Hey there, this morning, we left our house at 4 a.m. and journeyed to Davao City to follow up any more of the things that I might need for college. With mama, my Aunt, cousin and my cousin's wife, we searched around the vicinity of Ateneo de Davao University. We found a small apartment with a few residents and two rooms vacant. I took the room on the first floor with the condition of 2,500 pesos a month and an additional 100 pesos for each appliances that used a lot of electricity.
It's not a bad deal, actually, so I decided to take it. After our intention was carried out, I went in for some measurements for the uniform and then spent a few hours at the mall before heading back to our home.
The details in here may be a bit short because we didn't really do anything special, except for a very delicious lunch and an unbelievable 4-hour trip home (since usually it's only three hours). And of course, the new emotions that swelled up within me.
Surveying my new residency ignites a new realization that opened my eyes to the implications of the accomplishments we had today. Living alone in the city...budgeting my own time and expenses...surviving in a foreign land and an alien school... I am mixing both excitement and dread- excitement for the freedom, independence and lessons that will be learned and dread for the possibilities of failures with what most termed as "culture shock" and misinformed decision.
Nevertheless... I am looking forward to my days in this new territory and will definitely do my best. But since classes won't start yet until June, I'm sure I may be updating you for a while.
Friday, April 9, 2010
Tuesday, April 6, 2010
Finally Enrolled in College!
Finally, this is the day that I officially made myself a part of Ateneo de Davao University school system. And sure enough, it was a tiring and uncomfortable yet rewarding journey. Let me first start from the very beginning.
Leaving our house at around 2 in the morning, we arrived in Davao City at around 5 in the morning. Taking our breakfast and taking care of personal needs, we resumed our journey by arriving outside the gate of Ateneo. Parking our Galloper 2 car that faithfully carried us all the way from Agusan del Sur to an available area, we decided to kill time by hunting for nearby dormitories, apartments and boarding houses that may become practical for my stay in College.
Although, I wasn't really aiming for a luxurious life and unparalleled state of living, I found that none of these satisfy my tastes, so, we returned to Ateneo and decided for the opening time there. It took us around two hours of idle waiting, much to my dismay and another hour for the cashier to start its services.
Once it opened, we paid (I was accompanied by my cousin) for the fee for a medical check up for a medical clearance. After visiting the university's clinic, we found out that the physician wouldn't arrive until 9:30 (we payed at around 8:30, by the way). This equates another hour of waiting for us.
However, once the hour is up, the examination went fast. A nurse took my blood pressure, height and weight and recorded it in a sheet, then the physician was ready to investigate. Although I was expecting earlier that we will be having lab tests and such, I am much relieved that she's only checking basic status like the ear, vision, and etc. That took no time at all.
After the test, the medical clearance was released and we photocopied it as was stated in the requirements. Once we turned in the requirements at the designated room (I forgot where), we found out that we would have to pay 200 pesos for the processing fee and thus off we went again. Although this proved to be a great nuisance since the lane went longer as more people arrived and thus we have to wait for a few hours, yes take note, hours, just to pay as little as 200 pesos. Ugh! The time, which is by now 11:00 a.m. went to a slow crawl and thus we decided to take a break and take our lunch at a nearby eatery.
Once we did so, I filled up a necessary form and we resumed the line once again. Oh and I almost forgot, since the line is based on number system drawn before each transactions, it was easy for us to simply resume and not have another person take our place or priority number.
It wasn't until 1:30 pm that we are finally able to pay this 200 pesos. Once this was done, we returned to the "New Student Counter" which is closed and we have to wait for another few minutes before it opened. Luckily, they came back fast and it prevent further delays on our part. After showing the receipt, all the rest flow in. I came in a section to write an essay, then set up for the interview, and I'll just have to wait for them to print up some forms and of course, my schedule for this school year.
Once this is done, we did the necessary forms and filled them up. This time, we have to pay for the units (tuition) and other miscellaneous fees. This is a relief because there is a specialized area for this one and not the regular cashier windows. In this window, it is set apart from the others because only those that are paying for this specific item are allowed to line up here and thus, it wasn't as long as the previous one.
After paying, we went to the guidance office, filled up another form and was in for a short orientation about the guidance center services. After this, all I need to do is finish the enrollment, gear up for a picture taking and I'm done.
The efforts are rewarded by a temporary I.D, an official admission to the university and shiny badge to indicate that I am now a freshman of Ateneo de Davao University.
Leaving our house at around 2 in the morning, we arrived in Davao City at around 5 in the morning. Taking our breakfast and taking care of personal needs, we resumed our journey by arriving outside the gate of Ateneo. Parking our Galloper 2 car that faithfully carried us all the way from Agusan del Sur to an available area, we decided to kill time by hunting for nearby dormitories, apartments and boarding houses that may become practical for my stay in College.
Although, I wasn't really aiming for a luxurious life and unparalleled state of living, I found that none of these satisfy my tastes, so, we returned to Ateneo and decided for the opening time there. It took us around two hours of idle waiting, much to my dismay and another hour for the cashier to start its services.
Once it opened, we paid (I was accompanied by my cousin) for the fee for a medical check up for a medical clearance. After visiting the university's clinic, we found out that the physician wouldn't arrive until 9:30 (we payed at around 8:30, by the way). This equates another hour of waiting for us.
However, once the hour is up, the examination went fast. A nurse took my blood pressure, height and weight and recorded it in a sheet, then the physician was ready to investigate. Although I was expecting earlier that we will be having lab tests and such, I am much relieved that she's only checking basic status like the ear, vision, and etc. That took no time at all.
After the test, the medical clearance was released and we photocopied it as was stated in the requirements. Once we turned in the requirements at the designated room (I forgot where), we found out that we would have to pay 200 pesos for the processing fee and thus off we went again. Although this proved to be a great nuisance since the lane went longer as more people arrived and thus we have to wait for a few hours, yes take note, hours, just to pay as little as 200 pesos. Ugh! The time, which is by now 11:00 a.m. went to a slow crawl and thus we decided to take a break and take our lunch at a nearby eatery.
Once we did so, I filled up a necessary form and we resumed the line once again. Oh and I almost forgot, since the line is based on number system drawn before each transactions, it was easy for us to simply resume and not have another person take our place or priority number.
It wasn't until 1:30 pm that we are finally able to pay this 200 pesos. Once this was done, we returned to the "New Student Counter" which is closed and we have to wait for another few minutes before it opened. Luckily, they came back fast and it prevent further delays on our part. After showing the receipt, all the rest flow in. I came in a section to write an essay, then set up for the interview, and I'll just have to wait for them to print up some forms and of course, my schedule for this school year.
Once this is done, we did the necessary forms and filled them up. This time, we have to pay for the units (tuition) and other miscellaneous fees. This is a relief because there is a specialized area for this one and not the regular cashier windows. In this window, it is set apart from the others because only those that are paying for this specific item are allowed to line up here and thus, it wasn't as long as the previous one.
After paying, we went to the guidance office, filled up another form and was in for a short orientation about the guidance center services. After this, all I need to do is finish the enrollment, gear up for a picture taking and I'm done.
The efforts are rewarded by a temporary I.D, an official admission to the university and shiny badge to indicate that I am now a freshman of Ateneo de Davao University.
Image: The AdDU pin that came with the temporary I.D.
Although, the above entry summarizes the entire activity nicely, I must say that it took an entire day to accomplish right from the beginning of 8:00 in the morning until late in the afternoon at 5:00. And I repeat, it was a tiring yet rewarding work.
We arrived home at around 8:30 in the evening and after taking our supper, head on for a well deserved relaxation. Well, we definitely need to relax because in the next school year, stress...stress... and work will come our way. Although I must admit, I am very...very...happy that I am able to accomplish this day and marked a new beginning- a beginning that houses the very door to adulthood and independence.
Goodbye High School and W E L C O M E to COLLEGE!
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