--::: OUTBOUND ACTIVITIES :::--
With the help of LAKBAY Kalikasan, our high school outbound activities in St. Theresa's College became a splendid moment for us. We didn't only had so much fun as we explore new sights and places but we, too, enriched our minds with education from lectures, thoughts from the facilitators and most of all, from the experiences. LAKBAY Kalikasan started to cooperate with our school when we reached in our sophomore year and we were glad that together with our STC family, they became a part of our memories. Generally, they taught us how to protect nature in several ways. They ennumerated alternative ways of preserving earth such as recycling, zero-waste management and many more. Here's a short narration of what we experienced on our outbound activities:
FOUR4'S EXPERIENCES:
[ insights on our experiences during our outbound activities ]
SECOND YEAR OUTBOUND ACTIVITY
LOCATION: Mount Makiling, Los Baņos, Laguna
DATE: January 25, 2002
So we packed our bags on the night of the 24th of January, 2002. Everyone was indeed very excited and was ready to go to the trip the following morning. Everybody got up early on the 25th because we were expected to leave school at 5:30 a.m. We all knew that we would definitely have a wonderful time in Mount Makiling.
When got off the bus and headed to UP Los Baņos wherein we visited a museum of artifacts about Philippine's finest treasures from nature. Lakbay Kalikasan gave us pamphlets to fill up and somehow it was a thrill of finding out the answers to those questions which we can get from the museum. Through this experience we appreciated the beauty of life and nature. We learned so much and gained added information about nature.
And the excitement went up when we started to trek at the foot of Mount
Makiling. It required skills and strategy to withstand the activity. It was
also an enjoyable moment with our classmates. Some of us slipped and smashed
their knees on muddy slopes. And as we went on, Lakbay Kalikasan kept on
giving basic information by having a stop over at a specific place. It was
really a long trekking but then, it seemed that all our sweat had gone when
we already heard the rush of the river below. We helped one another going
down. It was not that easy. Some of us can't wait to reach there and enjoy
the river. It was truly a nice experience reaching that place. We can't help
but take some pictures and splash water from one another.
So after this exhausting dip at the river, we headed back to our bus to take our meals and change our clothes so we could get ready to get home. Even though we all wanted to stay longer, we didnt have enough time to do so. When we were on our way back home, our facilitators and Mr. Sebastian started to tell us some scary stories which were really creepy. We had forgotten the traffic and enjoyed the rest of the day in the bus.
This outbound will surely be unforgettable for us, because on this day, we saw in each other each ones respect and compassion to their peers or classmates. And now, we'll see Mount Makiling as a special place because we had a nice time then.
THIRD YEAR OUTBOUND ACTIVITY
LOCATION: Majayjay, Rizal
DATE: January 24, 2003
We had two coasters per section and reached the beautiful Majayjay. Since then we were all talking about the falls because some of our teachers told us that Taytay falls was the exact location of ABS-CBN's Tabing Ilog Introduction shot. We assembled at the gate 3 gym at 5:30 am. It was a good sunrise and we all expected for a memorable day.
Finally, we first went down to Pila & Magdalena, Laguna to visit some old churches & houses. We viewed many things. We appreciated memorabilia of the past and were amazed to new stuffs we never saw before. It was in Pila Laguna that the first film camera in the Philippines was made. We also saw old artifacts that showed Philippine's good culture. The Church of Pila was also the place where Emilio Aguinaldo died. We even saw the exact place where his bleeding body fell. We really learned a lot from our facilitator's lectures. We learned about how the community started and about Christianity. We saw old pulpitos (a place where the friars preside homilies) that proved the remarkable influence of Spaniards back then.
After that, we head our adventure towards Taytay falls. We walked a bit far but then, we really enjoyed the laughter of everyone as we walk. We even took pictures. We witnessed the townspeople and somehow knew about their lifestyle. We realized how hard it was to live in a far away barrio. Then at last, we hurriedly went down as we hear the speeding water. It was a bit chilly maybe because of the falls. The place was so rocky, we actually had a hard time going near to the falls. It was slippery yet very exciting. The water was extremely cold and the rush of water was so strong. We also experienced passing under the falls. It was a nice experience. We took pictures and appreciated the beauty of nature once more.
We went home late due to traffic but then, we can say that the trip was so worthy. We had a quality time with our friends and teachers, at the same time, enjoyed the gifts of nature.
FOURTH YEAR OUTBOUND ACTIVITY
LOCATION: Sta. Lucia Complex, Mount Banahaw, Dolores, Quezonl
DATE: January 23, 2004
This was our last outbound trip with the class and we knew that this, aside from our graduation, would be one of the most unforgettable experience of high school life. We all wanted to make the best out of it and so we prepared ourselves for what we may expect and experience in this trip. As we arrived on the venue, we saw the big gate towards the entrance of Sta Lucia complex. We were welcomed by the religious group who takes good care of Mount Banahaw. We took our lunch at the local and LAKBAY Kalikasan gave a few information about the culture of the people there. Basically, we learned at that time to have much respect to the townspeople and to their beliefs. They may have a different way of praising and worship but then, the same with us, their faith is the most important thing.
We visited different "puestos" and prayed whole heartedly. Mount Banahaw is considered a sacred place and so, we gained much silence as a sign of respect for the beliefs of many people there. We were brought to Husgado, a 50-feet cave believed as a judgment place for your sins. If you lack faith, they believe that you'll have a hard time to enter the dark and narrow cave. And before each one experienced entering the cave, we prayed at Kuweba ng Inang Awa which implies to the belief that you plea for strength so that you may pass through Husgado safely. We all had our own fears and stories as we enter Husgado. Some said that it was hard but others said that they had an easy way out of the cave. We prayed the rosary as each one goes out of the cave.
We rested for a while and started our trek towards Santos Kalbaryo. We went up
for about one and a half hours. It was a perspiring and thirsty moment! It
really tested our capacity to withstand walking for long hours under the heat of
the sun. Many of us kept on uttering, "oi, malayo pa ba???" It was an
adventurous moment. We halped one another to believe that we can mak
e
it towards the top altogether. Then finally, we saw the big white cross and sat
near it. LAKBAY Kalikasan gave some lectures once more. We took pictures of the
beautiful place and soon, we went down. We rested for a while once more then, we
went on towards Fiedra Mental (269 steps) to reach the falls. It was said that
the water from the falls gives healing power and so, many devotees get water
from it. We had some time to swim and enjoy the presence of each other. Even
though it was for a short time only, we were blessed to reach that place.
It was nearly sunset when the bus started to move. As we went home filled with amazing experiences, deep in our hearts we're sure that we'll never forget Mount Banahaw. It was a place for sacredness and filled with nice people. We just hope that people would learn to respect and preserve the treasures in this mountain.