The author, Stephanie, with her teammates Aldric (left) and Laura (right).
Last August 2013, I was praying the rosary with my family at around 10 in the evening when my cellphone rang. I heard it ring a couple more times. I meant to check who the caller was after we were done praying, but I completely forgot. My phone rang again afterwards, and when I picked it up, I heard someone shouting so loudly from the other end that I literally had to put the phone away from me ear.“Steeeeeeeeeph!!” Aldric screamed over the phone.
“What?” I replied, a bit angry. It was almost midnight and Aldric was just basically shouting my name.
“Bakit di mo sinasagot phone mo?!” His voice just kept rising.
“Oops,” I laughed (only then did I remember about the previous calls).
“Wait, I’ll call Laura. Conference tayo,” he put me on hold after reminding me about how my forgetfulness might cost a life someday (what an exaggeration).
“Hello?” I heard Laura’s voice.
“Ano ba ‘tong si Aldric?” I asked.
“Ewan ko. Bakit ano ba nangyari?” We were both clueless. We even thought Aldric was just drunk calling us.
“Omaygad Steeeeeph! Magpaalam ka na sa nanay moooo!!!!” Aldric was practically yelling.
“Ano bakit?!” I yelled back. He was already kind of really getting on my nerves. I mean, why was he so loud this late at night?!
“PASOK TAYO SA JUAN FOR FUN!!!!!!”
And in those moments when we were jumping and shouting out of happiness, I knew a fun-filled and exciting adventure was just around the corner for the three of us.
It has been six months since that one heck-of-a week I spent backpacking around the Philippines with two of my closest friends. All the memories are still fresh and it feels like it was just yesterday. When we joined Cebu Pacific’s Juan for Fun Backpacker Challenge, we thought we were just in for an adventure. We didn’t know we were in for a life-changing adventure.We went into the challenge strong and we came out stronger—emotionally and mentally, that is. Physically? Maybe not so. HAHA. We spent an entire week on our feet for 16-18 hours a day while eating 30-peso carenderia meals. We were amazed by how much our bodies were capable of. We had the energy to run at night when we had already walked the entire day. We had the energy to strike a pose in front of the camera when we had probably taken hundreds of shots already. And most of all, we had the energy to laugh and have fun after all the stress that we had to go through during the day. Looking back, there wasn’t a single day our tummies didn’t hurt from laughing. After all, that was the essence of Juan for Fun: FUN.
The Juan For Fun Backpacker Challenge was also not only about strategy, using the right tactics, and doing as many activities while spending as little money. It was also a test of friendship. It was a week filled with stress, and arguments between friends were inevitable. Honestly, we had little fights almost every day. But that didn’t affect our friendship at all. If any, it only made our relationship stronger. After all, we weren’t just friends anymore, we were a team. We were Team Sun Broadband.
I have so many vivid memories during that one week away from reality. Actually, I think we all got to do things for the first time during this challenge. It was my first time to hitch-hike, ride on top of a mini bus, zip line upside-down, eat durian and woodworm (not that there will be a second time…), bottle sardines, hold a crocodile, paddle a pedicab (as if my life depended on it) along the highway, visit the Underground River of Palawan, race around Cebu, and so much more! It was even my first time to backpack!
But of course, what made this experience even more special were the people I met in just seven days. There were the other thrill-hungry backpackers who we all made friends with, our marshals who were just as excited as we were as we went through the special challenges, the locals who all helped and cheered for us, and everyone behind this backpacker challenge who made this magical adventure possible.
Now this might sound sappy, corny, or whatever but I’ll still say it anyway: We all started the challenge as strangers but we all ended it as a family: The Juan for Fun Family. We’re excited for this family to keep getting bigger!
- Stephanie Bernardo of DLSU’s Team Sun Broadband, Juan for Fun Backpacker Challenge 2013 3rd placers