Recollections @ Bagong Silang

Nineteen days. No regrets. For anyone out there still procrastinating whether you should embark on a YEP, take the plunge! J

Leaving for Philippines just a few days after my exams was the best way to get out of the routine and hectic lifestyle that we Singaporeans lead. I personally make an effort to travel for leisure and exploration when I have breaks after my semesters. Embarking on this YEP not only helped me achieve this objective, but it was definitely also a much more meaningful and fruitful experience!

Arrival

The first day we arrived at the village, I was in fact quite surprised with their overflowing warmth and love. The community put up dance performances for us, and prepared LOTs of food.

Prior to this trip, I actually thought I would be losing weight. I was soooo WRONG!!! Bonding through food and eating together is an integral part of the Philippines’ culture. How is it possible to say NO when you have 5 meals a day being prepared by the wonderful titas everyday? Even till now, I still crave for their crispy fried chicken and mangoes!

MANGOES

Oh and to my dearest teammates, I have a confession! I had about 10 slices of half-mangoes in one day hahaha.

I just can’t emphasize how great the mangoes were. A good number of us were running to the supermarket on our last night just to buy many many packets of dried mangoes and cartons of zesto mango juice. Lol. Really retarded, but definitely worth it!

Living experience

I was really apprehensive how I would pull through these 2 weeks initially. The first day I tried to shower in my host family’s toilet, I was already greeted with a cockroach crawling about on the wall. I was thinking “OMG. Go easy on me man.” It was a super quick bath cos I felt the cockroach might just jump on me anytime LOL.

The first night, I was lying down on the concrete floor in their living room (that’s how my host family Tito Francis, Tita Esmie a.k.a. HAPPY HAPPY, and Sheina have been sleeping). Then I hear chu hwai and tito francis snoring away already. Sian. It’s always important to sleep first!

Although I was fatigued, sleeping wasn’t easy because I always needed 2 pillows, a bolster, and a nice comfy bed (I’m not pampered, really). Well… after about one hour or so, I FINALLY KNOCKED OUT.

However, in the subsequent days, I guess I got used to the feeling. My teammates and I OCASSIONALLY (everyday for A SELECTED SPECIAL FEW) slept on the floor in the community hall after our lunch just to catch a quick 1 hour nap!

Children

“KUYA LARRY! KUYA LARRY! KUYA LARRY!”

That’s probably the only thing I remember about the kids. The Larry Fan Club.

Okay I’m kidding obviously. The kids in the village are always roaming around and hyperactive, unlike majority of Singaporean children these days. Personally, I have a younger brother who’s only 10 years old. Leading an active lifestyle is hard, with distractions such as the Playstation 3 and YouTube to entertain him. Well, the culture is different. And maybe the way we have brought him up too haha.

Our team was privileged to teach a very bright group of children. I was impressed with their standard of English and their learning capabilities. I strongly believe that barring financial limitations, these children can excel in school. All they need is an opportunity. Chu Hwai has always told the kids in the village that they should study hard. A fatherly figure indeed hahaha. But I couldn’t agree more on the value of self-enrichment right from an early age.

Overall

The last day came, where we had to say our goodbyes to our titas and titos and the adorable children. I was pretty much emotionless and didn’t expect to feel much about this departure, as we all knew this day would come.

However, after seeing tears well up in the titas’ eyes, I couldn’t control my feelings either hahaha. I shed a few tears when I was in the van.

Throughout the course of our stay at Bagong Silang, the experience we have gained is so so much more than what we have given them. For what they lacked in material, they more than made up for it with the wealth and love in their hearts.

I believe this trip made our team grow as individuals, and also served to create greater cohesion amongst us. I won’t forget the silly and retarded things we did, the times chatting with my host family, the HTHT sessions, towel boy and his 2 other notorious friends, larry’s naughty karaoke sessions and his art of eating bananas, the 20+ cockroaches in the community hall, the awesome MERIANDAS, the humsup club, walking out to grab RC Cola, our banana boat ride at Puerto Galera, and 9504317 other things! J

Cheers!

Leonard