A Ticket to Asia

          No, it was joke. Not Asia, but Asian Temples in Cebu. The trip happened last Sunday, September 22. It was a field trip for our History 2 and attendance was a must. So like what the teacher instructed, most of us came to AS lobby with loose shirts and jogging pants on. But just as we were about to leave, the teacher announced that the yoga session, which was the reason for our loose-shirt-and-jogging-pants attire, will no longer happen because the instructor was having a flu. And so we had to visit temples with our rugged look; but it was comfortable anyway.

          We first headed to Heavenly Temple. You can hear the sound of the wind and the sound of the leaves dancing in the air due to the silence of the place. Sir Espiritu served as our tour guide. He was very fluent in explaining every corner and every hidden meaning in the temple. He talked like he was a Taoist. He introduced us to the oracles in the temple – kidney stones and wooden sticks. He even tried it himself but he got a very unfavourable revelation which is hopelessness. When we were given the chance to try, most of the students got bad results like a bad future. It was very funny because everyone was so excited to try, yet their moods changed when they got the super blunt revelations.

Niño, Joyce, Claire, Gilamie, Jenissa and Alexis having a pose at the overlooking part of the temple.

          On the way to our next destination, we were told to tie a hanky on our heads. In order to get inside the Cebu-Hindu temple, we must have a covering on the head to pay respect to their religion. The place is as quiet as the first temple. We entered in their place of worship and awed on the beauty of the fabrics they used in the room. Their holy book was covered with layers and layers of beautiful fabrics with patterns of glittery laces. The priest sang and read the holy book for us. Parshad, their holy food, was also offered to all of us. And aside from their holy food, when we were about to leave, they gave us juice and biscuits. I don’t know why they are so generous. If Roman Catholic would be this good, I would go to our chapel every Sunday (hahahahah).

BA Psychology students together with the priest( center) , Miss Jabines ( beside the priest) and Sir Espiritu (far left).

          Not so far from the second temple was the Tibetan Temple. It was a castle-like in structure and had Chinese-style paintings. Saying that the statues inside are huge will be an understatement. It was more than huge and big. The statues were gigantic – reaching to more than three meters in length. The monk who welcomed us was very accommodating and hospitable. Despite of our noisiness brought about by our huge population, he opened the doors to every room of the temple. They even prepared food for us before we left the place. The food was like struck by the lightning – in just seconds they were gone. While in the bus for the last temple, I kept thinking if they feel annoyed or happy in giving us snacks ( coz it was magical for us).

Psychology students, Miss Jabines and Sir Espiritu having a picture with the Tibetan  monks.

          The last, but definitely not the least temple, was the Chu Un Temple. The colour of the sky turned from orange-y to dark blue when we got there. Sir Henry was no longer our speaker because the temple had its own tour guide. The guide became anxious of how quiet we were while he was discussing things about Buddhism. The reason behind our silence is maybe because of exhaustion, or bus lag (not jet-lag haha). But nevertheless, we still enjoyed the place. The grass there was no ordinary. When we stepped on it, we felt like we were floating.  And the most eye-candy spot in the temple was their catwalk. It had colourful round lanterns with drawings of Buddhist monks on it. The ambiance is very heart-warming and relaxing. It made us think of the new things we learned from the different temples we visited.

A karate lesson with the bald babies.

          For me, that day was very fruitful. I was able to observe the different practices of different religions because of different culture. Some religions are very strict and organized by rules. And some just want unity among everyone, disregarding the socio-economic status.  But the latter are quite judged by those religions in the former. They don’t have the same practices and principles. I don’t get it why they bash those in Sikhism, Buddhism, and Taoism when the only thing that is of great importance for them is unity.

If Ever You're In My Arms Again

            It is already thirty minutes past twelve in the morning and I can’t think of anything except for the unknown reason why an important ‘someone’ in my life ignored me for days now. We have been spending these days ignoring each other. Stolen glances and awkward eye contacts always happen when our paths cross. I try to reach out but she eludes me. I hate this feeling of having a part of you missing.

            We have been together for already four months. I met her last April 2013 and I never thought we would be this close. We play together – scratching and running here and there. We wrestle and play hide-and-seek. The fun we always have ceased to exist this week of August 2013. Everytime I get home from school I always look for her. I even sometimes spend an hour playing with her. But now, I am very clueless on why she is ignoring me. Have I done something wrong? Should I stop chasing her? I want the old us back. I want to be happy with her again.

            She is the second white cat I had and the closest to my heart. I feel very happy whenever I get to play with her. Even if she came from a not-so- clean place, whenever she gets home, I put her on my lap and pet her until she falls asleep. And when she wakes up and asks for food, I offer an immediate response. I feed her with my bare hands. Laziness takes hold of her hunger and that’s why she keeps on meowing to me signalling that she wants me to swoop in the food into her mouth. Bare hands are also my only weapon when we battle against each other. She is armed with sharped claws and attacks me furiously while I stand aback looking so vulnerable. But still I play with her with my mighty little fingers. Hide-and-seek and soccer are not so foreign to us. We play them during those times when we get bored of wrestling. Also, like lovers, we get so lovey-dovey during cold weather. We cuddle in the sofa and fall asleep together. I just love her so much.

            But these happy moments are on a ‘pause’ mode now. Whenever I try to go near her, she flees away. And when I hold her, she slips and transfers to another place. When I sit beside her, she moves to the opposite direction. She only goes to me when I am eating. Maybe she is in the stage of adolescence where an individual starts doing a rebellion. I have no choice but to wait until everything goes back to normal. I shall wait patiently. I shall wait for the happy moments to ‘play’ again.