Subic Field Trip

We went to a field trip to Subic, Zambales more than a year ago as a partial requirement in one of my subjects. I have been to Subic many times, but I still had fun since we went to places I haven’t been before.

First stop was to get a tour guide in the tourism department of Subic. Then we went straight ahead to the little village of the aeta (Filipino cultural minority).

They showed us how to survive in the jungle, using itak (sort of Filipino bladed weapon) and bamboos, which is one of the most common and most versatile plant in the forest. They also showed us how to make fire, how to cook rice and dishes, and how to make various utensils from bamboo.

Then they also showed us how to make various animal traps, especially for monkeys.

After the lecture, an aeta led the way for the forest trekking. As it had rained before we arrived, the forest soil was muddy and slippery. I was a bit nervous as the steps were sometimes steep. But the forest was very beautiful, I was especially astonished at the humungous heights of the trees. The aeta also pointed the medicinal plants along the way.

As we left for our next stop in our field trip, we saw several monkeys along the road. Then we went to the beach, but it was sad that it was kind of dirty with trash. Still, the panoramic view of the sea was breathtaking.

Then we went to the Mangrove Trail where they do rehabilitation programs to conserve the remaining mangrove forests. The spiky aerial roots were very striking.

We also went to Zoobic Safari,where we watched an animal and cultural show of the aetas in their traditional clothing. Zoobic Safari is also known for their huge collection of tigers, especially white tigers. But before we went to see the tigers, I saw a wild pig roaming along the forest.

As we left Zoobic Safari and went along the path outside, we came across a farm full of ostriches and wild pigs.

Our next stop was the Crocodile Farm. Our professor was so kind to pay us all the chicken for a thrilling meal session for the crocodiles waiting below. They’re so lazy and huge, like “Lolong”. We were screaming and laughing as the crocodiles ate the chicken hanging at our rods.

Our very last stop was Puregolds Duty Free. I bought some chocolate for my family. Then we went home back to the university.

Heterochromia

Heterochromia of the eye, from the root words “hetero” meaning “different” and “chromia” meaning “color”, is the condition of having different colors of the irises. It can be complete heterochromia, where both eyes have different colors; or partial heterochromia, where one eye can have two different colors at the same time, and the differentiation of color can be central or sectoral. It can be acquired through heredity of the gene particular to this trait, injury, etc. While this condition is quite rare in humans, it is more seen in dogs, horses, and in particular, cats.

This male cat exhibits complete heterochromia of the eye, one sapphire blue and one emerald green, just like Yuna’s eyes (of Final Fantasy X and X-2). It’s the first time I have seen and heard such a condition, and I think it’s quite cool and pretty to look at. Don’t you think so too?

This cat is in the care of my grandparents from my father’s side. They call him affectionately “bunso” or “youngest” since all of their children are already married, and they have no one else to take care of except this cat.

Such beautiful eyes!

Maya All Around

Eurasian Tree Sparrow (Passer montanus) or maya in our native language, are the most common species of bird to be seen in our place. Perhaps they can tolerate urban noise and pollution to a greater extent compared to any other birds.  And they are just too many that they can be considered as pest sometimes. They have made nests in our roofs made of hay and dried grass. Their droppings fall on our car in the garage. Sometimes, a featherless hatchling falls as well from their nest. I once took care of a hatchling and fed it with cooked rice. It grew up until some of its feathers appeared, however it seems that it couldn’t fly anymore. Eventually, it died. Worse fate for a hatchling is to fall in the garage, where our dogs would probably play or eat it.

I hope that there would be a more diverse community of birds in our place.

In a Resort

We attended a birthday party of my parent’s godmother last Sunday in a quiet and secluded resort. It was already lunchtime when we arrived, and so, we were cordially invited to dig in to the buffet as soon as we finished giving our respects to the elders.

The dishes were really wow. Main dishes were lechon, dinuguan, adobong manok (made from native chicken), hipon, fried chicken, shanghai rolls, barbeque, pansit guisado and probably more because I only picked the ones I like most. There were also mangoes, bananas, balot, chiffon cake, sansrival (my favorite), buco salad, potato salad, leche flan (made specially from duck eggs), puto, and a kind of coconut milk drink with pinipig and gulaman. I was so full that I could hardly take another bite.

There was also a swimming pool but I didn’t swim, only my younger brother did while I spent the rest of the afternoon taking pictures around.

Then we went home around late afternoon.

Cats

I really don’t like cats, but I don’t hate them. And I admit, they’re pretty cute and adorable, especially when they’re sleeping with their squinty eyes shut. And there were so many cats in my high school before. They used to live inside the dormitory and sleep whenever they want. I had seen them sleep on the couch and even on the television! They also used to knock down our trash cans, leaving all our garbage scattered along the bathroom floor which was a mess and really annoying. Still, my dormitory manager liked them so much that she had never failed to give them food.

I just started my college life recently, and again, I’m living inside a dormitory. Surprisingly, there are also a lot of cats here. They’re more behaved though, but still, they sit and sleep anywhere. But maybe that what makes them adorable, I see people having fun holding and touching them. And they don’t fight back, it seems like they like the attention. I also like to holding them sometimes.

I started hating them when I tried to touch a cat with my foot. That cat was a stray one and had a missing leg. But he must had been in a sour mood that he scratched my foot. Anyway, with these kind and adorable cats in my dorm, I’m starting to like them too. But still, my most favorite pet are dogs.