Bonafide Student!

Naka-enroll na ako today! Yey! By myself! Yey! I'm such a big girl now. :)

10:00 AM. Went to UP Diliman to enroll in their French Extramural Course. Since I was alone, I don't have any pictures to post. So I'll make kwento na lang my experience. :)

I didn't know where the College of Arts & Letters was located so I parked at the Mass Comm building and asked the security guard. The kind sir gave me directions with a smile, and so I went back to my car and drove to Bulwagang Rizal, which was just beside Palma Hall. Easily found a parking spot, thank God!

By the way, I didn't want my outfit to look too dressy or too "old" and I just wanted to look like a normal student, so I just wore a denim miniskirt, a blue tank top and havaianas. After seeing the students walking around the campus, I smiled to myself and thought, "Cool! I think I look pretty much just like them." :)

Okay, so I went inside the CAL building and looked for the European Languages office. I spotted it, and found myself talking to the friendly old man who entertained my phone inquiries a couple of weeks ago. He told me that both the morning and afternoon French classes were already closed. But since a lot of people were still asking about the course, they decided to open another morning section, and I was the buena mano of that new section - French 1-C! Yey! :)

So I filled out a student information form and the payment slip. After that, the friendly old man got my form and told me the next step - paying for my tuition fee. Eto ang conversation namin:

Old Man: Okay, magbabayad ka sa Cashier's Office. Familiar ka ba kung saan yun?

Anne: (shakes my head) Hindi po.

Old Man: (gets a map! - and I thought Oh no! Malayo!) Sige, eto... May sasakyan ka naman yata diba?

Anne: (flattered, so I look like someone who owns a car! Sosyal!) Opo.

Old Man: (looks at the map) Nandito tayo ngayon... (and he gives me the directions)

Anne: (bewildered - why on earth is the cashier's office so far?) Thank you po. Pwede pong akin na lang itong map?

Old Man: Oo sige, sa iyo na ito.

Anne: Tapos I'll come back here po ulit after?

Old Man: Oo kasi yung official receipt yung kailangan para masama ka sa klase.

Anne: Okay. Thank you po.

So I went back to my car and drove again, looking for the Cashier's Office, which was located at the building that housed PNB UP, near the shopping center where you buy the fishballs. Nag-date kami ni Alvin doon before nung bagu-bago pa kami kaya alam ko yung place. (Diyosko, hanggang sa UP ba naman memories of him haunt me??????)

So eto na. I fell in line and took out my checkbook, and kamusta naman, naiwan ko yung sign pen ko sa car. Naman! So, alam ko pathetic pero no choice ako, I borrowed a pen from the girl next to me. And I was wowed by her impeccable english! After exchanging a few lines, I found out she was a frehsman, and she was from Cebu. No wonder she speaks such good english. The she asked if I was an alumna. And I was crestfallen. There goes trying to look like a normal student. Punyeta, matanda na talaga ako! Dibale, maganda naman ako.

So back to paying for my tuition. After falling in line and waiting for my turn, when I got to the window the not-so-friendly lady said to me when I handed her my check:

"Ano yan? Di pwede yan. Manager's Check lang pwede."

Kamusta naman yun diba? So I went to the nearest ATM and got cash, and did the whole lining-up thing again. The guy outside who pointed me to the ATM said "bakit, kinapos?" I was insulted but said nothing. But deep inside I wanted to tell him, "Hello manong, gusto mo i-enroll din kita ng French, libre kita, para classmates tayo."

Anyway, I was sitting there (again) waiting for my turn (again) and I was already sweating kasi ang init and hindi naman aircon. I looked at the others around me, and my god hindi sila masyadong pinapawisan, samantalang ako parang nag-cardio! Goodluck!

After less than five minutes, I got back to the same window and the same lady, and now I had cash! Dyosko, kaloka! I paid for my tuition and got my official receipt - the sacred piece of paper that will put my name on the French Course 1-C list! Yey! :)

11:05 AM. I was back in the European Languages office, proudly holding my official receipt, which a friendly lady photocopied, gave back to me, and asked me to hold on to it until I get my certificate. Then she pointed to the white building outside the window, saying, "That's your building. The room number for your section will be posted there on June 21."

And that's it! I am now a bonafide student! Congratulate me! :)

Hmm... it just occurred to me now. I've always wanted to study in UP Diliman. And I've always wanted to drive my own car while in school. Now, 11 years after wishing those two wishes, I'm studying in UP, and driving my own car, too! Ang galing. :)