My legs and my thighs are killing me… I really don’t mind the pain, but the cause is what’s really bothering me. For the first time in a long time, I went on a “trekking trip” with my blockmates in San Juan. When I first heard that they wanted to go on a trek, I felt like darkness suddenly fell upon me. “Why, of all things to do in San Juan? Why do we have to go trekking?” I smiled as I hesitatingly agreed to go with them. I don’t like telling people that I don’t want doing certain things with no particular basis. You know how some people say they don’t like eating dinuguan but if you ask them if they have tried it yet, they say no? I hope that they’d try it at least before setting it aside. That was what I was thinking about the whole trekking thing.
The last time that I took a long walk was when my parents brought me to Hidden Valley. I think I was less than 12 years old at that time. I was young but too heavy to be carried around. It was so horrible coz at the end of the walk was this waterfall that we could only take a picture of. We weren’t even allowed to swim next to it! I remembered that I cried during the walk and told them to never invite me to a trip like that again.
But don’t get me wrong, I love to travel. I don’t mind walking around to see sites in a museum or in a popular city or country. By far the best place I have been to is New York City. There was a lot of walking around involved, but because my mom let me take my time looking at the buildings, and the shops, and stopping to watch a live show made the trip less tiring than it really is. I can’t wait to go back there again!
And so I told myself, “Maybe I will enjoy during this trip after all?” The only thing that I was excited about what getting the chance to bond with my blockmates. I told them honestly that I don’t know if I am physically capable of going trekking, and they encouraged me to go on with them. 5 minutes into the walk, and I was losing that smile on my face. As I climbed those slippery rocks and as I felt the small stones constantly getting into my sandals and making my walk even more difficult, I knew that this was gonna be a difficult day. And as I started to lose pace, and as my blockmates started to walk without stopping to rest, and as I was falling behind, I knew it: this was not the bonding experience that I was hoping for. How can you bond with people who are walking far ahead from you? How can you appreciate the beautiful nature when you have to pay attention to the rocks that you are stepping on? For just a minute that I decided to look around some more, my slippers came off and I had to chase it down the stream. For just a tad moment that I decided to just keep walking, my foot slips into quicksand and I almost lost my slippers permanently. Oh my God, the thought has finally gone to my head: “What did I get my self into this time?” Did I have temporary amnesia and forget that I was the type of person who spends time in the Internet? Aren’t I the type of person who likes walking around the mall at their own pace to look at the most minute details of each product or show? Aren’t I the type of person who likes to sit down on a comfy couch watching concerts and movies? I must have forgotten. That’s how I ended up going to that trekking thing. Well, the main reason why I went was to permanently check if I can do stuff like that. Well, I checked, and I have permanently crossed it out. I DO NOT LIKE HIKING. I particularly do not like going to places that look the same, but in different angles. Water. Tree. Plant. Soil. Water again. The worst part about it was that there WAS NO BURIED TREASURE IN THE END. There wasn’t a beach, or a big waterfall, or a shrine. Apparently, we were there to look at fruitbats. Fantastic. When I finally was able to join up with my blockmates, I embarassed myself. I cried in front of them. I just couldn’t hold it in any longer! Don’t get me wrong, I LOVE my blockmates. But I guess there are just things, even with the encouraging words and all, are just not right for you. I went to that hike to bond with them, not to fall behind. I went there to appreciate nature, not to look at my feet. I went there to see the sites and to take pictures, but how can I do that when the people I am with are meters away from me and are going farther and farther by the second? I cried because I was able to walk for 1 hour and 30 minutes, and I was expecting to go back to the starting point through the same route! What was I thinking? In the end, I just ended up tired, lonely, and frustrated.
And by the way, didn’t I say that I wanted to go on this thing because it was a block activity? Well, my other blockmate, Sam, on the last minute, decided to back out because she had back pain. Why didn’t I just back out? My answer: Because I really wanted to experience it. It’s just one of those things that you go through once and never again. EVER. EH-VER. I wanted to be able to tell people: I like hiking. or I don’t like hiking. I tried. And I still don’t like it. Too bad for me. It seems like such a healthy sport. Then again, it is so much more fun walking on a treadmill while watching you’re favorite TV show. For me, at least.
My last messages:
1 . Do not say you don’t like it when you haven’t even tried.
2. When you have tried it and you don’t like it, be happy that you had the guts to go through it.
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