What to Read this Summer: Filipiniana YA Novels

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What to Read this Summer: YA Novels Centering on POC Characters

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What to Read this Summer: Nonfiction to Aid You in Learning How to Write Better Essays

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Pinoy Travel Log: Balanga, Bataan

Crown Point Hotel in Balanga City is located on Capitol St., where Starbucks is only a three-minute walk from the hotel, and Dunkin’ Donuts is just across the street. The road is lined with decades-old narra trees. And because it was the last week of April when we were there, we saw them shed their blossoms onto the heated pavement of summer. Behind the hotel are shops, stores, and restaurants that serve and sell local food. Nearby is the public market. It is the cleanest public market I have seen in a while. So, on our last day there, we did what any well-meaning tourist would do—mamalengke!

Jars of uraro, taro chips, tinapa, and a tub of Geno’s ice cream filled my pasalubong bag. I was away for almost a week, and the loaded pasalubong bag showed how much I missed home, family, and my school community. I enjoyed the company of friends in PASLI, and I learned something new from the conference, but wherever I go, thoughts of loved ones and friends in Biñan remain close to me.

As for Bataan, it was my first time in Balanga. Needless to say, it made an impression, not only because of the food, but also because of the city’s tourism program for visitors and guests. It seems to offer more than the facts we read in history books; there are stories, folktales, and urban lore waiting to be unearthed and explored.

#PASLICon2026 #BalangaCityBataan

Bangtan Herman Notes: Growing Up with Bangtan Sonyeondan

 

Sneak Peek: Character Studies for New Children's Book

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Cdrama Review: Menstruation and Feminine Coded Origin in Pursuit of Jade

One of the more memorable lines in Pursuit of Jade is spoken publicly by Xie Zheng during the confrontation between Changyu and Song Yan’s mother.

“Menstruation is the foundation of humanity and motherhood. Why can’t it be spoken of?”

I actually paused after reading the subtitle/hearing it. I pressed the replay button and crashed out.

Xie Zheng’s words emerges in the middle of public humiliation, gossip and moral judgment. Song Yan’s mother attempts to shame Changyu before the entire neighborhood, weaponizing influence, gendered expectations and social hierarchy against her. And yet Xie Zheng interrupts that humiliation not only by exposing the debt owed to the Fan family, but by reframing feminine embodiment itself.

Menstruation is often treated with shame or silence instead of honoring it as a source of life. Most importantly, in the drama, this is spoken in a public setting where neighbors bear witness.

That setting matters deeply to me.

The scene is not private comfort whispered behind closed doors. It unfolds before neighbors, gossipers, sympathizers and onlookers. Lin’an witnesses the exchange collectively meaning dignity, morality and legitimacy are being negotiated communally.

As a folklorist, I find this fascinating because village communities often function as moral audiences. People gather not only to observe conflict, but to interpret it, redistribute shame and affirm communal values. In this moment, Xie Zheng shifts the communal narrative itself. He refuses to allow womanhood to be framed through impurity or embarrassment. Instead, he roots it in origin, continuity and human existence.

He was not only defending Changyu or asserting justice. He was honoring the feminine coded origin of our collective narrative.

What this scene shows is compassion and moral clarity interrupting public cruelty in broad daylight. I bring this back in real life as a reminder to constantly discern and to appropriately speak against injustices in big and small ways.

#PursuitofJade #cdrama #ZhangLinghe #TianXiWei

Book Review: Alandal

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