The pre-school downstairs and my school bus days in St Scho

There's a PAP pre-school at the ground floor of our flat. On most mornings, I would see parents hurriedly bringing their kids to school. Last Saturday, I think they had some sort of a program because they were wearing these colourful costumes. Here's some of the pics I took:

And oftentimes, Jun and I would have conversations starting with "Siguro kung may anak na tayo, diyan din sha magpepre-school."

And I would answer hubby: "Ay naku, magrereklamo yun bakit ang lapit lang ng school nya. Bababa lang sha ng ground floor, school na nya! Hindi exciting."

I guess this reaction is just natural for me who spent my grade school and high school days in St Scho taking the school bus (ermm, actually it's more of a "Fiera" than a bus)--Mang Joe during my grade school years, and Mang Goody during my high school years. It was then that I formed friendships, friendships that until now--though we are millions of miles away with separate lives of our own--are still alive.

Realities are much simpler then. You only need to know that the good seats--the ones near the door or in front--are reserved for the seniors. That you HAVE to buy snacks before going back, such as hilaw na mangga with bagoong or Cheese Tortilla and Melon Juice from Manang (who was able to send all her kids to college from the fruits of selling snacks outside Gate 6. That it's so fun to write and pass notes to each other inside the bus (ermm, fiera) even though you're just seating beside each other. And that you feel so mature when you are allowed to go back late and you can say: "Mang Goody, second trip po ako ha." That the best stories--tsismis, horror stories, love stories--are shared within the hot confines of Mang Goody's service.

Then as you step into your junior and senior years in high school, you develop different interests--some into boys, some into books, some into barkadas. Sometimes, you would even skip riding the bus anymore because you'd rather carpool that day or you would rather commute with your friends (Manang, pakisabi kay Mang Goody di ako sasabay.). But when you do decide to take the bus that day (Mang Goody, sasabay po ako ha!), you are still the same person that has boarded the bus (fierra pala) every morning, for more than ten years of your life.

And if life is indeed a "one great ride", like what most people say, then my ride would be my school bus ride. And no matter how long it arrives or no matter how many rounds it takes, no matter how I look or how I act outside of it... it will still bring me safe home, amidst the bumps, the tiriks, the heat (hindi sha aircon, shet), and sometimes even the smell (if the Don Bosco grade school boys share the bus with us, yuck amoy pawis!).

And when I reach home, I'll still be the same person that I am, only wiser, stronger, and many pounds heavier now.