More than words

My stay at Sagada NHS was a bit, let's say, fortifying. This is where my adventures really started. This is where I learned how to grow into who I am today.

GOD. This is where I began how to really, really be 'intimate' with God. I've been praying a lot ever since my Dad died. I've come to know Him even more and thus, became more God-fearing and faithful not only to His name but to everyone around me. I came to know the real meaning and value of faith and gratitude. This is where I have come in absolute contact with God and develop my person in spiritual growth.

FRIENDS. Well most of all, this is where I met some of my best friends these days. They make me smile even when smiling isn't supposed to be what I'm doing. They stayed beside me even when I was the monster in their dreams. They made me whole. Don't you think that fortifying? I love them. You know who you are. Mwah.

TEACHERS. We've had teachers come and go but nevertheless they've still been in my heart for having taught us well. I definitely wouldn't forget Sir Sixto Daluyen for our table tennis tournaments (although he usually purposely loses) and our 'skyflakes' moments... that was the funniest moment ever... also for being so approachable even though he is feared by some... for teaching us English grammar although it's really ironic the way he teaches it... I remember those times when he makes mistakes and we attempt to correct him, and he never fails to say, 'that is what i mean'...; Sir Joseph Caligtan for being a cool teacher and he never loses his head for just anything without confrontation, which has also made him a cool teacher in-charge. I admire him so much for his intelligence not only in math and physics but in TLE as well; Mam Irene Bakisan for being patient and approachable... for sharing with us everything we needed to know... for helping us be better campus journalists, for teaching me the value of journalistic endeavors (and I learned it the hard way); Mam Lucinda Baniaga for providing us the use of the library whenever we need books... also for teaching us what it means to really laugh and have fun (although I really wouldn't tell her that since while she taught us to laugh and have fun, we also made her cry because of it), she also has a sing-song voice which most of the time, makes her lectures a bit more interesting... :), for being an easy target for pranks (the nerve of some students) and making us laugh (holding a chair up high above her head and running around the classroom to catch a nitwit student was definitely a classic); Sir Innocencio Estangki who's been a mentor to me and my classmates on discipline and a fun and energetic MAPEH and Social Studies teacher; Mam Angeline Sumedca with her malutong na malutong na 'baddarong! (or was it spelled this way: bad the wrong?)' or else a similarly malutong na malutong na 'Domacyon!' that maybe even the aliens in outerspace would have curled and blasted off to another galaxy out of fear; Mam Cherr Umaming with a trail of logarithms following her out the door; Mam Cheryl Tauli for her small stature but terribly strict in class when it comes to making her students learn and not just pass in her Biology class; Mam Rosalia Padayao and her more-than-asked characterization and adlibs on the Noli Me Tangere; Sir Gary Joven Makellay (may he rest in peace) for being one of the teachers who never gets mad, just teaches what is right and what is wrong either in sports or in livelihood education; Mam Felicidad Sibayan for her rich vocabulary in Filipino; Mam Dominga Tocong (may she rest in peace) for her scientific observations and theories that could drive me up the wall and make some of my classmates run for their lives; Mam Sarah Baldo for her rich vocabulary on the English language and for teaching us how to value our education; Sir Delfin Lasdacan for teaching us that do is do, re is re, mi is mi and so on and for teaching us that music is definitely good for the heart and mind (except for me who definitely would just keep my mouth shut since I know my music isn't good for the ears). OF course, all the rest never fail to astonish me with their own skills and talents... kasi yan ang 'tatak SagadaNHS'... So proud to have them touch my life... (=^_^=)

SQUATTING. You may not believe it but having no classrooms and not enough facilities to help with your schooling has definitely been one of the treasured moments I've had in this school. I've felt how it is to hear snide remarks from other people about the makeshift building, how to stay focused on the lessons with the hot sun burning down our backs since the classrooms have no ceilings, how to try to grasp the concepts our teachers were saying since we don't have enough facilities (imagine learning about how a computer works without even knowing what a computer looks like), how to make the most of what you have, live with what you have.

And these, ladies and gentlemen made me who I am today--strong, standing tall, fortified, with experiences I never would have experienced in college... --lexaelaine--

Our own Tudor mansion: love at first sight

Over the past five years, we’ve changed residence thrice. We had to move out from our former home since it became too far for my mother’s aging legs and my brother’s occasional whining of hiring transportation.

Waiting for a ride after class is almost next to impossible since the last trip for Besao jeepneys pass through Sagada by 4PM. The bus from Baguio, the bus that arrives prior to the last trip passes through the town by 5PM. The last trip passes at 7PM. My mom is an elementary school teacher and gets off work at 5PM and my brother was a grade 4 student in the same school. It’s unlikely that they would catch the bus. Also, it tires and pains my brother and mom to be waiting for the 7PM trip. Walking was the only option and walking home would take almost 45 minutes to an hour, with all their school bags on one hand, and on the other, bags of vegetables and fruits and food for dinner, and for breakfast and lunch the next day. The last resort we had to do was pack up and move to the town’s center, or at least a place nearer to the school my mom works and my brother attends.

We first stayed at my Auntie Jean’s house of which was vacant for years now until we occupied it. The place was great and accessible enough but then we had a water problem. Water was scarce. Not a drop of water from the faucet even in the early morning and late evening. With my mom being a teacher and having lots of work to do for the next day’s lessons, fetching water was like a luxury she couldn’t afford. It was too tedious and waiting for a drop of water to none was keeping my mom and brother up till the wee hours of the morning, which detrimentally affects my mom’s effectivity to work and my brother’s performance in school. And so, once again, we packed up and moved out to a place even nearer to school (5 minutes walk). Here we stayed for more than two years, a lot longer than when we were at our aunt’s house. We had no problems there whatsoever. Water was abundant, thanks to Uncle Edmund and Uncle Chad. Then came a time when we had to move once more. So for the third time, we packed up and moved to another house, which was near the previous house we leased but 2 minutes farther to school than the distance from the previous house.

Upon stepping on the portals of our new rented house, the very first word that came to my mind was ‘Tudor’. I’ve always wanted to think that we lived in a Tudor mansion since then. I’ve always loved the vertical and diagonal blackened timbers, thatched roofs, overhanging first floors called galleries, pillared porches, dormer windows and leaded windows with small window panes, high and spiraled chimneys. A typical Tudor house displays that some of the lower stories are built in stone, and arches are smaller and flattened as opposed to the pointed Gothic arches.

But no. It’s not what it’s supposed to be. It isn’t really what you imagine as one of those ancient Tudor mansions. Living in an actual Tudor mansion is a luxury we could not afford. I actually just coined the name itself due to the two adjacent main doors opening to the house’s warm and welcoming interior. When I first set foot in our new home, I was curious of what would be behind those doors. For a full minute, I stood outside both doors, contemplating, before I inserted the key into the lock. A gush of warmth washed through my trembling and excited self as I stepped inside, right into the dining room. The other door opens to the receiving area (sala). A plank of wood only separates the two doors and a curtain separates the dining and receiving area. It was something I never expected. I know not what to think. But, I loved the house just as I loved Tudor houses I see in the movies and pictures. It was cute. The stairs seemed rickety upon setting my plump and hefty foot on the first step. It was also more of a one-way staircase when I’m the one walking up or down the stairs. The bedrooms were cute as well – enough for only a bed and a night table. The kitchen was wide enough for a dance hall, so with the receiving area. The bathroom was big enough to accommodate my corpulent excuse for a body. And the toilet was more of a pour-flush raised latrine.

A lot of speculations and issues are raised regarding us moving house but no matter how many times we move out or no matter where we go, it is still HOME in the comfort and love of my mom and siblings. That’s what matters most, be it a Tudor mansion or a two-door country house, or a doorless four-walled containment.