SillyMommy

Wednesday, September 05, 2007

Of high school class reunions....

Halloo again! I'm back, two months from the last entry that announced that i was back! golleee. Just shows you how i'm living up to my tag lines: "so much to do and so little time..." and all that.

Just got back almost a week ago from attending my 30th year high school reunion in Silliman University. Yep, it sure was something---just seeing some folks you hadn't seen nor talked to in 30 years was one for the books! Of course there were the ones i'd met in between those 30 years, and it was still good to see them.
FRIDAY...
I left Gensan at 5:30am for Davao on a bus---to meet up with classmate Girlie F, and catch our 11:35 flight to Cebu. There, 10 minutes after we landed, we met up with my mom who was flying in from Gensan (the easier way than mine, yes---but that's another story. Took a cab to the bus stop to ride yet another bus (for me)to a ferry three hours away, which would then take us to Dumaguete City,the site of the reunion.
Had less than a couple of hours to freshen up at the best hotel in town (Bethel Hotel)before being whisked away to a classmate's home for the first of a series of parties. Well, this one came under the heading of "Welcome Party"...and indeed twas a blast to be reunited with our high school classmates of 1977 once more---though not much talk happened though...there were games and food galore to fill up the evening.
SATURDAY...
Day 2 saw Mom and me having our first giant Filipino breakfast of fried garlic rice, a plateful of danggit, omelette and a luscious ripe yellow mango...and barely a couple of hours after that, gathered with more classmates at a hotel owned by another classmate, Christy---for another sumptious meal (lunch). More time to chitchat with long-lost faces this time, plus a video conference with the batchmates in LA! Too bad we couldn't hear them, though---though obviously they could hear us! Twas a blast seeing them all (those who couldn't come home for the reunion for one reason or another). Favorite moment: when Hans B lifted his shirt to show off his beyond-lipo belly to the US contingent, and skinny Joel G on the other end reciprocating by showing his ...er...ribs??

A couple of hours later, checked out my favorite eating hole: Sans Rival restaurant for what else? the best sans rival in town(and in many towns, for that matter)! This chic pastry/pasta shop started with just 4 tables for the longest time, serving spag in a clay pot, and sans rival ('without rival')...our favorite pastry in the whole world. Today, it boasts of around 20 or so tables, spilling out onto the sidewalks, even.Plus more pastry, and more pasta....uh-ummmm goood! If i weren't wary of not fitting into my limited reunion clothes, i'd have spent merienda time there everyday, morning and afternoon!

Barely 3 hours later, we found ourselves making our way to the School of Business garden, this time for a special dinner tribute for our beloved high school teachers. Never in SUHS history had any batch gotten together this many teachers, nor paid them a very fitting and touching tribute they truly deserved! An unexpected surprise was when another long-lost classmate, Japanese Kunio Furukawa just quietly walked in to join the celebration. For a moment there, those who saw him thought he was someone's husband....until we all recognized him as the quiet Kunio! He had just flown in that afternoon for this occasion, flying out the following morning before anyone could really get to ask how he was. Phooey. But glad you made the trip, Kunio!So what else came on that evening? Aside from the joy of having our dear teachers recognize us after all these years (well, yes, some with the help of special ID's that had our 30-year old yearbook pics posted on them)...and singing to them, lining up and shaking their hands one by one (thank you, ma'am, sir...) we were divided into three groups: got dressed in silly costumes and danced to 'YMCA', and...ooops...Senior Moment here---i just forgot what the other two songs were...but hey, we were all good! The night was made more memorable with the clamshells given to each teacher (plus a scroll bearing our 'tribute' message), which contained a pearl on a rope chain, symbolizing our pearl year (30)...Of course, Cecille's lovely centerpieces (three-sided black framed yearbook pictures circling a candle added more magic to the evening. And what party would be complete if there wasn't any dancing to the 70's tunes? The night seemed young, and folks kept wondering why Ana was sending us home, music was being turned on and off...goodnights were being said...yun pala,'twas nearing midnight! And the clock struck 12 as we reached our hotel, prompting Girlie and me to turn down an invite to have a drink and go disco...
SUNDAY
After all,we all had a 7am assembly call the following day! This time, it was to the Bahura Beach Resort in Dauin that we were headed.There, we found team-building facilitators waiting for us, as well as a team of young (handsome/pretty) doctors. After a quick merienda, we gathered for a little Christian devotional, with Noel S surprising everyone with a wonderful little homily. we were divided into three teams---each one given assignments in deep Cebuano, each one accessible only after we either swam, kayaked, crawled, etc our way to it!! Jeez!! Never for so long a time have we been so grimy and sweaty and tired the way we were after half a day of all that activity! After a rushed lunch, i just had to hit the showers---before rejoining the teams for more less-active bonding. We got home in the early evening, tired, a shade or two darker, but happy. Unfortunately for me and another batchmate (another Girlie), we had committed to meet with our sorority sisters and brother fraternity for a late dinner (late? our 8pm order came at 10!). Almost fell asleep in my soup there...
MONDAY
Would have loved to wake up late for once (but noooo....each day i was up with the birds!)...but instead i found myself and mama having breakfast with cousins Kuya Sonny from Las Vegas and his brother Douglas (now Leyte-based). Kuya Sonny was hoping to bump into his own high school batchmates(SUHS class '55), while Kuya Douglas belonged to Class '61 (no such luck to the very end, am afraid).Went to check out the local shops for an hour, before heading off to meet up with my batch, this time for brunch, courtesy of Anne France, at their Spanish Heritage events venue.Afterwards, dashed off to shop for a cap with classmate Dory, before heading off to Campus to assemble for the city-wide Founder's Day parade...oopsie.gotta break for din-din! ciao!