Light at the end of the tunnel.

This has been a compelling week in the Philippines. As torrential rains brought by the Southwest Monsoon or Hanging Habagat battered Luzon for the past couple of days sending most areas around the island in deep flooding especially here in Metro Manila, from La Mesa Dam overspilling towards the Tullahan River, to the water level at Marikina River rising almost to a point when Typhoon Ondoy struck the country in 2009 sending most of the riverside in floods as high as the 2nd floor, to tunnels submerged in very deep water, even a landslide just a couple of kilometers from our home. Even in provinces around Luzon like Bulacan, Pampanga, Pangasinan to name a few were submerged in deep flooding.

The bad weather also affected classes in many schools, colleges and universities scattered across Luzon as well as work in offices. The bad weather also happened at a time when we are taking our major examinations at the university. Thus, causing the postponement of exam schedules for next week as UST was submerged in deep flooding over the past few days. As of the time I'm writing this blog. The university is not flooded anymore, which is good news as cleaning operations can push through over the weekend.

Despite this tragedy that struck our nation. There is "light at the end of the tunnel" as the title of this blog entry states. Stories of hope and camaraderie in this time of challenges in our country. As rescuers stepped out putting their own lives on the line to save a lot of people in this time of tragedy. Ordinary Filipinos, stepping out and donating food, clothing, and cash to help the victims of this challenging time in our nation. The "bayanihan" spirit we Filipinos have been known for came out in full force as people came together and helped each other get through this tragic time.

These turn of events will serve as a lesson for the Filipino nation to rise up from this tragedy and rise as one. As I finish this blog entry, I leave this photo.

Photo ©Karl Carandang

As the song by the band Hale goes "There's a BLUE SKY waiting tomorrow, waiting tomorrow, shining and shimmering..." There is hope that our nation will rise again from this challenging time in our history. Let this also serve as a lesson, that we don't need to wait for tragic events to show our "bayanihan" spirit, but we must continue doing it each and every day.

We will rise as one nation.
K-Smoove