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High School Junior's Outdoor Gimmick at Bluroze Farms, Lipa City, Batangas (January 22, 2010)

By Noel Norien Isidro
Posted: Tuesday March 2, 2010 04:27 PM

In 1973, Peter S. Beagle wrote an introduction to J.R.R. Tolkien’s Lord of the Rings Trilogy.  In it, he wrote “…millions of people grew aware that industrial society had paradoxically become unlivable…”  Only now do we see the effects of this realization in the “green” movement.  It is with this in mind that the activity entitled “JOG for a Healthier You” was conceived.

Held for the last three years at Bluroze Farms in Lipa City, Batangas, the activity aims to provide students a chance to compare their urban lifestyle against the realities
of rural living.

The day started early for the Juniors and their teachers.  We wanted to leave Manila as early as possible to avoid the heavy traffic along the South Luzon Expressway.  It was a good move since our departure time of 4:45 a.m. allowed us to arrive at our destination an hour and 45 minutes later.  This gave us thirty minutes of extra time for the day’s activities.

Once there and after a short orientation, the students got right down to it.  The teachers have had the help of the Center for Outdoor Recreation and Education (CORE) in the past and it was not different this year.  The CORE facilitators handled the nitty-gritty details of the day.  From tent pitching, the varied rope course, confidence line, orienteering course, bengala walk, team walk, uranium transfer, gadget making, fire-building and cooking activities, students, facilitators and teachers learned the lessons of teamwork, perseverance, determination and the virtue of patience.  Some probably even learned more.

The comparison of lifestyle between urban and rural came to the surface much quicker than anticipated.  The sedentary routine of the students evidently did not belong in such a rural and active setting.  Almost at once news of injuries reached the teachers HQ and our nurse, Ms. Kate Tubig, in a very short while, had her hands full.  Although the injuries were minor, scratches, slight rope burns, twisted ankles and sore knees, these were hard evidences that city life makes us soft.

More than these, I hoped that the students would be able to compare the kind of fun that they had doing the aforementioned activities versus the kind of fun offered in the city.  Would the laughter and shrieks they shared with their friends compare favorably to sitting in front of the computer or television at home?  Or are these just the ramblings of adults, weary of the toxic fumes in the city?  Oh, well…

All things must come to an end, as they say, and this day ended as well.  The weeks of preparation seemed a distant memory as the students and teachers piled back into the buses for the expected long, heavy-traffic laden trip home.  But lo and behold!  The expected travel time of 4 hours (which was our experience last year) was magically reduced to 2!  It seems that the improvements along the SLEX have done some good. 

Dare I say that city living is worthwhile after all?  Too soon to tell, too soon to tell…