I once lived inside a secure compound that boasts one of the biggest gardens and lushest greeneries in Metro Manila. It had football fields, swimming pools and at least five parking lots. I used to live in the shadow of the azure agila. I lived in Eliazo Hall, then Ateneo de Manila’s sole on-campus females-only dormitory.
I was a member of the Cervini-Eliazo Resident Students Association, a CERSAn. I lived in the dorm for four years, when the Ateneo men’s basketball teams were in between that 2002 championship and the five-year rule. I was one of about 500 or so “apples of my eye” of the residence halls director, Sir Tim.
I shared a third-floor room with three other girls: G, K, and M. Later on, A, one of the ladies from the room opposite ours. made a habit of popping in and chatting. Little did I know that I’ll grow to love these four strangers like sisters, and entrust them with some of my funniest, most heartbreaking, most embarrassing thoughts.
Living in Eliazo was scary and exhilarating. I was frightened by the thought of not having any family to take care of me: What if I get sick? Who will take care of me? What if I don’t get along with the other girls here? What if I fail my subjects and I get depressed — would I go over the brink and commit suicide?
Being in the dorm was very exciting. For the first time in my life, I was free from constant parental supervision. That meant I could stay out very, very late (or very, very early till the next morning), attend parties (with alcohol), and slack on studies. Of course, that also meant I had to learn how to fend for myself. I had to learn to budget my money so I wouldn’t starve by the end of the week. I had to do my own laundry, clean up after myself, find food — things my parents always used to do for me in the province.
The dorm — as we called Cervini and Eliazo collectively — has a lot of traditions.
I learned the very first tradition even before the first day of my freshman year. Like all incoming dormers, I received a letter in early May about the week-long CERSA Orientation Seminar, meant to familiarize us with upperclass dormers and forge a bond between us batchmates. Come OrSem time, we were given foster brothers and sisters assigned to guide us during OrSem.
The last activity of the CERSA OrSem was the Salubong. For me, it started off scary. My batchmates and I were blindfolded. An upperclassman “angel” then walked me safely through an obstacle course where I had to crawl, climb, and do a trust fall. After the obstacle course, I was asked to sit on a chair — still with blindfolds on — with something very hot in front of me. I was given water to drink, heard a few whispered encouragements and promises that I’ll enjoy what’s happening next. And then just like that, all of us in the batch were asked to remove our blindfolds. The sight of my angel and foster brothers and sisters greeted me, welcoming us into CERSA. Everyone ended up hugging and laughing and feeling relieved and happy to be part of the family, while we all circle a giant bonfire.
Another dorm tradition was the “surprise” birthday celebrations. We ladies always got a harana from our Cervinian batchmates, along with a cake from our fellow Eliazoans. The gentlemen dormers, meanwhile, were forced to a midnight swim in the dorm pool plus a cake from us ladies. No one is allowed to feel alone and isolated on his or her birthday in the dorm.
The dorm, of course, is first and foremost the living quarters of Ateneans. While we do get to play and have fun a lot, we are all expected to pass (and with flying colors, too) all our subjects. Sir Tim is very strict about this, and he always made it a point to give away little incentives for us come exams season.
In times when sariling sikap (self-study) is not enough, we dormers can ask for help from our fellow CERSAns. The first time I had to do this this was during a freshman-wide assessment test that would decide who gets into remedial, regular, advanced math classes for the semester. Upperclassmen with math and engineering majors, organized by the dorm’s Academics Committee (AcadCom), gave us marathon math tutorials in the evenings — just to make sure no freshman gets left behind.
Later on, I joined the AcadCom. Part of our work was to manage the collection of used textbooks, then lending them out for the semester to the other dormers . The brightest among us also conducted tutorials for the other dormers. My most memorable experience with them are the semestral One Night Stand.
No orgies, just clean fun pajama parties.
We all spent the night together in Eliazo’s basement, where we arranged the mattresses that we took from our beds upstairs. We played parlor games — charades, bring-me, truth or dare — tell jokes and retell silly stories, and then pop open our laptop and projector to watch Asian horror movies in succession until the sun rises.
As for our regular nights, sharing a room with three other people from different backgrounds and with very different lifestyles was alternately fascinating and annoying. I’ve heard stories of some students who couldn’t adjust to the unscynchronized sleeping and studying habits of everyone else in the dorm that they elect to transfer rooms or stay in another dorm outside of Ateneo after a few months.
My roommates and I never got to that point. We were able to get along well with each other, and we had the patience and maturity to bear each other’s sleeping quirks for four years. Actually, I think ours is the only Eliazoan room in our batch that stayed intact through the four years of college. That is not to say that our sleeping habits were very compatible, mind you.
Eliazoans hanging out in the dorm’s hallway, preparing a batch activity.
M and I usually took a nap during late afternoons or early evening when we get back from school. We’ll wake up when our other roommates start inviting us to eat dinner, and then we’ll study into the wee hours of the morning while playing a movie or music or television in the background.
K was the healthy sleeper among us. She always woke up early, fixed herself milk or tea, then sat on a chair in our balcony, welcoming the day by looking at the Marikina skyline, visible from below our Atenean hill, and listening to the birds chirping. She never took naps during the day — it messed up her body clock and gave her headaches — but she also always had to sleep early, just as the other Eliazoans were beginning to stir for the evening. Oh, how K suffered from the buzz of activities going on just outside our door and even the chats that M, G, and I would have in the middle of the night.
I think K had it the worst from G’s sleeping habits. Aside from her frequent daytime naps, she also slept in the early evening, woke up, and stayed awake until 2am or 3am. Sometimes, she set her alarm before “taking a nap” and proceed to press snooze for the next 20 times the alarm went off. That woke up everyone in the room, repeatedly, except for G. One time, the situation (and the sleep irritation) got so bad that K threw a pillow missile at G to finally wake her up. The two of them are still friends to this day, I’m happy to report.
My four years in Eliazo was a beautiful time of my life. I made very good friends who I can imagine I’d be having lunch with and reminiscing with forty years from now. I have very good memories there. Eliazo is home — still is. Five years after leaving the dorm, seeing the big blue eagle atop one of the gates leading to the dorm always feels a welcome home.
All photos provided by the author except for topmost from AHEAD Tutorial & Review
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