day 12

i tried cooking spanish tortilla today, sa tagalog, tortang patatas =)

hoys has been watching bbc's spanish tutorial program for the past few days and in one of the episodes, we saw tortilla (tortiya) being served. it looked appetizing and since we still have potatoes left, we tried it. its so easy to prepare. you just saute the thinly sliced potatoes in oil and onion, put salt and pepper, and then let it cool. while waiting, you can beat eggs in a separate bowl and dump the potatoes there. then you fry it over low fire. presto, you have spanish tortilla!

and the rating? hoys and i think its quite good

day 10

did nothing but sleep. its cold! sarap matulog!

day 9

i met up with nes today. we met up at city hall but ended up walking along orchard road, taking pictures like tourists and eating sausages and that one dollar rectangle ice cream.

while we were ordering our sausage, people were looking at something on the street. so tingin din kami ni nes. yun pala, may convoy ng dignitary na padaan. walang wang wang pero may hagad. as in silent lang na dumaan yung convoy =)

we passed by a balenciaga shop and drooled at the bags and shoes there. i checked out a shirt with a price tag of 350 dollars. nes was asking the sales lady about the 1700 dollar bag. others didnt have price tags on so we thought, siguro ang mayayman pag nagshopping, hindi na tinitingnan ang presyo. kung ano magustuhan, bili na agad

after walking, nes brought me to marche (at somerset), a swiss restaurant which has a glamorized dampa concept. ang ganda! when you get into the restaurant, you'll be given a card which you'll present when you order food from the different stalls inside. i think most are freshly-cooked.

i was still full from the sausage so i just ordered an apple-almond cupcake. nes was craving for something salty and wanted some pizza but ended with a bowl of cream of mushroom soup and sausage. sarap!

day 8

just the usual sunday mass at novena church and grocery for today

day 7

hoys and i went to bukit batok today to check out her friend's vacant room. just in case, i would need it

the place is 40 minutes away from here by train, so its a bit far. parang probinsya. its an hdb place. hdb is a government housing facility here where people with families are given priority.

it looks like a quiet community. what i like about it is it has a lot of jogging areas.

==

we then headed to a birthday/house warming event hosted by another pinoy friend. and what do you expect from a pinoy party? videoke! haha dito daw, alam mo daw na pinoy ang may party pag may videoke. at ang daming food! spaghetti, pansit, barbeque, palitaw, chicken, lumpia, pinapaitan, fish, etc etc. at syempre, madami kaming nakain ni hoys. i ate a lot of barbeque, spag, chicken and pinapaitan. namiss ko eh

day 10

went to school again today to complete the formalities for my pass. il get it on aug 4.

nothing new except that i walked from one building to another and still another. i also used the underpass and ended up at the wrong bus stop.

but im getting used to it. the direction i mean, not getting lost

day 6: orientation day

hmmm...too tired to do this yesterday. but ironically, im not in the mood to write it today. but i have to. discipline. hmm i have to give justice to this. parang sine lang.

again, it was raining when i was on my way to bukit timah campus for my free shuttle ride. as in buhos ang ulan! pero dahil ako ay isang pilipinang laging handa, meron akong dalang payong syempre. buti na lang pagdating ko sa bus stop, humina na ng konti ang ulan.

the orientation was held at the college of science lecture theater 26 or LT 26. i was at the venue at 1:30, the orientation will start at 2pm. since maaga ako, akala ko wala pa masyadong tao sa venue. but lo and behold, siguro 2/3 na ng mga upuan ang occupied. mukhang imax theater yung auditorium. steep yung positioning ng chairs. i scanned the room, syempre looking for familiar faces. familiar not in the sense na kakilala ko but familiar in a sense na mukhang pinoy. wala. karamihan ay mga indian or mukhang indian (im not sure kung bangladeshi or pakistani) at mga intsik o mukhang intsik.

sa may bandang itaas, may nakita akong mukhang pinoy na lalaki. napatingin din sa akin pero walang air of friendliness kaya hindi ako umupo sa tabi nya. umupo ako sa tabi ng isang mukhang indian.

syempre, habang nag-aantay, kwentuhan muna. found out that she's just 21, fresh from college but will do her phd already. she's into this program where you can skip your masters and go directly to phd. she was sharing that in india, it is a common practice for fresh graduates to go direct to postgrad in order to get a decent pay.

the orientation proper started at 2pm. by then, the room was overflowing with people, literally.

first speaker for the orientation was from the office of student affairs, the office that every student has to know because it serves as the "guide" of the student away from home. next was from the school psychologist, followed by the IT group, the central library and finally from the graduate students society. generally, it was an informative event.

bags and survival kits were given after the event. my favorites were the bag from the osa and the brochure from the central library because it has a colored print of the campus map, which is what i badly need. there were also food outside but i wasnt able to get some. naubusan hehe the disadvantage of getting out last from the auditorium.

since i still had a lot of time, i went to the central library, which was really really nice. some parts of it didnt look like a library to me because i have this traditional picture of what a library is. a room full of books and wooden tables and chairs. period. but this one has glass walls and carpeted flooring. there were also rooms where you can have your group discussions. you can also bring your food in while studying. photocopying is self-service, walang ateng tigaxerox. there were also terminals for borrowing of books, payment for late dues, drop-off of books, etc. galeng!

so i thought, ganito pala mag-aral sa isang unibersidad na maganda ang facilities.

day 5

(in the background, hoys and hazel are talking about charice and lani misalucha's enhancement procedures )

it was cloudy the entire day. it was raining when i woke up, still raining when i had my breakfast, and still raining when i had my lunch. i dont know what time the drizzle stopped.

i busied myself by cleaning the house. ok not the entire house, just our room and the dining area plus the kitchen. swept and mopped. i also cleaned the microwave oven.

our ulam supply is slowly draining so i went to the grocery again to replenish. this time, may nakita na kong squash! pero hindi ko naman kailangan. i bought chicken for tinola and pork for binagoongan. hoys has bagoong from goldilocks, which actually expired last monday i think. but we still used it for the binagoongan. sana walang mafood poison sa min hehe

reading constantino's book was also an effective way of killing time. kaya lang nakakaantok. hindi ako makaalis-alis sa page 10. hehe

looking forward to tomorrow.

have a good night philippines.

day 3

i didnt have anything scheduled to do for day 3.

i got up again at 730. pero pinabalik ako sa kama nina hoys at hazel hehe so bumalik ako. but i finally got up an hour after. hindi na ko makatulog eh!

to keep myself busy, i had breakfast even if i wasnt hungry. i swept and mopped the floor. pagkakita sa kin ni tatay (tatay ng 1 housemate), nagulat. o bat ka naglilinis? sagot ko, wala pong magawa eh. ang tagal kong naglinis. not because madami akong nilinis but because pinapatagal ko talaga hehe

i took a bath after and went to the supermarket. nanay na nanay ang dating. maliit lang ang supermarket. pagpasok mo, amoy durian. may nagtitinda kasi ng durian sa side. 3 packs for 5 dollars.

tumingin tingin ako sa rack. nakakita ako ng buko so bumili ako. they sell the buko here without the husk already so you only have the shell. its called thai buko. 1 pc for 0.95. the juice is actually sweet, with a bit of pandan scent. i threw the meat because i cant take it off its shell. sayang.

i also bought sitaw, eggplant, eggs, ampalaya, pork, tofu, bean sprouts ang cabbage. all for 10.20. ang mahal ng baboy! 1 slice, parang kasinglaki lang ng regular liempo sa tin, 2.35 na. so parang medyo mababawasan muna pagkain ko ng baboy. which is good.

pag-uwi ko sa bahay, i cooked pinakbet. na walang bagoong. at walang squash kasi wala akong nakita sa grocery.

after that, i was supposed to wash my clothes but then again, umulan na naman. hay, araw-araw umuulan dito. hindi sya ganun kalakas pero hassle pa rin. so natulog na lang ako hehe

nes and i were supposed to meet somewhere in orchard at around 6 but because of the rain, and because hoys and i were supposed to meet hoys' friend (also an acquaintance) who came here for a visit and is going back home the following day, i beg off. tutal matagal pa naman ako dito.

hay, another boring day.

day 4

i just finished preparing dinner: ginisang ampalaya. and there's something i realized when i tasted it, boring ang ginisang ampalaya pag hindi mapait!

their ampalaya here looks like a gmo.
theyre fatter than the usual, has a pale green color na parang kulay ng sayote and the kulubot is magkakalayo. meaning hindi sya masyadong kulubot.

so thats what we're having for dinner. plus the left over from last night (which i also had for lunch pero hindi pa rin naubos), pinakbet without squash. i didnt see any from the supermarket.

finally, i was able to wash my clothes after lunch. 4 pieces of shirt and 2 pairs of shorts. handwashed it. onti lang kasi, or so i thought. after washing, may sugat na ang 3 daliri ko. ang hapdi! medyo napag-isip tuloy ako na sana ginamit ko na lang yung washing machine kahit onti lang nilabhan ko hehe i still used the machine though, for drying it.

when nicole (the 8-year old kid here) came home from school. she asked if i knew how to make a kite. i wasnt doing anything so i said lets look for instructions in the internet. so yun, we made a kit using 3 barbeque sticks, rubber bands for the hair, thread and plastic bags. mukha naman syang kite, nicole said it was sooooo beautiful haha i just dont know if its gonna fly. she wanted to try it downstairs pero tinatamad ako so i said walang hangin haha at para makatakas, i went to fair price again.

i bought oranges, cup noodles (1 seafood and 1 mee goreng), prawn rolls, sky flakes, onions and bread and spent 8.32

its only 520 in the afternoon and i have nothing else to do.

day 2

lata pala sumisikat ang araw dito. normally, nagigising ako ng 6 ng umaga at bumabangon ng mga 630 na. pero dito, 630 na pero madilim pa rin. ang normal na bangon ni hoys ay mga 730 na ng umaga. so that monday, i got up at 730 am.

after a rushed breakfast of nesvita cereal drink (na baon ko pa) and a piece of banana, i prepared for what i thought would be a long day.

we were at the bus stop in front of our building at 845. in a few minutes, dumating din ang bus 186. bus 186 ang sinasakyan papuntang bukit timah campus, where hoys' works and where i would be taking the free shuttle going to kent ridge campus. it took us around 10-15 minutes to get to bukit timah.

the ride to kent ride campus was a breeze. i thought pag sinabing malayo dito at 2 bus ang kaylangang sakyan, hassle magcommute at nakakapagod. but neither of those two happened. around 20 minutes lang siguro ang byahe papuntang kent ridge.

i got off at the bus stop right after the cultural center. from there, iam supposed to take bus b which will bring me to AS7/shaw foundation building, where the faculty of arts and social sciences is. of course, tinuruan na ko ni hoys but since i enjoy the feeling of getting lost, i asked someone from the bus stop.

me: excuse me, which bus should i take if i wanna go to the shaw foundation building?

girl: shaw foundation house or shaw foundation alumni house?

(me in my mind: malay ko)

me: i dont really know. but i think it would be the shaw foundation house, where the fass is?

girl: oh, you should take the bus b

me: thank you (with a singaporean accent haha)

so since i was already sure that bus b is the correct bus, tingin agad ako sa board sa bus stop para malaman kung saang bus stop ako bababa. but lo and behold, hindi ko maintindihan. in a series bus stops listed, some were in bold, some were not. so i assumed, the ones in bold ay yung mga madadaanan ng bus and the ones that were not eh yung mga nadaanan na. so there, i counted, i should get off at bus stop 4.

so anjan na si bus b. sakay si girl at madaming estudyante, sakay din ako =) si girl, umupo sa harap, sa upuan sa tapat ng driver while i stayed 3 rows behind her. on the second stop, the girl pointed to a building and said, thats the building. so i stood, eh paalis na ang bus. buti na lang sinabi nya, no, you get off at the bus stop. nice one! so i got off at the next bus stop.

nasa baba lang ng building yung bus stop. the place was elevated, parang baguio. actually, geography (naks!) of the place is like baguio, akyat-baba-ikot.

and the building itself didnt look like a school. para syang building sa makati, glass doors at ang pintuan ng mga lecture hall ay parang seminar room. i scanned the directory and found it, div of research and grad studies is on the 6th floor. so i took the lift to the 6th.

paglabas ko, syempre, diretso sa cr. dapat maayos ang buhok hehe pagkatapos, diretso na ko sa pinto ng opisina. the email instruction said 19 and 20 were the registration dates. so being a typical pinoy student, i imagined the registration hall to be noisy and lost new students. but no! pagpasok ko, there was only one student there. someone was attending to her and giving her instructions. i was told to sit first. when the student was done with her business. we had a small chit chat. pinakita sa kin yung ID, excited din hehe she's chinese and will take up english studies.

after her, ako na. so here, the registration process goes like this. upon knowing your name, they'll get the application materials you sent and they'll do validation of the transcript, diploma plus they'll get the medical report and the authorization forms that you downloaded from their site. after that, they'll give you your ID, your IPA (the document you'll submit to immigration in exchange for a student pass), and instructions on how to do the on-line registration.

so ako, medyo lost. again. hehe i asked if im expected to go to class on aug 2. the staff said the first week of class is not normally intended for classes but for registration. so naliwanagan ako. extended pala ng isang linggo bakasyon ko. in short, 3 weeks akong bum. ugh!

after everything, sabi ng staff in heavily-accented english, if you need anything, just email me. so i asked her what her email address is. sabi sa kin, we've been emailing before, im olivia chee. biruin mo yun, sya pala si olivia chee!

so i told her how pleased i am to finally meet her and thanked her for being so helpful and all. tapos may onting chit chat pa. she asked me where im staying and even gave me the directions para makauwi. pero syemre dahil hindi ko maintindihan, nod lang ako =)

the entire process took 10 minutes or less. so by 10am, i was done with my business! now, its time to go home.

may nakasabay ako sa elevator, singaporean national who will take up chinese studies. she was asking me if i took the toefl/ielts because she was instructed i think to take up either. so i explained that i didnt and i only asked for a certification from up. in her case, she didnt know that she had to take toefl/ielts since she'll take up chinese studies. oo nga naman, weird.

so balik ako sa bus stop kung saan ako bumaba. at binilang ko ulit kung pang-ilang bus stop ako dapat bumaba. sa pang 8th. so i took bus b again, and sat comfortably. on the 3rd stop, sa school of computing, aba nagbabaan lahat. at nagpalit na ng karatula ang driver. so medyo lost na naman ako. at nagtanong ako kay manong driver.

me: uncle, is this the last stop?

manong: tsa tse tsi tso tsu buchiki!

me: last stop? sabay turo sa bus stop.

manong: nag nod

so baba din ako. syet, eto na naman ako! hehe tingin na naman sa display board sa bus stop. bat ganun? at tingin sa mapa. aba, magkalapit lang yung pinanggalingan kong building at etong building na to. moment of truth: babalik ba ako o hindi? kung lakad lang, eh kayang kaya. kaya lang, parang bundok ang place, akyat baba. so i decided to stay and wait for bus b again.

pagdating ni bus b, sakay ulit ako. at for the nth time, mali ulit ang nababaan ko. sa dinami-dami ng habits na pwedeng matutunan, the habit of getting off at the wrong bus stop pa ang na-acquire ko! hay...

while waiting, syempre tanong ako. kaya lang, baguhan din pala napagtanungan ko. hehe so umupo muna ako. tapos maya-maya, may kumalabit sa kin. yun pala, may mauupuan akong lady bug. nice one again!

after few minutes of waiting, somebody asked me for directions going to bukit timah campus. eh dun ako papunta di ba? ang tinuro sa kanyang direction is to take bus 151, which is the commercial bus. eh ang alam kong route, the free route =) so ayun, sumabay sa kin. at buti sumabay sa kin dahil nung nagtanong ako sa bus driver, sinagot ulit ako tsa tse tsi tso tsu. buti na lang marunong mag-mandarin si friend hehe ayun, sa awa ng dyos, hindi na kami naligaw.

she's a taiwanese, taking up her phd in london and will be in singapore for a month to do her research. on the bus ride to bukit timah, we talked about taiwan, the philippines, cost of studying in london, etc. at nainggit ako haha

i got home at around 12. at nahihilo na ko sa gutom. so dumaan ako sa hawker sa tabi namin and bought chicken rice. 3.50 + 0.30 dahil take-away sya. and since feeling ko hindi pa ko mabubusog, tumingin tingin pa ko sa iba. syempre hindi ko kilala ang mga pagkain.

may nakita akong parang bicho-bicho i asked manang tindera, whats this? sabi nya, buchiki buchiki haha tapos may tinuro sya, this is 2 for 1.20. parang tofu na may palamang lettuce. sabi ko sige. habang nag-aantay, hindi pa ko natuto, kinausap ko ulit.

me: do you eat this with rice?

sya: na no ne

me: do you eat this with rice? or you eat it alone?

sya: na no ne ulit

me: never mind, im just asking

sya: mrt?

me: never mind, never mind hehe

so thats how my day went. a day of getting lost in directions and getting lost in translation =)

genesis

after 3 hours of flying characterized with occasional bouts of turbulence, we safely landed at changi international airport. i was seated at the middle row of the cabin so i couldnt see clearly what was happening outside. was actually surprised to know that we were already taxiing towards the gate. galing ng piloto! that was cpt simeon i think.

after going through immigration and customs, it was time to take a cab. the cab ride from the airport to balestier took about 30 mins, around sgd 16. it was drizzling when i got to the apartment. thank god the driver, who was an elderly man maybe in his late 50s or 60s, carried my 27-kilo luggage from the cab to the building.

i took the lift up to 4th floor, where hoy's flat is located. when i got in, the first thing she blurted was, "umiyak ka no?" haha we chatted for a while before she went to church. she's part of the choir so she had to go ahead.

i took that chance to take a nap, something which i really needed since i only had an hour of sleep last night. i also tried napping while on flight but i wake everytime i feel the shake whenever there are air packets.

after sleeping for an hour, i freshened up and walked to the church. the church was full so i sat at one of the pews at the extended side of the church. the mass was long, about 1 1/2 hours. il write more about it some other time.

after church, we went out to dinner with hoys' friends. i had chicken rice.

after dinner, we went to novena square to reload our ezlinks. i loaded mine 10 dollars. hoys doesnt advice loading it more than that so that when it gets lost, its not that heavy on the pocket.

after that, we walked home with one of hoys' friends. it was a long walk but a nice one. it was quite cool.

so far so good.