A Patch of Green

I had to run an errand early this morning in UP Diliman and I found myself walking the first floor corridor of Palma Hall. I suddenly remembered being a Thomasian holed up in the UST Main Building for four years a decade ago.

I was used to seeing old walls, narrow staircases, statues of saints, glass cabinets with laboratory equipment and large windows looking out into small courtyards with palm trees, shrubs and stone benches. I would disembark from my jeepney at the Espana gate a little before 6AM and take my time walking through the tree-lined paths leading to the Main Building. During rainy days, a symphony of frogs would surround me as I splosh through the puddles as I made my way to my college. I think the other students would wonder why this student, in her all white uniform, chose to walk on the muddiest, wettest and messiest path to the Main Building (yung gitna, yung tumbok si Benavides), when there was a covered walkway on the side anyways. I enjoyed being under the old trees, listening to all the frogs slowly drown out the noise of the jeeps. When I got to the end of the path, that was basically the end of the greens.

As I walked the short stretch of the Palma Hall corridors, I suddenly appreciated the huge "windows" framing the trees of the acad oval. Students were keeping a safe distance from me as I stopped, sighed and stared at the open space. I hoped they shared some of my appreciation and happiness at all the green surrounding us. My parents would tell me stories of how beautiful the UP Campus was when they were studying there, how nice it was to just walk around and how cool the climate was back then. Imagine all that and sitting in class, looking out to this:

So nice to look out to this big patch of green instead of mostly concrete, steel and glass =)

I'm glad I live quite near the UP Diliman Campus. It's a fresh patch of green amidst all the concrete. And it's home to lots of birds too! So, as the migration season begins, I will once again frequent this green campus (but also saying goodbye to some areas which are now being built on.) As walked back to the parking lot, a Philippine Pygmy Woodpecker trilled a loud hello from the acacia tree overhead before I entered my car and drove back into the concrete jungle.