Reminiscin Japan

Last year, during these times, I was happily making the most out of my brief stay in Japan. I just want to look back and reminisce my Japan experience…
It’s really such a beautiful country. My friends and I saw Mt. Fuji at the viewing site in Hakone. It was magnificent and the Japanese were so proud of it. They always remind us to see Mt. Fuji because they respect and adore it so much. When we finally saw it, most of my Pinoy friends secretly said that our very own Mt. Mayon was more beautiful – sans the snowcap. Haha.. Love your own! At least we were patriotic.

 

I ate the Black egg (supposed to add 5 years to your life…haha)

 

and rode on the pirate ship

and on the ropeway…

 

..and the giant wheel

 

..and roller coaster!

We also went to see the Tokyo tower, and Sea Paradise.

And of course, shopping! Thanks to our generous Japanese sponsors..

5th and Last USEP Monthsary.

The Fifth and the Last...

Life is really full of surprises. Of twists and turns. I never thought my stay with USEP would be brief. I once wrote on my journal that my vision is : to be one of the best IT educators/practitioners in Davao City... I wrote that with a promise in my heart that I will be with a university in Davao that will help me fulfill my vision.
USEP has not failed to teach me the things I needed to learn. It was not a smooth ride right from the start. I had to adjust to the new environment, the culture, and the people around...

Though it was really a brief stay, I will still miss the people who made my life easier - my officemates and students. Some of the students may hate me for failing them, for not being able to give my hundred percent, or for notbeing able to meet their expectations.

I admit I was not at my best this semester. I was stressed and tired almost everyday that I had to literally drag my feet to my classes. Every time I see or notice disappointment in the eyes of my students, I always felt incompetent and unworthy to be standing in front of them. I felt that if my previous students could only see how I performed here, they wouldn't be so proud of me anymore...Haha. I tried my best to regain my strength and show some enthusiasm but I failed many times. If I have one regret in my stay with USEP, it is that I wasn't able to really give the best of me coz I allowed stress and pressure to get in the way.

How to Secure Clearance from CHED

Last year, I had a terrible and traumatic experience with the Immigration officers at the Ninoy Aquino International Airport (NAIA). I was told by the officer that I could not board the plane to Japan for my ENIT training because I was “hit”. Being “hit” meant that I was in the hold-departure list. At first I thought someone with the same name as mine had criminal records… but then, a realization struck me! Those horror stories were true… One of my classmates in my Master’s in IT who was also on CHED scholarship once told me that he was held at the airport because of CHED’s hold departure order. I kept this story in mind but was relieved when I got my NBI clearance without being “hit”. Yey, I was not on the list! And I thought I'd live happily ever after. Haha.

But, alas, doomsday came. I panicked and thought about what could be the reason why I am being held… could it be the DOST (PhiSci) scholarship or CHED? However at that moment, I didn’t have the luxury of time to assess whether it was DOST’s or CHED’s ghost chasing me. I only had to focus on how I could board that plane… Luckily, the immigration officers told me that I could ask my friends at MSU to send my travel order through fax since I reasoned that I will only be out of the country for a 3-week training. Good thing I had a bunch of reliable and helpful friends at MSU-GenSan who helped me and I was able to successfully get on board to Japan.

Until now, I could not forget the faces of the immigration officers and NAIA guards. The stern look on their faces warning me that it was my first and last time to go abroad without any clearance from DOST or CHED. They gave me a sermon on how iskolars ng bayan (scholars) should pay back to the government after having enjoyed the benefits of the scholarship. So, now that I am about to go abroad again, I BADLY need that CLEARANCE!!! I called Pisay Davao to ask how I could get cleared from my obligations to Pisay and DOST. Our sweet registrar told me that Pisay has already lifted our travel ban a long time ago. Yes! DOST-PhilSci eliminated from the list of suspects! Hehe.. And that leaves CHED as the primary suspect. Aha!

So I went to CHED (Davao)’s office last November 5, 2010 to inquire about how I could get my clearance. Fortunately, the people there were friendly and accommodating. One of them gave me the email ad of the contact person in Manila who knows the requirements for the clearance. And these are:
1. request letter
2. certified true copy of diploma and TOR
3. certification of completed return service obligation duly signed by the head of office of the sending institution.

Whew! I didn’t know there were a lot of requirements. I thought I only needed the certificate of employment. Huhu.. Poor me! So, I got to go now and try to satisfy all the requirements. By the way, you have to submit these documents to CHED 2 weeks before departure date…

Here is CHED’s address:
Faculty Development Program-II
Commission on Higher Education
Ground Floor, Higher Education Dev’t Center
Corner University – C.P. Garcia Avenues,
University of the Philippines, Diliman, Quezon City
(02) 441-1192

Good luck!

Chances

Sometimes, in life, there are just things that are hard to accept, such as things and people that are just not meant for you. I've been very lonely for quite some time and I took comfort in the "friendship" of a person who held a very special place in my heart. I tried to convince myself that it was OK to still have contact with him because after all, he is the only person in this world who is capable of making me happy without exerting much effort.

I was lonely because I was struggling with my new work load, new work environment - with no friends to comfort me. I was always sad and his texts were the only things that could cheer me up.

I took the chance to be with this person for several stolen moments because I knew that I would be happy when I'm with him. But the pain of separation was always a lot more difficult each time - for me. I have often wondered why God allowed our paths to cross - because ever since I've known him, I have always longed to be with him.

I could not even blame him for taking advantage of me. I was lonely and vulnerable and I needed him. I was a very open target for anyone who needed something to play with. I'm hurting but I pray that God will heal me and give me peace.