the CHAMP

As per requests of some of my beloved Iskolar ng Bayan of the great University of the Philippines, I will be posting here the 100 Kuwentong Peyups that I am starting to gather and compile. Below are only two of the UP Kuwentos written by 2 UP alumni that appeared in the pages of the Philippine Daily Inquirer (PDI). Happy Reading! (P.S. I will add these stories everytime I find one so that I will post them for you. CARL JAMIE SIMPLE S. BORDEOS, 02-89260).

1. WALKING ON SUNSHINE (published by the Philippine Daily Inquirer June 21, 2008) by Kristine Nicole M. Espiritu

Six years ago, I had the honor of listening to the late Raul Roco give the commencement address at UPLB. He tried to ease our discomfort of being exposed to the cruel April sun by saying that body parts exposed to the sun are the toughest parts, and cracked a green joke by asking us to think which parts of our body were always hidden and the reason for hiding them– because they were extra sensitive. He said that those exposed to the sun survive the most difficult challenges so the graduates who weren’t protected by the shad shouldn’t feel so bad because they were the tough ones. Of course, he said this as he jokingly compared us to body parts.

I was educated in a private school from prep until high school. I was in the shade for too long. I was occasionally exposed to the sun, through my high school outreach program and the annual brown envelopes we were given around October– for World Mission Sunday. Somehow, this paled in comparison to the glaring sunlight of my UP education– both inside and outside the classroom.

UPLB was never my first choice when I took the UPCAT. It was only a back-up, and I planned on transferring to Diliman or Manila by the time I reached my second year. Of course, life got in the way. I joined a school organization and my weekly trips home were redulced to coming home twice a month. It alarmed my mother, to the point where she asked my cousins if there was anything wrong.

There are experiences that are uniquely UPLB. People say that you’re not a UPLB student until you’ve crossed the never-ending bridge or noticed how the jar held by a statue of Maria Makiling changed positions. UPLB is also famous for its “Fertility Tree”– a tree which, according to urban legend, makes you pregnant when you touch it. Being the dumb freshman during PE 1, I leaned against the tree while tying my shoelace in the middle of the one-mile run. No, I did not get pregnant if that was your next question.

I’ve crawled underneath the gates of the St. Therese compound when I didn’t make the curfew. I walked around the campus at 2AM, guiding friends home as they stumbled through the streets half-drunk. I attended History I classes at the IAST, a building up in Forestry, and rushed down to the Humanities building for Philo I. I forced myself to wake up at 7AM to attend the late great Dean Payawal’s NASC II class. I learned that we are all children of the stars. I was locked out of my building because the hard-core tibak orgs were protesting the increase in tuition. I heard my Soc 116 professor lament on the curren state of the nation during the impeachment proceedings. I went to Sagada on a class trip to be exposed to the situation of the Igorot tribes living there. I went to the relocation area in San Mateo for a Soc 160 paper. I learned that I cannot change the world alone.

I realized that even my best efforts would result in a scolding– a loud and public one– resulting in fear that not even a grade of 1.25 could wipe out. I found out that I could be one of the top 5 students of my Stat 1 Lab Class and yet get a 4.0 in Anthropology. I had friends that could solve all the problems of this country in one drunken discussion. I met professors that changed my view of the world and sent a spark through me, encouraging me to make every effort I can to help change the world. I was introduced to the chilling philosophies of Hitler, to the brilliance of Machiavelli, and the gruesome Yanomamo tribe. I learned to walk slow, eat fast, exceed my alcohol limit at least once, sing and dance in public, and to ask questions no matter how stupid they may be. And if I don’t get answers, I learned where and how to look for them: with patience and perseverance brought on by a thirst for knowledge.

When I go back to UPLB, I can’t help but miss sitting at the Humanities steps and watching people. I miss the tambayan where one of my best friends would take our org’s logbook and ask all the questions she could think of from “Will a change in administration change the Philippine society?” to “Anong mas masarap: banana o tomato ketchup?” Of course these questions would have different answers. Opinions were always welcome in UP. Disagreements were part of our weekly agenda during general assemblies.

There are still questions left unanswered like “Bakit may taba sa dulo ng barbeque?” but this only reinforces my desire to learn new things. My mother and my grandmother always said that UP was the best place to get a college education and I am living proof of that. Back in high school, I only though of UP as a school that accepted brilliant minds. I came to understand that it also molded the most extraordinary people. It gave its students character, uniquely UP. I can’t pinpoint what specific characteristic it is but I’m positive it’s there.

Now, I see UPLB as the sun. It gave me the light I needed to see the world for what it really was– a big and scary place, corrupted by men but not impossible to change. #

2. I HEART L.B. (published by PDI on July 12, 2008) by Nielsen Oliva

“But it’s always you I run home to, take me back, take me home away from here back to where I am free” -”Los Baños” by Sugarfree

Dalawang oras mula sa usok-infested streets of Metro Manila matatagpuan ang aking personal heaven dito sa mundo. Matanaw ko pa lang ang Mt. Makiling mula sa South Superhighway, kinikilig na ako. Wala naman akong girlfriend sa LB. Lalo nang wala ding boyfriend. Kahit ka-fling na pwedeng balikan, wala naman akong pupuntahan. Pero yung feeling pwede mong itulad sa pagpunta mo sa bahay ng mahal mo matapos ang isang buwang walang pag-uusap o pagkikita.

Nasa LB ang org ko, pero hindi naman kami close ng mga orgmates, actually parang iwas pa nga sila sa kin e. Nandito sa Metro Manila ang mga kaibigan ko. Nasa Pasig ang pamilya ko. Wala naman akong ancestral roots sa Los Baños. Mayroon lang talagang hindi maintindihang connection sa pagitan ko at ng napakagandang lugar na to.

Bakit kaya ako napaibig sa Los Baños?

Suspect #1: Yung environment.

Kasi sa umaga, ang sarap langhapin ng hangin. Ang sarap panligo nung mainit na tubig na lumalabas sa gripo. Lalo na pag may matinding hangover, ang sarap pantanggal ng sakit ng ulo. Lalabas ka ng bahay, maririnig mo yung iba’t-ibang huni ng mga ibon. Dadampi sa mukha mo yung lamig ng simoy ng hangin, at didikit sa sapatos mo yung damo na nabasa sa hamog.

Hindi ko kayang lakarin ang Ayala Avenue from EDSA to Buendia, pero pag sa LB, kahit doblehin pa yung same distance, wala akong reklamo. Kahit ilang milyong bumbilya pa ang ilagay mo sa mga building ng Makati, walang tatalo sa napakagandang backdrop ng LB, ang Mt. Makiling. Minsan magtataka ka, sa isang araw na wala kang makikitang ulap, makikita mong nakatambay ang mga clouds sa tuktok ng bundok na ito.

Suspect #2: Yung pagkain.

Wala namang pinagkaiba yung pagkain sa LB kumpara sa Manila e. Sa totoo lang, hindi din ako madalas kumain ng buko pie. Madaming kainan sa LB, pero ginawa kong suspect yung pagkain kasi napamahal talaga ako sa nanay ko dahil siya yung araw-araw na nagluluto ng laman-tiyan ko. Kung gagawa ako ng list ng “The Best LB Food”, nasa menu ko ang mantika-licious Ellen’s Fried Chicken, yung Pinoy-style siomai sa Papu’s, yung Doner Durum (LB version ng shawarma), yung dinuguan na binebenta sa Lapitan’s Meat Shop, yung chocolate cake ng Mer-Nel’s, yung tokwa sa IC’s bar, at syempre ang aking all-time favorite na Bug-Ong Roasted Chicken. May natikman pa akong bagong panalong chibog, yung sa Ihaw Express na malapit sa White House.

Kahit sinong taga-LB ang tanungin ninyo, sasabihin nya na mas masarap ang Lucky Me Pancit Canton na niluto sa LB kesa sa niluto sa kung saang lugar.

Suspect #3: Yung inuman.

Kung magtatayo ka ng business sa LB na ayaw mong malugi, magtayo ka ng liquor shop o kaya ng affordable na bar. Dahil may kasabihan nga na “hindi ka taga-LB kung hindi ka marunong uminom”. Madaming resto-bar sa LB, pero nothing beats the house parties. Bago pa sumikat yung gin-pomelo sa Manila, yun na yung iniinom namin. Madami pa kaming nagawang kakaibang cocktail. Yung Kamehame Wave (vodka + ice tea), yung POGi (pineapple + orange + gin), yung FuKiKo (fundador, hershey’s kisses, tsaka kape), yung Boracay (Tanduay + 3-in-1 coffee mix + evap), at ang walang kamatayang Piña ColaTa (pineapple + coke + tanduay). Sa LB, mas maganda ang tagayan kaysa kanya-kanyang kuha ng inom. At shempre kulang ang inom pag walang home-made pulutan tulad ng Kilawing Cornick at ang sikat na sikat na Tuna-Skyflakes.

Suspect #4 Yung mga tao.

Ewan ko lang ngayon pero nung nandoon pa ako sa LB, walang social climber. Walang pa-sosyal dun. Yung mga galing sa mga mayayayamang pamilya (coñio in layman’s terms), kailangang mag-fit in sa masa. Hindi importante ang porma. Kahit naka-pambahay na damit at tsinelas ka pag papasok, tanggap ka na ng lipunan. Kaya yung mga kilala ko na taga-UP Diliman dati, hindi ma-gets yung mga kwento ko kung gaano kami ka-barok sa UPLB. “How baboy naman the pig”, ika nga nila.

Walang mapagkunwari sa LB. Siguro dahil nga small town lang to, lahat magkakakilala. Kung may pino-protektahan kang image, eventually, lahat ng baho mo lalabas din. Kaya mas magandang ilabas mo na yung totoong ikaw kasi mas mapapasama kung mabubuko ka lang.

Suspect #5 Yung memories.
Ahhh. The memories. Siguro sa lahat ng suspect ko, eto ang parang “Mastermind”. Pag nakasakay ako ng jeep sa LB, o kaya kahit naglalakad lang, hindi ko naiiwasang tumingin sa isang bahay, sa isang bar, o sa isang kainan, at sabihin sa sarili ang mga bagay na tulad ng “uy, diyan yung first kiss ko sa 3rd girlfriend ko”, o kaya “diyan sa bangketang yan natulog yung brod ko nung nalasing”, o kaya “diyan kami pinakitaan ng multo”. Halos lahat ng lugar sa LB, may naiwan akong memory doon. May mga napalitang mga establishments, pero may itatayong bago na maaring pag-iwanan ulit ng alaala. Kung tutuusin, ang LB ay isang buhay na diary para sa kin. Bawat lugar, isang pahina. Bawat araw, isang linya.

Madaming hindi nakakaintindi sa akin kung bakit pabalik-balik ako sa Los Baños, lalo na yung mga batchmates ko noong college. Lagi ko nang naririnig yung mga phrases na “Grow up”, “Move on with your life”, “Leave the past behind”, “Wala ka na sa stage ng buhay mo na college ka pa din”. Masakit marinig, pero may point nga sila.

Kaya minsan, tinanong ko yung housemate ko na umuuwi sa LB every weekend. Sabi ko “bakit kaya ako bumabalik sa LB eh isinusuka na ako ng mga tao doon, wala naman akong binabalikan, wala naman akong napapala?”

At hinding-hindi ko makakalimutan ang sinabi nya.

“Tinatanong pa ba yan? HOME. Home is where the heart is.”