Salamat Cath! Wisikan mo naman ako ng mga kaalaman mo sa mga bato. Hahaha!
Kuya Kim is a friend of mine.
He was still in Netherlands when I came to Potsdam for my studies as well so he decided to give me a visit. Kuya Kim came to Potsdam one beautiful summer of July 2012. I offered to pick him up in Potsdam main station (Hbf)and he said that I should because he does not want to get lost in Potsdam. I was giddy with excitement that when I saw him in Hbf I called to him "Kuyaaaa Kiiimmm!!" as I fling my arms around to give him a tight embrace. He met me with his signature cheerful smile- a smile that is fulfilled with a graceful squinting of the eyes that will never fail to make you smile in return.
He then started complaining about the heat and how much he had sweated. And I blamed it to the polo shirt he is wearing and I contested that he was not sweating, he was raining. I rarely see Kuya Kim dress in formal clothes like that. He is usually in his plain shirt particularly those with calls like "Science and Technology for the People", and the one with a quote from Albert Einstein " Man can find meaning in life, short and perilous as it is only by devoting himself to society" among others. He wanted to walk nevertheless, so we did until my flat. It was a pretty long walk of 30 minutes but we filled it with stories, questions to catch-up and as usual laughter that before we know it we were already in my flat's doorsteps.
Kuya Kim is a guy who never seem to run out of ideas and thoughts. I introduced him to my friends here in Potsdam and at an instant they liked him. He talked about his fascination about biological clocks and advised us that we should stop forcing ourselves to wake up in the morning with alarm clocks (we are so delighted with this advice by the way). Instead, we should just let our biological clocks function naturally, and that this could lead to a more healthy body and optimum working habits (for us it means longer sleep time!). In a birthday dinner that we went, my friends from India were impressed by how much he knows about Bhagat Singh (one of the revolutionaries in India) and other personalities I could hardly recall.
He is such a pleasant person to talk with as he listens well to other thoughts as well with candor. You can hardly leave him out of place in any crowd. Even the concerted effort of three female geologists from different corners of the world to tease him being the only physicist in the group did not work.
We went around Potsdam with him wearing a shirt that reads "Free Ericson Acosta". During that time, Potsdam is having a music festival and we scoured all the booths to dance every music (salsa, modern, hiphop, etc.) we hear. He also insisted of going to the videoke bar in Potsdam where he sang "El Condor Pasa" by Simon and Garfunkel where he received a loud roar of claps from partying Potsdamers!
This is me and Kuya Kim sitting on the grasses in Park Sans Soucci, Potsdam. I was forcing him to look at the camera but he was distracted by the "very interesting" bug he saw in the grasses! Ang kulit lang talaga!
While Kuya Kim can be very cheerful, funny and sometimes even bordering to 'crazy' kind of person who never fails to make fun of almost everything, he is in all seriousness and sincerity when he talks about service to the people. During our breakfasts and dinners, he would tell me about the significance and urgency of scientists like us to be part of building a nation. In a very concrete way, he said that scientists like us should use our talents to help solve people's problems or promote their understanding of nature's processes in a scientific way. At the same time he also believes that he can learn a lot from people's experiences and that his science will continue to grow as he work more closely with the people. I can feel the burning passion that he has in pursuing a life of a true iskolar ng bayan and scientist for the people. Indeed, in his heart he feels that his life's meaning is by devoting himself to society.
True to his words and passion, he went back to the Philippines and started working on projects to address peoples needs like he did in the Environmental Impact Assessment for typhoon Pablo. He could have chosen to stay in Europe or anywhere else in the world to find good position and better compensation, but his determination to use his knowledge for our fellowmen cannot be wavered. As such, he should be immediately released so he could continue to use his talents in service of the people.
Free Kim Gargar Now!
No comments:
Post a Comment