Okay, here comes a fun and exciting story about my time in the Philippines! Let’s gooo!
This was literally my very first time on a plane! I wasn’t scared or anything, but let me tell you, I was panicking a bit because I had a stomachache—like, a serious one! Not the kind you can fix with a quick bathroom break at the airport; it was my acid reflux acting up. Imagine standing in line at the boarding gate, trying not to cry while clutching your stomach. What a mix of nerves about traveling far and stress from that insanely hectic prep week!
Not even kidding. I was already feeling unwell in Indonesia, and instead of getting better, I ended up going to the hospital in the Philippines. Oops. Sorry to my faculty for the chaos that night—I know I made everyone panic, huhu. But a huge shoutout to my teacher buddies and student buddies for all the emotional and material support. No photos though, haha, I’m too embarrassed!
Sure, I came to the Philippines to experience the education system, but hey, thanks to the campus, we had so many fun activities too! I often hung out with the teachers and friends, even for small things like,
"Ma’am, wanna go to Robinsons Mall with me?"
Big thanks to Ma’am Rosenell, Ma’am Anjela, Ma’am Arnie, Sir Paul, Ma’am Jenny, and my friends from LSG!
We also got to experience cultural immersion. I mean, WOW, the Philippines is so beautiful! I thought the people here were the only gorgeous ones, but the places? Mind-blowing! We went to Pantabangan, and OMG, the lake and mountains were breathtaking, mashaAllah. They said the mountain protects Luzon from typhoons, which, by the way, are pretty common here. Thankfully, there wasn’t any big typhoon during our stay—so relieved!
We also visited Casa Batik, the National Museum, Manila, and so much more! Every moment was unforgettable.
Food Adventures in the Philippines
I thought I’d spend a lot on food here, but nope! Our teacher buddies made sure we had three meals a day. Three!!! Are these people angels or what? Sometimes they even took us to the nicest restaurants.
Big thanks to Sir Mark Ren, Sir Ron, Sir Renz, and everyone else! Even the student buddies spoiled us—Mark brought me pandesal (bread), Angelo got me kwek kwek (quail egg snacks)… ugh, mahal kita kayo!!! ❤️
I fell in love with Filipino snacks like buko, kwek kwek, pandesal, and of course, Jollibee! I mean, Jollibee is everywhere here, haha.
Staying Over at Teachers’ Homes? Yes, Please!
We even got to stay over at our professors’ houses a few times! They were so kind and welcoming—Ma’am Arnie even let us do laundry at her house (thank goodness, laundry is pricey here haha). We cooked together too—it was so much fun! But the ultimate stay was at Ma’am Salas’ farmhouse.
Here’s the tea: after our trip to Pantabangan, we initially asked if we could just crash at the campus because we were exhausted and busy preparing for a cultural performance. Plus, Ma’am Salas already had 15 students staying over that night—talk about a full house! But guess what? We DID stay at her place, and no regrets at all!
Why? Because we got to meet new friends from CICT (College of Information and Communications Technology)!
Plot twist: we hit it off so well, we didn’t sleep until 2 AM. That’s how I became close with Angelo, Sonic, Jose, Khyle, and so many others.
Besides the CICT crew, we were already besties with our LSG buddies. LSG was from three colleges, but we didn’t have CICT friends from LSG—until now! So yay for Mark, Joshua, Erlhine, Pau, Jian, JJ, Anthony, Aldrin, and everyone else! You guys made my experience unforgettable.
Oh, we also participated in UMEET, a sports competition between NEUST campuses. It was super exciting, but the details are on my Instagram stories—check them out if you’re curious!
Long story short, we also had a farewell party! But sadly, I got sick again during the event, huhu. I couldn’t be as cheerful as I wanted throughout the party—sorry, everyone! 😢 But don’t worry, I still enjoyed it so much!
I’m incredibly grateful for the chance to experience all of this. I’ll never forget how happy I was during my time here. Just like the title of this blog says, finding myself in the Philippines, I truly found the happiest version of me here. I felt so accepted, appreciated, and free to be my true self—something I’m so thankful for!
Thank you, SEAMEO, for this golden opportunity. No regrets at all! See you again someday! 💕