May 21- Off to Cebu
After hauling what seemed like a ton of materials and luggages from the airport to the hotel, Bernard, Ivy, and I settled in the Marriott Hotel in Mactan, Cebu to reenergize for the following day's Mind Mapping session.
May 22- Mind Mapping: Creative Thinking for Leaders and Managers - 1st day with Cebu Holdings
The venue where we held our Mind Mapping run for Cebu Holdings is just at the back of our hotel. We could have just walked, however with the materials we were bringing to the venue, we definitely needed transportation. The Mind Mapping workshop apparently was a not-to-be-missed workshop, that was why after bringing a suitcase-full of Mind Mapping materials, I had to run back to the hotel to grab additional items for the additional participants of Cebu Holdings. We had 23 participants, total.
Upon grabbing the additional items from the hotel, namely, 15 juggling balls (which weighed 5kg), 20 sketchbooks, and a large luggage, I dragged myself to the elevator, but syempre, kailangan 'poise' pa rin yung paglalakad. I am in a semi-business attire, after all. Someone in the hallway asked me if I was checking out. I whizzed past him with an loud, "Nope, not today!" I didn't have time to call for a bellboy, because I was pressed for time. When the elevator reached the ground floor and that audible 'ding' sounded, I was face-to-face with a, surprise, surprise... a bellboy. He looked at my 'dilemma', smiled and asked, "Hi Ma'm! Do you need assistance?" I looked at him and smiled, but deep down, I was exclaiming, "Obvious ba?!"
I handed him the bags, and since I had this facade of the bags being light, he wasn't prepared with the weight. He literally... and I mean LITERALLY almost kissed the floor. I gasped an "Whoa! Are you ok?" The bellboy replied, "Ma'm, kabug-at ma'n to. Anong laman nito?"
The President of Cebu Holdings, Francis O. Monera, was present during the Mind Mapping workshop and said some short welcome remarks. Cecil Urbina, in charge of the trainings for Cebu Holdings (and whose sister-in-law happens to own Laguna Garden Cafe) introduced Bernard Marquez as the facilitator for Mind Mapping: Creative Thinking for Leaders and Managers. We started the seminar just before 9am.
Sometime before lunch, I did an ocular at the Golden ABC training room to set up and prepare the materials for the MMKids seminar the following day.
May 23- Mind Mapping: Creative Thinking for Leaders and Managers - 2nd day with Cebu Holdings and Mind Mapping for Kids - 1st day
Yes, you've read it right. We held the 2nd day for MMCTLM on May 24 and at the same time, we also held our first MMKids in Cebu. At 730am, after bringing Bernard to Laguna Garden Cafe, I accompanied Ivy to Golden ABC (thankfully, we had transportation, provided by Golden ABC) to take us to their office. After 30 mins of setting up, the kids started coming in, accompanied by their parents, who helped them to their seats (and paid for their workshop fees). The early bird award goes to Charles and Kyle Liu, who arrived a bit past 8am. ^_^ We had 22 kids total - ages ranging from 7 years to 18 years. Lovely, bright kids they all are. I couldn't help but smile when I hear them speak English, then insert their Cebuano expressions in the end. For example, "Don't do that, lagi! or "It's Mind Mapping, bitaw."
I would like to note here that the kids learned juggling really fast. I had to buy additional prizes for those who were able to juggle. I can't forget Gio - who wanted to win 1 additional prize, so that he could give one to his sister, Patricia (who was also attending the MMKids workshop). Such a thoughtful kid.
Around 330pm, we rushed back to Laguna Garden Cafe to see how Bernard was doing with the adults. He just finished raffling off 5 i-Mind Mapping installers to the participants.
May 24 - Mind Mapping for Kids - 2nd day and back to Manila
Last day for our Mind Mapping for Kids workshop. Ivy enlisted the help of Bernard, because we separated the kids from the teenagers. Bernard handled 6 kids, while Ivy handled 16 teenagers - separate classrooms, of course.
After our Mind Mapping for Kids workshop, we gave our congratulations and the certificates to the kids. We chatted a bit with Alice and Benjie Liu - who helped us bring the Mind Mapping for Kids workshop to Cebu. God-willing, we will definitely see more Mind Mapping sessions held in Cebu in the future.
My dream is that Mind Mapping will be a common jargon in the Philippines and this amazing brain tool will be available to everyone.
All my bags are packed, I'm ready to go - waiting at the airport
It's 630pm and I'm at the Mactan airport waiting for my flight. It has been raining non-stop since 330pm and it doesn't look that it's letting up soon. I'm also waiting for 2 of the facilitators to finish their 30-minute massage - which they badly need after a job well-done. By the way, our flight was delayed for another 25 minutes. Haaay. Somehow, I'm glad that I was able to eat something at the hotel or else I'll be really hungry right now. Right now, I'm checking my email - offline mode, while propping my legs up on my big "Guji" hand-carry. Hehehe. I could feel the eyes of those passing by - as if they've never seen a person like me... a 26-year old, typing away on her laptop. Maybe it's an unusual sight in the Mactan airport. I really didn't bother anymore, since I chose at that exact moment to be oblivious to my surroundings and reflect on my experience in Cebu.
I take deep breath, lie back on the cold airport bench, close my eyes for a moment and try to recall what my eyes have hungrily took in from the time I've stepped off the plane.
The best of all these experiences was being exposed to a different culture. I quietly observed the boisterous nature of the Cebuanos - always ready to share a good laugh, as well as their friendliness. I will never forget their hospitality during my stay there - most especially our 2 drivers - Ching and Nilo, the two people who have assisted me with my logistics - Grace and Leslie, and this nice, soft-spoken Australian (or American foreigner) in his late fifties, who was wheelchair, whom Bernard and I assisted with his hotel keycard so he can enter his room. I never got his name, but I hope he'll be all right.
If ever you visit Cebu, try their seafood. I absolutely loved it. I didn't have time to dine at Dimsum Break - a restaurant that a friend of mine said is a must-visit, because the Chinese food is really good.
The intercom jolted me from my reverie; the plane is ready to accept passengers. I check my time. It's 8:30pm and thankfully, it has stopped raining. As I settled on my plane seat (I take the window seat of course - Ivy and Bernard are out cold), I look out my window and see the clear nightscape of Mactan - my eyes tracing the tiny dots of light that frame the buildings and the roads... before it was covered by clouds.
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