligaynon language
spoken by 7.5% of Filipinos - one of the 8 major dialects

In the Philippines you will find
golf
surf
canoeing
kite surf
windsurf
kayaking
snorkeling
wake board
explore caves
white river rafting
mountain climb a 9,689 foot Mt. Apo
interact with whale sharks (gentle giants)
and more!

Honda Bay, southwestern province of Palawan

Kareenan

'peace' in the Pangasinan language
one of 8 major dialects spoken in the Philippines

the Sole Sister's Guide to Surfing

I had never heard of swimming with whale sharks!
It sounds fun though -




The Filipinos have their share of natural hazards
(although I would call them natural disasters!)

They have:
tsunamis
landslides
active volcanoes
and
destructive earthquakes!

(I did want to question that destructive earthquake part,
but I guess you can have earthquakes that are milder
and don't destroy anything.)

Diakatra

'Peace' in the Maranao dialect
spoken in....
yep, you guessed it -
The Philippines!!

Filipino Girl paper dolls by kirakirahoshi, www.flickr.com

Filipino girls with their paper dolls
stcqc.edu.ph

Let's get back to that
'active volcanoes' part!

The Taal volcano has been deemed a 'Decade Volcano" by the
International Association of Volcanology and Chemistry of the Earth's Interior.
Now say that 5 times in a row, fast!!!

Taal Volcano in Batangas, Philippines

The Taal has shown recent unrest and may erupt in the near future.
So....
what makes a volcano 'unrestful'?
Somebody has to come up with a joke about that....
Does the volcano have an upset tummy?
Does it suffer from mid-life crisis?
Are volcanoes part of the postal service?

:0)

Mount Mayon in Albay, Philippines

Mount Mayon is called
the most beautiful volcano on earth.

It has 47 recorded eruptions since 1616!
It buried the town of Cagsawa under 30 feet of volcanic ash.
In 2006 2,200 people were dead in a blink of an eye.
Mount Mayon's longest uninterrupted eruption started on June 23, 1897.
For almost 7 days it rained fire, and the lava flowed over 7 miles to the East.
Under that lava is the village of Bacacay.
Nearby towns of Libog, San Roque, Misericordia and Santo Nino
lost  500 people due to deadly steam and falling hot rocks. 
Wow.
That's a lot of death associated with 'the most beautiful volcano'.

Mount Mayon volcano in Albay, the Philippines

Thee are actually 18 different volcanoes in the Philippines!
Mount Mayon is considered the 'most famous'.
Hmmm... perhaps not a title one would want to have.

Kali lintad

'Peace' in Magindanoan

Well, as always it seems, I have found some cool facts about the Philippines.
I dont' want to write a book (really, Michael, really)
so I think I will do Part II the Philippines tomorrow, okay?

courtesy of www.cia.gov

Did you know the CIA web site has great facts
about all different countrieson their World Facts pages?
Check them out sometime!
:0)

Filipino children having fun

so, until tomorrow....

inkspired



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