It pays to be early in preparation. Last July, 2022, Hilton Hotel Clark was in partial opening stage after the pandemic and their room rates were under promo rates to attract clients. Seeing that as an opportunity, Eastbridge booked 10 rooms as its way of giving its faculty and staff a non-traditional Christmas party, this time in the form of an experience gift. Last December 1, everyone packed and left to avail of the benefits of the early booking. By that time, the rates have increased by as much as 50% and would have already been beyond the school's capacity to offer.

The richness that comes from travelling can never be overemphasized. Aside from the unexpected thrills of course, there's real-life education, confidence boost, tolerance for uncertainty, understanding of cultural diversity, etc. Googling "benefits of travelling" returns 2,830,000,000 hits and that says a lot about how people nowadays realize the importance of travel. That's why in this article, we call it Exposure Trip.

Last October 2018, the whole faculty of the Eastbridge School, went to Hong Kong and Macau for its Exposure Trip. Both regular and newly-hired faculty members were given the chance to join and no one refused the chance. The team's first destination was Hong Kong but only for a day. The following day, a day visit of Macau was arranged and off the team goes by fastcraft which took about an hour to travel the distance between the two places.

Fastcraft ride from HK to Macau. The ferry travels at 60KPH and reaches Macau in an hour.

Macau, especially the district where big casinos are, is a feast to the eyes. The hotels and tourist areas are just designed for visitors to linger and pass the time and to the locals, hopefully to boost the economy by spending and gambling. We never gambled of course but we still get to enjoy the many attractions of the place. In the afternoon, we have to go back the same way.

The rest of the two days were spent in Hong Kong as we visited more places and took the cable car ride. At night the Victoria Harbor is just a favorite of visitors as the night lights of the tall buildings are reflected on the water in a dazzle of colors. Site, food, people. These are what make the experience memorable plus the side benefit of establishing a closer relationship among the faculty by way of shared experiences, pleasant or otherwise.

The yearly semesterly break is an important time not just for students but for teachers. More than just giving them some time off to relax from the stress of the previous quarters, it is also an opportunity to build more meaningful relationships with their co-workers during the annual In-Service Training (INSET). This year’s INSET happened at Crystal Beach, Zambales with the teachers grouped into three different teams.

Despite having a bit of rain in Manila, the weather was favorable during the three days of the trip. Day one began with lunch at Subic and pictures by the bay. After checking in at the resort, the teachers reassembled for the first activity where they were tasked to create a synchronized swimming routine—on land. This was followed by a quick photo shoot where each team had to arrange themselves and pose like models in a surfing ad given only a few seconds.

The Eastbridge School's yearly In-Service Training for teachers was held in Mambukal, Negros Occidental last October 26 to 30. For two days, we were holed up in a family cottage beside a man-made lake whose water was being fed by a waterfall and streams from nearby hotsprings. It's one of those places where one can really be close to nature as the resort is right at the foot of a mountain with well-preserved forest and features warm-watered dipping pool, a regular swimming pool, a boating lake, a zip line, a butterfly garden, bat sanctuary, a Japanese bathhouse and a waterfalls with seven cascades. This last feature is what really made the place special.

The training covered materials in poetry reading and teaching. And as is always the case with all Eastbridge Trainings, the spiritual aspect of teaching was never left our as we held two nights of bible studies and reflections, especially as our final day at the resort had both positive and negative highlights.

On September 14, 2010, the Eastbridgers headed for Angeles, Pampanga - this years Exposure Trip destination. The itenerary included the Paradise Ranch, the Zoocobia, the Nayong Pilipino at Clark and finally the Fontana Resort.

The Paradise Ranch is a 50-hectare joint eco-tourism project of the Philippine Children’s Fund of America and Sitio Moncayo in Bario Secovia, Pampanga. It is a 15-minutes dirt-road drive from Nayon Filipino sa Clark.Not just a rour destination, the place offers Villas for rent for those looking for a place where one can commune with nature, feed the fishes and enjoy lush greeneries and landscaped hills. We didn't have the stamina to dare climb the few-mile trek to the top of the so-called Prayer Hill which is supposed to offer an overlooking view of the Clark area.

Being an eco-tourism project, the place ties up with various institutions to promote ecological awareness and conservation. On the side of the road right after the main gate, signboards tell that various schools and businesses have helped plant trees in the area. Trees that few years from now will be part of a forest  in this once treeless grassland. Inside, I spotted several pine trees bearing the names of the planters. One was by Miss Honduras of Miss Earth 2008.

First stop was at the sunken church of Bacolor which was buried halfway  of its 12-meter height in Lahar during the erruption of Mt. Pinatubo. Currently, the church is still operational and had become a tourist destination. Recently, it had been featured in a TV Series that made it even more popular.