Week of One (Lingguwan)

written by Marie Eunice Serilo

Here came August, always the month celebrated as “Buwan ng Wika” and like anything you experience in college, “Lingguwan” was a different level of celebrating the Filipino heritage.

Day 1, 24^th of August the year 2009, I remember it clearly since it was the quietest day of my life. Every 2 hours we were required to speak a specified Filipino language or else…OR ELSE…. Since I don’t know Waray, Chavacano, Akeanon, Bisaya, Gay Linggo and Kinaray-a, which comprises ¾ of the hours, I was forced to shut my mouth for about… 12 hours each day. Such torture I did endure until the clock struck 12 midnight on Tuesday (yes 2 days of silence, that’s correct). It was fun though, listening to the others speak their native tongue and others struggle to learn. Others, like me, were just listening to how people slide the dialect from their mouths and seeing how proud they are with big grins on their faces. I myself am proud that I learned at least one phrase in Bisaya… Di-le ko maot… to anyone who understands this laugh all you want! Haha!

The following day’s activities were the Hall1mpics where everyone got a shot to play one or more Filipino games. There were games such as “Tumbang Patis”, “Luksong Baka” and my personal favorite (since it was the only game I played) “Patintero”. But *sigh* it wasn’t a perfect day because of the “goddam road” *sigh* I think you all know what I’m talking about. Still, we had fun under the sun reliving the days when we were younger and played like we didn’t have exams the following minute.

Friday… I have no words for how that day went. It was shame and adrenaline mixed all together as I suited up for my “Imelda” costume… yes, it was power dressing day wherein we dressed up according to the specifications of each wing in the dorm. You all know how Imelda dresses right? So I need no further explanations why there were mixed emotions. I don’t know how the others felt but for me, it was the stiffest day of my life. I couldn’t breathe well because my corset was tight, I couldn’t sleep because the sleeves of my Balintawak were poking out, I couldn’t walk well because I kept stepping on my skirt… it was chaos in a hot pink Filipiniana… but… I enjoyed it. I enjoyed it so much that if given a chance to pull a stunt like that again… I would…excitedly even! Hahaha!

Gabi ng mga Bituin… Night of the Stars… well of course since stars only come at night (haha Eunice haha…) but seriously speaking it was the night where we all came out and PARTIED!!! Native Filipino foods were all around and famous people graced the program such as Boy Abunda and Kris Aquino who were our emcees! (haha Eunice haha…) Imelda Marcos was there as well (ahem…) and Darna too! It was truly the night of the stars were everyone, fantasy or reality, came together to celebrate the pride of being a Filipino. A mini program was held where they showcased the different mascots of each wing of the dorm. Darna, Jasmine, Imelda Marcos, Manny Pacquiao and the Ibong Adarna strutted on the catwalk and like any other pageant, answered the question and answer portion. Talagang pinasalita naman ako ng baluktot kong Filipino. Siyempre naman… Linggo ng Wika diba…hahaha! Of course there could only be one winner even though all of the mascots were so good and I congratulate… the IBONG A-DARNA!!! What followed next was dancing all night and early morning after taking a few memorabilia of pictures. *sigh* good things DO come to an end and we had to say “enough” as we closed the “Lingguwan” celebration. But… and I hope that this is true… that after we strip off from our costumes and return to our bookish selves that we would never forget to be “Juan”… we are after all “Juan in Hall One”…HAHA... corny! Seriously speaking though… think about it. ^_^

Marie Eunice Serilo, BA CMS

This is in celebration of "Buwan ng Wika".