Friday, October 02, 2009

ALLOW ME TO INTRODUCE YOU A BIT MORE TO My Wife

ALLOW ME TO INTRODUCE YOU A BIT MORE TO My Wife

By Kevin Anthony Stoda, Germany


http://the-teacher.blogspot.com/2009/09/reamonn-maria-victoria-and-imore-than.html

My lovely wife, Maria Victoria M. Baradero, is currently in Port Barton on the beautiful island of Palawan. We had bought a piece of land there in Port Barton last August 2009.

Vik (Victoria) sent me an SMS yesterday stating that we have already received the building permit for the lot and 1000 cement blocks have arrived. In short, despite the rain and flooding in the Philippines this month, progress has begun on our new home in Palawan. (Thanks, Maria, for overseeing all of that—while I am so far away.)

http://de.wikipedia.org/wiki/Palawan

Besides overseeing the construction of our new home in the Philippines, Victoria has many other talents and skills. For one, she can concentrate very well. For example, in July during our honeymoon, she picked up the game of billiards very fast and within a few hours of playing was beating me at the game regularly, i.e. immediately after my showing her how to score and shoot.

http://www.performance-media.com/concen.php

Similarly, on that same trip, Victoria learned how to kayak in minutes at El Nido, even though she had never even rowed a boat before. (I can’t wait till she can come to Germany and row–or kayak–on the Rhine River with some of my friends.)

http://www.k-state.edu/counseling/topics/career/concentr.html

Concentration skills take training, and Victoria’s ability to concentrate at will outdoes me (and my attention deficit). This skill has also enabled Vik to learn more languages than me over her lifetime. For example, she speaks four or five languages indigenous to the Philippines plus English and Arabic. This is why I have been very confident that Vik could move to Germany and learn the language and culture here fairly quickly. (My–or our–church here is bilingual.)

http://www.performanceprime.com/performance-focusing_on_concentration.php

(Maria) Victoria left her home and family in Palawan to move to Negros Island when she was 16. Later, she was able to begin studying at university in Bacolod there. Vik could not have afforded to study by herself in those days, so was sponsored by her Aunt Antonia, who is a catholic nun on that same island. In turn, for obtaining more financial support (and for receiving the sponsorship for college from her aunt), Maria agreed to live at a special home for aging Catholic workers, where her 80-year old uncle, a priest, also named Antonio, was living out his last years with Alzheimer’s and other aging ailments.

http://www.bacolodcity.gov.ph/bacolod_city.htm

In short, while Maria Victoria was studying full-time to finish her BA degree in Commerce on Negros Island, my wife was working much of her days as a major caregiver for an aged priest suffering with Alzheimer’s—quite the responsibility for one in their early 20s, eh?

It is likely that this difficult experience during her college years empowered my wife to boldly go abroad twice in the 1990s to work for three years, first in the UAE and later in Lebanon, as a nanny and as maid for an Arab family.

http://the-teacher.blogspot.com/2009/09/2009-reasearch-demonstrates-that.html

Thinking about this skill to care for others—whether adults or children—was one why I was pretty sure that Germany would like to consider having my wife consider come to Germany.

http://www.saipantribune.com/newsstory.aspx?newsID=90320&cat=21

Germany is and will be short-handed in terms of care-givers to the elderly for decade upon decade to come. Maria Victoria is also a good disciplinarian with kids and she could potentially volunteer to work with kids as well in Germany, such as in Sunday school or in other oversight situations. (I know this because Victoria worked teaching kids in our church in Kuwait on-and-off for the past 4 years, i.e. before she was forced by the delays of the German Innenministerium and the German Embassy to return to the Philippines in July of this year, i.e. in order to await for the Integration Office in Wiesbaden to reconsider our visa appeal for Victoria…. Something that has still not occurred to-date.)

http://www.biomedcentral.com/1472-6955/7/15

Similarly, I think the USA needs care givers, too. I recently applied for a visa there for my wife there, too. (Since I am American, hopefully this visa will take less than a year.)

http://www.caregiving.org/data/youngcaregivers.pdf

To make a long story short, I am proud of my wife, Maria Victoria (Vik) and find her to be hard-working, able to concentrate well, and able to handle peoples of all ages—all of who have quite different needs.

Moreover, she is fun, lovable and has a lot of energy. (I am glad we have so much in common J .

I hope to introduce you personally to her soon.

http://eslkevin.wordpress.com/2009/09/14/will-the-landestag-in-hessen-let-justice-ring/

For more on Maria Victoria and my saga, see the notes section of this writing.

Finally, I will point out that not only were an aunt (nun) and uncle (priest) of Victoria’s named Antonia or Antonio but her father (my Tatay in Filipino) is Antonio as her only surviving brother (nicknamed Ton-Ton).

My second name is Antonio or Anthony, too. Thanks mom and dad for giving me this second name. I think it helped seal Vik and my future together. ; )

NOTES

Despite Germany turning down his wife’s Visa, Kevin Returns to Germany to Empower Germans to function in the 21st Century better

http://eslkevin.wordpress.com/2009/08/26/despite-germany-turning-down-his-wifes-visa-kevin-returns-to-gemrany-tgo-empower-germans-to-funciton-in-the-21st-century-better/


KOMOESTAKA?Victoria Maria

http://eslkevin.wordpress.com/2009/08/20/komoestakavictoria-maria-kevin-stoda-philippines-visa-germany-america-usa-exile-hope-icoc-palawan-travels-immigration-declaration-of-human-rights/

Today we went Sea Kayaking–4th week in German Exile to Philippines for my Wife & I

http://eslkevin.wordpress.com/2009/10/02/today-we-went-sea-kayaking-4th-week-in-german-exile-to-philipines-for-my-wife-i/

Labels:

1 Comments:

Blogger Kevin Anthony Stoda said...

After I wrote this, my wife stated "I cannot speak 7 languages, i can only speak Tagalog, English and little Arabic. Cebuano and Ilonggo are one the dialics in the Philippines and you can not consider it as language."

Moreover, "During my school days, it was not my Aunt who lives in the monastery who paid my school tuition. It was one of their sponsors through her help and prayers."

2:16 PM  

Post a Comment

<< Home