Exchange Student (Freshmen Year)

Xchange Student 1 (Freshman Year)

Hi. I am Gunner Sullivan and this is my adventure in La Salle.

My lolo and lola is an American while my father used to serve as a US Army Ranger but fell in love with my mom who is a ChiNay (Chinese Pinay) at isa ako sa mga naging bunga. I have a kuya and his name is Hunter. He just graduated from La Salle and now he’s a licensed mechanical engineer.

Madalas ma WOW MALI ang mga tao pag nalaman nilang fluent kami sa tagalog, english, fookien and mandarin. Malakas kasi ang dugo ng tatay namin. My brother and I stands 6’4″ na may american features. My dad stands 6’2″ while my mom stands 5’3″. My brother and I are lucky enough na nakuha namin ang height ng tatay namin and my mom’s beautiful features. Minsan di ko ma imagine kung pano kinaya ni Mommy si Daddy lalo na sa bagay na iyon.

Di naman sa pagbubuhat ng sariling bangko dahil maski papaano ay may itsura naman kaming magkapatid. Nakuha kaming dalawa sa mga modeling gigs at minsan ay inalok ng mga bit part sa mga telenovela at pelikula. Di lang nag matrialize ang career namin because of our height. Mahirap kasi kaming hanapan ng love team.

My parents ventured into business right after they got married at napalago naman nila ang sinimulan nilang pagiging wholesaler ng mga grocery items hanggang sa we are making our own brand of canned goods and meat products.

I was a freshmen that time. Just turned 18 that exact school year. College means new beginning, new chapter, a new environment and new adventures. Eskwela-Bahay-Bahay-Eskwela kasi ang set up namin ni Kuya nung high school kaya kakaiba itong papasukin ko ngayon.

I finished my high school at Chiang Kai Shek College. A chinese school in Tondo known to be rigid on their chinese curriculum. Kumbaga if you graduated from our school sigurado marunong ka na magbasa ng chinese newspaper. Nakapasa ako sa first choice ko na Civil Engineering sa UST. Siya talaga ang first choice ko since malapit sa bahay pero natatagalan ako sa kurso. Imagine 5 years compared to 4 years ng La Salle kaya I opted for the green and white. Medyo magastos lang sa damit dahil wala namang uniform dun. Typical outfit ko ang T-shirt/sport shirt, jeans and of course my ever reliable black Nike Air Force 1 low. I took my kuya’s advice na huwag sumama sa block section para mas lumawak ang aking mundo. Yun kasi ang ginawa niya. Close kami sobra ng kuya ko at lahat ng isyu ko sa buhay ay nasasabi ko sa kanya.

I was on my Filipino class when I met this Japanese girl. Her name is Ayumi Sudo. She was so cute and she looks like a pretty Japanese doll. Chinky eyes with a super black shiny hair. She stands 5’3″ with a 33-24-34 vital stats at maganda ang kurba ng kanyang katawan. Magkatabi kami sa class namin due to alphabetical arrangement na ginawa ng professor namin. Sudo, Sullivan magkasunod ang surname namin. Tama nga ang sabi ni Kuya. Puro irregulars kami nang mga oras na iyon. Some of them are even from upper batches.

Our professor is having her lecture and she’s having a hard time to comprehend. She kept on asking me and I kept on asnwering her. I admit na nailang na ako sa kanya. Tanong kasi siya ng tanong na parang di marunong magtagalog. Akala ko Chinay siya. Chinese-Pinay na dito na lumaki. I just entertained her at nung natapos ang klase ay dito na ako nagpakilala.

Me: Hi. I’m Gunner. Gunner Sullivan. And you are?

Ayumi: Ayumi. Ayumi Sudo.

Dito ko lang nalaman na she’s a Japanese.

Me: so you’re a Japanese?

Ayumi: Yes.

Me: what’s your next class?

Ayumi: Philippine History.

OMG! Kung sweswertehin ka nga naman. Same room pa kami at naging magkatabi kami sa class. We went to our next class and good thing that the subject was using english as it’s medium. She was taking Literature as her course.

Half day lang ang class namin and I offered na ihatid siya sa kanila. She was renting an apartment sa Leveriza and she’s living on her own. Sanay na din siya since ito na ang naging practice nila sa Japan. She offered me food and drinks at dito nagkwentuhan kami. She was an only child. Her parents are both company executives and they are the one supporting her studies. After our short convo ay umuwi na ako ng bahay. Isang sakay lang from school since I live near Welcome Rotonda.

The next day ay muli kaming nagkita this time sa McDo. She was having her lunch and I asked kung pwede ako maki join and she obliged. Dito nagsimula ang aming relasyon ni Ayumi. Magkatabi kami sa classroom at madalas kaming magkasama outside the classroom. Pag walang exam ay we are exploring Metro Manila. From Luneta, sunset at Manila Bay, Intramuros, at kung saan saan pa. Game din siya nung dinala ko siya sa Divisoria kung saan namili siya ng mga ibang kailangan niya.

After my ROTC Training ay diretso ako agad sa apartment niya upang turuan siya. Dito ko first time masilayan ang ganda ng kanyang katawan wearing a white spaghetti strap top and a short. Matambok ang kanyang pagkababae na minsan at ikinakatigas ng alaga ko. Pag wala akong kasama sa bahay ay dun ako sa apartment niya tumutuloy.

Dito nagdadala ako ng external hard drive and we watch pinoy movies with subtitles on her laptop. Minsan naman ay movie night kami sa Robinsons Ermita and coffee date. To make the story short ay naging close kami sa isat isa.

As the days goes by ay lagi pa rin kaming magkasama ni Ayumi and helped her to cope with mid terms and finals.

Nang matapos ang finals namin ay nakahinga din kami.

Me: Movie night?

Ayumi: where?

Me: here.

Ayumi: how about your family?

Me: my brother is in Seoul right now while my parents are in Davao City. I’m alone. Can I stay here? Please…….

Nag vac…