Ulan.

When I was still in the Philippines, I used to complain whenever it rained. The only time I loved it was when I was still little and we would go outside and play in the rain or when classes were suspended because of a storm. Ang hirap kasi pumasok kapag umuulan. Imagine, I would commute all the way to UST from Las Piñas in my all-white uniform in the middle of a storm, balancing my umbrella in one hand and holding my books/hand-outs in another and at the same time making sure my skirt doesn’t go up with the wind. Being dressed in all-white is no easy task when there’s water coming from all directions. Why you ask?

A. It’s hard to keep an all-white uniform still all-white by the time I get to school. Yung tipong walang kahit na anong dumi ha… and,
B. White clothes become almost transparent when wet so I cannot afford to get drenched unless I want to become a porn star overnight.

Pahirapan din umakyat and bumaba sa sasakyan. I remember those times when I was already in school and they would announce that classes are being cancelled and that we were being asked to go home instead because the storm is getting worse and there’s flooding. UST pa naman, being the Flood Central that it is, retains water like an over-soaked sponge. I remember that one time classes were cancelled and a bunch of us decided to play billiards in that pool place in Dapitan instead of going straight home. We came from the Science building and by the time we reached Dapitan, it was already a river. I’ve never seen water rise so fast in my life. We were all wondering where all that water came from in that 5-10 minute walk from the Science building to Dapitan. We were forced to go home right then and there.

Another memory is that of me, Mikey and Bene walking from UST all the way to Lawton (napaisip pako kung paano nga ulit spelling ng Lawton…hahaha). Both España and Dapitan were already flooded and there were barely any jeeps and the ones that did pass were already full so we had no choice but to walk. Diring-diri pako sa baha. Who knows what could be lurking in those brown, murky waters? I always imagine a dead rat or feces or something nasty like vomit and not to mention the invisible germs. Kadiri talaga. I remember Mikey and I laughing the entire walk because it was such a pathetic situation to be stuck in. I was praying we’d make it to Lawton without getting mugged or slipping and falling into the water. Nightmare! There were also people asking for change for the make-shift bridge made out of pieces of wood so we could cross from one block to another. Talaga nga naman ang mga pinoy, always making the most out of every situation... or shall I say taking advantage of every situation…? Kung may chance na pagkakitaan ng pera, you can bet pinoys will think of it. To make a long story short (hehe too late..long na eh) we made it to Lawton safe. We just had to endure the cold FX ride home. Basa kasi kami so nilamig kami sa aircon. I remember immediately taking a bath as soon as I got home…ni-lufa ko talaga ang katawan ko especially ang aking legs para lang I can have some piece of mind. Arte ko talaga…

I remember JR’s experience in UST as well. Classes were cancelled in the middle of the day and they were also asked to go home. JR and a friend of his had also decided to walk to Lawton because there were no jeeps. The flood in España was already waste-deep so the only vehicles that could pass were big buses or trucks. While he and his friend were walking, a bus or two passed and while it was passing, it made waves on the flood water. With the waves, the water rose to almost as high as JR’s chest. Him and his friend quickly climbed the UST gate because they didn’t want the high flood water getting them in the chest or worse… in the face! Hahahaha! They couldn’t help but laugh and curse at the same time. Thankfully di ko na-experience yung ganun kalala na baha… I think I would’ve freaked out big time. Matindi ata ang phobia ko sa mga bagay na nasa baha.

I also never experienced being stuck in UST overnight. Apparently, the school provides you with food if you’re stuck inside the building. I heard one time they even had Jollibee delivered for the students and school employees. Naisip ko lang, if they were stuck because of the flood, how did the Jollibee delivery boys deliver the food?? Don’t tell me they had a heavy-duty delivery truck of some sort or did they wade through the flood? Unless of course they miraculously parted the water like Moses. For those of you who know the answer to this question, kindly enlighten me as this has been on my mind ever since college and it’s been 4 years since I graduated so it’s technically been a mystery for me for over 4 years. OA ko noh? Hahahaha

Pero since I moved to Canada, I’ve found a new foe. The snow. Or Worse… the snow storm. Too much snow can make rain seem like my best friend. I think I will take the rain anytime over the snow. Provided of course that it doesn’t rain too hard. If it does, patas lang sila ni snow.