All Roads Lead to UP

Just as I was recalling the day I first set foot in UP Diliman when my son took the UPCAT a week ago, a Facebook meme called "Taga UP Diliman ka kung..." suddenly imploded. With barely a week of inception by UP alumni Cleve JD Mallari, the FB account attracted over 28,000 sentimental members. And the number is still increasing by the thousands each day.

Some threads brought me back to memory lane, especially the ones about UP's memorable IKOT jeepneys, the astig professors, the dreaded subjects, and of course, my student number.

But I'm not talking about it here. The posts of fellow members are too much to digest in one blog sitting, especially for those who cannot relate. What I want to recall is my everyday adventure on the Road to UP.

For I can’t imagine doing this again today—commuting from Las Pinas to UP Diliman EVERY single day.

For those who don’t have a sense of distance and direction, that 20-km south to north (and vice versa!) journey is about 2 hours of dust and toxic fumes, not to mention the risk of being pickpocketed on the bus.

So I’m tracing my routes here, to document what I had endured during my university days, and to justify why my grades were not mostly UNO’s, as my father had expected. (o, nag-rason pa!)

 Legend:

1.   Matapos maglakad galing sa bahay namin ng tatlong bloke, sasakay ng traysikel hanggang sa kanto ng Verdant Subdivision/Zapote-Alabang Highway.

2.   Jeepney to Baclaran or Alabang- Syempre mas kampanate akong sumakay sa King of the Road. Bukod sa siguradong makakaupo ako, may libre pang malakas na sounds. Type ko ang umupo noon sa likod ng drayber. Ang problema, ako ang taga-abot ng bayad at sukli ng mga pasahero.

3.   Mini-bus to Lawton—Magtataka ka kung paano nagkasya ang sangkaterbang tao sa isang maliit na bus..mga estudyante at opis workers kadalasan ang sakay. At mga kaskasero pa ang mga drayber. Type itong sakyan naming palaging naghahabol sa oras. Mababango pa ang mga tao sa umaga pag galing ng Las Pinas. Never mind na lang pag pabalik na sa hapon o gabi.

4.   JD Transit to Philcoa-I had the option of closing or opening the lawanit window of the bus--either I chose to suffocate inside the mixed smell of sweat and gasoline, or to feel the breeze of the polluted air outside. E ayokong masira ang sangkaterbang aquanet na nilagay ko sa bangs ko, so sarado kang lawanit ka. Naku, galit na galit sa akin ang mga matatandang seatmates ko!

 

5.   Metro Manila Transit Bus to UP-Medyo bago pa noon ang mga asul na bus na ito. Feeling ko pinaka-okey na bus nung panahon ko. Malinis, at may blinds pa ang mga bintana.

6.   Double Decker Bus –Nung una, gusto ko sa taas umupo palagi. Aba, nang malaunan, nahihilo na ako, lalo na pag nasa first row nang 2^nd floor. Feeling ko, ako ang drayber na walang control sa manibela!

7.   Love Bus—Syempre, my favourite kasi pakiramdam ko, sosyal ako. Aircon kasi e. Pero op kors, mas mahal ang pasahe. Mga Php20 yata noon. Aba e, kung P50 lang ang pabaon sa akin ng nanay ko, talagang dapat lang na mag-feeling sosyal nga ako…or late na lang akong talaga kaya pikit mata kong sinasakyan ang bus na ‘to.

8.  Jeep to UP—Minsan, bitin ang mga bus dahil hanggang Philcoa lang ang end of the line. So kailangang maghintay na naman ng jeep papasok ng UP. Wala yatang naglalakad sa University Ave dahil sobrang layo.

9. Ikot Jeep--Sa sobrang laki at lalayo ng mga buildings sa UP, kinakailangang mag Ikot jeep. Hindi ko na matandaan kung magkano ang pamasahe noon. Ang alam ko, mas mababa sa normal na pasahe. Singkwenta sentimos yata noon. Ngayon seven pesos na raw.

There were a lot of routes that I could take like Las Pinas-Baclaran-UP or Las Pinas-Lawton-UP or Las Pinas-Alabang-UP. It just depended on my mood, or whether I was already late, or who I was with. But whatever I took, I knew that I would always end up in UP Diliman.

Sabi nga ng mga matatanda:
Huli man daw at magaling, ang tuloy ay sa UP Diliman din;-)