Here I Come, Southeast Asia!

Excited. It is my first time to travel abroad. For someone who dreams of seeing the world, this is such a BIG DEAL. Since I was young, I have always wondered what lies beyond the Philippines. Imagine my happiness when our instructor told us that we will have an educational trip in some countries of Southeast Asia! I said to myself that I need to join the trip by hook or by crook. Lucky for me, my parents are very supportive. They are more than willing to pay for all the expenses. These are the moments that I really feel blessed to have such loving parents!

(L-R: Me, Ate Faith, Papa, Chesca) My ever-supportive family dropped by the airport to wish us a safe travel and to give me my travel allowance.

(L-R: Grafer, Lilian, Jessica, Angelie, April, Mae, Harold, Me) My classmates and I are ready to travel as we're always ready to pose for the camera.

"The Pearl of the Orient Reaching Out to the Rest of Southeast Asia." This is the theme of our educational trip. I think it's really awesome! Plus, it embraces the objectives of our trip which is to witness first-hand the socio-cultural, economic and political condition of three Southeast Asian countries namely Thailand, Myanmar/Burma and Cambodia, and try to compare them with that of the Philippines. This Southeast Asian educational trip is a requirement for our Political Science 178 (Asian Politics) class.The way our instructor tried to modify her approach in teaching us Political Science is commendable because it should not be limited on learning and understanding theories in the classroom. It must also involve the actual engagement with the political actors in the international politics. The most valuable lessons are derived from first-hand experiences.

Our innovative instructor, Miss Anna Malindog, who persevered hard for our Southeast Asian trip to push through.

That's the whole gang with our streamer.

A little worried. My classmates and I will be gone in school for two weeks. That's a lot of missed school works that we would need to deal with after the trip. But who cares? This is an opportunity that I would never miss! I will temporarily set aside my other responsibilities as a student in order to fully enjoy the travel. I am a tourist for now, forget being a student. Well actually, I can't completely do that because this is supposedly an educational trip, hence, we are expected to observe and relate it to our lessons. Nevertheless, I am more enthusiastic into playing the tourist part.

Temporary Nomads. Since we are traveling cheaply, NAIA terminal 3 is our temporary refuge as we wait for our flight to Bangkok. It's quite a challenge to try to sleep comfortably on the cold, tiled floor and curvy, hard chairs at the airport the way regular travelers do. Day 0 of the trip is full of anticipation, excitement and a bit of worry about what lies ahead.

Getting comfy on the airport floor and chairs.

Even if a traveler's life is most of the time uncomfortable and hassle-filled, I would gladly embrace this kind of life.