The Heart Bleeds Maroon (For a Day)

I’ve wanted to do something different for quite some time now, just to break the monotony of my post-graduate life, and I did just that…by going back to school.

My good friend Jan invited me to attend his morning class so I can have a little taste of the life of a UPLB student. Little did I know that it would turn out to be a complete three course meal, because I wound up staying in Elbi for a solid twelve hours, my longest stay there in nearly five years.

The day started out with a fun drive from Calamba to Los Banos with Jan (he happily welcomed the change from his typical jeepney commute). We managed to get to the classroom with ten minutes to spare. The subject was Entrepreneurship 1, and it was in the CEM Function Hall. It’s basically a function hall that was converted into a classroom. The first time I attended a large class in UPLB was in high school during our Statistics days…but this is the first time I attended a REALLY LARGE class. There might have easily been over 120 students there, and there were still quite a number of empty seats. The class began at 9 and ended at 9:50.

Thoughts and Observations:

• There were a lot of students, both men and women, who wore pambahay outfits to the class (t-shirts, playing shorts, slippers). Although this wasn’t much of a surprise, I was definitely amused (and slightly jealous that I don’t have the guts to wear something as comfortable as those to school).
• There were quite a few people who did wear fashionable clothes, and I applaud them.
• There were so many people in that class. I felt the need to emphasize that again. The amount of people there could easily be from four different sections in the Ateneo, but this is only one section.
• The class is so huge that anyone can sleep or play games in their phone and the professor wouldn’t even notice. A few people did exactly those.
• Air conditioned classrooms are the best.
•  Entre 1 is actually a very interesting class! It’s like an hour long seminar that you can attend for extra points. It didn’t feel like a regular class.

I also got to experience an integral part in the life of a UPLB student: walking kilometers in the sweltering heat. It wasn’t fun at all.

Thoughts and Observations:

• Rain or shine, UPLB students use their umbrellas. I can’t blame them. It’s practically a necessity there.

I got to hangout with Jan’s girlfriend (and also a good friend of mine), Mely. We visited her in her apartment before going to Cocina for some coffee. Immediately after, we went to Chubby Habbi’s for lunch.

Thoughts and Observations:

• Hangout at someone’s apartment – a big check on my UPLB student checklist.
• I’m a big fan of Cocina. I love the ambience and the food is always good. It wasn’t my first time, but it’s always great to chill there.
• CHUBBY HABBI’S WAS AMAZING. The food is pretty cheap and they taste authentically Mediterranean. It surprised me that UPLB has greater food finds than Katipunan.

I was supposed to only attend one class, but I thought it will be fun to attend the 1pm Economics 11 class in CEMFH, especially since I hold a degree in Economics. I couldn’t have been more wrong.

Thoughts and Observations:

•  No matter what university you’re in, Economics will never be a fun subject to learn.
• I found myself thinking “how the hell am I a legitimate holder of an Economics degree?” many times throughout the class.
•  I loved the look on everyone’s faces when the professor began to explain the economic models.
• I GOT TO TAKE A REAL UPLB SURPRISE QUIZ. I was also pleasantly surprised to know that I got a four out of five. I guess I did learn something from my four years of studying economics!
• ¼ Yellow Pad for a quiz? That’s a thing?

The rain fell after class, and it fell hard. My shoes were soaked and with the strong winds, my umbrella hardly kept me dry. The students who wore slippers to school definitely had the advantage over the others. Jan and I met up with RJ in Nicdao. We were there at around 2:30…and stayed there until 7:30. Those five hours went by FAST.

Thoughts and Observations:

• Chilling in a bahay kubo during heavy rain and strong winds is actually quite fun (if you’re willing to get a little bit wet).
•  Drink a bottle of beer in the afternoon – another big check in my UPLB student checklist.

Mely, Jan, and I then had dinner at a sisig place near Ellen’s Fried Chicken. I forgot the name, but damn was their sisig good! It was a great way to cap off my day as a UPLB student. I got to know UPLB more, and yet, it still feels like as it did before…

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