Just came back from the Philippines today & I am so damn tired. I think because of the conference which took too much of my brain cell with all the thinking & evaluation & question the past few days. It doesn't help that the hotel where we stay is situated exactly at downtown Malate which make it so noisy. The first day alone, I can't sleep because naturally I have problem sleeping at a new place for the first night & the other reason is because there are a bunch of teenager staying there & they were very noisy. I think I manage to sleep for only 2hrs. Oh yeah...not forgetting to mention how noisy the air condition & the fridge is, contributing to my difficulty of sleeping. Gosh...
Nevertheless, the next day I wore my pink cheongsam & we all off to the University of Santo Tomas where the 3days conference will be held. Now this university just celebrated its 400th birthday!!! Can you believe it, 400??? That make it the oldest university in Asia & probably among the oldest in the world. The university was started during the Spanish occupation in Philippines. I like the surrounding because they maintain the old design of the building & it just so lively. It is such a nice campus actually & they even have their own high school within the same compound. I met a lot of new nice friends during the conference and it is nice to work & know people from different background. We are all intellectual & academician (well...at least some of us are 'will be academician like me for instant..'..hahah). The topic of discussion also very interesting & trigger my mind about my own research. After my presentation, I feel relieve & relax.
I didn't really get the chance to really see Manila but at least we manage to go to Intramuros & hear some history of the place & also about the country from our very funny tour guide. Poverty is everywhere in Manila & you can see beggars everywhere. You can see the slum area even from the airplane just right before you landed at the airport. But one thing about the Filipino that amaze me is that, no matter how bad life treat them, they always find a way to be happy & not letting the poverty taking control of their life. The whole of 5 days I am in Manila, I have to give huge credit to their warm hospitality and going to that extra length just to make sure you are well taken care of. The group of student volunteers that work with us during the conference is just superb. They do whatever it take to make sure you are happy staying in their beautiful country.
Do I want to come back again? For sure I will. There is a lot of places in other part of the Philippines that I really want to see especially the countryside. There are so much I want to see in the country. I hope one day, I will come back again but as for now, so long Manila!
