Hungary 2013

More than a month ago, I mentioned that I was about to go to Hungary for an AIESEC GCDP exchange program. The photos and some kwento can be found here.

The trip almost didn't push through because of delays and visa matters. But after some patience-testing and grovelling in the Belgian embassy, the trip finally came true.

I haven't been blogging lately because I prefer writing by hand. For some reason, this gets the creative juices flowing inside me.

199-peso journal with Pilot G-tech

With new friends, Szevi, Lidi, Livi and Peti

I stole some lavender from a park

A very helpful Chinese guy and a bus ticket

Debrecen and 17-degree weather

Dear Twenty-Two

Dear Twenty-two,

This letter is late. 

I was supposed to write and send you this letter last May 7, the day of your birth. But I think you know why I couldn't write you a letter.

But in the end, you have arrived. And we are all thankful.

Yes. Thankful. You've learned a lot about being thankful. You have learned how to count your blessings and use those to your advantages. You have learned to fight tooth and nail for your goals. You have learned that hard work and perseverance can take you very far; and the laziness will get you nowhere.

Above all, you have learned how to accept.

You started, endured, and finished your Thesis project under the advise of one of the most brutally honest teachers you've ever had. There were a lot of times when you felt like a failure, and you didn't know what to do. There were times when you felt like you will never be good enough, that design will never be your forte, and that you would fail your client, adviser, and self. 

After five years in UP and one year in post-op hibernation, you have finally graduated from beloved UP.

You applied for an exchange program under AIESEC, not knowing what would happen, not really expecting much. After some interviews and a few emails, you got into a job that sounded like fun. You will be teaching kids about the Filipino culture... in Hungary. 

You were actually supposed to emerge in Hungary. The project should have started on May 5. But delays due to technical and distance problems emerged, and you thought you couldn't go at all. If not for the kindness and grace of the Belgian embassy in Manila (THANK YOU!!!), your family, and your hosts abroad, the trip would not have been possible.

So you are going to Hungary on Monday. You are going to Europe for the first time, and you are going alone.

You, Twenty-two, have entered the world at a point of personal uncertainty. I understand that this year is going to be restless. I just hope you do not forget about me.

I hope you have a great time during your existence, Twenty-two. You went off on a rocky start, but there are exciting things up ahead. I cannot promise you that nothing bad will happen.

But whatever happens, your life will not be boring.

Love from,

Twenty-one

Fresh

A hug from the Dean :)

Last 28th of April, I graduated.

It was anticlimactic for me, climbing that stage and receiving the diploma. Yes, it is a symbol of a job well done, a ceremony to honor what we have accomplished after 5++ years.

I'm not saying it was not meaningful, because it was. My family was there to cheer me on, the ceremony itself was meaningful (though the venue could be better), I graduated along with my cousin, who finished her Molecular Biology degree from the same university, and of course the friends and batchmates were there.

But after passing each requirement, after going through the thesis deliberations, after having our books signed and after getting our grades, I feel like success was handed out to me in small doses. Graduation was just there as a culmination, something that symbolizes the end of a six five-year frolic in UP Diliman.

I was sad to leave of course. I will miss college life: the camaraderie between classmates, the guidance of professors, the times spent with friends, and the chance to meet people from random colleges and sectors that one can learn things from. But I know for a fact that UP is always there.

I end this post with the lyrics of our university hymn, UP Naming Mahal, by Nicanor Abelardo. Yes, it's cheesy to end the post this way, but it totally sums up the way I feel about the university as an alumnus.

U.P. naming mahal, pamantasang hirang

Ang tinig namin, sana'y iyong dinggin

Malayong lupain, amin mang marating

Di rin magbabago ang damdamin

Di rin magbabago ang damdamin.

 

Luntian at pula, sagisag magpakailanman

Ating ipagdiwang, bulwagan ng dangal

Humayo't itanghal, giting at tapang

Mabuhay ang pag-asa ng bayan!

Mabuhay ang pag-asa ng bayan!

 

Babysitting at the Bay

16 April 2013

The Philippine Pediatric Society just had its annual convention and my pediatrician aunt from Pangasinan had to attend.

They stayed at the Sofitel Manila, one of the poshest hotels in the city (at least in my humble opinion). Doctors' accommodations are usually sponsored for these things and my aunt usually lets me tag along. In return, I watch over my cousins while she attends the conference and business meetings, and catches up with her residency friends from Manila.

The room had a nice balcony.

Look at that smog. I wonder if the sky was bluer before the automobile was invented.

There are times when I dread these things because my cousin Matthew can get a little... bratty. Thankfully, he's less pushy and more subdued this time. It's a nice change from last time (I made him cry), but it also reminds me that the cousins are growing up fast.

Matthew.

I purposely brought my camera so I can capture the sunset. But because of a brief (2-hour) jaunt in the pool with a 7 year old, I missed the actual sunset by minutes. I got the orange glow instead.

But the orange glow is still pretty nice.

Mind Moving

12 April 2012

Our friend Joan is moving back to her hometown of Davao City right after graduation. This is round one of her so-called "despidida"

We went to the Mind Museum, because:

 a. Manila Ocean Park is too expensive for us

b. The museum has discounts for public college students... and we're about to graduate.

 

We liked the exhibits and experiments inside, but I liked the Science Park best.

I have a lot of pictures of Gelmer. Either everyone lese was camera-shy or she deliberately makes herself available to photograph.

Badass Aileen testing the Mobius strip slidey-thing.

A lot of things happened after. We had a jaunt under the Trees of Burgos Circle with small dogs and their yayas, we went to the other parks of BGC, and stole the patintero court from little kids in a playground.

We talked a lot about the things we're going to do after graduation. It's funny because even though I haven't graduated yet, I already feel like I'm drifting into a world where there are less rules and more things can happen. It excites and scares me at the same time.

Playing in the Mind Museum and the BGC made me feel like saying goodbye to part of my life that's more relaxed. It's like the world was telling me to enjoy things while I can.

I plan to do exactly that.

Pass

Tadaaaa!!!

This is my thesis book. It is printed and signed and bound in a pretty maroon. My name is embossed in gold. It is to be kept by the College of Architecture Library for students of the future to see.

I passed the book along with these DVDs that will be given to the faculty and the adviser.

I passed these along with my friends and classmates.

Fooling around...

All in all, we passed.

Cheers to a new chapter ahead!!!

Solitary Walk: The National Art Gallery

08 March 2013

Pictures taken on: 06 March 2013

I promised myself another solitary photowalk after my deliberations, but then there aren't a lot of areas in Metro Manila where I can't take pictures with a DSLR alone without getting mugged or stealthily robbed (or at least feeling like it). So I thought of cancelling the solitary thing and just taking someone with me. 

Then the Anthropology professor assigned us to go to the National Museum's exhibit on Baybayin, which is the Philippine's ancient script.

So I decided to go on with the solitary walk in the Museum of the Filipino people. But I've already been there.

Once I got to the museum, I saw the building right next to it, which is the National Art Gallery. I realized I've never been there.

So before doing my extra credit Anthro homework, I went to the National Art Gallery first.

I'm super compressing this post because the museum is so big and there's just so much to see. I spent a few hours inside and I was very hungry once I got out.

Ah, Neocolonialism. You so pretty.

Since the building used to house the country's Senate, it was super fancy inside. It made me think of other public buildings in the country, where fanciness isn't exactly a priority. What if it was?