21 July 2006

Recollection and Freshmen Walk

We don't have classes today, and the reason why is the title of this post.

I left the house at around 6:20 AM, which is only 6:15 AM in UST. I took the Forbes route to the Main Building, and on the way I met Dane, Hao, Melissa, and Marisse. While walking to the historical edifice in the middle of UST, we met Inno. The four others went upstairs to the fourth floor first because Inno pulled me towards the small canteen in front of the Dean's Office because Paolo, Liv, and Jerome were buying drinks and some food.

We made small jokes about Mr. Albano's name. Peace, sir!

We went to Laboratory-14 because Mr. Albano was going to accompany us to the Medicine Auditorium, where the recollection is being held. After attendance, Mrs. Dilan took out the second quiz results, with lots of groans heard. She didn't say who were the highest scorers; just handed the papers.

My surname was called and I took my paper. 52 out of 60! Goodness....eight points of mistake again?? I had eight points mistake on my first quiz! A little irritated, I went to my seat and looked at my paper. Mostly carelessness. When I approached my blockmates to consult for their correct answers, I was shocked to learn that their scores were 23, 26, 40, 42, 43!!! Most of my blockmates were below the passing mark (42)!! They were shocked as well to see my score of 52 out of 60. Not boasting of this, but I was the highest scorer in the class.

It's chemical formula writing! One of my fortes! Yippeee....I was so ecstatic.

It was time to go to the Med Audi (Medicine Auditorium). We climbed the winding staircases of the St. Martin de Porres Building and went to the auditorium. We were taught a very nice song with movements. Its lyrics was really good.

The recollection speaker is UST Campus Ministry's adviser. Father Ching, as he wants to be called, is a fantastic speaker. He's funny and an articulate speaker. There was confession during the recollection, too. Afterwards, we had Mass. Honestly, I fell asleep.

After having lunch, we had the Freshmen Welcome Walk. The students lined up at the back of the Main Building, in Ampuero Drive. We were given whistles to make noise. While lining up, Ayron and Mikki made some jokes with the whistles, imitating over-excited referees whistling basketball players with exaggerated movements. As we waited, Doc Sev arrived. We greeted him, and he gave us the Freshmen Welcome Walk bookmark. Mikki, the class clown, had another joke joke time with the Dean again.

Mikki: Sir, tignan mo, para kaming mga protons na nagkukumpol together! (Sabay pito ng whistle)

Doc Sev: (Laughs out loud) May protons bang maiingay?

He laughed out loud with me and then we had picture-taking blah blah. The Dean also said, "Ingat sa mga pito, baka malulon."

This time, it was the formal rite of passage for UST first-year students through the Arch of the Centuries, with those London Buckingham Palace guards at the side of the Arch. We entered the Arch by fours: me, KC, Isay, and Paolo. There were live cameras broadcasting the neophytes entering the Arch. Walking through the Benavides Park, there were banners showing the history of the University, and then we marched through the Main Building Plaza with the Dean at the side.

Mikki was whistling again, and making the stop and go signs so Doc Sev once again said, "Pulis ka ba?"

The various colleges were introduced. To make the long story short, the Freshmen Welcome Walk was fantastic. After the Acting Rector made his talk, he lit up the combustible UST logo at the podium. It officially ended the Walk, but started the concert party, featuring bands like Urbandub, Soapdish, and Join the Club, and more. I didn't watch it; I was too tired.

PS. Before I forget, when Isay and I were on the way to the restroom, we smelled the strong odor of Formalin coming from the dissection room. (Remember, it was the Medicine Building.) The Med School students were dissecting bodies, I thought, because I saw black body bags around the counters. After going to the restroom, Isay and I checked out the UST Anatomy Gallery. For those who aren't afraid, enter and be amazed. The formaldehyde odor is strong, but it's worth seeing. Desiccated arms, legs, calf, and thoracic cavity were displayed, with the muscles and blood vessels labeled. Also displayed is the heart, the lungs, an upper body with the organs all displayed, a brain, and even a head cut in half showing the view of the brain. Also in separate jars were fetuses displayed, normal fetuses in a section, and abnormal fetuses in another. To avoid being graphical, just ask me or just go there. It's a must see for people who are curious of the human anatomy. The Med students weren't dissecting human bodies yet, just dried corpses ala mummies. To end this, the organs displayed in the UST Anatomy Gallery are all authentic and human organs.


1 Comments:

At 9:08 PM, July 21, 2006 , Blogger ravenik45 said...

Oh my God! I make suka suka at the thought! Buti no horrible stench! At bakit sa Ateneo walang rituals, rites, or stuff?

 

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