Giving birth in Japan (...while studying)

In summary, I would like to say that although it was not an easy experience, the grace of God--the love of our champion sister and the Japanese Christian brethren, the kindness of the Japanese volunteers for foreign students, and the resilience of a Filipino spirit-- made it a wonderful, tolerable one.

It was not unwelcome but I got pregnant in a not very opportune time. I therefore had mixed feelings of great joy and apprehension upon receiving the news but because I acknowledge that it was God-ordained, I decided that I should face the fact only with joy and great expectations. An avalanche of questions, decision points and scenarios ensued in my simple mind. That I can sacrifice my PhD degree for the human heartbeat was out of the question. The question was can I have both in Japan? In the end, after many prayers and much consideration, and discussion with my husband, my parents, my academic adviser, and my champion sister (a Japanese sister in church cum volunteer), I made the decision to give birth here in Japan. I struggled but it was the best compromise for the interest of my family and studies.

It turned out that the two most formidable problems were first, convincing others that it was the right decision based on my circumstances, and second, communicating to doctors and nurses in Nihongo. I have no control over the former, but solving the latter started the never-ending service of our champion sister who painstakingly accompanied us to the hospital and health center, translated for us, was with me in the delivery room, and watched the development of our little one with genuine care. Her gift of service then and even until now is unmatched. We are comforted and inspired knowing that her motivation of helping us is the sheer joy of serving her God. She helps and expects nothing in return, not even a debt of gratitude.

The love and prayers of our Japanese Christian brethren at the Asakura Joyful Christian Church are also equally much appreciated. Their authentic moral support, prayers and encouragement were helpful. Their steadfast faith was a source of inspiration, not only for my family, but also for my studies. They have become my family in Japan, indeed.

Also, it would have been impossible for me to give birth and raise a baby here in Japan without the kindness and assistance of the Japanese volunteers for foreign students. One Japanese volunteer translated important documents so my husband was able to come and help me out. Another champion volunteer taught us how and where to avail of government services, and assisted us in many ways making sure that we have the basic necessities enough to cope with life in Japan with a baby especially in the winter season. She and another couple volunteer are unsung heroes to many foreign students, especially the new students, and they deserve great commendations.

Finally, I should say it is not easy to raise a baby and study at the same time even in one’s homeland, and more so in a foreign land. It definitely entails difficult trade-offs. Yet true to the resilience of a Filipino spirit and only in the grip of God’s grace, I am now blessed with a boy who is now toddling, and on the academic side, so far one paper published in an international journal. Kami sama, kansha shimasu!

(This is an article they asked me to write for Akebono. The last phrase on publication, i must say, was included there, as a matter of politics . Otherwise, it can be dispensed with. - che)

w/ Douglass C. North

(from left) Douglass C. North, 1993 Prize in Economics; Third Dacanay, professor at UP Baguio; Laarni Escresa, graduate student of University of Bologna (Picture taken during the Beijing Ronald Coase Workshop on Institutional Analysis)

Sino ba sya?

Excerpts from Douglass C. North's autobiography (bold text, mine)...

... Our family life was certainly not intellectual...

... My record at the University of California as an undergraduate was mediocre to say the best. I had only slightly better than a "C" average, although I did have a triple major in political science, philosophy, and economics...

... What the war did was give me the opportunity of three years of continuous reading, and it was in the course of reading that I became convinced that I should become an economist...

... I went back to graduate school with the clear intention that what I wanted to do with my life was to improve societies, and the way to do that was to find out what made economies work the way they did or fail to work. I believed that once we had an understanding of what determined the performance of economies through time, we could then improve their performance. I have never lost sight of that objective.

For his full autobiography, check
http://nobelprize.org/nobel_prizes/economics/laureates/1993/north-autobio.html

For his prize lecture
http://nobelprize.org/nobel_prizes/economics/laureates/1993/north-lecture.html