that summer in Samar

The other day, I was talking with my grandmother who's going back to the province on Monday. She was inviting us to come and visit her in Samar, but this time, during fiesta on the last week of September.

I'd love to visit Samar again. I've only been there once, and I loved it! My sisters and I spent about a week there 3 years ago, and it was one of the greatest trips I've ever had.

flashback mode...


Upon arrival in Calbayog, we dropped off our things at our grandmother's house in Gandara and went straight to the Blanca Aurora Falls.

Blanca Aurora Falls (left side)

Blanca Aurora Falls (right side)

The water seemed clean, so we felt safe swimming in it. You can also jump from the top of the falls.

a local kid jumping from the waterfalls

One downside of this place is its shabby bathroom. Although, we enjoyed the place too much to care or complain.


The next day, we went to San Antonio in Northen Samar. It was quite far from our grandmother's house; it took us a long jeepney ride, a pedicab ride, and a boat ride to get to the island, but it was all worth it. The beach was exquisite; it reminded me of Laiya and Anilao.

San Antonio

the beach reminded me of Laiya

the clear waters reminded me of Anilao

The place was not at all crowded, but there was a fair amount of people. The place isn't very commercialized, but the facilities aren't bad. We rented a cottage and spent the night at Haven of Fun Beach Resort. The cottage was fully airconditioned, the beds and pillows were comfy, and the bathroom was very decent.

That night, we had dinner by the beach, under the starry sky. And in the morning, we were greeted with a beach-front view of the sunrise.

sunrise on San Antonio

Upon leaving Northern Samar, we headed south towards Leyte to see San Juanico Bridge, the longest bridge in the country.

the bridge that connects Samar and Leyte

it spans over 2km

steel trusses

We arrived Tacloban City, Leyte at around night time, so we spent the night at another relative's house there. The next day, we took a tour of Tacloban City. Since this post is about Samar, I will not elaborate on our trip around Tacloban. But, if you're visiting Samar and are going to see San Juanico Bridge, I highly suggest taking a tour of Tacloban, as well.


After our tour of Tacloban, we went back to Gandara, Samar to take a break from our "busy schedule".
The rest of our trip was spent resting, hanging out with other relatives in the area, and visiting the farm.

We took a bangka ride along Gandara River to get to the farm. In the farm, we hung out at this hut where we had coconuts and played with the chicks. We also got acquainted with the carabao, whose name I have forgotten, and with the farmers who were talking to us in Waray like we can understand them (well, thanks to context clues, we sort of can).

Gandara River

the farm

Our last day in Samar was brief as it was our flight back home. On our plane ride back to Manila, the pilot announced that we were passing by Mt. Mayon in Albay.

Mayon Volcano, as seen from our plane

I felt the plane being tilted sideways for us to have a better view of the volcano. I also noticed how the plane circled the volcano a few times. That was pretty cool. Good job, Cebu Pacific!

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Apparently, there are more places to see in Samar. I can't wait to return; hopefully during fiesta! Hope you guys could also visit and enjoy Samar! :)

BS Architecture

It's been over a month since I graduated college. To be honest, I've had doubts about my course, from the beginning of college up to the end of my college life.

... but that wasn't the case back in my earlier years.

When I was a kid, I enjoyed drawing houses and planning out the layout of our dream house. I would spend days trying to create a well-designed house in The Sims. I was hooked on Architecture-related TV shows, such as "Mega Structures", "Extreme Makeover: Home Edition", and other shows on HGTV.

By the end of grade school, I was so set on taking up Architecture for college; but, by the end of high school, I have put my interest in Architecture aside to hopefully pursue a newfound interest - Film. I actually chose BA Film as my first choice while applying for the university. It's a long story how I got BS Architecture as my course; it wasn't even my second choice. I remember being disheartened when I found out that I got BS Architecture as my course in college. I remember telling people that I would shift out to  Film after a year.

Lo and behold, 5 years later, I graduated college with a degree in BS Architecture. How did that happen? Well, during my first year in Archi, we already had a couple of major classes. After a year in that course, I decided to not shift out anymore because I didn't want those majors to go to waste and because I found myself enjoying the course, thanks to my blockmates and orgmates. I learned to love and be proud of my course and my future profession, but during those 5 years in college, I would often have doubts, especially when I'd see how amazing my friends' designs were and how crappy mine was. The icing on the cake was during my thesis... I don't want to elaborate on that, as I don't want to be reminded of discouraging and disappointing times. But, that thesis made me so depressed about Archi that I told my mom that I don't think I'm going to pursue a career in Architecture.

However, after talking to some working friends and hearing stories about their jobs, I can't seem to imagine myself in a corporate setting doing anything else unrelated to the field of Architecture. I was reminded of my journey to BS Architecture, how fate seemed to put me in this course and in this batch, and how everything seemed to fit into place; I realized that this is where I'm meant to be. I've decided that I am going to pursue this career. Just wait and see, world (or the Philippines), Architect Regina Rocha will be coming for you!

I'm blogging again

I've been meaning to start blogging again ever since I graduated from college. I used to blog religiously back in high school, for the sake of putting out my thoughts and experiences on the internet. But as college went on, I found myself blogging less often, up to the point of not blogging at all, due to priorities. Five years later, those sites that I used to blog in have lost its popularity, making me lose interest in using them again (however, I still keep them due to their sentimental value).


Why blog again?
I want an outlet. I wanna share to the world some of my experiences, such as the things I've seen, the places I've visited, or the restaurants that I've eaten in.


Why blogspot?
I wanted a site specifically for blogging. I've tried other blog hosting sites, and I've found this to be one of the simplest, so far, because apparently, I've used this before. Plus, some of my friends are using this, so I assumed that blogspot was commendable.

I originally opted for wix.com. I kinda got pressured into making an online portfolio due to a friend's website. She suggested I use the same website builder for my blog/portfolio, but I got confused with how to post the contents of the site. While I try to figure out wix.com, I shall use this site to blog, for now.


Why now?
Because I've just graduated a month ago, and I'm currently unemployed; meaning I'm supposed to have a lot of free time. Haha...

But honestly, it's because I'm leaving in about a week. I want a venue to say how I'm doing, what I'm doing, and where I am so that I would avoid repeatedly answering similar questions from different people.

I'm still trying to figure this thing out, specifically the layout and theme. Please bear with me.