The Sophomores Hit Sagada

Ilocos 2013

Shortly after our Ilocos Trip last year, the Arki sophomores were already looking forward to our next big thing. Back then, I wrote about new friends and good vibes, as I had only met everyone two months before it. It was super fun, yes, but, this trip was known to be even better. :)

At around 3 PM on the day of our departure, hardly anyone could pay any more attention to the Building Materials lecture being given by our professor. By that time, you could already hear the random screams from both Arki buildings. You could already see the random bursts of excitement. From everyone. It was crystal clear on all our faces.

People left their respective classrooms with giant smiles and eventually, left the school campus and headed for the grocery to shop. Yes, food for the bus is a very important part of a field trip. People left to pack and others left to buy things last minute. No one was thinking of academics anymore. No one could. Because it was time.

It was finally time for Sagada. :)

I'm about to turn this into a photo blog because there's just too much to say about the trip and I don't want to bore you with words, haha. But since a picture is worth a thousand words, here are a some of my favorite photos from our trip! [Heehee it was really great, I'm still so happy. I can't get over it.]

From back to front : Dav, Renzo, Kyle, Gabby, Lance, Big, Kat

Left: Madrid/ Joson students modeling by the gabions. Cause they knew what it was. Cause they learned about it in their class. Huhuhu

Right: Being tired from trekking = Lying down on the grass = Taking a cheesy friendship photo. <3

"Parang isa lang yung barber dito." (Dela Rosa, 2014)

No matter what their gender was, the little kids were super cute, with rosy cheeks and hair like that cutie in the photo above. Hahaha. 

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Okay, here. One of my favorite parts of our trip was the traditional wedding we attended. Apparently, weddings last for around 3 days over there. The first day is for the couple - it's the ceremony itself. The next two days, however, are for the community. It's all fun and festive, with lots of gong - playing and dancing, eating and drinking... so much happy vibes. 

 After a few rounds of watching them do their thing, it was our turn. And that was the fun part! We all kind of just stepped in the circle and did what we were told. I'm pretty sure we all looked as stupid as we felt while dancing but, man, it was pretty fun to do so!

Gabe, learning the dance 

Anna and Tomoko

I think it's pretty obvious how happy we were and how much fun we were having. Haha. After a while, they sort of cleared the floor and a man started dancing alone in the center. Then, I kind of freaked out a bit because he looked at me and told me to join him. And so I did...

Thank you, Gabe, for taking my pictures during this dance!

 

I'm sorry for being so awkward and nervous. For some dance steps, he needed to hold my hand and come pretty close and stuff. Hahaha.

I had fun and I was super happy!

Until I realized that it was an engagement dance...

HAHAHA KIDDING

But, that's what people were joking me about after.

Whoops, what if I accidentally got engaged for real?

Scary. Haha. Anyway, after that, the boys had their turn of playing the gongs too.

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We weren't really lucky with during the sunset and sunrise, haha. It was all clouds and fog but, yeah yeah yeah, because of the company, it was beautiful and meaningful nonetheless. #cheesy

Happy Lance.

Serious Mico.

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From Sagada, we took an 8 hour bus ride back to Baguio. The trip was pretty tiring, I gotta admit. It was my first time back in Baguio in a long while and man, it's changed a lot. There were so many people. The traffic was pretty bad. And there's now a giant SM over there. Huhuhu.

My heart always breaks a little whenever I see a place that's been transformed by commercialism and modernization - especially, when I witnessed what it once was. It used to be so beautiful. Huhu. It makes me so sad and so, so, SO scared for places that haven't been affected in that way yet.

I got so scared for Sagada.

It's such a simple community but, they're efficient and they're "modern" in their own way. Just enough, I guess. I'm gonna pray every single day now - that their culture and way of life is preserved and respected - enough for others NOT to try to change things up over there. I'm aware that there's always a good side to moving forward but, the manner by which it's done always leaves room for a billion consequences.

Hopefully, when I go back up there ten years from now with my future kids, they'll still be able to witness a traditional wedding and dance with the locals. And God, I'm hoping and praying that when I do go back ten years from know, there won't be a giant shopping mall blocking the view from our little inn. Hopefully, there'll still be that Sagada Lemon Pie House, the Yogurt House, that Sagada Weaving place and that we'll still be forced to walk everywhere, haha... hopefully, the people there love their culture enough not to let it go. Ever.

Huhuhu so much feels...

If you're still reading, thank you. This blog entry is much longer than I intended for it to be. But, don't worry, it's about done. I'm about to finish here because I really need to start working on my homework, haha. Thank you Lord for that wonderful break from Thursday night to Monday morning, for the amazing people I shared this experience with and for giving me the privilege of witnessing the beautiful culture of the people in Sagada. 

And just as I do whenever I have as much happy vibes as I do now, I shall end this blog with the simplest one liner that, I'm hoping, captures all the contentment and happiness in the world...

Oh, life is good. :)

Sagada 2014, Photo taken by Gilbert Bercero

Learning From The Best: My PETA Workshop Experience

One of the worst feelings in the world is knowing that you held back... or that you could have done so much better or so much more if you weren't thinking so much about being able to speak Tagalog well or whatever.

However, what's done is done and although I'm pretty disappointed in myself as I always am after a performance, I''m really happy about how the entire experience turned out. People enjoyed the show, yay! The audience was very responsive all throughout the play, laughing during moments we didn't expect and stuff. And all of us wished we could do the show more than once because it was just really fun! Here are some of my favorite photos from the show, taken by Karl Nikolai Herrera Emerenciana. 

Rochelle proclaiming her love to childhood sweetheart, Alfred...

"Bilang panganay ay na sa aking kamay
Sisikapin kong lahat ay maibigay
Sa aking ina at mga kapatid
Saka na ang para sa sarili, para sa sarili..."

 Rochelle telling Steven about the water problem and sneaky Diego eves dropping at the back!

"Bestfriend, please do not leave me to deal with this foreign suitor!"

Best friends forever: Myleen and Rochelle

The entire PETA workshop highlighted both our strengths and weaknesses. It made known to us the things we should be proud of as well as the things we should, well, be more patient with ourselves for. The different activities revealed excellent writers, composers, dancers, singers, comedians and all sorts of talents and skills  just waiting to be discovered.

Ironically, one of the main things I learned is that there is still so much for me to learn. The main reason I signed up for the workshop, aside from the fact that I miss performing so much, is that I was sort of desperate to get out of my comfort zone, to do something completely new and not me and to just grow, you know? Well, I should really be careful about all this growth stuff that I keep wishing for because God keeps answering my prayers!

 Our amazing teachers, Maan Upeng and Sir Jeff, really squeezed the creative juices out of us. First of all, I've never spoken that much Tagalog in my whole life. That's probably the main reason why my friends watched me - because nobody believes that I can. :( Hahaha half joke.

Eto na nga...

Maliban sa pagsasalita sa Pilipino, sobrang dami ko pang natutunan.

Okay, wait never mind.

But yes, I learned a lot. Now, I have so much more respect for people who've chosen to pursue the arts instead of going the safe route. I don't think I'll ever be that brave but, it's inspiring to know that people like that exist. Some are just born for it, I guess... Apart from that, I learned how humbling it is to be in a room filled with people who are far more talented than we are. Intimidating too, definitely. However, sometimes we need it.

We need that smack in the face, that reminder that we aren't as great as we think or that there is still a whole lot of room for improvement. Sometimes, we need to humble ourselves and allow ourselves to be taught by people who truly know more than we do.

Thank you to Maam Upeng, Sir Jeff and the whole CMT family for a super great and enriching experience that I'll never ever forget! To all those people who are looking for something to do this summer, I recommend this. Sign up for next year's summer workshop!

Inspired by the Traveling Pants

Although I was never really fond of lucky charms and the like, The Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants could very well be one of my favorite movies - not so much because of the special pants themselves but, more of the stories behind each character.

As you can see, there are four of them: Bridget, Carmen, Lina and Tibby. Bridget's a soccer superstar and the most outgoing and fun - loving of them all. It's probably a coping mechanism for her mom's death but, who knows. Tibby's an aspiring filmmaker, whose rebellious, couldn't - care - less nature was challenged by an annoying 12 year old with Leukemia, whom she learned to love. Lina's an awkward, conservative writer and artist, just breaking out of her shell and finally, there's Carmen - who, having been left by her father, isn't the most stable person in the world but, is pretty brilliant nonetheless.

I just finished watching the movie.

Again.

And suddenly, I wanna fly to Santorini (or anywhere) and draw everything I see, write about all my friends, interview every interesting person I know and make a good movie (or blog) out of it, join a camp in another country and, well, send a package via FedEx. Haha, what is inspired!

Apart from making me cry really hard, the movie got me to think about all the things I want to do in life. Here's an exchange between Lina and some Greek guy... whose name escapes me.

"I'm jealous of her."

"Why?"

"Because she knows who she is."

"Don't you?"

"I know who I want to be."

I guess it's something to think about - who we are vs. who we want to be? I'm not quite sure where I'm going with this but, I can certainly identify with her. I know who I want to be. I know that... I want to be the type of girl that just flies to Santorini or the type that draws everything she sees and interviews people for fun and joins camps in other countries and uses FedEx to send stuff over. That type of girl.

It's not that I'm unhappy with who I am - which is the type of girl that falls asleep in clubs and holds private concerts in the shower and makes a billion lists everyday and enjoys stressing over projects and is incapable of completely chilling and intentionally does something new every week. I guess I like being that girl too but, please forgive me for wanting to, well, expand my horizons, experience completely new things, go out on adventures and just live more.

Exciting, right? Imagine where you are right now and where you could be in a year! It makes you think about your story and how much potential it has.

Anyway, I'll end this with a perfect line from a Natasha Begindfeild song.

"Today is where your book begins

The rest is still unwritten."

:)

Concrete Love

For our additional work in Design class, we were tasked to select 10 of our favorite local structures, rate them and create a short write up about. Although I don't really have a single favorite building, here are the structures that made it to the list!

Henry Sy Building, DLSU

Rating: 9

In contrast to its environment, this building gives a modern touch and compensates for the lack of open space in the La Salle campus. Elevating the entire structure was a genius move - making the structure more dominant and less crowded/ claustrophobic at the same time. Some floors have indoor gardens which balance out all the concrete and that's just one of the many applications of sustainable design. 

The Mind Museum

Rating: 8

The Mind Museum is a crowd favorite - both the structure and everything inside it! It was designed by Arch. Ed Calma, one of the architects I admire most. Like many of the structures I love, The Mind Museum offered something different: a futuristic facade with openings and greens sprinkled in appropriate areas to break the heavy, metallic look.

PETA Theater

Rating: 7

Living next door to this wonder has been nothing but a privilege! From an angle, you'd see how the rehearsal/ office area connects to the balconies of the different floors, as well as the staircase that look so good with the effects provided by the glass and lights. However, looking at the building from the front, you'd wonder how an entire theater can fit inside. It's amazing how the architect was able to keep the balance while playing with different shapes and proportions at the same time.

Treveia Clubhouse, Nuvali

Rating: 8

This irregular structure really stands out in the fields of Nuvali. I actually love the entire Nuvali area - or any area where the environment is just as revered as the structure that stands there. But as for the Treveia Clubhouse, it really got my attention the first time I saw it and maybe because of its shape, strange proportions or downright weirdness, it made an indelible mark in my mind. And I mean that in a good way!

Ayala Museum

Rating: 9

Here's another crowd favorite! The Ayala Museum. This clean, modern look is a very familiar one to many people but somehow, this structure totally owns it. As if the look has been presented for the first time. The black tiles for walls, the glass, the walkway, the steps, the sculpture and the fountain... these elements make it obvious that those who thought it up really had a eye for design.

Church of Gesu, ADMU

Rating: 9

This is definitely not your average church structure. Usually, Catholic church designs take after ancient Roman architecture but, the Church of Gesu on the other hand, was able to pull off something a bit more modern. Being all while and irregularly shaped, this building really catches your eye when you go around Ateneo. It's different, yes. Beautiful, yes. And apart from all that, the architect was able to keep the design in sync with the purpose for which the structure stands.

Balai, Taal
Rating: 6

The location, interior and overall feel of this structure would most probably get a rating of 10. The surroundings are beautiful ; no question there and the bedrooms and living rooms are to die for. However, the external appearance of Balai is its only downfall. Aside from its pentagonal shape, which isn't even that noticeable, it's rather ordinary. It lacks a focal point or an accent, at the very least and for that, I gave it a 6. 

Greenbelt 5 Mall

Rating: 8

Greenbelt 5 is yet another Ayala masterpiece. Another beautiful structure that respects the environment and works well with its surroundings. If I'm not mistaken, Greenbelt won an award for it. Because of the beautiful landscaping and all the glass in the buildings that allow mall goers to see and appreciate it, people really feel one with nature. No matter how beautiful a building is, if people don't feel good when they enter, then all its beauty goes to waste.

Robinsons Magnolia

Rating: 8

The wow factor of this structure came as a surprise to many. During the construction, people didn't really expect anything out of the ordinary. But almost out of nowhere, a structure so massive started taking shape and once the park area was arranged, it transformed into a little piece of first class, right in the heart of New Manila. The variations in the ceiling levels, materials for the railing and even treatment for the windows all seemed to complete the mall's look and make it even more inviting. Such a treat for those who live nearby!

Trump Tower
Rating: 9

Now, here's a true taste of first class. Donald Trump has finally made his mark in the Philippines! This residential tower seems to scream high end. But how? What makes it different from all the other tall, rectangular prisms in the area? It may be the glass finishing, the lighting or even the accent bars that go through the whole building. Or it might be all the details, working so well together. Maybe that's what makes it a cut above the rest.