Philippine Cadet on Japanese Soil (Part 5)

"Taiban"
It's but natural to be at a loss when you enter a new environment. And at those times, you wish that there's someone who would guide you thru everything. That is a "Taiban".

To someone familiar with the cadet's lingo in PMA, a taiban would correspond to a Buddy, a second year who teaches the basics of cadet life to a first year.



"Tai" means "corresponding" and "Ban" means "number". This seems senseless but when you take a quick look at the history of my Academy, there was a time when all the cadets of a company stays in the same room. On the rightmost part of the room, aligned are the desks of the fourth years and going to the left, the desks of the third years, second years and the freshmen. These desks are numbered and the upperclass with the number "1" in their desks are in charge of the underclassmen which has the same corresponding number "1". Hence the word "Taiban" or "corresponding number.



The Taiban system does not only apply inside the Academy but also after graduation. The taiban tree is one of the bonds that are formed during your stay here. And I may say, a strong bond.

To my upperclass taiban, Lt. Maeno, my underclass taibans, Cadet Yamamoto and former Cadet Kawasaki, to Cdt Yamamoto's underclass taiban, Cadet Kugimiya, and his taiban, let the legacy of our taiban tree live for as long as eternity.

boring life

Kanina, habang nakatunganga ako during class, naisip ko how boring my life is right now as compared to my past life (which was... before I entered the Academy). I went to classes in shorts, tshirt and slippers (hindi ako papapasukin nito sa $#&'"%&), didn't cut my hair until it became long, err...big, and I didn't care what others would say or think about me. Been drunk going to class, seen strange, naked guys running around the campus, and held in my hands a lot of blood (not what you're thinking..."blood letting"). Been in the mountains and been at sea. Ngayon, my day starts and ends with a bugle, wear same clothing all year round, and should stay inside campus all week days. Buti pa ang preso, nabibisita.

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Sana marunong akong magdrawing.

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When I went to the doctor last month to have my lower back checked, it turned out that it was okay but when the doctor saw my medical history records, he was surprised on how many times my right shoulder was dislocated. To cut the story short, he suggested that I should be operated as soon as possibe and it will probably be this May. Hope it heals in time for our training season.

Philippine Food

I took this picture when I went home from vacation with my Japanese upperclass. I made them eat a lot of Philippine foods... especially those weird ones. (The balot was a classic.. ehehe)

Sigh... I miss my mama's cooking.
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When I saw this, sabi ko, "Eto na!". I was searching for a good PDA for almost two years and I finally found it.
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Spring na dito... winter is over. The weather is perfect!

hmmnn....

What to write... what to write...
I'm starting to run out of things to write. I'm not one of the creative one's that can express thier thoughts and feelings in words, nor am I not one of those who express their thoughts readily.
What to write... what to write...
I envy those others who have the gift of pen.

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Recently, I became a fourth year (a first-class cadet) here in the Academy. We are the so-called "gods" and we rule the corps of cadets. I thought it was heaven, but it's not. Lot's of things to do, aside from lots of things to think about. But I'm getting the hang of it... being a "god" isn't that bad ;)

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This years blooming of the Cherry Blossom is late. Usually, it blooms in the first week of April but it doesn't. Winter also was delayed and ended late. Maybe this is an effect of the much feared Global Warming. Thanks to technology.

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One year to go...