Continuing my story from Part 1, I tried my best adapting to my new environment. To lessen my stress, Nanay chose Holy Spirit Dorm because it was just a stone throw away from UE. More importantly, 4 of my 5 room mates were from Marbel and nearby towns. The administrator in Holy Spirit Dorm was hesitant at first to accept me because I was only 15 and just in Junior High. All the other boarders were College students. She was afraid I would be rowdy and undisciplined. But Nanay promised her that one unruly behavior I make, she will pull me out from the dorm. Thank God I had amazing room mates who made my life easier and happier during my first 2 years in Manila.
One of my shocking experiences as a newbie in Manila was witnessing with my virgin eyes a male exhibitionist doing his ritual right in front of our dorm! That was his favorite spot. And because he was there often, everybody was already used to his presence. Well, everybody except me. I couldn’t believe that such kind of behavior existed in society and people would just brush their shoulders off as if it was just a normal thing to do.
Back in Marbel, my classmates and I enjoyed playing more than studying. I used to go to school with a skipping rope in my bag instead of books heheheh . . . We just loved to play whenever we had the chance. My friends and I were normally the last to leave the campus because we couldn’t get tired of playing. I really missed that. In UE, we had to go home @1pm because the Afternoon session students will be occupying the rooms. After dismissal, we automatically went our separate ways. My classmates were in a hurry to go home because they still had to commute and it was past lunchtime already. Sad. (Incidentally, Christopher de Leon was also a UE student. When his first film “Tinimbang Ka Ngunit Kulang” was shown in 1974, the whole UE population probably supported his movie. I was so proud I was breathing the same air with him when he won the Famas Best Actor award in his very first appearance.)
I got another shock of my life after our teacher graded our first quiz. I didn’t know that it was common practice in UE to distribute the exam results one by one in class from highest to lowest. I then realized that my new classmates were very competitive with grades. If I didn’t get a perfect score, I wouldn’t be the highest in the Quiz or Exam. So I had to devote more of my time in studying. I hated it but had no choice. Tatay did not expect me to be the Valedictorian because I lacked the four-year residency but he trusted me to do my best. Strange how he obssessed for his only daughter to earn the Highest Honors when he himself barely passed during his time. Typical parent who wanted his frustrated dream fulfilled through his offspring.
To be continued . . .
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