Studio C

I couldn't believe my eyes when I first saw this book. "Wow! That's actually my name!" You see, there is a song entitled "Michelle", a musical entitled "Maria", a restaurant called "Mario's" --- but it's not everyday I see a book bearing my name on the cover. "I must have a copy next time", I promised to myself.

The next opportunity came when the Bookmark store in Glorietta was closing down. It had an "everything-must-go" sale and there were copies of "Chun" being sold at a lowly price of P10.00. I bought all the remaining copies and gave them to my friends.

Today I read the book for the nth time, and admired the simple yet powerful way the story was delivered. Chun was Chinese boy who had two Filipino playmates, Pitoy and Leloy. As an adult, Leloy looks back and narrates his childhood memories about Chun -- his being different, most especially.

Chun's "odd" Chinese practices made him the laughing stock among his playmates. Yet despite all the ridicules and the teasing, Chun remained a friend to them, and strived to "belong" and become "one of them". And he failed.

A great book to remind ourselves of the danger of judging others.