Narra Nueva Study Center
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INDONESIA RURALS
By Reggie Marasigan, 3rd year College student from the University of Santo Thomas
It was such a good way to start the month of June with a trip to Indonesia for a rural service project along with friends here in the Philippines (Nats, Sophie, Cathy, Cookie, Bella, Andie, Tina, and the Yuppies) and friends we are grateful to have met from Singapore (Len, Faith, and Patricia). From the airport, it was already such an adventure as we tried to run to the gate in order to get on the plane on time. And we did successfully get to Surabaya, Indonesia! It still felt like home because it somehow looked like the Philippines and because of the great company. There was Darmaria, the center for women in Surabaya, where we met Apple, Kat, and many others who happily received us and continuously listened to our KFC cravings, “is the wi-fi on?," etc. We met Indonesians like Jane, Monica, Devi, the other Devi, Maria, Ester, Fifi, and so many others who have become very good friends we stay connected with despite the distance. They were our co-teachers who translated for us and have made this seemingly hard task a lighter one. They were those we shared cultural experiences with such as learning batik. There were our students as well who have become friends and teachers to us, and have made us feel like celebrities, from the autograph-signing to the selfies. You may wonder if the language barrier prevented such friendships to grow but we learn to laugh at it and teach each other our own languages to connect and communicate. It is a great lesson, isn’t it? It becomes more than fixing libraries, teaching english, arts, drama, and going there for the sake of doing what we came there to do. Students become teachers and teachers become students, then they become more than teachers and students but friends which makes the experience worth having and makes me want to go back again.
BALETE RURALS 2014
By: Patricia Ona Gayod, 3rd Year High School Student
from PAREF Woodrose
Last March 31, I joined several other students from Grade 7 to Year III in this year's Rurals activity in Balete, Batangas. This year's Balete Rurals was definitely a remarkable experience, giving me the chance to build friendships with people from different batches and at the same time helping me enjoy giving to others through several of our activities such as teaching grade school kids.
Knowing that Balete was the first Rurals activity I've ever joined, I honestly didn't know what to expect. I remember having my eyes wide open after learning that we had a really busy schedule ahead of us during our stay. This included morning exercises, afternoon prayers, and many more. Despite knowing that this Rurals would require a lot of energy from me, I knew that joining this would give me the chance to finally give back to the world in my own little way.
I was able to give back by participating in the main activity of this year's Rurals, which was to teach younger children lessons in art, languages, and more. Aside from interacting with our students inside the classroom, we were also able to visit them in their homes.
After doing these service projects, we had a day for rest which we spent by visiting parks like Bluroze. Here, we were able to spend the day seeing wonderful sights and definitely enjoying the other side of Balete.
At the end of this Rurals experience, I started to feel a sense of contentment in myself since I was able to spend the first few days of my summer giving back as much as I can while having endless amounts of fun.
TRAILBLAZER 2014
By: Justinne Katigbak, Camper incoming Grade 7
Trailblazer was an exciting experience. Every day had a different activity for us campers.
The first day, we had sports, interest clubs, and colour group activities, which became opportunities for us to bond with girls from other batches. The colour activities also taught us important things like teamwork and cooperation! That night, we had our elegant dinner or Athletes’ Banquet, where we got to dress up in nice dresses and saw other people showcase their talents such as singing, dancing, playing the violin, and even tap dancing! After our dinner, we had our campfire. The staff also introduced to us the “murder game,” an exciting activity that will last the whole duration of the camp. Our second night was our costume night. We put on costumes related to this year’s theme: the Olympics. After awards were given to the most creative costumes, we had our campout wherein we slept outside in our tents. The third night was when we presented our cabin cheers and dances, and reflected on the cabin code. Of course, the cabins with the most creative cheers and dances were awarded 1st, 2nd, and 3rd places. We had Amazing Race with our colour groups on the last day, and it was in that activity where I learned that winning isn’t always what matters as long as you try your best, work together, and have fun. For our last night, we had our impromptu continents dance and murder execution, which was an intense announcement of who the murderers for this camp were. We also had our final campfire and sang all the campfire songs we learned, like “Pizza Hut” and “Moose Song.”
The last day was a very emotional day, since we sang our last Trailblazer song. Goodbyes were said, hugs were given, and tears were shed. Nobody wanted to leave behind all the good times but of course, the memories were there to stay. See you again next year, Trailblazer! Thanks for all the good memories. It was very tiring experience, but the activities we had and the friends we gained were definitely worth it all!