It's past 1 am now. I can't believe I'm still awake. I had a wonderful time yesterday. It was our NSTP. It was this saturday when we have our Field Immersion. This is the most awaited part of NSTP because you get to meet new people and interview them about their status in their community. Basically, the people we meet are the people who get low profits from almost non-profitable jobs. I don't want to say "poor" people because personally, poor is a very painful word.
The first part of the immersion is the travel. It was a long, long, long, LOOOOOOOONG travel. Around an hour or so, I think. The road is part cemented, part not cemented or rocky. More uphill than downhill and the road is so narrow, you will feel that you will fall. It was around 500-1000 m above sea level, I think. I can see the city from up there. When we arrived there, we paired ourselves to 5 because we have 10 people in our group. My pair, Leslie, her pair, and I went to the boundary of the place and looked for houses for us to interview some people. When we arrived there, my pair and I went to a house and looked for the inhabitants of the house. A mother went out and we introduced ourselves. She was kind of shy because maybe it's her personality and based on her answers to our questions, she is a shy person. While in our interview, she breastfeeds her baby. (I am not a pervert. It just caught my eye.) After interviewing to the mother, we went to Leslie and her pair and we listened to the person they are talking to. After that, we walked back to the rendezvous place. Before we went there, I ate some food and gave the three girls some ice pops. Good stuff there. I was satisfied of what I bought and ate.
After that, the four of us decided to take some pictures. We found a bunch of kids and I asked them their names. They seem to be shy too because I think it was their first time to see city people in their community. Pretty sad, y'know. Anyway, we took some pictures. I even chased a baby goat. It was galloping all over the place and of course, the baby goats were guarded by their mother goat. As we continue forward, a beautiful house caught my eye. Although it was not painted, it was already considered a house compared to the other houses. This house is made of cement, has electricity, and a front yard. The other houses is made of wood. Not a very comfortable place to stay. I don't know how this people survive this lifestyle. The four of us decided to interview the inhabitants of the "decent" house. A mother again greeted us. She let us in and we start asking some few questions. After that, we started walking again. We meet our groupmates in other pairs and we now move in groups. We take pictures, talk, take more pictures, sight seeing, talk again and other stuff. What really touched me are the kids who wanted pictures of them. So, I borrowed a digital camera and I let the kids line up so that I can take a picture of them. They did what I said and they all smiled. I was enlightened when I saw the kids smile. I don't know anything about their lives but my instincts tell me that they haven't smiled like that for a lifetime. It was a fun moment. I even joined them in taking pictures. Bliss? I don't know.
It was sad when it was our time to leave. But we will be back there in two weeks time. So, I'll see those people again, those kids again, those smiles, laughters, welcomes, and more. I want to see them again and I can't wait for the next immersion. I can now understand what "Laughter is the best medicine." means. :)
And oh, we made fun of our classmates by taking them pictures while they are asleep. Holy crap, they're so cute. <3 style="font-style: italic;">"It's good to be just plain happy; it's a little better to know that you're happy; but to understand that you're happy and to know why and how and still be happy, be happy in the being and the knowing, well that is beyond happiness, that is bliss." -Henry Miller (1890-1981)
The first part of the immersion is the travel. It was a long, long, long, LOOOOOOOONG travel. Around an hour or so, I think. The road is part cemented, part not cemented or rocky. More uphill than downhill and the road is so narrow, you will feel that you will fall. It was around 500-1000 m above sea level, I think. I can see the city from up there. When we arrived there, we paired ourselves to 5 because we have 10 people in our group. My pair, Leslie, her pair, and I went to the boundary of the place and looked for houses for us to interview some people. When we arrived there, my pair and I went to a house and looked for the inhabitants of the house. A mother went out and we introduced ourselves. She was kind of shy because maybe it's her personality and based on her answers to our questions, she is a shy person. While in our interview, she breastfeeds her baby. (I am not a pervert. It just caught my eye.) After interviewing to the mother, we went to Leslie and her pair and we listened to the person they are talking to. After that, we walked back to the rendezvous place. Before we went there, I ate some food and gave the three girls some ice pops. Good stuff there. I was satisfied of what I bought and ate.
After that, the four of us decided to take some pictures. We found a bunch of kids and I asked them their names. They seem to be shy too because I think it was their first time to see city people in their community. Pretty sad, y'know. Anyway, we took some pictures. I even chased a baby goat. It was galloping all over the place and of course, the baby goats were guarded by their mother goat. As we continue forward, a beautiful house caught my eye. Although it was not painted, it was already considered a house compared to the other houses. This house is made of cement, has electricity, and a front yard. The other houses is made of wood. Not a very comfortable place to stay. I don't know how this people survive this lifestyle. The four of us decided to interview the inhabitants of the "decent" house. A mother again greeted us. She let us in and we start asking some few questions. After that, we started walking again. We meet our groupmates in other pairs and we now move in groups. We take pictures, talk, take more pictures, sight seeing, talk again and other stuff. What really touched me are the kids who wanted pictures of them. So, I borrowed a digital camera and I let the kids line up so that I can take a picture of them. They did what I said and they all smiled. I was enlightened when I saw the kids smile. I don't know anything about their lives but my instincts tell me that they haven't smiled like that for a lifetime. It was a fun moment. I even joined them in taking pictures. Bliss? I don't know.
It was sad when it was our time to leave. But we will be back there in two weeks time. So, I'll see those people again, those kids again, those smiles, laughters, welcomes, and more. I want to see them again and I can't wait for the next immersion. I can now understand what "Laughter is the best medicine." means. :)
And oh, we made fun of our classmates by taking them pictures while they are asleep. Holy crap, they're so cute. <3 style="font-style: italic;">"It's good to be just plain happy; it's a little better to know that you're happy; but to understand that you're happy and to know why and how and still be happy, be happy in the being and the knowing, well that is beyond happiness, that is bliss." -Henry Miller (1890-1981)
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