“My Baguio Trip”

An excerpt from an e-mail of Hella
July 19, 2009 (Sunday) 8:39A.M.

Hi teacher,

How have you been? How is your work going? Any new students? Well talking about me,
I am ok. I got here in Manila safe on Tuesday and I had a trip to upper Luzon as I planned. On Wednesday night, I left Manila for Banaue. I took the night bus and it took 10 hours. It was raining all day but I had to take this rice terraces tour right I got there. Even though I was really tired in the morning, I took this tour. It takes one and a half hour to get to Batad, where the rice terraces are. There starts the hiking. Because of the rain, the road was really slippery and water blocked my eyesight and it was really foggy. The road is so steep but my tour guide and I made it.


Rice terraces are really amazing. It is bigger and wider than I expected. There were only few tourists but we were all amazed by the fantastic view and the 2000 years of work. They are really old and the people there are keeping this tradition for thousands of years. I am sorry I can't show the pictures now. I will send them to you when I get back to Korea. After this tour, I was exhausted in the evening and I fell asleep as soon as I finished eating my dinner.
The next morning, I left Banaue for Sagada but there isn't any direct bus for Sagada. So, I went first to Bontoc and there I transferred to another jeepney via Sagada. Because of the rain for days, the road was all damaged. There were so many puddles and it was a disaster. There were so many land slides all over the places. It was really dangerous. Actually, it was a crazy idea to take a trip during this time but you know sometimes I become stubborn and must stick to my old decision.


Sagada is known for its coffins stuck in the cliff and cave tours. When I got there, it was noon. I didn’t have lunch, so I was very hungry. I got my dorm and started this tour again but this time with a Filipino couple. I know I have to be careful with strangers but I loved them. They were really nice, kind and helpful. Because of them, my trip became more meaningful. Anyway, I saw some coffins hung in the cliff and some coffins at the entrance of the cave. I didn't dare to go farther because of this damn rain.


The next morning, I wanted to go back to Manila. I was really sick and tired of the rain but the problem was there weren't any buses going there. The road was closed due to land slides. Usually, tourists go to Baguio and then move to Manila. But this time it was impossible. Instead of taking the ordinary route, I decided to go to Bontoc to take a cable tour bus that takes a different road. It takes twelve hours to travel back to Manila but I didn’t have a choice.
In the middle of the road, we encountered a land slide right in front of us. It just fell 50 meters before us. We could have been dead! Thank God we stopped and there we waited for help and assistance for one and a half hour. European tourists got really excited to see this. They seemed to enjoy this disaster. Well, I did too…., a little bit.. kkk… After around two hours, we started off and I got here in Manila four in the morning. I shared the taxi with an American guy and I got to my pension house safely. It was the toughest trip I've ever had but I really enjoyed it.
Well that's all for now. Today, I will have a relaxing time in my room. I miss you and your journalism class. That was the best thing I had in CELI. Thank you for everything you did for me.

Hella

My Trip to Bohol Island

By: Sindy

(Excerpt from CELISTIAL June - July 2009 issue)

My favorite trip is coming.Saturday morning, my friends and I assembled in the Celi’s lobby at 8:30 A.M. We waited for the bus that will take us to the pier. Everyone was expecting this trip.After two hours on the boat voyage, we arrived in Bohol Island smoothly. Even though it was raining, we still felt happy

and excited.

The driver took us to the Loboc River First, but there were too many people during lunch time.We decided to change the schedule temporarily. Then we came to a special place, and watched the most famous animal ``Tarsier’’ there.Tarsiers are a kind of monkey with very big eyes.They are really very small and cute. They are not hyper,and never move almost. I think maybe they are not really lazy. They are hardly workingfor their jobs. So they are always still and just move their necks to face many cameras everyday.They always open their big and bright eyes to be professional models. Anyway the tarsiers catch my attention successfully. I really love them.

After visiting the tarsiers, we went back to the Loboc River. We had a very special experience to eat lunch on the river. We rode a boat and ate buffet. During the meal time, there were a guitarist and a singer singing for us. Their voices were really good and gave us relaxed feelings.We can enjoy the beautiful view, delicious food and joyful music at the same time. I won’t forget it easily.

The third place we arrived was Baclayon church. It was built in 1727,and it was the oldest coral stone church in the region. How lucky we were! When we arrived there, we saw a couple of newly wed. The bride wore a pretty long white gauze, and there was so much happiness on her face. The groom was also a handsome guy. I think they’ll live together happily until their hair become black.

Then, we came to our hotel that was near the sea. I order a beef steak and a cup of coconut juice for dinner. We can eat dinner and listen to the voice of the sea wave. during the dinner time, it rained again. I don’t worry about the rain falling. I enjoyed the natural and harmonious music in this beautiful night.Sunday morning, we finished the breakfast at 9:00 A.M. We went to the beach with pure and white sand. The sun was shining upon the sea. Everything became dazzling and bright. I took many photos there.

After a short beach time, we decided to ride a small boat and went to visit another island. The boater took us near an island. We wore the life vests and swimming glasses. Then we jumped into the sea. I watched many kinds of fishes and colorful corals under the sea. The diver performed a splendid feeding show for us.He dived into the deep sea, and ripped the bread in his hands. Then there were many fishes swimming to him quickly. It looked like a dancing party under the sea.

We enjoyed every activities in Bohol Island. It was really a special and wonderful trip experience for me. Someday I will come back to Philippine, and I will visit Bohol Island again.