Sweetest Escape--- to the mountains!

It has been an awesome week! One of its highlights would be my 90% midterm exam grade in Statistics! \m/ I'm overwhelmed and extremely happy because I badly needed that and it did a lot of damage control in my midterm grade! :D I'm glad to reach my desired test score even though during the exam I was fed with the "I'm going to flunk this exam" vibes. I hope I can do similarly well in my finals, finally outdoing myself! Yey! Since I've been getting a lot of positive energy lately, I was expecting that our field trip would be a huge disaster. It is usually like that, you get too lucky then you get too UNlucky!

In a better side of it, I really thought our Philippine History Field Trip in Subic and Mt. Samat is going to be typically rated. Thanks to that expectation it was really really really really really FUN! Even with the fact that I slept off like one-fourth of the whole trip (Sorry, bus rides are like lullabies to me), the waking hours are such lively and “prominent” memories! I think it wouldn’t be THAT fun if it weren’t for Jo, Ian and my love-able blockmates, 2MAS! I miss them already… Aw… I hope we get another round.

Even at school we were already up for some bonding time with each other and our digital cameras. Daniel was the all around photographer and he was as good as being the object of the photo as he was as the photographer that Jo began to announce (YES ANNOUNCE!) her feelings for the guy haha!

You can’t take away the wholesomeness of Jhem’s bee-hind, yes BEE--- like her a** is swollen from a bee sting. Here’s some proof.

We had a 30-minute trek in the forest in Subic. Thank God for Nike I wasn’t stuck with my Sanuk! I mean Sanuks are for surfing, but not for surfing down the muddy trail. Definitely. It was hot, it was dirty but most of all it was FUN! The half of the group was moving in a slow pace because of picture taking. Jo, Ian and I are part of that group haha! But it was worth it, the pictures are quite my level of “Jungle Fever”. May I quote myself? “WAN! TWO!”, then people will face me, CLICK!

Though I don’t have a picture of it, our very own resident basketball player ALMOST tore the bamboo bridge down! LITERALLY! When he touched the one bamboo rail, it fell off!!!! Haha!!!! Okay moving on to a similarly funny yet scary event. One of the Aetas showed us how to make fire, cook (complete with viand and rice) and make utensils and a drinking cup all out of bamboo. Here’s a clip of the fire making process. I only took a shot of the last step since it was really a long process of (Unfortunately) Chopping using an itak (it’s similar to alibaba and the forty thieves’ sword but less curvy). I had my breath held since he used his thighs as a freakin chopping board! GAAAAH!!!!!! And did I mention that the person who demo-ed for us was the aeta in a Discovery Channel/National Geographic commercial with a line “Ako na gagawa…”

At the end of the trail Jo and I bought matching souvenirs!!! The bracelets are sooooooo wonderful! I’d like to wear them forever haha!

Next stop was APEC Villas. It was Village where Country leaders who visited the Philippines in 1999 stayed. Ultimately the houses were a testimony of how much money was spent to build them. I think we stayed for lunch in the main house since there were 21 flag poles at its front. Mahn!! Even the foyer looked like it was worth thrice my tuition fee in the university!

Then we went to Duty Free. Jo was asleep in the bus while Ian and I went for a stroll in the “mall”.  Ian was trying out a polo shirt but it was too small it would hardly even fit his neck. I tried out hat but the elephant was too heavy, my vertically challenged self might be more challenged!!!

And finally the other half of the whole trip, Mt. Samat! This is where my cam really got tired. At the foot of our climb was a really long table with a huuuuuuge masterpiece of stained glass, and there came the “Class Suffer”--- our version of the “Last Supper”. It is actually a catchy and well-thought of name, since to get to reach the attraction in Mt. Samat we have to walk up and winding path that ends at approximately 100ft from where we were standing.

Upon reaching the top there was a really really really really huge cross that if it falls down, it will crush all of metro manila (hehe! Yes, though it is in Bataan it might slide its way to metro manila haha! We will never know!). At the base of the cross were six stone carvings that depicted the many important events in the history of the Philippines; the execution of Jose Rizal, the blood compact in the Katipunan, the rebellion of Gabriela Silang (our country’s Joan of Arc), an image of Lapu-Lapu, the start of the revolution and a man killing another man using a dagger. As seen in the act of depicting the “Last Supper”, we also tried our best to honor those six carvings by staging it as well.

After making fools out of ourselves, we lined up for an opportunity to enter the really big cross. The elevator can only fit 7 people, though with seven it was already crowded. The top of the cross was super breezy I even dried my sweat-bathed hair haha! And when I looked outside I could see where the paths we’ve been through and I had a feeling that I could a portion of Manila.

Of course Daniel rocked the socks out of everyone in our group picture.

There was a round window, and it was picture-binding. If you happen to be a photographer and want an ultimato location for a sophisticatedly themed shoot, it is the best location! I have around 24 pictures of it in my cam (One-tenth of everything)! One of which is Kirsten’s endorsement picture haha!

When five o’clock struck the trip was supposed to be over but it was not. We had some bonding time outside the bus, sadly I have no pictures of it because my cam was already low in battery. I’ll grab it from Daniel, Jhem, J.Lou and have them up in no time haha!

I think this trip has been a blast because everybody was amazing, the place was amazing, the facts were amazing and and AND.. EVERYTHING WAS AMAZING even my sleep in the bus!!

I hope you get to see how wonderful Mt. Samat and Subic is and how much contentment and enjoyment I had through my blockmates! Do view our photos in my multiply and do comment!

Thanks! Much Love!