Name: Lovelyn Quimanhan Bunda BSAT-4B The first day immersion experience is one of a kind because it focuses on building,

knowing and developing relationship with our foster parents. Along with my moderator and classmates, we were sent out to the huge town of Marilog, it also takes about two and a half hour by jeepnies from the Ateneo de Davao University. Marilog District a part of the city which is pollution-free, noise-free and fuss-free. I can see that it is perfect for rest and relaxation. The view is so breath-taking and the air is so refreshing. But that is more than what I thought. That day is the time for my intense reflection on what i've been doing, on what should I do if I get their. It was the time to appreciate life and realize to become persuasive in my goals in which I recognized that i'd made many mistakes in my past that would affect my future path. With the immersion, I can feel that I am renewed and enlighten on what is my purpose and my goal in life. Honestly speaking, my first day in immersion was so exhausting. You can see many children playing just like basketball and volleyball. I can't imagine the condition of the people living in the community. The place has no electricity or sustainable supply of water to drink or to use to cook their foods. People fetch their water far far away, but thanks to their cart and galloon, they can fetch enough water for the day. And imagine that in the midnight they don't have electricity, and the only thing that will give light to them is the generator or the battery of the truck. It can't be sure if they have light in the night, it will depends on the generator if it has crude oil and the battery is fully charged. Also, they share about how much they pay if they avail the generator, it cocsts 300 per month and for the charging of the battery, it costs 35 per month. But as I can see to my foster parents they give their best to show their need for existence, which usually seen in their day-to-day living. My commitment with my foster parents deepens through the two to one conversation, she shared about their life, her daughters and her dreams for her children, also why did they got into the place. She shared about the rivalry between the rich people and her ancestors way back when she was nine years old. She didn't name the rich people, but those people wanted to own the wide area of land in Marilog specifically the lower Kibalang, they wanted the place to became a ranch of cow. Even their ancestors put some fences around it so the cow will not pass through, bad people will cut the fence and destroy it. Until the time comes when their ancestors fought for a battle to retain their lands but nothing happened, those rich people won. The rivalry happened under the government of Marcos, when the Philippines was under the Martial Law, and the President decided to of th sent one of his officials to protect and defend the people in the community. And with that they achieve the land that they own long back ago. Also, onew of the story she shared is their family life. That her children have

family's with their own, she also shared that she felt pain and dissapointed when her daughter got pregnant with the age of 17. it is the time when they wanted her to go to school, after several months they can't contact her until they got the news that she already have a baby. With that event, she felt that they has no chance to have their life bountiful. She lost hope to rise again in the life that they want to forget. With the long conversation, it ended with a comedy talk she says to us, all she wanted for her daughter Feverlyn is to go to Japan and become a Japayuki. With the amazing fresh air in Kibalang, you can't ever notice that there has a flavourful smell of coffee in the town. My foster mother, nanay Cora, invites us to go the house of her children, and without any questions, we agree to go their because we are all excited to go to their lake. To make the story short, we arrive in the house of ate Emy, she cook saging na saba for us and along with other pair (Mark and Sheila), we ate it and we drink their native coffee. They called it mais na kape, as ate Emy put the coffee in our glasses, we can smell the aroma of the coffee. Yes, you can say that smell pa lang yummy na hahahha. And with our confussions, we try the coffee and it tasted so yummy. It is not so sweet and not so sour, just the normal coffee but it was so hmnmmm, no words can explain it. And Sheila, the coffee addict, she drunk two glasses of coffee, also Mark consumed two glasses. I am not ashamed to approach my nanay Cora, if there is something I can to do help her job become ease. But as we approach her, she says to us that, we sould not work because we are visitors and it is unlikely thing to do by the visitors. But with our own decision, we asked permission if she will permit us to magbiyak ng kahoy with the use of axe. And she says sure. And I did my thing, but Ada, my partner, didn't know how to use the axe. So I teach her to use and she did what I have done a while ago. And we did a really good job. The most rewarding moment that we feel in that first day of immersion is when we ate complete in a family. Even my foster parents has no viant that time, I am amazed by the fact that we ate happily and we took some conversations along the way. I'd built a wonderful relationship to other people, not just me but also my partner Ada. We never expect something in return with our foster parents but they are so generous that they gave us saging na tundan and some of their vegetables. I am lucky enough to be part of the immersion and I am looking forward to the last day of immersion next sunday. That day will be a fun day and a memorable one. And that memory to me will last every single moment that we spent.

This picture represents my experience in a way that this tree represents tree aspects of life. First, is the life of nanay Cora, there is a part that there has no leaves and its branches is dying, it means that nanay Cora loses hope to live up with her dreams, to rise her family to poverty. Second, is the life of her daughter Feverlyn, even though her mother has no trust to her, she has an option to prove that there is any chance that their life will become better. And lastly, the relationship that I built to the family, as long as the tree is in the ground, no one can ever erase the memories that I left with them, it will last forever as long as the root of the tree is still conneted to the soil.