National Youth Day '06

[ mood | |happee]

[ music | in my place by coldplay ]

"Your word is a lamp to my feet and a light to my path"
Psalm 119:105

It's been exactly one month since the National Youth Day! The thought of those memorable days still makes me nostalgic. The experience was really overwhelming I can't even grasp the whole thing and put it into words. That's why when someone asks me how was it I don't know exactly what to say. Attending the NYD change a few of my perspective in life. The whole event was a wonderful learning process. You will meet people from different walks of life. All you need is just an open smile and you'll be surprise where it can lead you. No matter how diverse we are in terms of personality, family background and culture there is always a common ground. In this case it is God. We were all united to praise and glorify Him.

I tried to wrap everything in this entry. It took me a while to finish the whole thing so I hope you will have fun reading and somehow learn from it.

For me, joining the NYD was like going to battle without an armor. I totally have no idea what I've gotten into. My friend Thea just drag me in without actually providing much details. Just the assurance that it will be fun and I'll be excuse in class for three days. :) Well, I'm entitled to disagree actually but I don't know, I just said yes for no apparent reason. I have so much on my mind that time, I'd rather agree with her than have an endless debate. I did not register personally so I'm clueless of all the essential information. My first day didn't went well as planned because of a the simple negligence of not knowing.

(Day 1) The Disastrous First Day

I woke up really early. I'm not yet through packing all my stuff and the call time is 8am. Unfortunately, preparation consumed all my time so I didn't eat a heavy breakfast.I just grabbed some bread and a glass of milk. Little did I know that those will be the only food sustaining my body for the rest of the day.

We arrived at Ateneo High School Campus at exactly 8:30 sporting our big maletas. By the way, I'm with my three friends- Thea, Dece and Rarai. The other delegates (Digos Delegates) were still on their way to Davao so we stayed at MTS to wait for them. Waiting...waiting..still waiting...it seems to on forever. (nalosyang na lng among beauty didto wa lng gihapoy delegates nangabot!) Five hours had passed and still there were no signs from them. We look like lonesome travelers abandon by the world. I was beginning to think that my karma has just arrived. You see, I told my classmates before I left that my sole purpose in going to NYD was "boy hunting". (lol..one step ahead ang gaba! paspas kaayo!) Maybe the whole waiting dilemma was just a wake up call. A reminder for me to rethink my purpose, say perhaps spiritual enrichment. How does that sound? (hehe)

When our hope was just about to sink, a convoy of four buses passed. Finally! We quickly went across the street. The buses stopped in front of Ateneo to wait for us but it appears that they were causing a traffic jam. So before we even successfully cross the damn street, they already left. Haay! (Naa pa ba may mas malas anang mabiyaan ka sa bus na gihulat nmo og almost 5 hours?!) Left with no choice, we stayed near the gate depressed and looking like idiots. (take note! ngdala2x mig maleta! ang saya!) A bunch of kindergartens were staring at as strangely but we were not in the mood to go cute and cuddly with them. Their adorable faces were not enough to cheer us up. Then here comes this traffic aide asking "Nabiyaan mo dai, asa pa diay mo gkan gnina ra mn mong alas osto dri?" (ay jus ko! obyus mn cgro sa among nawong noh? wa na lng mi ng-ingon na tga davao ra mi ky mas mu-ulaw ng samot.) We stood there for like 30 minutes trying to call Bro. Joe (our delegation head) but he's not answering his phone. I saw some delegates entering inside, since we don't have an ID yet we just hang in there a little more. Another 30 minutes passed, the embarrassment and heat became too much to bear so I approached the guard and asked if we could enter without an ID. Guess what?! He just said, "Sure, where are your bags? Let me check it first". (di englishero ang guard ha!haha feel lng nko xa itranslate gd for the benifit of those who don't understand the dialect! Og sa dihang pirti pa namong pa init2x og hulat noh! Pwede dy musulod!)

We entered Ateneo at exactly 1 o'clock sweaty and hungry! To our surprise Bro. Joe was inside with the 300 something delegates. (Nituyok lng diay cla og sa pikas gate ni-agi! toink! malay ba nmo noh) There were a lot of delegates fighting for Bro. Joe's attention (he was segregating all the delegates to the different parishes) so we didn't add to the growing tension. All along we thought that the four of us will have the same foster family so we assigned who will bring the toiletries and stuff. To our horror we were separated! (kana laging mgtinamad! ngpagamayay pa jd og bag.. dah tagam!) Three of the four buses already left. That's when we started to be alarmed! What if our name were already called? (tsktsk ma-award mn jd mi ani bah!) We were all hesitant to ask Bro. Joe because he seems busy and pissed off. (sa among pagtanga2x didto sa kilid naligsan na lng noun ang bag ni thea sa bus!ngtan-aw lng sd mi..dugay kaau ang reaction time.. mau na lng wlay ndamage sa iyang gamit! pero nilakra pd lge ang ligid sa bus sa iyang bag!haha) After a minute or so, Thea and Dece's name were called. They were assigned in the same parish. Waahh!! What about us? (oh no!) That leaves Rarai and me, unfortunately her bus already left. Instead of feeling sad, we were glad because Bro. Joe transferred her to our parish. By the way, the toiletries were separated equally in case you're wondering! (naa btaw convinience every kanto so chox lng! ulaw lng ky gi-abri jd nmo ang mga maleta infront of the madlang pipol...hehe!)

So we get on the bus and went to our different destinations. I don't know what the heck happened but there were only 3 of us assigned in San Lorenzo Parish in Talomo- me, Rarai and Jammy( a sixteen year old girl from Malita), the rest were about 10-15 in every parish. They even have group leaders which were given instructions on what to do. So I started to wonder. Maybe there's some kind of mistake here. (Ngano tulo ra mi? Dw beh knsa mn himuon nmong lider2x nga pare-pareho mn mi wlay alam! Fatay na! Di mn gni mi kamao aha among parish dapit!) We were the last group to be drop off, the driver was already asking us the direction. But how on earth will we know? When we finally locate the parish it was already 3 o' clock! I haven't eaten anything since breakfast! The minute we arrive my stomach began to growl. (Kakuyapon na gd ko sa kgutom ay chuper! Lechon na panan-aw nko sa mga ng-welcome sa amoa didto!) Some volunteers offered to bring our bags and guided us to the receiving area. The first thing they asked from us was our Official NYD ID which was not given by our delegation head. That's where the problem originated. They can't give us our NYD kit (the bag, journal and etc.) if we don't have an ID so we were not entertained. We were like lost sheep in a flock. (mura mig mga outsider didto, way id, way kaila, way kaon, wa tanan!) I almost gave up, you know. Why would I suffer to be there, when my house is just a cab away? I can easily go back, anyway I haven't invested anything yet except for wasted energy. But when I entered the church and saw the faces of the delegates from all over Philippines. Whew! I realized that I can't just gave it up. What happened was meant to be. Whatever the underlying reasons, I don't care anymore. Even with an empty stomach I was already excited. I just stopped worrying and leave it up to Him. We met some fellow Digos delegates who helped us get through the registration. They were all very kind and helpful. Later after the mass I met my foster mother-Nanay Cora. She's the best foster mother ever! ( Ang gi-question dayon ky gi-gutom na ba dw mi! O dba winner ky psychic kaau!) Supposedly she'll just be accommodating two delegates but I beg her to take Rarai because she was not registered in that parish and she agreed instantly. ( kitam! d best jd!) My other foster sisters were Ate Weng (from Diocese of Digos also) and of course Jen (Nanay Cora's daughter). (Ngkasinabot jd mi tanan! First thing na gbuhat nmo pg-abot sa ilang balay ky ngkaon! hehe)We stayed at Ulha Village in Ulas, a very nice neighborhood. (But-an kaau ang mga tao pramis!)

Though my first day was a total disaster still I had fun. At the end of the day we had a good laugh at all the misfortunes that we experienced. :)

(Day 2) The Boat Is Sinking!

"The boat is sinking! Group yourselves into 10!". That was the cue, the next thing I knew all 3000 plus delegates in Catechetical Site 3 were roaming around the huge sports complex of Ateneo looking for group mates. I landed in Group Number 188! The best group in the whole wide universe! (haha!) If not for them NYD wouldn't be that fun at all. The language barrier didn't stop us from sharing our thoughts and feelings in the group. Personally, I was very comfortable sharing my opinion to them because they're all open minded. (bhala mgkabuang na og tagalog hala storya jpun! lol!) You can easily blend in the crowd. It's really amazing to see all this people united in one purpose- God!

The Facilitators:

Carlo (Davao)
Kuya Philip (Dipolog)

The Group:

Gen (Tagum)
Jea (Tagum)
Ken (Novaliches)
Ate Liway (Pangasinan)
Marc (Iligan)
Merlyn (Matti)
Kuya Otep (Pangasinan)
Rarai (Davao)
Shine (Matti)-

What we did in the morning was just basically faith sharing and some journal works. The Holy Eucharist presided by the Papal Nuncio followed later in the afternoon. His homily was quite inspiring. The Youth Festival in the evening made my eyes beamed with gladness! It was like being able to witness the different festivities of the Philippines. (So bongga! with all the costumes and everything jd! Murag kag ngtan-aw og sinulog or kadayawan!) The performance of each diocese represents some kind of cultural inclination. Too bad I was not able to finish the show. :(

(Day 3) Making Choices

I don't have much to say about what happened this day but what struck me most was the talk of Atty. Robert Quintain. He was a very good speaker. One moment you're laughing the next thing you know tears were already falling in your eyes. He had various stories but this one made me cry...

Bobby was in Grade 1 when he delivered the first speech of his life . His English teacher Ma'am Abby was the one who taught him everything, from the speech itself to the proper way of delivering it. The speech will be presented in their Teacher's Day celebration. They practiced almost everyday. Then here comes the big day! He was all set and ready. But when he arrived at school he was faced with the terrible news that his beloved teacher was killed the night before. Though he was at the verge of sorrow he still carry on with the speech. Everyone was applauding and admiring him after but he didn't noticed any of them. He just cried endlessly at the stage. A teacher approached and asked him why he was crying then he replied, "All of these are nothing if Ma'am Abby is not here".

It will really break your heart hearing that statement from a 7 year old boy who had just experienced his first taste of pain and loss. *sigh* The session was extra heavy that day because it started with deep reflections.

We went home early to our designated parishes for the holy hour. After the confession nghause party kmi...hehe! We bought food and share it to the family, then later on we tour the village and visit the other neighboring delegates. (nalingaw jd mig maayo!) The delegates from Tagum were really fun to be with. (Mga tabian kayo cla and mga joker!) For someone like me permanence is the hardest thing to establish so I'm not really used to being active in anything in my own community. I witnessed the true essence of being in a community there and I'm actually participating. It felt like I'm in a different world. (Murag nsa davao lng ko na murag wala...wierd!)

(Day 4) The Pilgrim Walk

I am so proud of myself. I successfully walked shrine under the heat of the freakin' sun! Woohoo! (dli jd xa sayon! super kapoi...lami kaau mgpaligid na lng pababa tong ngstart na ang pasaka! init, kapoi, uhaw, abog name it present na tanan wa nkay mawish!) The heat was really unbearable but knowing that everyone experiences the same suffering keeps you motivated. If kaya nila, kaya ko rin! We just talk and laugh and laugh some more to ease the feeling of weariness. Good thing my group mates keeps on cracking some jokes. And the boys offered to bring the girls' bag. (how sweet! gentlemen kau cla...) We all stayed together util we reached shrine. By the way, thank you for the free mineral waters along the way! That really helped a lot! (ky jusko! ang tubig nko nahmo nag hot water dahil sa ka-init! pwede na timplahan og coffee..haha)

Shrine was divided into three areas alloted for the respective catechetical sites and a big stadium was at the center. Wow! 7000 youths! How often does this happen? Though I'm very exhausted the overwhelming sight made me want to jump and shout! What matters is that moment! And the fact that YOU are actually THERE!

The youth jam was a blast! Everybody was dancing, singing and jumping. I was having the moment of my life. Even if the instruction was to stay at the designated Parish area our group stayed together! That was the last moment that we will be together. Kuya Otep initiated a group hug and almost everybody cried! I didn't realize that these people who were just plain strangers days ago will occupy such a big space in my heart. It was pretty hard to let go. The pain of goodbye. Its a part of life that all of us must deal with. I'm just grateful that I met them in this lifetime. Who knows? Our path will cross again someday.. :) See you then!

Thank you to everyone who made National Youth Day 2006 so memorable! ^_^