Polska Weekend

AMAZING POLAND; The view of Vistula river from the Wawel Castle. That's us with the Polish flag.

APRIL 30, 2009 - MAY 3, 2009. I visited Kristine a friend from 8 years ago and currently doing an AIESEC internship in Poland.

It was also my first time to travel in Europe alone and without my friends from Belgium. For once, it's nice to be guided by your own set of priorities and also get more opportunities to meet people. And Poland was the perfect venue.

Kristine and her friend picked me up in Warsaw airport Thursday night then drove me to their place in Radom, a town 100 kms away from Warsaw. Seeing Kristine was like having my Filipino switch turned on. Kaboom!!!!!


ANGELICANS IN POLAND. Jerick and Kristine in Krakow. :)

Kristine and I met 8 years ago in Angelicum. Then after 7 years, I was able to convince her to join the AIESEC exchange program. Meeting her in Poland was like a warp to 8 years past then back. A testament to this was the 1 hour and a half drive to Radom filled with conversations in Tagalog, high school reminscing, and endless stories about the Philippines.

On Friday, all AIESEC interns in Radom and I took the train to Krakow to join other interns from Poland for the Krakow reception weekend. We arrived in Krakow four hours after. Since the official program is not yet starting, Kristine and I decided to visit Oswiechim for the Auschwitz Concentration Camp memorial, a 2 hour bus ride from Krakow.

Experience in Auschwitz

Auschwitz was the largest World War II concentration camp in Europe and the place where they persecuted more than 3 million victims. It was a site preserved for people of this generation to remember and honour the victims of the past and learn from that time's terror.


FLOWER AT THE AUSCHWITZ MEMORIAL. Hopefully, the memories won't wither.

Anyway, the site features most of the remnants from 70 years ago. There are many things around but the thing that bothered me the most was the collection of hairs from all the victims. Back then, they used to collect all the hairs to make as cloth. Also, one chilling moment was when we visited the gas chambers.


LEARNING FROM HISTORY. and no photos please.

As George Santayana said (and it is widely posted in the memorial) - "The one that does not remember history is bound to live through it again". And I agree. A site that you should definitely see in your life.

Krakow Reception Weekend

We got back from Auschwitz just in time for the start of the reception weekend. As I said earlier, it's nice to come with mostly by yourself as you get more chances of meeting new people. And that I did. I met so many interns in Poland. What surprised me though was the fact that the interns there were generally quite young (same age as me) compared to Belgium where I am considered one of the youngest.


(TOP) INTERNS IN POLAND. Haller! A photo taken Friday night as we are just to go out for a walk.
(BELOW) GOLDEN BUILDING Cloth Hall in the main market square.



Krakow captured its pristine on its main market square where you can find the St. Mary's Basilica, Cloth Hall, City Hall Tower and other beautiful buildings. Also, sites that you should visit are the Wawel Castle and the Barbican. After touring, I recommend that you sit along the Riverbanks of Vistula.

I really enjoyed my Krakow Weekend. The people, the AIESECers especially, are fantastic. I hope to see them again soon!

Radom and Warsaw

Saturday night we went back to Radom where we had a crazy vodka night. These Polish people can't get enough vodka. I also brought some Belgian beers but of course, they prefer their vodka. If they only knew what they are missing. :P

Next day, we went to meet Kristine's TN manager and Polish family. It was nice hearing how happy they are about Kristine and her internship in Poland especially since I'm her VP-OGX as well.

Then after Radom, we took the train to Warsaw to catch my plane. I was only in Warsaw for 1 hour, quite short. I wish I had more time to go around.


GOING BACK IS HARD. On my train to Warsaw from Radom on Sunday morning.

My trip to Poland was a nice escape. First, it was nice to meet Kristine here in Europe and just talk and listen to stories. Also, Poland is a country that I never expected I would love, but I did because of the people.

Dziekuje Polska!


POLISH JUMP. On the Krakow Main Market Square.

For more pictures, visit my Multiply website.

AIESEC UPd meets in Belgium

Last weekend, Ruthie, one of my EPs when I was VP OGX (Vice President for Outgoing Exchange) of AIESEC UPd visited me here in Belgium. She did her internship in Finland then now went to an interrail trip across Europe.
She’s the first guest from the Philippines in my place.

I took her around Brussels, which I found later as challenging as I am just as clueless as her about the city. We ended up instead having frites in La Bourse (the only thing I know "Brussels-ish").

We also went to Antwerp last Saturday. I've been there thrice already but it was my first time in Antwerp with the sun still up.


Antwerp Castle

Antwerp is very appealing. I noticed immediately the difference between Brussels to Antwerp – the architecture, the people and the vibe. What I particularly like about Antwerp are its lively streets, interesting statues, classy architecture and shops. I also liked the part that I can practice my dutch in Antwerp. Ik ben spreek in Nederlands. But do I prefer Antwerp over Brussels? Well, that’s tough to answer but I think I’ll stick to where I live for now.

Anyway, what was fun about our trip to Antwerp were the RANDOM moments. Just to list a few:

1. Random Brides-to-be asking to write a wedding message in your own language - I wrote in Tagalog!
2. Random Grooms-to-be tied in a bowling ball selling green scissors.
3. Random Flemish people asking if we need tourist help (because we looked exotic, but it was nice)
4. Random people getting arrested in the train back for possession of Marijuana
5. Random AIESEC Belgium friends that you see. :-)
6. Random FREE HUGS people in Meir Straat. It's nice to get a hug really.:)


Ruthie in Antwerp. UPD unite!

Also, it was a nice opportunity to recconect and to hear that she enjoyed her internship. I saw that she had a wonderful experience during her AIESEC internship. And it's rewarding to hear that as her VP-OGX you played a part in making this opportunity happen. :-)

Spring Sensation

Amsterdam, The Netherlands


Keukenhof Flowers

I never felt the real essence of spring before I came here to Belgium. I had a vacation in the US in spring 2002 yet it was cold. My relatives said it was quite warm but coming from 30C summer in the Philippines, 15-20C isn't actually what we call "warm".

Yet after braving a cold winter here in Europe and seeing as time passes the changes that springtime brought, you can't help but thank that spring is here. :)

So, what better way to feel spring but to just lay in the sun and enjoy the colors. And that we did.
We made a weekend roadtrip see Keukenhof, a flower park an hour drive away from Amsterdam. And we went the right time when the sun was out and the flowers were in bloom.



Me playing with the digital macro feature of my camera

Aside from touring Keukenhof, we also went to Amsterdam the previous days. We went again to a free tour, the Sandeman's New Amsterdam Free Tour (two free tours in a week, the other one the Saturday before in London, call me "addicted") Again, it's very amusing. Our guide, Steve, was as crazy as Amsterdam is (honestly, he is like a cuckoo bird in turbo mode but he's very fun and informative).


Steve, the tourguide, explaining those things in the wall

It was nice to realize that if you really pay attention, you will see Amsterdam beyond the marijuana and the redlight district and marvel on its beauty and history then understand the reasons and moments in history it went through to reach what it is perceived today. And that tour opened my eyes to a new Amsterdam, an Amsterdam that I never saw in my past two visits here.


AMSTERDAM HUISEN. Do you ever wonder what those hooks on the top floors are for? Actually, they are for lifting things up to the roof since houses have no big stairs. impressive trivia!

I also learned why there are hooks on top of the houses in Amsterdam!

Easter 2009 in Britain

For the past 20 years, I spent Easter with family with activities of going to church and eating lunch. And though I don't have that opportunity now, I'm happy to spend Easter with one of my families, AIESEC. Adding to that is a very good consolation, spending it in Britain.

Started our journey on Black Saturday in London. We were hosted by Csenge's friend, Albin, an AIESECer from Hungary. Then, we went to the centre after for a tour. It's not my first time in London. I was there last December and I only stayed for one night, that's why I went back again.

After joining the free tour by Sandemans' New London Tours (Try it, very well recommended). Carla, Csenge and I walked along River Thames where we saw everything that we feel is London - Big Ben, London Eye, Trafalgar Square, double decker bus, the tube and the London telephone booth.



After walking the entire afternoon, we gathered in Oxford Circus for some shopping then dinner at Garfunkel's. We went directly to Brixton (where Albin lives) after to get ready for the next day. :)


STONEHENGE, THEY ARE NOT JUST ROCKS!

Next day, we took the tour of Hampton Court, Stonehenge and Oxford. We were supposed to go to Windsor Castle but it was closed, so we went to Hampton Court instead. I went out with Csenge and Carla, along with Tina - FilAm and Microsoft Intern in Paris and also Dan, Tina's friend who was also an AIESECer in the UK.



First stopped at Hampton Court Palace, a royal palace south of London. It used to be the resident of King Henry VIII. The place was rich in history and we were lucky that when we were there, it was costume day so people around were dressed in their Tudor-time costumes. Particularly like Henry's kitchen, the fountain court, the labyrinth maze (seriously, you can get lost) and of course, the gardens. The weather was cloudy, but still manage to "play" in the garden. I also saw a swan, which was nice. :) CLICK HERE TO KNOW MORE - http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hampton_Court_Palace

After leaving Hampton Court, the bus went for a 1,5 hour drive to Stonehenge in the Wiltshire country. Everyone knows Stonehenge, but for those who don't know, it is these rocks, arranged in a circular shape, and believed to have been there for more 4,000 years ago. It was believed to be either a monument, a burial ground, a temple, or an alien landing pad (?). It's a UNESCO world heritage site.



Seeing stonehenge for me is a dream come true. I felt really blessed to see this place. There are some that say that these are just piles of rocks, but for me, it's more than that.

Two hours past, we went to see the city of Oxford - famous for its university. We were there for only short while though. It's just strange for me that a university can also be a tourist attraction, possibly thanks to its fame and its history. :)



Highlight of the tour was when we visited the outsides of ChristChurch, famous for our generation as one of the settings for Harry Potter movies. We didn't go inside though. Also in Oxford, I manage to taste a Cornish Pasty, or as I names it - English empanadas. :)

AIESEC DANCES TIL 4AM!

After the tour, we went back to London for Albin's Easter barbeque. Nice hefty food and chats with Hungarians and Polish. After the barbeque, we went out to the centre for a drink, but went back to Brixton as the bar that we were supposed to go to was closed. So, we went back to Brixton for some cocktails in this place called Mango Landin. not your typical english pub, but is very English still (at some point).

After drinks and mild drunkenness, we headed over to Albin's house for some drinks again. We were just chillin' in the house, talking about AIESEC, our experiences etc., and then we decided to do some AIESEC dances. From Tunak-Tunak, LeLe, Cotton-Eyed Joe, and even Life in a new Millenium (danced it last on NLDS 2006) and we were dancing til 4AM.

Next day, we continued our tour around London. We went to Tower of London, Tower Bridge, London Bridge, St. Paul's, Camden Town then back to Oxford Circus. We also went back to Embankment to see the city at night (House of Parliament was nice!).

Unfortunately, we have to cut our trip short as we need to go back to work. :-( So early Tuesday morning, we went back to surprisingly sunny Brussels.

5 BEST MEMORIES OF MY BRITISH EASTER:


1. Topman - Shopping Galore!
2. AIESEC Dances til 4AM - It's nice to reminisce on AIESEC dances! Life in a New Millenium
3. Stonehenge, of course - a fantastic place
4. The Maze over at Hampton Court. I got lost actually, seriously. :)
5. London Buses - 2 to Marylebone. :)

I promised myself that I will be back in London or somewhere in the UK.

AIESEC: Spend your Summer in Indonesia or Malaysia!

Experience Malaysia and Indonesia!

Don’t know what to do this summer? Looking for a new and exciting experience? Want to be immersed in a different culture? Want to make the world a better place?

If you are, then you are perfect for AIESEC’s summer internship program in Malaysia or Indonesia! Spend the summer as a Development or Management Trainee in one of these organizations and more.

Please see the attached excel file for the complete list of companies and organizations and other details. The AIESEC International Traineeship Exchange Program description is also attached with this post.

Organization/Company Name Business Type

Standard Chartered Bank - Banking and Finance
Enterprise Asia - Project Management
MIRACLE 2009 - Environment
Entrepreneurship Youth—A Learning Network - Entrepreneurship
Young Visionaries - Orphanage
SME Magazine - Marketing
Cultural Understanding Through Education (CUTE) - Education
PT Fortune PR - Public Relations
Bukit Jambul Hotel Development Sdn. Bhd - Hotel
The Youth Intelligence Sdn. Bhd - Marketing

Spend the summer honing your skills in Project Management, Development Studies, Human Resource, Marketing, and many more!

Pre-selection interview is on March 23, 2009. No sign-up fee required.

So what are you waiting for? Apply now! (Fill out the attached application form)

Contact persons:
Gabb Agapito (09167528546 || gabb.agapito@aiesec.net)
Judd Vitente (09178663185 || judd_willis.vitente@aiesec.net)

AIESEC: Spend your Summer in Indonesia or Malaysia!

Experience Malaysia and Indonesia!

Don’t know what to do this summer? Looking for a new and exciting experience? Want to be immersed in a different culture? Want to make the world a better place?

If you are, then you are perfect for AIESEC’s summer internship program in Malaysia or Indonesia! Spend the summer as a Development or Management Trainee in one of these organizations and more.

Please see the attached excel file for the complete list of companies and organizations and other details. The AIESEC International Traineeship Exchange Program description is also attached with this post.

Organization/Company Name Business Type

Standard Chartered Bank - Banking and Finance
Enterprise Asia - Project Management
MIRACLE 2009 - Environment
Entrepreneurship Youth—A Learning Network - Entrepreneurship
Young Visionaries - Orphanage
SME Magazine - Marketing
Cultural Understanding Through Education (CUTE) - Education
PT Fortune PR - Public Relations
Bukit Jambul Hotel Development Sdn. Bhd - Hotel
The Youth Intelligence Sdn. Bhd - Marketing

Spend the summer honing your skills in Project Management, Development Studies, Human Resource, Marketing, and many more!

Pre-selection interview is on March 23, 2009. No sign-up fee required.

So what are you waiting for? Apply now! (Fill out the attached application form)

Contact persons:
Gabb Agapito (09167528546 || gabb.agapito@aiesec.net)
Judd Vitente (09178663185 || judd_willis.vitente@aiesec.net)

Backpacking in Bicol: Budget to Donsol

For those who are planning to go to Donsol soon, here's a rough estimate of expenses:

TRANSPORTATION

Manila - Naga/Legaspi - P600-P800 (one way via bus)
Legaspi - Donsol - P60 (one-way van)
Donsol tricycle
to tourism office P30 (per trip)

TOTAL TRANSPORTATION: P1400-1700 round trip

FOOD (breakfast, lunch, dinner)

Budget Meals P100 per day
Medium Level meals P200 per day
Hotel Meals P350 per day

TOTAL FOOD - P 200-P700 for two days (overnight in Donsol)

ACCOMMODATION

Room 1 Double Bed P500-P1000
Room 2 Double Beds P1000-P1500

TOTAL ACCOMMODATION - P1000 (P250 per person) for one day

WHALE SHARK

Boat (7 Persons) P3500 (P500 per person at least)
Registration P100 (local)
P300 (foreigner)

Snorkel P150
Fins P150

Total: P900 (boat, registration, snorkel, fins) per trip

FIREFLIES

Boat (5 persons) P1250.00


Total: P250



ALL EXPENSES:

Transportation - P1400 P1700
Food: - P200 P350
Accommodation - P500 P1500
Whale Shark - P900
Fireflies* - P250


TOTAL BUDGET - at least P3000 (without fireflies)

*add some spare cash just in case you have to add money for paying the extra at the boat (sometimes, 7 people per boat is not filled so you have to pay extra)

BEST BET - P3500-P4000

c'mon! Let's Donsol na!

Backpacking in Bicol: Donsol

May 18, 2008 - After a quick lunch at the Legazpi Bus Terminal, we rode a van to Donsol for roughly 1 and a half hours. We got there by 2 in the afternoon. Donsol is, by far, the farthest I’ve gone in South Luzon.

I am really happy on how tourist-friendly the town of Donsol is. Most of the food remains to be close to the prices in Manila, sometimes a lot cheaper (particularly in their seafood). Tricycles don’t trick tourist by charging higher than the normal fare. Even the tourism office are friendly to tourist (duh, it's their job.LOL).They helped us find accommodation and people who would join in our whale shark boat.

Anyway, we headed down to the Donsol Butanding Information Office to get a boat for the whale shark watching, but we were told to wait the next day since the sea was too rough. We instead went directly to our place, Amor Farm Beach Resort. It was a nice resort since we are the only one of two guests in that place (our group and a group of 5 brits). The feeling of being pampered and having the beach all by yourself is worth it.It was also quite affordable.

After a quick nap, we headed to Ogud River to see some fireflies. For P1250 a boat, you’ll get a two hour river cruise. It was relatively inexpensive since we were able to share it with a group of 3 Lolas (“Gorgeous Lolas” from now on) bringing the cost to P200. The night was illuminated because of the full moon and it was rather early at night (around 7PM), so the fireflies were not visible from the boat. You have to go near a tree and shake it. I was not disappointed though, since the cruise was relaxing.

We woke up early next day for our whale shark watching. By 6:30AM we were already at the tourism office, we were again joined by the Gorgeous Lolas (Tita Coney, Tita Helen and Tita Cely) and aBritish backpacker, Nathan, whom my tita picked up from the town center that morning.

We waited for almost four hours before we had our first sighting. Imagine, 6-7 boats swirling around Donsol sea without any sighting.

So while waiting, I spent time talking to Nathan, the british backpacker. He inspired me to do backpacking trips around the world. He’s only 25 but he has been in more than 70 countries. That’s a feat! He started his first backpacking trip at the age of 18 to Egypt and since then he has been to Africa, North and South America and Asia. He just went to Donsol from Thailand and will go to India in a week’s time. Man, if I have money for trips like that, I’ll be more than delighted. He works for construction and earns US$3000 per month then takes months off to continue backpacking around the world. Well, I promised myself, I’ll try backpacking around the world, but first I need to save money. But where will I get the money? I have to get a job, but I’m still in school. Waaah. Anyway, promise, I’ll do that. For now, backpacking around the Philippines is a great option (and relatively cheaper).

OK, after four hours of waiting, our butanding guide finally spotted one So we were alerted by our guide for a dive. We were divided into two groups, one group will stay at the boat, then the other one goes to the water. Then, when a butanding goes again, they’ll be the ones who will be allowed to dive.

I went on the first dive. I managed to get a peek of the whale shark, roughly 1-2 seconds before it dived down. The sea was rough and because of excitement, I wasn’t able to follow to it further, but hey 1-2 seconds of whale shark interaction was well deserved. As I got back to the boat, there was a second sighting of a whale shark. The second group was lucky since they were able to see the whale shark for a longer period time. It was disappointing not going down the water the second time around and be able to see it longer. If only I have broken the rules, I would have seen it again. Why did I follow the rules?!?! Anyway, no regrets. It was still worth it.

Hahaha, as we went back to the pier, I left a little souvenir of Tapsilog (my breakfast) to the whale sharks (in short, I was seasick). Remember not to take heavy breakfast before going on rough sea unless you want to cut your trip short.

After the butanding interaction, we headed back to the resort to change and have lunch. By 2PM, we already checked out of the resort then took a trike to the town center. Let me just say that it was not the best time to get back to Legaspi since all vans were out because of the Donsol town fiesta. So we were forced to ride a jeep to Daraga, Albay (next town of Legaspi). Beeing adventurous and the seemingly big crowd wanting to get out of Donsol, I was forced to ride at the top of a jeep. Honestly, it was scary sitting only a small area while the jeep kept on speeding up especially on those sharp turn. I think that made my skin bad since I was under the sun for 2 hours.

In the end, Donsol remains to be an image of rural Philippines. Apart from occasional sightings of foreigners, you can see that tourism hasn’t change the town much like overcommercialized Boracay and Puerto Galera. It remains to be a small town still filled with ricefields, trees and relatively quiet resorts. That’s the reason I think why the whale sharks visit Donsol every year.

Well, as for the whale sharks, I promised them (?) that I’ll go back to Donsol soon (April) . Hopefully by then, I’ll see more of them and on a longer time. Now, I need to practice to swim.

Update this soon

I will update this blog soon...

Sarah made my day

haha.

I saw Sarah Geronimo yesterday!!!!!!!!!!!! Waaah! I'm a secret fan of Sarah Geronimo, haha. She graduated along with my sister yesterday and Sarah was seating two pews away from my sister. COOL! haha. she has a picture nga with Sarah on the background... haha.

Even when I'm in Angelicum, alam ko na na nandun si Sarah, but never saw her. And I was glad when I heard that she's graduating with my sister. haha. She sang our school hymn pa. haha.

wala lang. starstruck. nakakainis lang, ang daming tao dun which made the grad ceremony magulo.

pero still, sarah made my day (and the dinner buffet after, haha)