first day of practicum

photo: van, apple, pie, and me. look! my face looks almost normal. i still have a small bump but it's too tiny to even notice. hurray! and guess what? the stitches will be pulled out tomorrow! today i kept complaining to apple and van how it's so annoying that i could feel the stitches with my tongue. they made faces and told me to stop describing it because it's really gross and scary. mwahaha! my friends think i'm morbid.

Spongebob Squarepants the Movie was pretty awesome. laughed at some parts. the part when Spongebob got caught while attempting to steal the "key" to the burger car was hilarious! saw Simoun at their frat tambayan and decided to hang out for a while because i was too lazy to leave school. dude, it was nice bumping into you again!. then apple and van came. forced me to watch a movie (haha "forced" daw!). they even asked me to watch the UPM Chorale's concert for their European tour. i was just too lazy, i swear. my outgoing side died during the short summer break spent bumming at home. that's the thing i have. when i stay home for more than a week, i become lazy to go out again because i'd tell myself that i'd rather stay home and watch tv or listen to music. but once i go out, i start to become bored at home when i don't have any place to go. hehe.

practicum orientation went well. i initially applied for the National Defense College of the Philippines (NDCP) job but when Dr. Torres explained how practicum at the National Institute of Health would be, i immediately told myself to shift if i still could. so how is it exactly? at the NIH, it's like hospital work. mostly, students who work there would be researchers. we'd interview patients or parents' of the patients and find the root of the problem like a true social scientist. whatever we learn from the field, we'll be able to apply to the bigger picture like how the government is able or not able to meet the health needs of Filipinos as well as other interesting information through statistics and concrete facts.

as i sat there on the uncomfortable arm chair, i realized that working at the NIH for my practicum would help me expose myself to see the real picture-- you know, children getting sick because of poverty, adults suffering from complications of their illnesses because of lack of finances for their medication, etc. we are also going to be able to practice the method of pakikipagkapwa-tao (regard for others). we'll do this through listening to stories of the patients (or their loved ones). Dr. Torres warned us that sometimes it may become overwhelming that you'd break down into tears. but that's all a part of the work, i guess. this might help me when i pursue my goal to work for a humanitarian organization-- whether as a researcher, a volunteer, a social worker, or whatever... it will really help me. so i asked myself, "why would i want to work for the NDCP if it won't help me in the field that i want to enter in the future?". that's why it's called On the Job Training (OJT) because it will help us take a glimpse of the work we could do after we graduate. so i thank my lucky stars that i was able to shift. this must be Fate. ;)

i also thank Dr. Torres because she said she refuses to let our employees order us around like ask us to make coffee or photocopy papers. she said once this happens, she'll pull us out immediately. hurray! i've heard of a lot of horror stories of former practicumers from other schools that their employers let them make coffee or order them to buy them lunch. argh. how pathetic.

i am going to meet up with the group at 8.30am in the morning. we'll be going to the NIH because someone is going to show us around. i can't wait! although there are 6-8 hours of work, i think i'll gain a lot of knowledge from this. besides, i love talking to people and listening to their stories.