#pafte

Pafte buckle of silver and mother-of-pearl, Đakovica, Serbia, 19th century. Ornament shows a King with scepter and cross. Belonged to Jelena Jokić. cred. Museum in Priština (now in Belgrade).

Serbian pafte's buckle belts from the late 19th century, kept in the Visoki Dečani monastery.

Last year, I took the exam for aspiring quizzers that will compete at the 9th PAFTE. Unfortunately, I didn't make it. From that moment then, I already said to myself that maybe quiz bees aren't for me. Until Ma'am Relyn asked me if I wanted to join for this year's PATFE Quiz Bee. My first thought was, "Yes! I would love to." And then my next thought was, "Can I do it though?" And then more depreciating thought came after another "I will surely disappoint my college." "I can't do it." "I'm pretty sure I will cause my group's downfall." But I tried anyway. I wanted to give myself a chance, just this time. The announcement arrived three weeks before the actual competition which means we barely had time left to review 9 professional education subject. What made it more challenging was, PC and I were doing our Practice Teaching so we had to go to school every now and then after our teaching just to study. Rica, on the other hand, is a full-time student who has grades she has to maintain. It was hard, but not impossible. Most especially, with God. It was tiring, I must admit. As much as I want to get back the sleep I lost from PT, I can only do it for a few minutes in the library. Literally, naging taong lib ako dahil dito! To be exact, we only had 4 review sessions as a group, the rest of the days were meant for self-studying. On our last day of review, we were on roll. Our mock quiz bee went well but I was still not feeling confident. We were supposed to rest the night before the competition but I still studied. The next day, as I rode the bus, I felt very nervous. I can almost picture our group, unable to answer all the questions correctly. However, the moment we entered the coliseum all my anxieties melted and I didn't feel confident, instead, I felt blessed. It seemed like a huge place with so many people and just the mere fact that in this sea of people, I am able to represent my school is already an indication that I won. I already made my school proud. My fears melted when we were able to answer the first question correctly. However, we made a wrong answer on the second one. But did we feel discouraged? No. Instead, we prayed just like what we did after every question is finished. We prayed, we gave thanks to the Lord and we asked for guidance and it felt empowering.  What makes it so much better is how united our team us; we don't blame each other, we hear each other out and we've been each other strength. We learned so many things from each other and that's an added bonus to the many things that made me feel so blessed. I am grateful for PC and Rica. We got 23/30 correct. We were the second highest pointers but we were one of three. Also, the highest pointers got 24/30, and that was another triple tie to break. We tried for the 4th place but we didn't make it and it's okay. Because we didn't pray to God to make us win, we prayed that He give us what is really meant for us and that is what God planned for us and it was more than enough. Maybe it isn't our time yet, maybe this is something we would look back on and say, "Wow, God really has the grandest and best plans for me." We didn't win but COEd made us feel like we did. I was so afraid to look at them when we lost but they still cheered us on. They gave us hugs and congratulated us and I can't help but feel so thankful to belong in this college. Our professors were also there, ready to welcome us home in their arms, telling us it's okay As I look back on the times I doubted myself, I am so glad I gave myself a chance. There were so many people who believed in me that slowly, little by little, I learned to believe in myself too. No regrets, just gratefulness.

Tarlac Student Teachers' Congress! PAFTE SEMINAR! ☺️😍😘😊 #Registration 📓📘📕📘📒🗂 #PAFTE