I entered Kindergarten at Cebu Eastern College. It's a Chinese, non-religious school. All the memories I had with Kindergarten was that I like Math and English but have a slightly negative attitude toward Chinese. I guess it was just my pre-preschool upbringing. My mother was fond of buying those educational tapes in English. I guess that was the reason why I have strong preferences for the English language. Also, at home, my parents speak only Cebuano and English to their children. They used Chinese only in occasional phrases and sentences. Sometimes I got so frustrated with my scores in Chinese tests that I purposely altered my scores on the answer sheet! This was so because I always got a reprimand from my mom when I got grades ranging from 75% - 85%! I guess mom is, was, and always will be hard to please. Type A personality (perfectionist) runs in her side of the family.
I couldn't remember any of my teachers anymore. However, a certain Mrs. Fong always comes up to my mind. Maybe she was the Principal or the Director. As I child I always fear my teachers so much - especially if they were Chinese! Chinese teachers are very strict and they always carry a big stick! Do you know what they have done to noisy children with those big sticks?
These were the good old days when the good foundation of Math and English finally paid off. The school now was divided into two departments - the English/Filipino teachers and the Chinese teachers and so were the honor rolls. I was consistently 1st in the English/Filipino department and consistently not 1st in the Chinese (my rank usually ranged from 2nd to 8th). The people who had good standings in the Chinese were those whose upbringing were very Chinese - obvious, isn't it?
I transferred to Sacred Heart School for Boys when I was in Grade 4. I definitely didn't regret this - even though this meant the end of my proficiency in Chinese. I thought I could've retain my fluency in Chinese since my family is Chinese - but I guess I was wrong. The ironies of life! I graduated grade school being at the top 5 of the class. I was the "Second Honorable Mention."
Teachers I can still remember were: Mrs. Bas, Mrs. Bihag, Mrs. Guerrero, Mrs. Ybañes of CEC and Ms. Quinain, Ms. Labrado, Mrs. Pepito, Mrs. Cabatingan, Mrs. Pisco, Mr. Genegaboas, Mrs. Flores, Ms. Yee, Ms. Pilar Lim, Mrs. Yap, Mr. Bas, Mrs. Culango, the late Mrs. Laput, Ms. Ybañes, Mrs. Lumakang (Ms. Choi) of SHS-B.
My high school days were definitely filled with funny experiences. My classmates at this stage were definitely set to the "teasing mode" that made my high school experiences filled with laughter. I remembered there were many name callings at that time. Examples are:
Pharaoh (Alexander Po), Dog (Anthony Yap, Alexandro Saso, and myself), Kaldero (Andrew Chan), Nerd (Don Tanedo), Elastic Boobs (Ryan Young), Bumbai (John Labella), Pig (Carl Trocio, Loumel Simbajon), Ulo (Kenneth Yap), Sissy (Edgar Lucero), General (Ritchie Neis), Lamok, Jerskee, Jarworski (Jerome Mokon), Alien (Christian Motong), Chicken (Christian Mercado), Kamatis (Oliver Wong), Pungkol (Sean Paul Tiu), Midyas (Francisco Mijares), Butong (Clark Gothong), Buktot, Hunchback, VeitCong (Vicor Chua), Patatas(Joel Co), Tupperware (Jacob Uy)... BTW, teachers were not spared of name calling.
My school mates also did a lot of other crazy things. For example, there was this honor student who got frustrated with his Math test score. In his frustration, he tore a piece of his test paper and ate it! Another person commits a lot of funny grammar errors like "Do not kick me, I am not an animals!," and "Why do you do not like Chocolates?" He also substitutes the words Mormon for moron and mortar for tartar.
However, I was still pretty serious with my lessons. I ended up graduating as the valedictorian of the class. Below is a list of my teachers.
