The day, December 30, 2000 was a much-awaited day for me. Having lived away from the Philippines for 23 years now, due to studies and work, it has always been very refreshing (sometimes nostalgic) to come back with my husband and children. This time the visit was made even more special because there was the big high school reunion to go to. Has 35 years really gone by ? It seemed only like yesterday that our dynamic teachers like Mr. Martin, Mrs. Tecson, Mrs. Caraan-Rubio, Miss Dumlao, Mr. Sheehan and others were helping us learn many things including about life itself.

It was good to be in San Fernando already the night before the reunion and have an early breakfast and chat with classmates Lisa Lopez-Valerio, Dan Galang and Mars Morales and our Peace Corps teacher, Jerry Sheehan. The memorable visit to the PHS main grounds and the annex near the provincial capitol, the trek to my old neighborhood Teopaco, and the lunch at our classmate Benito Velasco’s place – set the tone for the big day. Setting foot on the PHS grounds after 35 years brought many memories, a deep sense of belongingness, and a feeling of wanting to go back where I started.

During the reunion itself in the afternoon, it was a joy to see classmates and teachers again. Even after 35 years, I thought we were all looking and feeling young, full of smiles and spirit, just like high school kids again. The garden at the reunion site, the Grace Lane Hotel, was beautiful and welcoming. The food, including the Pampango specialities like burong isda, inihaw na dalag, nilagang okra at ampalaya, the lechon, the buco sherbet, and the anniversary cake, was superb. The program, hosted by Dodo Ocampo and Rose Estrabillo, was vey entertaining.

The joyous occasion had more than reunited us classmates after many years. It served as a catalyst, a good reason for us to get connected again and to search for long-lost classmates. It meant a year of preparation, locating one another, gathering and exchanging ideas, planning, fund raising, and looking forward to the reunion day. During that span of one year, we rekindled friendship, recounted our experiences, and updated one another on what had transpired since high school. We even built a website (phs65.freeservers.com) where we placed our graduating class list and update on the reunion plans, shared our high school memories and collected pictures of us – then and now. We trust we will continue writing to one another even after the reunion is over.

Most of all, the reunion has opened a door for us to work together again and contribute to a common cause. Through the PHS ’65 foundation, we hope to be of help such as by financing college scholarships and other worthwhile projects. Having had for myself the opportunity of a five-year college scholarship sponsored by the former Pampanga governor and senator Sotero Baluyut following high school graduation, I can only attest to the impact of scholarships to those students needing financial assistance. That opportunity given to me has shown the truth of my family’s favorite Chinese proverb, ‘Give a man a fish and you will feed him for a day. Teach him how to fish and you will feed him for a lifetime’.

For the wonderful time we all had together, not just on the reunion day itself but in the course of preparing for it, I could only express a great appreciation to each and everyone of us, classmates, teachers, friends and families, for the support in terms of time, effort, financing, and simply being there at the reunion in person and spirit. I’m looking forward to many more high school reunions!