A Few Days with La Sallian Brothers in Rome

Br. Armin Luistro, FSC yesterday was elected to be the first Filipino superior general of the Brothers of Christian Schools. This was really happy news for me. I'm sure he'll be able to contribute a lot to the La Sallian community worldwide because of his vast experience. I was also happy to see photos and videos of the occasion and it reminded me of the time I was able to spend with the La Sallian brothers in Rome a few years ago. 

My lazy blog post in 2020 didn't fully capture the amazing experience I had when I spent time with them. The time I spent at the La Salle headquarters in Rome (Casa generaliza istituto Fratelli Scuole Cristiane) is a cherished memory. I had been mourning the death of Br. Gene Tiangco, FSC. He took me under his wing when I was a student and he passed away a few months before I went to Rome. Spending time with the La Sallian brothers healed me. I felt the same love and care Br. Gene showed me and I knew in time I would find someone like him again. 

There was nothing but joy when I arrived in Rome. The name of the La Sallian brother who picked us up at the airport escapes me. It was a jolly ride from the airport and I learned a lot about the history of the Generalata from him. First order of the day was eating at the cafeteria. Then we had a short tour of the place. We thought we were going to stay at Casa La Salle (a hotel), but they made us stay in their quarters. Sweetie came with me, but we slept in separate beds haha. We also whispered to each other when we talked because we didn't want to disturb the brothers. We later on found out that they usually watch Netflix in the evenings LOL. 

The three most memorable experiences for me were:

(1) Realizing that the "ball" in the church that the Brother was hand gesturing to me was actually St. La Salle's head. [photo on this post]

(2) Seeing the relics of the saints. I was only familiar with them because the buildings in our campus was named after them. 

(3) Br. Bob Schneider, FSC (the most recent superior general) showing us the hallway which held the paintings of all previous superior generals. From St. La Salle they were able to build over a thousand schools across 77 countries in the past 300 years (source). It really does take just one spark to get a fire going.

I was also with Br. Ricky when I first saw St. Peter's Square. We walked from the Generalata to the train station and then walked again to the restaurant. I fell behind so Br. Ricky stayed with me (I had just started my treatment for pulmonary embolism when I went to Rome). 

The brothers did not want me to come home haha. I wish I had taken up the offer to stay there and teach them tech. I also wish I had taken up the offer to stay longer with them and see Rome with them. I turned down the offer because it didn't seem appropriate at that time and maybe I would have allowed them to adopt me if I hung out longer hahaha. 

Happy, grateful memories that I would always cherish. Maybe someday I'll get to visit them again. I pray all of them are well <3

#BeKind #StaySafe

My DLSU Story

After work my neighbor Anton pinged me this video. His only message was, "Congrats!" I played the video and saw that it was a video for froshies of my alma mater. I watched on and was surprised to see myself featured as an alumni. I promptly blushed to my toes because I was in the same screen as Dr. Cirilo Bautista. I looked up to him when I was student. I'll tell more about him later in this post.

At Casa generalizia istituto Fratelli Scuole Cristiane in Rome (story here).

I always knew I was going to end up at La Salle. My siblings who are both 13+ years older than me both went to DLSU. I was about 4 years old when they'd bring me to the campus when they had activities during weekends. My Ate Nats was I think an officer in their batch and my Kuya Jojo was an athlete. They were both active in school.

When my time came many, many moons ago my sister gave me valuable advise. At that time I was very active in our parish. My sister advised me to be more active in school. She said I would be able to pick up a lot of skills from being active in school and that would be useful when I started to look for a job. As much as I wanted to keep within my comfort zone I gave it a try.

My blockmates. LC26 forever!

I joined many different organizations, but my interest to become better at writing drew me to join Malate Literary Folio. That's how I eventually met Dr. Cirilo Bautista when we submitted our works for the annual lit awards. He gave a great review of my short story and then I got scared to write after that. I guess I had the makings of a good manager because I eventually became the editor-in-chief of Malate. We published six editions that year, not just three (three regular thick books and three special editions on love/horror and a calendar issue). I also contributed to Ang Pahayagang Plaridel because I wanted to hone my Filipino writing skills and joined Green & White as associate editor. I was a busy kid.

I lost all my college photos during Typhoon Ondoy. Here's something I tried to draw during one of the Malate art workshops we did at the SPS building. Hopefully my friends will send me some scanned photos from our Malate days.

With Alex, Jowell, Bryan and Jeff. Some of my friends from Temalats (c. 2006)
[I think we all kinda grew up pretty well]

On the academic front I was okay. I was like any other student, I submitted papers on time, passed and flunked exams, attended those classes I really liked, skipped class whenever I felt like it. I always sat in front because I couldn't really see and hear well. I only ended up sitting at the back when I was late. I once became seatmates with Rico Yan and because he was so makulit our professor split us up. I was the student who tried to stay out of trouble and avoided reciting in class. My only academic claim to fame is getting awarded best thesis together with my thesismates, Jingo and Alan.

My legendary thesismates - Jingo and Alan.

Jingo and I still see each other at least once a year whenever I visit. We're still so cute noh? Hahaha.

I stayed a total of 5 years in DLSU for my double degree and two more years for my MBA. I've been popping in and out of the campus (and other La Salle campuses) in the last two decades for projects and to visit friends. I'm grateful I have been able to visit a number of campuses in the last few years. I hope I can visit more in the future and it's my dream to visit St. La Salle's birthplace too (I did come face to face with St. La Salle's relics, story here).

With my beloved Br. Gene Tianco, FSC. He took care of me when I was a student and eventually became Miggy's professor too! Miss you Br. Gene, please watch over us from up there in heaven.

Here's a few life tricks I learned from my stay in La Salle -

(1) Face challenges squarely in the eye. I was never without problems when I was a student, I faced challenges as they came. 
(2) Pressure is just a means to tackle projects in a different way. Completing three terms in one year instead of 1.5 years will train you to work differently. Take things one step at a time.
(3) Build communities, not a dictatorship. Treat everyone like family.
(4) Be practical. Know what matters. Fulfill your mission. 
(5) Keep learning. Pray.

What about you? What's your DLSU story?

*More blog posts about my La Salle experience here


#CB//92 #WFH68  #StuckAtHomeDay/122 #StayHome #BeKind