SSEAYP Thoughts...



Our ship, Nippon Maru, sailing the blue ocean...

The 31st Ship for SouthEast Asian Youth Program (SSEAYP) was in the country from September 14th to 17th. As usual, every single activity brought me (us) to a journey back in time - to the time when we were the PYs. The annual coming of SSEAYP never fails to do so. Usually, at this time of year, almost all SSEAYP alumni are just so emotionally charged. Much as I would want to explain how SSEAYP makes me feel, words are lost to me right now. They always say that only a fellow alumnus/a would really understand another. Drew from Bidlisiw 2003, a very good friend of mine, couldn't stop his tears from falling as he talked about how SSEAYP changed his life. Indeed, SSEAYP is a life-changing experience, aside from its being absolutely THE BEST experience in the whole world!

Being part of SSEAYP really taught me a lot. Daddy Nel of the Philippine Homestay Association, an educator, once said that SSEAYP was the best classroom he ever saw. This is because in the program, you don't just read and talk about things, you actually get to experience things first-hand. Books, television, the Internet, and class lectures would definitely teach you a thing or two about different peoples and cultures (particularly the ASEAN and Japanese peoples and cultures in this case), but being with these peoples, actually experiencing and being absorbed in these cultures is another story. It is when you really get to see and experience things that you really learn them. SSEAYP has not only taught me about cultures and peoples, it taught me more about life and how to live with others. It really did change me!

Before SSEAYP, I was this big, stubborn brat! I always wanted others (everybody) to cooperate with me. I may not always be the leader in all my groups, but I somehow managed to always have everybody play by my rules. Although I was not really the irritatingly bossy or domineering type, I could really get nasty when I didn't have my way! I remember making the president of my college organization cry because I did everything to show him that I didn't agree with him about a decision he made. I really went out of my way just to piss the hell out of him! After some time, he really cried desperately in front of everybody and yelled at me for being such a pain in the ass. After his discourse, I calmly stood up and yelled back, "You know damn well why I'm doing this!" After having said so, I sat down with a huge smile (smirk) on my face and my eyebrow raised. Hehe:) Remembering it now makes me laugh and want to give my good friend, the president, a hug. :)

I was probably hard to get along with at times (especially when I wanted to). I was lucky that the friends I hung out with really understood me or thought like me. SSEAYP changed that. It made me realize that that attitude was just plain wrong. Sure, you may want others to cooperate with you at times, but, most of the time, you need to cooperate with others. It's better that way.

SSEAYP taught me to be less self-centered. It made me see things and the world from many different views, and not just from my view. It made me accept things that I never would have imagined I could accept. It gave me confidence and self-trust that I never thought I had or could have. I happily welcomed doing things that I never would have done in a million years. Tita Pie always says that you have every excuse to be OA when you're in SSEAYP. And, I realized that being OA is fun and actually feels good. With SSEAYP, I came to understand so many things about people and the world. SSEAYP is a "world" where there is mutual respect among different peoples and races. It showed me how beautiful and nice the 'real world' would be if that high regard and respect for others were always present and practiced. Most importantly, SSEAYP gave me a taste of how it's like to be independent, of what it's like to actually do things on my own and to stand on my own feet.

Words will never be enough to actually express everything I want to say about the program. Suffice it to say that after having joined the program, my life has never been the same. It brought me far and wide, literally and figuratively. SSEAYP was a dream... a great dream come true. And, I could only pray and hope that more and more people would experience it, too. :)

Comments

BabyPink said…
wow! thanks, tita pie...:)

"so, on we go as we join hads, we know we can be one... spreading love and friendship and peace to every man. until we find, amidst the difference, we share a common goal... a world of understanding, we're not different after all."
9/21/2004 03:02:00 PM
BabyPink said…
hi shungak. i don't mean to discourage you or anything pero kasama kasi sa qualifications/requirements is that you need to be single. pero, don't worry. if you're working for the government, you can apply for national leader. wehen you're 31 years old and up na, though.:)
9/21/2004 10:29:00 PM
S.T.P.Peralta said…
How i wish i have the "capacity" to get the chance to experience what you have experienced with SSEAYP! ;)
9/23/2004 01:45:00 PM
BabyPink said…
you don't have to wish for the "capacity' (as you term it), lanz, because you have it!:)
9/23/2004 10:35:00 PM
BabyPink said…
uy, salamat... nakakaiyak naman. hehehe:) ang LAGAY eh, ganun na nga! mwahahaha!:)
9/24/2004 01:07:00 PM
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