The first time I am in Brighton , I make a cute little boy cry and his rather hideous mother furious. My German "friend" Michael tells me that the East Sussex town boasts a thriving arts scene, a boisterous night life and a fabulous beach. The traffic on our way there, of course, has to be horrible: a hellish journey after all is a prerequisite to any popular holiday destination.
"You call this a beach?"
What comes after doesn’t rhyme with bitch nor ditch. The expletives foam out of my mouth, plop on the sand and then crawl up again to some boy’s eardrum. Suddenly my hysterics is drowned out by sobs. I catch the boy looking back at me, hand on his plastic shovel, ready for the kill. His tears spell out the subtitles: "This is my beach, where my sand castle stands and my whale of a mother lies sunbathing." He is right. They are his bitches, however ugly all three may seem. So I leave the island without feeling the need to swim or conquer its shores. Magellan obviously did the opposite when he beheld ours.
Admittedly, I am a bit terrified of little Nemo and his mommy Orca, but I have to say that this is yet another instance where I feel very proud of the Philippines‚ beautiful beaches. Who can blame me for being so critical of theirs?
So, in my recent visit I ignore Brighton’s shoreline and settle for its neon lights and bumper car rides. Now this is nature (now): plenty of electricity and full of melancholy.
A few weeks ago, I ask the students in my World Literature class at De La Salle University to write about an interesting trip or destination. Here’s a few more excursionisms (no such word):
I consider my stay in Boracay last summer as a foreign experience, because unlike all beaches here in the Philippines, Boracay has a night life. It has "life" even at night, i.e. happenings that occur when people should be resting and sleeping, but instead bodies become wild and even more energetic. The disco bars filled with people dancing and having fun, dusk ‘til dawn. Also it was a foreign feeling for me because there were varieties of people present, from the locals to the foreigners – you name it they’re all there. It was really a colorful experience for me being in your own country yet feeling quite foreign. –
Eugene Moises The whole Indian experience was awesome. I saw my uncle eat green chilies from a bowl like it was popcorn. I ate ice cream that was mixed with rose petals that tasted like lychees. We also went to Swammy G. who was their Mike Velarde counterpart. There was less singing and crappy monologues and more of chants and prayers. I went shopping for cargo pants and actually found a lot of innovative ones, like the one that turns into shorts when you unzip the bottoms, or the one that doesn’t crease. We went to a museum and had a very striking conclusion: all female statues in India have large breasts. I rode a camel and it was really stinky. I went on my first and last rollercoaster ride. I bought three Harry Potter books (2 to 4). My relatives were so fun-loving and high-spirited and the food was amazing. –
Shane Bellare
UP Diliman I "made
para" the jeep in front of Palma and I took a look around. God, this place looks so nice! The students actually look serious, unlike what I see in La Salle. Astonishingly there is so much food available everywhere in UP! Every corner we passed had something:
monay, taho, ice cream,
isaw, sweet corn. I looked around in the UP Shopping Center, which reminds me of the Vito Cruz University Mall in La Salle. We stopped for a while and ate near the UP Theater. I also saw the Film Center and the Bahay ng Alumni. All these buildings remind me of CCP. They’re very much ’80s Manila-style architecture. Man, UP is still in the ’80s I guess. –
Jeremy Jante Unfortunately, going to Tehran was not a pleasant trip. When we arrived there it was cold yet sunny. No one fetched us from the airport. When we arrived at our hotel it was the worst hotel I ever saw. I was shocked that since the first day up to the last we ate the same food over and over again. No cell phone was available. No shopping of any kind or sightseeing to do because it was like a province, yet it happens to be the main city in Iran. Only one nice thing happened: OFWs living there invited me and my teammates for dinner at their place. They cooked Filipino food and made us stay in their home. –
Paul Chua Some people travel all the corners of the world just to find that place which could offer them some tranquility. But then the most peaceful places could be found right outside your window. Though I know that I am simply looking right outside my window I feel like I’m in a whole new world, for I have never seen the streets of Manila so empty, so silent, so serene. It’s only during these times that I get to experience just how peaceful the world is, and though it may feel like the world is in a stand-still, I also know that the clock is ticking and that in a few more minutes chaos will arise in these streets once again. And so I tuck myself in, close my eyes and keep myself in this paradise.. outside my window. –
Chesa Jaleco From 7 to 11 p.m. tonight at Future Prospects in Cubao Shoe Expo, students in my Interactive Storytelling, Art Appreciation and World Literature classes at De La Salle University will be showing their final projects via video, fanzine and spoken word, with live performances from DJ Hitlerette , sound artist Pow Martinez, art band The Brockas, as well as additional music and video from London artists Sonja Laban, P&G Kollectiv, Matthew Glammore of Kashpoint, and Adrian of Tate Britain. Admission is free. For details, e-mail sleepwalking_philstar@yahoo.com.