From Isarog to Singapore Part 1

I am currently at the Terminal 3 of the Ninoy Aquino International Airport, bound for Singapore via flight 2P 800 arriving at 8:20pm.

This is basically my first time to travel abroad. Before, I thought that my first international flight would be a vacation trip with Tim but eventually it turned out that I'd be traveling alone. I am not literally alone, I am traveling with Kuya Ryvin, a very good friend of mine and of my brother's good friend. Perhaps it just so happened that we both dreamed of finding our luck in Singapore and we just felt that we had to do it now or we might regret not risking to make our dreams come true. 

I am quite excited to see how Singapore looks like. I am looking forward to explore what is in Singapore that drew me go there :) Anyhow, am writing this blog to share the must do's of a first time traveler, particularly in Singapore. This will be divided into parts, I just don't know how many it will be. Part I, I will be sharing my experiences in our own airport.

Ok, first things first. Yes, please do follow what the guideline at the back of your ticket says. You really need to be at the airport at least three hours before your boarding time. Checking-in early will save you the hassle. In our case, we are expected to be on board by 4:20pm, we arrived at the airport by 12:45pm. I checked in at Gate 6 and met Kuya Ryvin inside. 

We checked-in our luggages by 1:00pm, paid the travel tax (p1,620 each) and then proceeded to the departure area. We again paid the passenger service charge (p550 each) and filled in the departure card. BRING A BLACK PEN. For those who have plans of working in Singapore, make sure that you have the address where you will stay, especially if you're going to pretend that you will just tour around the city. Memorize the address, if necessary. 

Moving on, a crucial point is the screening by the immigration officers. Good thing, on my case, he just asked about my job and an ID. If you have resigned from your job in the Philippines, make sure that you still have your company ID, you will really need that to assure the immigration officers that you will still go back to the Philippines because YOU ARE STILL CONNECTED WITH A CERTAIN COMPANY. Be confident and memorize the details of your flight like the duration of your stay in Singapore and again the address of the house or the hotel where you will stay.

Furthermore, the immigration officer might still ask you about your itinerary. You can just tell him or her that your friends will tour you around Singapore and that you did not avail of the Singapore tour package offered in travel agencies. Just be confident. Do not let the immigration officer rattle you and never ever mention that you will try your luck in Singapore or else the first step of achieving your dreams will fade in an instant. Another thing, just bring enough clothes for your 'pseudo-trip', bringing too many clothes might ring a bell. 

Anyhow, that is all that I can share as of now. I will be blogging more when I get to Singapore. God bless everyone :)

Tintin Risked

by: Karl Llorin

Tintin laughed
Tintin wept
Tintin reached out and got involved
Tintin shared her ideas, dreams to each one of us
Tintin loved us and is loved in return
Tintin lives
Tintin believed
Tintin tried
Tintin risked
Tintin is really something
Tintin suffered
Tintin learned
Tintin changed
And if you did not notice, Tintin grew
Tintin is free

(Based from risk poem)

Courage

Funny how I suddenly remembered ‘Courage, the Cowardly Dog’, a cartoon series on Cartoon Network, while I was trying to look for a good title for my blog. I am not good with taglines nor coming up with creative names or titles for any event. Maybe creativity is not part of my system, maybe not yet or perhaps I am creative, it’s just that I can express it in a different outlet.

Courage. My personal definition of courage is simple; it is an intrinsic drive that can surmount any fear. I think all of us are afraid of something. It could be fear of insects, events or circumstances or simply fear towards another person. In my case, I have always been afraid of spiders and the water.

Fear of water. Don’t get me wrong here, I meant that I am afraid to drown that is why whenever our family would go out for a swim, I would usually enjoy the part where we would savor the flavorful scent of the food and let our taste buds complete the craving. I love being in the water but since all I do is to submerge myself in the pool eventually, I would end up shivering because I am literally doing nothing. I even remembered when my brother and I were still young, I dared him for a water race. I pretended that I was swimming but the truth was, my feet were guiding me in the sands while I was trying to move my arms as if I was doing the usual arm movement of a swimmer. He eventually realized that I was cheating.

I honestly cannot recall where my fear of water came about. What I know is that it was a struggle for me to trust my life to the water. I enjoyed going to the beach or the pool but it would have been more meaningful if I knew how to swim. Then alas! Another pool gathering was on the way. It was the annual Ateneo Personnel Club’s rest and recreation. It was an event that everyone was looking forward to. This year, the officers agreed to extend the invitation to the family members, I decided to invite Tim.

May 12, 2012. A day that I can never forget. It was the day when I gathered all my courage to try again to learn how to swim. Tim has been teaching me for a while now but I seem too hard-headed to listen to him. ‘I will drown’ was always my mindset whenever I tried to do the most basic in swimming, to float. I did not know what came across my mind that night but I said to myself ‘it’s either I learn now or I will never enjoy the water’. Drowning was no longer an option.

I tried to relax, inhaled all the air that my lungs can accommodate and suddenly I found myself floating, with my eyes open and appreciating the luminescence of the stars. I did it! I conquered my fear! I never knew it felt this good. I never imagined that I could stay in the pool until 2:00 in the morning without getting bored. I never knew that I could also do the breathing techniques. I never knew all these things if I did not try. Finally, I can partly cross out ‘Learn how to swim’ in my bucket list. Yes, partly because I intend to practice more. Hopefully, I could do the same with my fear of spiders but it will be a process, a long process.

Trying and risking. These are one of the few things that I learned in life. One will never know if they will not try, if they will not risk. I did these a number of times, particularly in my career. Just like now, I risked my job to try my luck in a foreign land. I am bound for Singapore on May 19, 2012, it will be a new chapter that will be unfolded with God’s grace. I remembered one of my aunt asking while we were having the usual family breakfast after the church service if I was nervous. I said no, I knew in my heart that this is what I wanted. I knew in my heart that it is what God also desired for me. I knew these because I prayed for it and God gave me the signs that I needed. I am not afraid because I know HE will be with me. What would you fear if you have God beside you right?

Perhaps this is the reason why I am never afraid to risk. I am never afraid to let go, because I know that HE has greater plans for me. I don’t know but everything will REALLY fall into place if you pray for it. To be honest, leaving the country was already my plan 3 years ago and it took a while before God gave me the sign that I am ready to go. I think He prepared me for it, He prepared my family for it and most importantly, He prepared me spiritually. It really took a lot of patience on my part to wait. I am not fond of ‘patience’ but He taught me the true meaning of patience, it is leaving all your worries to Him and just let Him work. After all, there are a lot of circumstances which are out of our control.

Maybe, just maybe, I have found a new definition of courage. It is trusting God to work in your life because He knows what is best for you.     

A Boys Scout's Lesson

I recently became sick and it was that worse that I thought I would stay in the hospital for a couple of days but when the doctor gave me that 'shot' through direct IV, I somehow felt a little better and decided to just stay home instead. I never told any of my relatives because I don't really want them to worry. I know that I'd be fine but one of my favorite uncle (my mom's brother) suddenly sent me a text message which was really sweet. It was something that he learned when he was a member of the boy scouts.

'Thank God. Nice to hear that. One thing I learned about duties when I joined the boy scouts during my elementary years: duty to self, duty to others, duty to country, duty to God. Duty to self is intrinsic. After all self-preservation is the first law of nature. But for people who have been raised to look after the welfare of others - like you - sometimes the self is relegated. Take care of yourself always. We are more effective influence to others when we are in good health. God bless.' (Sent last April 29, 2012, 7:59am) 

Summer Na! Dive Na!