Yesterday with a hint of today.

Boarding gates.

Airplane selca!

Lucille and Matthew.

So I’ve decided to make a blog again. Like, not just a photo-posting blog. (I use my Instagram for that, hahaha.) I’ll still be accompanying my posts with photos, though.

Yesterday, I bid goodbye to Manila as I, along with my younger sister and nephew, boarded a plane to Dumaguete City. They had already been studying there for the previous schoolyear, and as for me.. I’ve decided to take up law school.

In all honesty, it was my dad who pushed me to take it up. I mean.. he wants someone to follow in his footsteps as a lawyer. Meanwhile, I had always thought about it, but the amount of required readings and concepts to digest and understand are nothing short of intimidating. So I tucked those thoughts away for the longest time until my dad came up with a compromise – take one year of law school, then at the end of that one year it is up to me if I am to pursue it or stop. But then again.. an opportunity like this doesn’t come very often. It would be a waste to just halt studies, if by chance I end up doing pretty well in my first year.

I’ve always been quite an indecisive person who doesn’t really know what she wants in life. Maybe this’ll give me a sense of direction. Maybe I’ll actually like learning about the law. And maybe a change of location, a change of pace will do me some good. Hmmmm.

When we landed yesterday in Dumaguete, I admit it felt like a whole new world to me. It really dawned that I would be staying here for the next few months, or years if you don’t count coming back home to Manila for vacation. I do have a lot of family here, but no friends. It’s a fresh start. But then again, sometimes fresh starts can be absolutely terrifying.

Silliman Hall.

A snap of the part of the port.

The first thing I did after dropping off my things was to go to Silliman University to pay my admission exam fee, and my sister and nephew tagged along. My sister Lucille went to validate her ID, while my nephew Matthew pretty much just tailed me wherever I went, haha. After I got my receipt and admission slip, we went to Lee Plaza to buy toiletries for Matthew because his mom, my sister Ate Imee, gave me some money and a little shopping list.

After that, my sister asked me: “What do you want to do now?”

All I could say was..

“..I don’t know.“

Seriously.

I think I was in sort of a culture shock. Life in Dumaguete is so laid-back, very much unlike the hustle and bustle of Manila. Perhaps I have always seen the Manila stress as part of life itself, something that really is the way it should be. But I think this change will really do me some good. The environment in SU is so conducive to studying, and you can feel that people in this city are warmer. Like they know something about living that city-dwellers just don’t get.

Also, I think I am just rambling. Wow. I haven’t blogged or written properly for a very long time, so I’ll need to get used to this again..

I’ll jump to today.

Morning coffee.

I woke up early because my admission test was scheduled for 9am in the testing center at the Oriental Hall. I was a bit nervous but at the same time weirdly calm. I went up to the third floor with my sister who accompanied me, gave my admission slip to the test proctor, was given the booklet and answer sheet, then took my place and sat down to answer. It was more of an aptitude test, really – abstract reasoning, reading comprehension, and analogies (vocabulary). I finished the whole thing in around 30 minutes. I know I read quite fast when it comes to exams, but I think I was able to answer to the best of my ability. I actually really enjoy reading comprehension and vocabulary tests, to be honest.

After the exam we went to Villareal Hall, which is Silliman’s law school building. We were supposed to check with the secretary if I needed any other requirements, but there wasn’t anybody in the office so we ended up having breakfast at The Bean at Portal – at least, Lucille did. I had already eaten breakfast at Lola’s house (where I am staying for the meantime) so I decided to have a cup of coffee. Would you believe, their Caffe Mocha costs less than Php100? And even if the mug isn’t that big, the coffee is delicious! A hundred pesos won’t even buy you an ordinary coffee in Manila, if you want one that tastes better than cheap instant mixes. After breakfast we went to Lee Plaza to browse for things that I need, which includes an electric fan.. because last night I slept without one. Lola only has one electric fan in the house, so I slept last night thanks to the cool night air. The downside is that I now have dozens of mosquito bites on my arms and legs. Ugh.

After going back to Villareal and seeing that Ms. Belen still wasn’t there, we went back to Bantayan to our Tita Ditas’ house, where Lucille stays. (Actually, she stays in a mini-apartment just a few feet away from the house itself, my tita had rooms built to be rented out.) We had lunch, then bummed around for a while. Then after a couple of hours we went back out and checked again at VH (Villareal Hall. I’m getting too repetitive, hah!) – where Lucille’s boyfriend (yiheeeeee) was playing ultimate frisbee with his friends, and naturally my little sister wanted to be there to watch. Well. Okay. Welp.

When I went to the law office, Ms. Belen was already there, and then she asked if I wanted to take the written examination already. I said I would, then she handed me two blank papers, a questionnaire with three essay items, and then an information sheet for me to fill out after I finish my essays, which all had to be 100 words or less each. It took me a while to actually write anything down, because I know I had to make a good impression and be honest at the same time. I finished after.. ah, I didn’t time myself so I don’t know how long it took me to write. I passed my finished papers to Ms. Belen, and apparently Prof. Maxino, the dean of the law school, was there, so I was introduced. (He’s a friend of my dad. Heehee.) I said hello and sent my regards from my dad, then left the office. There was a vendo machine on the ground floor so I got a lemonade, then went to find Lucille, who was watching the game.

I ended up going back to the The Bean for another coffee, then we went back to Lee Plaza. This time, her boyfriend Ja accompanied us. At Lee, I bought.. wait for it..

..an electric fan! Wow. It is the first appliance I have ever bought, actually! Along with that, I also bought a bath towel, a pair of slippers, a water container that I can lug around in my bag, and an extension cord.

Then we had dinner at McDonald’s, then went back to Lola’s house, assembled the fan, then Lucille and Ja left.

Then I took a half bath.

Then I switched on my laptop, did a bit of file organizing, connected online, and made this blog.