A LETTER FROM A BATCHMATE IN IHE
Dear Jonathan!
Nice to hear from you again! I am Maria Laura the Argentinean woman friend of Jose Maria, and the whole Latin group, who was always in the party's at Mina with her child ... in that time of 3 years old. Do you remember me? I start to work at IHE 6 years ago and I am very happy to be here, 2 days as Social Cultural Officer and 3 days as Alumni Officer. Of course your group 98-99 is my alumni group, I continue being in touch with most of the Latins and I meet with Jose Maria for a good drinks once a year when a visit Argentina. I am doing very well, my child too, he is now 13 so as tall as me but very nice teenager.
I hope you are also very well and always with your nice humor and character.
Warm regards from Delft!
Maria Laura Sorrentino, Alumni Officer
UNESCO-IHE, Institute for Water Education
Wow! This simple letter returns memoirs when I was doing my masters in IHE, Delft. I was single at that time and most of the friends I hangout with almost every night where Latinos. There I was introduced to Salsa. We usually booked the function room of the fourth floor of Mina, bringing along a simple CD player with a bunch of Salsa Cds and off we go Dancing Salsa the night away. Then Jorge introduced me to another league of Salsa Aficionados when he brought me to a Salsa Club in Laiden. Then I never stop going to Laiden every Saturday night.
Most of the students who were doing masters in IHE were staying in a big condo named Mina. I was staying in a unit with two rooms that I shared with Jimmy, from Iloilo. Nar from NEDA shared his two-bedroom unit with Lu, a Taiwanese Batchmate who has been part of the Filipino Barkada because of his fondness of hanging out with us. Sometimes Tata and the gang, Filipino Students doing masters in Technical University crashed our place for drinking sessions. Our favorite drink was Raghatti. We were introduced to a gazillion kinds of beer as we learned that there was a lot beer factories there but we all reckoned that nothing can beat San Miguel. An American friend of Jimmy who had been in the Philippines for over 10 years and decided to settle in The Netherlands affirmed that San Miguel is the best beer in the world. Nar’s wife Rollette gave a visit and brought a San Mig Beer Grande which we gave to the American Friend. The American guy placed the Grande in the shelf like a trophy and we settled in drinking Grolls.
The Delft Gang attended the Mass in Den Haag every Sunday. The Church was one of the few Churches which celebrated mass in English. In the church, we got to meet more Pinoys. Then once in a while we crashed the Den Haag gang’s condo who were taking masters in the University in Den Haag. Most of them were females.
Ate Cynthia who was a staff in the University of Den Haag and who was once a Bayanihan Dancer choreographed several folk dances that we performed during the Asian Night. We introduced VST & Company in IHE when the pinoys from Delft and Den Haag joined forces to perform Swing. This swing was not most of the Europians had in mind. They were accustomed to the west side swing. So the DJ from Tobacco branded the dance the Filipino Swing when we had the international dance party. Later I saw in Youtube that the swing that the pinoy knew was actually named the Hustle (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ez4AsDKDFmk&feature=related). And the hustle that I knew was the dance step being introduced by the Wea Dancers in the 70’s with the tune of the same title, The Hustle by Van McCoy (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gFz2WkVAk38).
The experience in The Netherlands was not all the time bed of roses or we might say bed of tulips. We had our tough days in the university. I had some cramming for exams that got me imprisoned in my room for several days. I witnessed a classmate passing out during the exam in statistics. Some students gave up schooling half of the year because of the pressure. Preparing for the thesis about a flood design should have been easy when you had an adviser who provided me with what I needed like computer program and textbooks but knowing the panel who had the reputation more ferocious than Simon Cowell placed me in hell. At the end of the year, I found myself graduating. I realized that the reward is sweetest when you’ve gone through hell. I realized that one will shine the best when emerging from tough battle.
It was exactly ten years ago. The diploma may have lost my reflections in it as I intended to manifest that I don’t have to prove anything. Being rusty may take the sharpness. Viciousness may pan the flame taking advantage of the injury. And since the credential is already imprinted, it’s just a matter of oiling and getting back in shape and sharpness is there again. Pardon if it bounce back. Nevertheless, time is lousy in maintaining youth and energy. The ability may melt down and when that time comes, the good old days are just preserved in your memory. But one thing for sure, I can say this to those who gave up in the middle of the school year, “Maintain whatever you wanna maintain, but I have finished the race.”
That simple email brings back so much treasures that I have forgotten I still possess: friends whom I shared the joy and sorrow with and the sweet achievements.
Thank you, Maria Laura, for bringing back the treasures.
Nice to hear from you again! I am Maria Laura the Argentinean woman friend of Jose Maria, and the whole Latin group, who was always in the party's at Mina with her child ... in that time of 3 years old. Do you remember me? I start to work at IHE 6 years ago and I am very happy to be here, 2 days as Social Cultural Officer and 3 days as Alumni Officer. Of course your group 98-99 is my alumni group, I continue being in touch with most of the Latins and I meet with Jose Maria for a good drinks once a year when a visit Argentina. I am doing very well, my child too, he is now 13 so as tall as me but very nice teenager.
I hope you are also very well and always with your nice humor and character.
Warm regards from Delft!
Maria Laura Sorrentino, Alumni Officer
UNESCO-IHE, Institute for Water Education
Wow! This simple letter returns memoirs when I was doing my masters in IHE, Delft. I was single at that time and most of the friends I hangout with almost every night where Latinos. There I was introduced to Salsa. We usually booked the function room of the fourth floor of Mina, bringing along a simple CD player with a bunch of Salsa Cds and off we go Dancing Salsa the night away. Then Jorge introduced me to another league of Salsa Aficionados when he brought me to a Salsa Club in Laiden. Then I never stop going to Laiden every Saturday night.
Most of the students who were doing masters in IHE were staying in a big condo named Mina. I was staying in a unit with two rooms that I shared with Jimmy, from Iloilo. Nar from NEDA shared his two-bedroom unit with Lu, a Taiwanese Batchmate who has been part of the Filipino Barkada because of his fondness of hanging out with us. Sometimes Tata and the gang, Filipino Students doing masters in Technical University crashed our place for drinking sessions. Our favorite drink was Raghatti. We were introduced to a gazillion kinds of beer as we learned that there was a lot beer factories there but we all reckoned that nothing can beat San Miguel. An American friend of Jimmy who had been in the Philippines for over 10 years and decided to settle in The Netherlands affirmed that San Miguel is the best beer in the world. Nar’s wife Rollette gave a visit and brought a San Mig Beer Grande which we gave to the American Friend. The American guy placed the Grande in the shelf like a trophy and we settled in drinking Grolls.
The Delft Gang attended the Mass in Den Haag every Sunday. The Church was one of the few Churches which celebrated mass in English. In the church, we got to meet more Pinoys. Then once in a while we crashed the Den Haag gang’s condo who were taking masters in the University in Den Haag. Most of them were females.
Ate Cynthia who was a staff in the University of Den Haag and who was once a Bayanihan Dancer choreographed several folk dances that we performed during the Asian Night. We introduced VST & Company in IHE when the pinoys from Delft and Den Haag joined forces to perform Swing. This swing was not most of the Europians had in mind. They were accustomed to the west side swing. So the DJ from Tobacco branded the dance the Filipino Swing when we had the international dance party. Later I saw in Youtube that the swing that the pinoy knew was actually named the Hustle (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ez4AsDKDFmk&feature=related). And the hustle that I knew was the dance step being introduced by the Wea Dancers in the 70’s with the tune of the same title, The Hustle by Van McCoy (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gFz2WkVAk38).
The experience in The Netherlands was not all the time bed of roses or we might say bed of tulips. We had our tough days in the university. I had some cramming for exams that got me imprisoned in my room for several days. I witnessed a classmate passing out during the exam in statistics. Some students gave up schooling half of the year because of the pressure. Preparing for the thesis about a flood design should have been easy when you had an adviser who provided me with what I needed like computer program and textbooks but knowing the panel who had the reputation more ferocious than Simon Cowell placed me in hell. At the end of the year, I found myself graduating. I realized that the reward is sweetest when you’ve gone through hell. I realized that one will shine the best when emerging from tough battle.
It was exactly ten years ago. The diploma may have lost my reflections in it as I intended to manifest that I don’t have to prove anything. Being rusty may take the sharpness. Viciousness may pan the flame taking advantage of the injury. And since the credential is already imprinted, it’s just a matter of oiling and getting back in shape and sharpness is there again. Pardon if it bounce back. Nevertheless, time is lousy in maintaining youth and energy. The ability may melt down and when that time comes, the good old days are just preserved in your memory. But one thing for sure, I can say this to those who gave up in the middle of the school year, “Maintain whatever you wanna maintain, but I have finished the race.”
That simple email brings back so much treasures that I have forgotten I still possess: friends whom I shared the joy and sorrow with and the sweet achievements.
Thank you, Maria Laura, for bringing back the treasures.
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