ASeJANN SUMmIT all up

January 12 to 15, 2007-- After we've spent over a million pesos, built the Cebu International Convention Center and put up all those decorative lamps, the 12th ASEAN Summit has finally come. The postponement of this once-in-a-blue-moon event bothered a lot of things. The livelihoods of the big-time businessmen, as well as small entrepreneurs, the schedule of employees, the million-peso profit that hotels could have gained, the traffic, our own businesses, our schedules, our lives, ourselves--These were greatly affected. I was even caught up in a 3rd World War because of this Summit.

January 13, 2007--The second day of this special event that had been happening, a fine Saturday perfect for the MaKE(MAth Knowledge Enhancement) tutorials. I woke up at 5:30 in the morning, took a bath and I was ready to go when my mom suddenly said, "Where are you going? You can't reach the city because the roads are closed and public schools are off-limits because of the ASEAN delegates… blah…blah… blah…”

I don’t get it. Why was she babbling about those things when the school, the RAFI (Ramon Aboitiz Foundation, Inc.), and the Hipodromo Elementary School told us that there will be tutuorials? Of course, they won’t put us at risk of not getting home. Plus, she got to think of that stuff when she already allowed me to go the day before. But, as her daughter, I can’t do anything about it and I must obey her. And so I did.

I totally understood her reason why she made her last-minute change of decision. So, I just called up my co-volunteers and explained to them why I can’t go. That was my third absence out of three sessions only. I could get kicked out of the league because I always missed out the tutorials! Thinking about these things, I wept quietly. I was just so afraid that it might happen. When my mom saw me crying, she still kept on blaming-my-school lines when she was the one who enrolled me to this school which she hates so much? How ironic.

It was an ear sore. Maybe I reached my elastic limit and thus, the World War was ignited. I told her all the things about what I hate. But I, never hated her.

Perhaps you might think that I was such a bad girl all the way but no—it made me a better daughter to my mom and I get to understand her more, if it weren’t for my brother and sister.

-jann
01/22/07