going to study at UOP

[balut]

after I graduate from high school in Los Angeles in june, I am going to go to the Philippines for the first time to study at the University of the Philippines. I really do not know what to expect because I never really hear anything about Philippine's except that it's hot. Will the other students think im a traitor or something because I was not raised in the Philippines and I don't know tagalog?

any tips/advice would be extremely helpful.

thanx.

[battleangel]

balut: i graduated from UP and i can assure you that UPians are a diverse bunch. they come from a wide sector of society, some very rich, some middle class, and some very poor (at least, that was the way it was during my time :D ). aside from that, there are also exchange students and other foreigners who study there.
given this diversity, i don't think anyone would really question why you're here and what right you have to study in UP. i would think that most students are open-minded about this.

of course, there might be some people who will criticize you, but on the whole, as long as you also accept them and not act condescendingly towards them, you'll do well.
just keep your eyes and ears open and learn as much as you can inside as well as outside the classroom. good luck. :)

[Cali4Nia]

Hi Balut: Battleangel is right. And yes there are many foreigners who study there. Good Luck.

Gotta tell you this story, too. When we were petitioned by family and were in our interview with the US INS for permanent resident status, the big, tall, thick-necked White American that inteviewed us was actually a Political Science UP Diliman grad in the 80's and he kept telling my mom to send me to college in Pinas cause it's way cheaper there than American Universities during the actual interview. Can you believe it?

This INS officer knew how to speak Tagalog and was actually telling us these college stories of how he dormed there on the Diliman campus and blah blah blah and how much he paid for rent and food during this interview that was supposed to be a pretty tense and scary one because you never know if the interviewer will actually approve or deny your case.

What a coincidence and blessing that we didn't end up with a mean and nasty INS officer.


Funny:D

[Cali4Nia]

One more thing to share with you balut:D

I was also supposed to attend UP Diliman after I took a year off after graduating from highschool here in the Los Angeles County area 4 years ago and once in Pinas my dad enrolled me in this reviewer UPCAT (UP Admission Test) course in some center infront of Ateneo.

I knew from the beginning knowing my Math, Formal Tagalog and Philippine History skills were deficient that I would not pass it.

Plus anticipating that I would go through massive amounts of home sickness and miss my family and friends back here in the States with the adjusting to the new social environment made it all the more harder for me to continue with my plans to go to UP.

So I ended up back here in Cali and enrolled myself in a junior college and now I've transfered to a 4 year uni and will be graduating in a year and a half.

But you know sometimes I regret that move and look back and think that it would've been a great experience being able to live in Pinas for a longer period of time than just a quickie vacation for the purpose of re-acquainting myself with my Filipino roots esp. if you grew up somewhere else. 5 years there would be a total culture immersion type experience.

But, once you're there in Pins and you feel that the situation fits ya then go for it and continue to study there. If it doesn't feel right remember you can always come back.

Take Care and God Bless:D

[Edited by Cali4Nia on 02-06-2001 at 05:07 PM]