Just Jest

Our I/O Psychology class went out for a trip last Dec 9, 2013, and our professor chose Jest Camp (Jungle Environmental Survival Training Camp), Subic to be our venue. The place is good for class/employees/family/etc team-building activities. 'Twas a short trip, but it was fun.

The place was a 1-2 hour ride from Clark, Pampanga, and the view on the way there is really good. The mountains, the trees, oh well, you'll just hate to get back to your studies and to the city.

First, Kuya Nomer, a tour guide/survival trainer in Jest taught us how to survive in the wild (he said that what he taught us was just 10% of what we'll need to survive, other survival techniques will be taught if we spend the whole day and a night to three in the camp). He showed us how to make tableware out of some kind of trees. He also taught us how to make fire and how to cook using these tools from the environment.

Then the adventure began:

Aerial Adventure Walk

just set for the aerial adventure

scaredy cat forevs

Me having fun yeah

               

Soleily enjoying the "wrecking ball"-ish swing

sweet ladies

Jessica getting through one of the obstacles-- aerial barrels

Go Gela! Haha. That plank walk made my knees shake so badly it was embarrassing

During my aerial walk, I was screaming for help, I was even saying that I don't wanna continue anymore. It was just so thrilling for me, I was screaming my heart out. To console myself, I even did self-talks, asking myself to continue and stuff! Haha. After I finished the whole thing, my classmates applauded me (nakakahiya!), and said "Ate Shai, may natapos ka nang course!". Oh, these kids! If I just don't love them.

class shot after everyone's got their aerial walk turns

Then, off we went to Goliath's city for the Goliath's Swing 

This tall thing will swing you 30 feet above the ground. I wasn't able to experience this, because our entrance fee covers only one adventure. If we wanna do another, there'll be an additional fee

Yipeeeeeeee!!!!!

The skies so blue, the trees so green. I think when you're up there, you'll think that it's a good day to die

                   

not scripted! mouths are really hanging and the girls are screaming as soon as a person will start swinging, it was as if we were watching a horror/suspense picture

beautiful landscape!

the class seemed like they were watching a film ongoing while a person is being swung haha cute

class shot after the last person was swung

LOOFANG!

So, we ate dishes that were cooked in the native way or "Niluto sa Kawayan" as they call it.

Stroll before the trip back home

The place has its own wildlife park:

                     

And then, there's this awesome Maze of Misfortune, where we spent hours looking for colors to dip our fingers into. After each of the fingers in a hand of ours already got colored, we can go and consult the fortune chart on what's up with our fortunes:

 

The verdict: "It's witching night", I don't know what that means though. Others have more  exact fortunes like they'll fall in love on this certain day or something

It was really fun and there are a lot of other packages and adventures in the camp. Check it out here: http://www.jestcamp.com/. Another thing I loved there is the homey atmosphere among the workers, like: our tour guides were also the ones who were serving food, and cooking the dishes. :)

Photo Credits: Soleil Acu, MJ Fajardo, & Jessica Bonus
(huhu, forgot to bring my camera to the field trip)

One Rainy Saturday

Hola! It's been a while since I last wrote something here. I just found nothing much to blabber about, but just lately, I wanted to get back on writing on my blog again (I don't know but, the word "blogging" to me seems too-big-a-word that "bloggers" (people who blog and have like 2-3 digits for the number of their readers) only get to use). Lately, I've been piled up with hills of school works, that I found almost no time for anything else (hyperbole though), and now, I want to leave some time for "others" in my schedule when I could do activities that can serve as outlets of these dreamy girl inside my head.

Anyway, yesterday was a really happy day for me. I was happy to find rest and enjoy with my family while I got to do what I need to do, and do what I want to do. Yehey.

With the intensity of the rain and the coldness it brought yesterday, the desired peace and rest were welcomed. Whooo. I pray for more of those kinds of days to happen!

So, I spent the morning/noon finishing up my reports in my Human Development subject, even if I didn't need to do them yet-- I just wanted to finish everything so I could get to do what I want to do with my time not hurrying me.

And later in the afternoon, my family and I had a wonderful snack time.

Giant ensaymada given to my mom hahaha it's actually very sweet and delicious

Spag & ensaymada

Since it's cold, our drink was coffee, but since I'm not a fan of coffee, mine is milk coffee (sugared by condensed milk. How I treasure my figure!)

After snacks, my sister and I played scrabble! :) Hihi. She's such so lazy to play with her letters that I've won against her.

And after we played, my sibs and I watched Brave the animated film. Well, yea, siblingy bonding.

Done with the fun time, I resumed to my reviewing and studied my Experimental Psychology subject for an exam the following Tuesday. And after I read what I needed to read, I got back to my own realm and finished reading Dash & Lily's Book of Dares by Rachel Cohn and David Levithan.

And after a while of being so stressed by all these academic stuff I have, I finally got to devour a book again. I read until 1:39 a.m., and I've never felt so light this semester. It's been a long time since I last did this-- staying up late for a read, because I barely get to sleep at night, I usually just sleep instead of reading. I got to do this always when I was in high school, when school stuff don't really worry me even if I left them hanging until the due date because I can easily solve them all in a click. Oh well, and the book just got me hooked, I guess because of the easiness in it.

What a delightful Saturday it waaaas, and I found myself waking up to another bunch of non-Saturdays to deal with, that's life, I guess, it's cool anyway to spend time being challenged most of the time, because life would be sooo boring if one gets to rest majority of their lifetime.

I believe that happy hours were made less than the stressful ones so we will look forward to it, and not get used to the loveliness of it. Well, that, I think, is why Saturday was made only once a week.