What’s UP, Los Baños?

Students coming out of their dorms and walking around campus

This used to be the big tree near the Admin

Carabao Park

Carabao Park

Back of CEM and DAERS

Waiting shed near PhySci (back of Humanities)

Waiting Shed near PhySci

A view from Palma Bridge

Umali Auditorium

I think one of the memories I have of UPLB is during the typhoon season, especially ones that are as strong as todays’ Typhoon Milenyo. As early as 5.30am in the morning, we go out of our rooms (I stayed at Women’s) and ask each other “May pasok kaya?”. And while certain that there will be no classes, still prepare ourselves to go to class. Kahit brownout. Kahit walang tubig. Kahit may gumamit ng tubig na inipon ko sa balde ko. No hot water so I can’t have my coffee. No breakfast, for that matter. So we survive with chirchiria the rest of the day. Snuggle in bed all the day. Or perhaps talk, talk, talk all day. Always complaining for the electricity to come back, for water to flow, for the winds to stop howling. And wondering how the campus looks like after the storm.

Calm after the storm. I always think of this phrase after a typhoon hits Los Baños. You know when a typhoon has passed because it suddenly becomes quiet. Calmness descends. And you can see the sun starting to shine behind the clouds. Quite suddenly too, it’s like the campus starts to come alive. Everyone eager to come out and have a look around the campus. Anong puno kaya ang natumba? Everybody hungry, too. I do remember that there were times when there is nothing to do in dorm anymore, my friends and I would just decide to watch a movie at Agrix.

I hope the typhoon passes out of Los Baños soon. I’m so hungry now.

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I usually go home on Fridays since my hometown is just another town in Laguna. So I never really experienced staying at the campus over the weekend. Coming back to UPLB years after college, and having such a hectic schedule, I go home every other weekend now. What’s life in UPLB over the weekend? Well, Baker Hall seems to be the center of activity as I soon found out. It’s like family day actually, from morning when the active ones go out to jog bringing kids and dogs. Some families have their picnics beneath the numerous trees surrounding the upper field. The golden shower trees lining the street near the dorms have grown, providing ample shade. They were still seedlings then. If I remember right, they planted that during the alumni homecoming sometime in the early 90s. Today, there are a couple of benches around the field so you don’t have to bring your own mat. It’s actually a good place to sit and do boy (or girl!) watching. The fertility is still there, of course. The Saturday I went there, I saw people having a picnic, some families playing badminton, another group doing the tai-chi. Some students are practicing softball. Every Saturday afternoon, the soccer field is busy with soccer, soccer and more soccer. Several groups of players are practicing as you will see in the pictures below. My favorite site is the football school for kids. Really starting `em young! Other sports? It seems every nook and cranny of Baker Hall is busy – tennis, badminton, basketball etc…

What do you do on Saturdays?

Going to Baker Hall from the Audi, Palma Bridge or Forestry, you’ll pass by this huge acacia a.k.a. the Fertility Tree. Good for people watching and picnics especially on a Saturday afternoon. The sidewalk on this side of the field has been paved too. Baker Hall! Every student surely passes through here. I remember on my freshman year, for the second semester pre-reg, they held it here. Grabe, I could feel the building rocking because all the students converged here. Syempre, alas dos ng umaga nakapila na kami ng blockmates ko.
The soccer field is always filled with beautiful people playing the playing The Beautiful Game (I am biased, this is my favorite sport). Each age group has their own corner to practice. There is even a football school for young kids! That’s really starting `em young!
These kids are practicing for a soccer tournament, a team composed of Filipinos and Koreans. For those not in the know, we have a lot of Koreans here learning English.
I guess, another way of learning English is through sports, not only for the Koreans but for us Filipinos as well. Imagine, kung mag-mumura ka sa field, kailangan mo pang i-translate sa English para maintindihan ka ng kalaban mo?

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Vega Mall - this always causes a gasp for the oldtimer returning to UPLB after so many years.

You didn’t go to UPLB if you don’t know Maces! It’s like they’ve been around forever.
This used to be Ellen’s Fried, the restaurant with one of the best fried chicken. They also had ginisang monggo, chopsuey, macaroni salad and chicharon which they served every day. Even until now…

This place is now a hardware store.

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