It's leap day

Today is a leap year day- an extra day added to the month of February in a leap year. Well, it occurs every four years in a year evenly divisible by four except for centenary years not divisible by 400.

Just some interesting tidbits about leap day and leap year: this month has five Fridays. Did you know that this last happened in 1980 and will happen again in 2036? A leap day is more likely to occur on Mondays or Wednesdays rather than other days because the Gregorian calendar repeats itself every 400 years. Therefore, every 400 years, Feb. 29 can occur times on a Monday or Wednesday, 14 times on a Friday or Saturday and 13 times on a Sunday, Tuesday or Thursday. I have a friend who celebrates her birthday today- leap year. When friendly folks ask how old she is, her answers, confuses them. She'll tell them "I'm 8 --and 32". Since its leap year, she will put 8 candles on her cake, its her actual birthday anyway. If its not leap year, she chose to celebrate it after the 29th which is March 1st, the reason is she get paid on the first of the month, lol.

Anyone who has a dog alarm clock?

SARGE

Yeah our dog always acts like a human. He always let's you know what he wants and if you don't get it for him he whines. It's really funny. He also always seems to know what you are saying to him and he reacts to things you say to him just like a human would. Like when we say "outside", he knows that its time for pee and poop, he will run to the door and bark. If we will repeat the question "outside?", his barks means "yes". I can't even count how many words/commands he knows. Although, Jon is not a fan of small dogs (sarge is a mini-schnauzer), he claims that he is one of the smartest dogs he had.

Sarge was a little puppy when my husband bought him to his friend who has a dog that recently gave birth to six puppies. Sarge is the only boy and gray color, all his sisters were black. My husband's friend told my husband if he wants a dog because that time he is alone in the house, I'm still in the Phillipines. So, they were bonded for 1 year before I came, that's the reason Sarge seems more loyal and affectionate to him. He even protects him, when he hears the word "ouch" he will barks at me thinking I'm hurting his master.


The most amazing things he does for me is waking me up every morning at exactly 7:30am on the dot! It's so weird how accurate his timing is. He sniffs my hair, push his mouth to my head many times until I wakes up. I just don't know how he does it at the exact same time everyday. Well, its good for me because I don't need an alarm clock anymore (it can wakes my husband up if I do). But its not good if its Saturday and Sunday coz' its time of the day that I don't want to get up early but Sarge makes it a habit everyday.

When anyone of us about to leave, you will hear him crying. I always see him running on the window and jumps on the couch looking at the window to see my husband heading to his truck. And my husband told me he does the same way with me. It's so sweet to think that he cares for me too. When I get back from work, he wags his tail and jumps at me.

We make sure we gave him treats everytime he do his job(pee and poop outside) or after every baths. Or after I brush his hair. Oh and his hair, this kind of dog needs grooming every month. We take him to the dog grooming salon monthly. And this winter time, I make sure that he keeps warm too, he joins me in my heated blanket. The last time we went to Walmart, I saw a cute winter coat for dog and bought it. He has dental chew treats too and chew bone. All these things are worth for, he's a good stress reliever for us. It's fun playing with him. Rubbing his soft hair feels good. xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

I'm pretty sure dogs understand you, maybe not in the way you think, they associate different actions with words and remember them. Like when you ask them if they want a treat over and over everytime giving them a treat they remember that sound means theyre going to get a treat, run over to the spot where they know they got it last time and wait. I'm also not exactly sure that they hear the words the way we do because i can say a word that sounds like "outside" and my dog will run to the door.

By the way, Sarge was named after my husband who is a Sarge in the US Army. People in the neighborhood call him Sarge.

Happy relationships

How specifically happy and strong marriages might be influencing our actual physical health? Do you believe that a happy and solid relationship can alleviate stress? Our day to day lives as a working mom or wife is very stressful but with a happy marriage which is good in our health, we can recover quickly from stress. We know that stress is associated with more health problems, if you don't learn ways to deal with it.

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I believe that our bodies respond to what is happening in our daily lives. This is really true, everytime I have a fight with my husband or misunderstanding, I tend to become weak and feel sick, got a headache, stomach ache, etc. We have this stress hormone cortisol, which normally rises and falls throughout the day, followed different patterns depending on gender and the state of the marriages. But women in less happy marriages rebounded more slowly, indicating that it took them longer to shed workday stress. Women in unhappier marriages also had less variation in cortisol levels throughout the day which links to more health problems.

There are studies found that married men tend to live longer and recovered from illnesses than single ones. My message is, for your well-being, having a good relationship is as important as eating your vegetables and doing your exercise.

Inventing a recipe

I always experiment whenever I'm in the kitchen. It's my favorite part of the house. Obviously because the foods are located there, lol. My family/friends sometimes wondering what foods I cook here in the USA, or how I manage to blend the taste of asian and western flavor in a recipe. Jon (my husband) loves cheese, we put cheese in almost recipes we cook. So, I set out to create a recipe with three goals: First, a meat with distinctive cheesy appealing flavor(for his satisfaction). Secondly, rice should be included (for my own satisfaction). And finally, a way of making my meat healthful while keeping them tasty. Here's my invented recipe, I name it Chicken & rice casserole.

Chicken and Rice casserole

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1) Prepare your ingredients: boneless chicken breast, 1 cup of rice, 1.5 cups of water(estimated for a cup of rice), 1 can cream of chicken soup, onion powder, black pepper, mixed vegetables(frozen or fresh, up to you) and shredded cheddar cheese.










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2) Mix and stir all the ingredients in a shallow baking dish (I used my 11x8") except the cheese and chicken. For mixing onion powder and black pepper, just use your own estimation. For me, 1 tsp. of onion powder will do and 1/2 tsp of black pepper I think is enough. I'm a black pepper fan, so I guess, will put again later. While doing this, you can preheat your oven at 375degreesF.

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3) Cut the chicken breast according to your desired size, I just cut the breast into halves. Season your chicken if you want, for more flavor. Then, you can now put the chicken on top of the mixture. Cover and bake at 375F for 50 minutes. At this point, I set the timer so I can do something else while cooking, like going back to the internet or doing laundry.

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4) After 50 minutes, here's what it looks like, the chicken is juicy. And the smell is really good.

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5) Sprinkle the shredded cheese evenly on top. Bake again for 2 minutes or until the cheese melts.

6) Here's the finished product. Let casserole stand for 10 minutes. Stir rice before serving. Try it too!

Wombs for Rent- Is childbirth being outsource?

I came across this morning a show in television tackles about surrogacy or surrogate motherhood which is growing in India. There are couples who are unable to conceive on their own and desperate to have their own baby. If they can afford to spend the cost for in-vitro fertilisation and spending another for hiring a surrogate mother. This is how it works, the women (willing surrogate mothers)are impregnated in-vitro with the egg and sperm of couples unable to conceive on their own. The couples who hires the surrogate mothers will cover all the expenses from pregnany until the delivery of the baby.

The couple they interviewed in the show comes from United States, they desperately wants a baby, they can't find a surrogate mother here in the States. It was emotionally and financially exhausting for them. Then they searched on the Internet, they found a site who caters to their need, "wombs for rent" which is located in India. It's so interesting that its a legal business there. A lot of women doing this job out of poverty, exploited to the extent of willingness to undergo the hardships, pain and risks of labor.

They also interviewed the willing surrogate mother from India. The woman said she will buy a house the money she receives from the American couple who's child she's carrying. It would have taken her more than 10 years to earn that on her maid month's salary of $25. Her own 3 children were delivered at home and said she never visited a doctor during those pregnancies. Very different now that her womb is being rent, with doctors, with complete medicines and vitamins, being more careful now than her own pregnancy before.

President's Day eve snow storms

xxxxxxxxxxxxxx Sunday view of snow storm

I love Sunday. This is the time that I'm already done with my weekend routine homechores (laundry, vacuuming, housecleaning) which I normally do during Saturday. Usually, relaxing day, reading Sunday paper in the morning, then goes to church before noon. But as I wake up, it's snowing very hard, no sunshine, I took time to take photos of the snowflakes but its not visible in the photos, maybe its too bright. It's all white, plus the flash from the camera, I have no idea how to disable the flash.


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xxxxxxxxxxxxxxBeside our house, a restaurant called Happy's Place

I took this photo this morning, the winds blows the snows very hard in one direction. Detailed forecast shows that still windy this evening and snow will diminish into flurries late. Snowfall will be around one inch. It's good there's no school tomorrow, its President's day.

A FIRST IN WHITE HOUSE HISTORY?

Clinton: Determined to be the xxxxxxxxxxxObama: Determined to be the First
First woman elected PresidentxxxxxxxxxxxxxBlack elected President













ill be the extHillaryClinton Senator Hillary Clinton seeks to become First Woman elected to White House and Senator Barack Obama will be the First Black elected President of the United States in case he will win 2008 Presidential election.

Just checking the news today, Polls shows that they are the top contenders for Democratic Party's presidential nominations. Which Democrat would be more competitive? Which candidate would fare better against likely Republican nominee John McCain?

The first caucus was held here in Iowa, Obama won. But Clinton captured the biggest prizes, California, her hometown New York and Massachusetts. She also got New Hampshire and Nevada.

On their Super Tuesday showdown, Obama won 13 states: Georgia, Illinois, Delaware, Alabama, North Dakota, Utah, Connecticut, Kansas, Minnesota, Colorado, Idaho, Alaska and Missouri , some of them smaller, and Clinton won eight: California, Arkansas, Oklahoma, Tennessee, Massachusetts, New Jersey, New York and Arizona.

Well, I'm not really into politics and I'm not voting here ( got a woman President already in my homeland). I remember Hillary Clinton only for her controversial issues while she is the First Lady of Billy, whereas his Second Lady working with them in the White House. And her performance as Head of a White House task force to reform the U.S. Health care system is not remarkable. More controversial issues was her role in Whitewater Land deal, and her vote to authorize Military Intervention in Iraq.

As for Obama, Ophra Winfrey can get people(lot of fans) vote for him, she even raised million of dollars for Obama's campaign. She even draws big crowd here in Iowa, (knowing not a lot of blacks in here) during their campaign here. How important are endorsements? Especially from a celebrity who talks to millions of people a week in her top-rated daytime talk show in television, publishes a weekly magazine and has a radio show. It's proven whatever she suggests or says, people will do , unbelievably influential figure.

Of course, (since I don't know about politics here) first time I hear his name (Obama),being one letter off from US #1 terrorist, (i know its silly, is it only me?), its like Osama . So, I thought Americans will not like him, but surprisingly, he is leading the caucuses now, Hillary needs to get more percentage to be able to cope up with Obama's figure. But what's in a name, it is really that simple Muslim sounding name in it? I was exposed to a Muslim environment 3 years of my life aware of the words and names of Muslims, his full name is Barrack Hussein Obama, its so interesting. I have a lot of Muslim friends by the name of Hussein, Barrack, Osama, etc. working in King Fahd Hospital in Khobar, Saudi Arabia.

Just curious though, so I thought I'd look more into his Muslim/Islamic background if any. He was born mixed with a white mother and black father, they got divorced and his mom married a radical muslim man, he attended Muslim School in Jakarta (another Muslim solid country). According to sources, his stepdad introduced him to Wahabism, its the radical teachings of the Muslim terrorist?

I am not sure if its true but when he was sworn into office, he did not use Bible instead use Koran, and turns his back to the US Flag?(this is not from me, hehehe, just hear it from others). Just very intrigued to find this info, but no matter what his background, his color, the point is, not all Christians are Christ and not all Muslims are terrorists! don't look at religion, thinks about what person has accomplished and also are they making promises that are realistic.

Extra-ordinary bond

I was about to hit the bed when this documentary came on about Abby and Brittany and I was immediately hooked. This was the first I had seen about these girls & they really are amazing, I think those girls are so strong minded and brave, the way they dealt with people staring at them, and the way they said "we'd rather people asked us questions rather than take pictures"...... it showed such a level of maturity.

This is an astonishing case to the Medical world, confounding all expectations of Dicephalus Conjoined twins (I'm always fascinated with conjoined twins, siamese twins and the like), with their bodies so closely linked it was clear the separation was out of the question. How can two people live in such a close and constant proximity for an entire lifetime?

Sharing bodily functions makes the challenges, Abigail controls her side of the body while Brittany controls her side, meaning, when they walk or run, its a coordinated effort between two brains. Each twin has no sensation of touch from the arm of the other. I was amazed by their coordination, they can type together, when they controlling separate hands, or that they finish each other's sentences so easily.

Each twin controls 1 leg, and 1 leg. Apparently they dont have "cross" sensation.
They have two spines which join at the pelvis.They have two stomachs, three lungs, and two arms. I mean above the belly, they have mostly two sets of organs, Three kidneys, 3 lungs, two stomachs, 2 livers. But only 1 intestine and one reproductive organ.

There are endless questions from this documentary about their life. If each twin controls one one arm and one leg, how can they ride a a bike? Swim? Type in the computer? Hit a baseball? when they drive, how do they decide where to turn to? And do they get one license or both of them will get?

The questions about the driving license was answered in the Documentary on their 16th Birthday, they each take the test and having passed, (both turning the wheel, so interesting see them driving) each received their own driving license. (Uhh, good job girls, I can't even take my own driving test yet, still scared, hehehehe).

They seemed to me like two amazing individuals who can show us all the true meaning of cooperation and unconditional human love and tolerance. I love their attitude and how the family just wants a normal life for them.

Congrats on your Driver's License, have a fun summer, girls!

A clip from on the girls is available on YouTube.

Snow Pains

I had only 3 days work last week because of Winter Storms. They cancelled Wednesday and Thursday School. And who wants to go out with below zero temperature plus blowing chilly snows? So as expected, I will be staying home all day but as I can see the snow accumulating in our front yard, driveway, parking spot, and most importantly the sidewalk, I decided to get the shovel and try shovelling coz' I don't want to walk in the snow tomorrow when the school resumes. As I can see some neighbors having fun doing it, there's an excitement for me, my first time to do it.

Haven’t tried it before, very confident that I will be enjoying doing it, our pathway from the door to the sidewalk streets is like 15 yards, (see right photos,our house is far from the street, this is long enough compared to the houses that I see here). And this season, the snowfall amount is unusually high compared to my first winter last year. While most can feel the burn of a hard day of shovelling and realize the stress it can put on your back, few realize the severity of this strain, including me. I’m on my halfway when I feel the strain in my back but I want to finish it quickly as possible. I alternately used both my left and right hands but still the excessive stress on my spine is really hurting me. That night, my lower back is really bad, more when I stoop or bend. I realize a combination of factor contribute to the strain put on the lower back by shovelling. The repetition of throwing heavy snow from the shovel, as well as simultaneously twisting and rotating the spine and lifting excessive weight of snow to get the job done faster, all add to strain and discomfort on the lower portion of the spine.

So, I made an adjustments to put my spine back on track, simple stretching to reduce the strain. I think I will never do shovelling again, or its just I did it the wrong way. My husband even told me that its a man’s work ( I disagree, I told him women can do it too). So, in order how to it the right way, here are some tips:

Some shovelling tips:

• If you experience pain or any kind, stop immediately.
  
• Be sure that your shovel has a curved handle, as this enables you to keep your back straighter when shovelling.
  
• Push the snow–do not lift it. Pushing puts far less strain on the spine than lifting.
  Be sure your muscles are warm before you start shovelling. Cold, tight muscles are more likely to strain than warm, relaxed muscles.
  When you grip the shovel, make sure your hands are at least 12 inches apart. By creating distance between your hands, you increase your leverage and reduce strain on your body.
  
• Your shovelling technique is important. If you must lift the snow, lift if properly. Squat with your legs apart, knees bent and back straight. Lift with your legs. Do not bend at the waist.
  
• Never throw snow over your shoulder.
  
• Remember that wet snow can be very heavy. One full shovel load can weigh as much as 25 pounds.
  
• Pace yourself by taking frequent breaksto gently stretch your back, arms, and legs.
  
• Consider buying a snow-blower. When used correctly, a snow blower will put far less strain on your back than snow shovelling. (source: Colorado Spine Institute)

Early Christmas Presents

It’s only the 23th of December, but Santa decided to bring the gifts early for the girls. He knows that they will not be with us on Christmas Day, so we have an Early Christmas Gift opening.

the girls opening their gifts, I can see the excitement in their eyes while doing this.

And finally, they got what they wanted…..a Barbie Cash Register. They love to play Cash Registers, buying and selling merchandise, acting as a workers in the store like McDonalds and Malls.

they also received a High School Musical 2 DVD from Santa. the happiness in their faces were priceless.

Seems Santa knows that they’ve been good all year, their stockings were full, gift cards, a resort tickets, candies, girlie stuffs, hannah montana and high school musical posters. After the gift opening, we went to the mall to shop. Although, its like zero visibility and very foggy, we drove all the way to Madison to drop the girls, and we had Chrismas Eve dinner at Chili’s. For us, its Christmas already.

Martin Luther King Day

I started working last year of January at Dubuque Community School, and on my 2nd week, January 21st, I took the day off because of this Holiday Celebration, so- called Martin Luther King Day. I do not know King, I only know him as a founder of one religious organization, a religious icon. Being in the University (back in the Philippines)with a lot of student activists and protesters, his name is popular, I remember most intellectual group of students that time idolize Martin Luther King.

Who is this man that even had a National Holiday declared in his honor, an honor accorded to no other American, not Lincoln not Washington, not Jefferson (Washington and Lincoln no longer have holidays — they share the generic sounding “President’s Day”).

Free gifts, free samples, paid survery scams

Who doesn’t love freebies? The best things in life is FREE! . But is there really a free nowadays? My husband always called me “gullible”. Because I am a kind of person who easily believes and trust. I was scammed by friends who loan money and never pay me back. I have a heart that easily gives when someone is in need and begging. While we are watching a commercial for a wonder bra that can enhance boobs, I told my husband is it really working? he laughs and told me, why you easily believe on those commercials, most of them are not true. So, I want to prove to him that I am not a gullible person. But my gullibilty(my invented word) again, was tested…

As I’m reading a forum discussion on my friendster groups, they mention about freebies and paid surveys. They gave some sites for samples and freebies, paid surveys. There is one who testified that she already got a check for her paid surveys. She even attached the check that she recieved. Then, I figured it out, what do I have to lose if I try it, no money involve, after all, they’re only asking for information on your thoughts and opinions. After filling out some surveys on my first day, I received a lot of spam emails and gift offers like $250 gift cards for simply answering a short survey. I tried it and after answering the first batch of questions theres more and more and more products they are offering, I realized not only this “survey’ be a waste of time, it will be a waste of money too. Because before you qualify for your free gift(the $250 gift card)you need to complete a few special offers that equates to spending time and money on services or products you don’t want. There’s a question there that goes like this ” Do you want a free cellphone?”, I checked the box for “yes”. Then, the following day, they immediately shipped my “free phone”, my husband which is in our house that time (I’m at work) refused the “free phone” stating the deliveryman that we doesn’t need it. And maybe its just a mistake. It was after a month when I received a bill from a certain mobile phone company. I never used a phone or never accepted the delivery, how the hell I have a bill? I emailed the phone company and told them to terminate my account that I never used. They emailed me back that they already terminated my account and apologized for the incoveniences. But after a month, I received a reminder about my bill. We called the phone company, lady that we talked to said that I am responsible for the said bill. We reported it to the BBB.

Here’s what I learned about paid surveys scams, the major way they make money is by selling the participant’s contact information to marketing firms. Then, the marketing firms use that data to send unsolicited mails, emails (this is why the reason I received a lot of spams in email and via mail too), and phone calls ( we received a lot of calls from marketing agencies) to the survery participants. These unwanted advertisements is a real nuisance.

I won 1 million

I received the following email. At first glance I know it is a fraud . But to tell you the truth theres this thing inside myself that whoaa maybe this is real and I really won. This money will help my family in the Philippines. I am in the denial state, that this is not a hoax, so instead of ignoring this, I use my precious time to verify this first. First, I googled the Lottery Promotion Sponsor, and I’ve got a lot of testimonials from the victims. Here’s the email that I received:

CONGRATULATION!!! YOUR E-MAIL HAS WON Standard Header Full Message
View SA LOTTERY PROMOTION Add Monday, November 26, 2007 12:44:00 PM
To:Cc:

Congratulation”you have won $1,000,000,00.One Million US dollars winning No:24/2/6/37/15/45 with a ticket number: B9665 75604546 199 in the just concluded draw held to promote South African 2010 World Cup,please call your claim Agent MR.SMITH NELSON Email: smithnelson@hotmail.co.uk Tel:+27 72 727 6662 Give your agent this info: your Name,Address,winning number,Telephone,Age, Sex,Nationality,Company,and Occupation.Yours Sincerely,Mrs rebecca zuma(Zonal cordinator

The same email was received by the victims, however, they answered them, and they soon found out that they have to pay some fee in order to get the winning millions. Then comes the second fee, third fee, and fourth fee, etc. etc. No one has ever received the millions, but many have lost lots of money, and some have even stop their studies, ruin their families, and worst got killed. This so called “Advance Fee Fraud” has become an industry in South Africa, Nigeria and the surrounding countries. Another common name is “419 fraud” after Section 419 of the Nigerian Penal code, the section that specifically prohibits this fraud.

This fraud is difficult to stop, but we can have some fun and have the criminals use their time in vain. That is called scambaiting.

Playing with Danger

Its Holiday shopping season again, and as a consumer be cautiously consider the safety of products especially toys that we will buy for the kids. Pencil Cases, Paint Brushes, Metal children’s jewelry. Snow and sand castle kits. Some store owners find themselves fielding a lot of questions about toy safety from the customers. People do ask questions like “Do you have any toys that weren’t Made in China? As I roam around 2 toy stores, I can say “very few”. Check the labels, almost everything is made in China. There are some that are made locally.

Here are the top list of worst toys to buy during Holiday season according to WATCH ( World against Toys Causing Harm); Aqua Dots, one of the most recently recalled toys of 2007, which saw 25 million toys under 70 brands recalled for safety issues, including lead paint and other toxic materials. Aqua Dots, colored beads used in kid’s craft projects were found to contain toxic chemicals that convert to a dangerous “date-rape” drug when ingested.

There have been at least two reports of children swallowing the beads and slipping into a temporary comatose state. Some familiar name on the list: Dora the Explorer lamp, Go Diego Go Animal Rescue Boat, Jack Spurrow’s Spinning Dagger, Spiderman 3 New Goblin Sword. There are also some lesser known toys, like Sticky Stones, magnetized iron ore stones that could be choking hazards.

Thanksgiving Day...... Americans are pretty lucky

I can’t forget the month I arrived here in the States, its November, the month for Thanksgiving. I was fascinated the way they celebrate it, its like Christmas too, a time for family get-together, lots of food in the table like cranberry jellies, sauce, and the traditional turkey roast with stuffing or dressings, mashed potato and gravy with rolls, pumpkin pie, blueberry pie, fruits and veggies.
Oh my, and a lot more, this day you must forget about calories, just eat and enjoy.

Now, my second Thanksgiving here, I understand more the true meaning of this day. Thanksgiving is one time of year Americans remember to be thankful for the staggering bounty of food they enjoy, imagine some 800 million(just guessing the figure) or more people around the world suffer from hunger and malnutrition. The United States is far and away the biggest supplier of food aid to the world.

And speaking of amazing cities, most of it are right here in the States, the biggest communities are world renowned destinations for arts and culture, architecture, cuisine, entertainment, sports and natural attractions. And right now, at this place where I am now(Dubuque), I can described it as a great place to raise a family, clean air and water, green hillsides, low crime rates, friendly people and not much traffic are those few things that must be thankful for.

I want to thank friends and families who came and celebrate the Thanksgiving with us. My stepdaughters, Shelby and Ashley, our good friend Joan and daughter Kari. YOu made our Thanksgiving complete and fun. To Maria Scarlet who greets us, Tonee of Fairfield, Gregg and Lorna, Liezl and Tom from Illinois and Sofie & Arby. Although Sofie and Arby(my filipino buddies) cooked lechon baboy instead of traditional trukey roast. They invited me over but, I did not make it because one day is not enough for us to celebrate it. Instead I asked them to save a lechon baboy for me.

Dubuque, IA.......my home now

Dubuque is an interesting city. It’s Iowa’s oldest city, will celebrate its 175th anniversary next year. And was one of the first settlements west of the Mississippi. However, it’s still very small and isolated. Friends and relatives in the Philippines were not familiar with Dubuque, so I just say 3 hours drive to Chicago (then they will responds, aahh Chicago, ok) Traditionally, the city existed on the back of the river and heavy industry. The workforce is highly unionized but terribly friendly. I’m presently working at Dubuque Community School District and I would say everyone is friendly. At first, I’m expecting a discriminatory treatment because of my color and race, yes, they will stare at me at first, if I go to the Bar, Movies, Shopping Malls, all I get is afriendly stare with nod and smiling faces saying Hi! or Hello, how are you? even they don’t know you, that’s makes me feel one of them.



Here’s a view of National Mississippi River Museum and Aquarium. If you want to get to know the Mississippi River creatures and Historic Artifacts. We have a very good friends from Chicago who visited us last January, Tom and Liezl Minyo, and Jon thinks this is a good place to visit. Big Aquariums, historical ships, and one thing that fascinated me most is the video about the river people who discovered, lived upon and celebrated the waterways of United States. Louis and Clark plus the charming Sacagawea. (she’s charming in the movie, Night of the Museum). Then we went to Dyersville, the Field of Dreams movie site, which stars Kevin Costner. Also, the movie Take this Job and Shove it was filmed in Dubuque.