Loyola Schools Bulletin Volume 2, Issue #4 & #5 - Ateneo de Manila ...

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10 loyolaschoolsbulletinVolume II, Number 5Everything aboutMonique L. Buensalido(JTA 2005-2006)Photos courtesy ofMonique L. BuensalidoI have always wanted to studyabroad. The notion seemed soromantic—sitting in a hugeclassroom with hundreds ofstudents as a professor engagedthe class in an exciting discussionin his booming voice, debatingspiritedly about important worldissues with my diverse classmates,and browsing through theirextensive library. I knew that itwould give me a richer anddeeper understanding of thevarious fields I was interested in.I felt that an education abroadwould challenge and inspire meto do and be more as a personand a professional. While I feelmy education here has been quiteexcellent, I would be able tofurther enhance it with otherglobal perspectives.When the opportunity to studyfor four months in anothercountry came up, I immediatelytook it. The Junior Term Abroad(JTA) program would allowselected management students tolive and study abroad during theirjunior year. I applied to theIESEG School of Managementin Lille, France, and luckily gotaccepted. My dreams of studyingabroad would finally come true,not to mention I would get to goto France! I didn’t know what toexpect, except that it was goingto be cold and expensive. Iexcitedly packed coats,turtlenecks, and four months’worth of personal supplies. Iimagined myself walking toschool as autumn leavesshimmered down from thebranches, sipping delicious caféau lait at a café, and reciting inclass in perfect French.It’s been more than a year since Iarrived in France for my JTA, yetall my memories are still crystalclear. I did everything that Iimagined I would do, but quitedifferently. Yes, I walked toschool, but I was practicallyshivering because of the cold. Ibought plain brewed coffee atschool because I couldn’t affordto eat (or drink) at cafés. And theperfect French? I discovered Ilife I learnedfromJTAcould only speak French wellwhen I was ordering food orwhen I felt panicked. Otherwise,je ne peut pas parler en français (I hopethat’s even right.) Thankfully, allmy classes were in English andincidentally, really excellent.IESEG is a fantastic school andI learned a lot from all the classesthat I took. We had a very diverseset of management subjects,from International Dimensionsof Consumer Behavior toStrategic Thinking and Skills toCorporate Identity. We are trainedand driven to think bigger andmore globally, and to pay closeattention to all aspects of anenterprise as well. My classes havereally motivated me to learn moreabout the different aspects ofmanagement. I discovered newconcepts and insights aboutbusiness, not only from theteachers but from my classmatesas well. I had a lot of internationalclassmates and by simply listeningto them and working with them,I discovered their differentperspectives and working habits.I’ve learned how to deal with andadjust to all different kinds ofpeople. This has helped me gaugeothers carefully, so I know whenand how to assert myself or stepback. It has been an excellenttraining ground for my futurecareer, and even life.I truly learned more in my singleterm abroad than several years inthe classroom, but my educationwasn’t relegated to thecurriculum. Often people my agesettle into a comfort zone inseveral aspects of theirlife (especially in school) and findthemselves unready forchallenges when they graduate.My term abroad was definitely astep, a leap outside of thecomfort zone. I had to learn howto live my life on my own—andwhen I say live, I mean handleeveryday responsibilities, likedoing the laundry, planning andpreparing every meal, and payingbills. I learned how to beindependent, and it was actuallyfulfilling and even fun to doeverything on my own. I carriedmy own groceries. I walkedeverywhere—the subway was tooexpensive and the buildings inLille are great to look at. I boughtJTA 2006-2007: Some factsand replaced my own lights whenthey got broken. It was reallyempowering to have a firm graspon all the activities in your life.Since Lille is a university town,there were a lot of collegestudents around, both Frenchand international—and they allloved a good party on theweekdays. As their thirty-fivehour work week may suggest,French people take their leisuretime very seriously. Celebratingafter a week or a day of workseemed like a part of theirlifestyle and culture…how couldI say no to that? There was alwayssome party to go to and peopleto meet up with. I met a plethoraof personalities of differentnationalities, from Slovenian toPortugese to Brazilian, andpractically all of them were funnyand friendly. We had dinners,watched movies, even headed toparties together.My Filipino friends and I got toplan trips on our own as well. Iabsolutely love traveling, and Ihate going on guided toursbecause I feel so constricted. Thistime, we picked where we wantedto go and followed our own pace.We went all around, from theEiffel Tower of Paris to thestreets of Monaco to the sightsof Germany to the castles ofLuxembourg to the chocolatestores of Belgium. I learned howto read maps, take differentsubway systems, and budget ourmeals. We used to pack our ownmeals to save money. It washilarious to see all of us go to afast food place, wait for someoneto order so we could sit down,and then bring out plasticcontainers bursting with food.It’s been more than a year since Ifirst landed in France, yet everymemory is still very fresh, veryclear to me. Those four monthswere some of the very best in mylife. It was truly an unforgettable,life-changing experience that Iwish I could live through all overagain. I appreciate my culture, mycountry, and all the little comfortsback home so much more. JTAtaught me to be more tolerantand open-minded about newexperiences and new cultures. Idid learn a lot about handlingrelationships with other people,about making sure you don’t mixyour white clothes with thecoloreds in the laundry, aboutcooking risotto from scratch,about mergers and acquisitions,but most of all, I learned aboutlife—and myself. All myexperiences have taught andshown me what I can do, and soI came home more capable, wiser,and independent. Everything Ilearned will have been a bettersouvenir than any miniatureEiffel Tower.The Junior Term Abroad (JTA) program has grown markedly year by year. When it began inschoolyear 2003-2004, there were 17 participants. The following schoolyear, 2004-2005, therewere 24. The number grew to 60 in schoolyear 2005-2006. This schoolyear, 114 juniors of theJGSOM are spending a term in 24 schools in 11 different countries:UNITED STATES OF AMERICAGeorgian Court UniversityMiddle Tennessee State UniversitySanta Clara UniversityUniversity of San FranciscoUniversity of the Incarnate WordUniversity of the Pacific.NORWAYNorwegian University of Life SciencesFRANCEAudiencia School of ManagementGET-INTLille Catholic UniversityJAPANJosai International UniversityKyushu UniversityObirin UniversityKOREACHINA Seoul National UniversityThe Beijing CenterHONG KONGTAIWANHong Kong Baptist UniversityNational Sun Yat-SenMACAUUniversityUniversity of MacauProvidence UniversitySINGAPORENational University of SingaporeSingapore Management UniversityAUSTRALIALa Trobe UniversityUniversity of NewcastleUniversity of TechnologySydney
October 2006we build community we nurture hope11glee clubROCKSEurope!Photos courtesy of the Ateneo College Glee ClubWhen I learned that I passedall three grueling auditions andthat I had made the Europe TourCast, I almost wept with relief.Yes, I had concerns about leavingfor an entire semester and beingleft behind academically, but I wasconvinced that opportunities likethis come rarely and I decided totake it. Yes, I was afraid—justhaving become a new memberThe Ateneo deManila CollegeGlee Clubtours Europein LUXORIENSFresh from the triumph of itscurrent batch’s first foray intointernational competitions andconcerts in Europe, the Ateneo deManila College Glee Club (Batch2002-06 under Musical DirectorMa. Lourdes V. Hermo) concludedtheir tour, entitled LUX ORIENS,or “light of the Orient”, with ahomecoming concert onSeptember 29 at the FranciscoSantiago Hall, Equitable-PCI BankTower I in Makati City.after a year of being a trainee—that I would somehow fail theolder members and not live upto their ideals and expectations.Most of all, yes—I was absolutelyterrified that things would changedrastically when I got back.Somehow I managed to put allthese worries aside and moveforward. Finally arriving inEurope after ten months ofUndertaken in celebration of thechoir’s 85 th year, LUX ORIENSsaw remarkable achievements, withthe batch of youngest ACGCchoristers ever to go on toursurpassing the expectations ofmany both here and abroad.Audiences were constantlysurprised at the level of musicalityand the performance caliber of achorale whose members were notonly very young, but particularly,were not formally majoring inmusic. The tour, for which theACGC also received a specialendorsement from theDepartment of Tourism as culturalambassadors, lasted nearly two anda half months and saw thechoristers perform in Austria,Germany, The Netherlands, Italy,and Spain for three competitions,a choral festival, and numerousconcerts.Among the highlights of the 2006tour were the ACGC’s victories inphysically, emotionally, mentallygrueling rehearsals was just theicing on the cake.It wasn’t a vacation for us to bein Europe. We worked almosteveryday to prepare forcompetitions and concerts.Visiting historical places andshopping were definitely some ofthe perks of being there but wewere quickly and constantlysobered by the thought that wewere there to give back to otherswhat was so unhesitatinglyhanded to us. This experience, ifanything, taught me aboutworking hard and getting results.Being the only Asian choir in acompetition and still managing tomake it to the top five was a feat.Competing against other Asianchoirs in a different competitionmade the atmosphere morefestive and relaxed.Walking down the streets ofSpain, Germany, and Italy withthe 6 th International ChoralCompetition in Miltenberg,Germany and the prestigious“Guido’Arezzo” PolyphonicCompetition in Arezzo, Italy. InMiltenberg, the choir won allpossible prizes, including first prizeand the only gold diploma in theSymphony of Voices category; theBavarian Lion, a special trophy forbest interpretation of thecompulsory piece; and first prizefor the Folk, Spiritual, & Jazzcategory. In Arezzo, it garnered thepublic prize for the folksongfestival; the special prize for theRomantic Period; and the secondprize in the Polyphonic category.For its excellent performance inthe Romantic Period specialcompetition, the group emerged asone of only three choirs eligible tocompete for the “Città di Arezzo”grand prize.The Glee Club also had successfulperformances in the world-famoustheir breathtaking views ofcastles and cathedrals wasfantastic. Making friends andpicking up a new language aresome of the best advantagesanyone my age can experience ina foreign country. We were trulyblessed as both Filipino and non-Filipino welcomed us with openarms and warmed our hearts.Whenever people would ask mewhat nationality I was, I wouldunhesitatingly answer them witha clear voice that I am a Filipino.Cologne Cathedral in Germanyand St. Peter’s Basilica in VaticanCity, as well as around Austria andThe Netherlands. It was, too,remarkably well-received in itsconcerts at the 25 th InternationalChoral Festival of Alava in Spain.Having returned from such asuccessful tour, the ACGCcelebrated with a specialthanksgiving mass last October 1.The choir also treated churchgoersGoing to Europe seemed like along, surreal dream—it all went byin a blur. One minute I dreadedgetting on the plane and the next,I’m back here writing an article.So much happened on this tripand I don’t think I can do justiceto the experiences we had or thesituations we found ourselves inwith a few words. But one thing’sfor sure, given anotheropportunity to travel with the GleeClub and experience these thingsagain, I’d take it in a heartbeat.to a special mini concert after themass. The Ateneo de ManilaCollege Glee Club now beginspreparations for its busy Christmasseason and looks forward to finallybeing able to meet its new traineesunder the current school year.bsandejasFor booking inquiries and othercomments, please contact LesterTanquilut at (0917) 834-9839 orvisit www.ateneogleeclub.org.
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