Last December 2011, I was given the opportunity to interview Hayley Roberts, a member of Bridge Club Australia, about the comings and goings of their Bridge Club.

Hayley was a part of the 19th APCC last 2007. According to her, the most memorable part of her APCC experience was the first day of Marine Camp, meeting her host family and of course the onsen or public bath. Like most JAs, at first she was very overwhelmed with the idea of being around so many kids of different personalities. It really was a whole new world.

Like most kids that go through the life changing experience that is APCC, she stayed active in her country’s Bridge Club. She describes Australia’s Bridge Club as “being small and not very well-known yet, but has enthusiastic, dedicated, and motivated members. “ Members which with their lovely personalities keep her dedicated to Bridge Club and keep her proud to be a part of something so amazing, with their projects like picnics, Japanese festival-themed afternoons, past JA/PA’s BBQ reunion, tree planting and supporting local people and their community events, such as the Urban Reforestation initiative.

We had a meeting on the night of January 21 (Saturday) at McDo Katipunan.  We discussed the following:

 

Outreach

> Possible venues: Taguig, Krus na Ligas, North (Ate Lianne), South (Ate Monique)

> Possible activities: feeding, teaching, party (food, games, etc.)

> Possible dates: March 3, Late February to Early March

> Theme: Spongebob.

Summer Reunion

> Theme: Sherlock Holmes

> Possible Venues: UP Oval, LGV Clubhouse, EK

> Possible Dates: Before May 10.

Last December 2011, the provinces of Iligan and Cagayan de Oro were badly affected by floods that were brought by the typhoon Sendong. Many people lost their homes and family members and so they were in need of any kind of help that people could offer. Bridge Club Philippines organized a simple gathering of donations for the victims of the typhoon and worked with Center of HOPE Worldwide to ship these donations to the provinces. Most of the donations were clothes.  Special thanks to all those who shared their blessings.

My Saturdays are spent on math trainings. So when I learned that the BCPH outreach in Payatas was going to be on a Saturday, I thought that the only contributions I could give were to donate, inform my schoolmates about it so they could donate, and gather donations. But a day before the outreach, I chose to miss two Mathematics Teachers Association of the Philippines (MTAP) sessions (and hoped it won’t lessen my chances of joining national math competitions) so I could attend the outreach instead.

I chose to attend the BCPH outreach because I felt my donations were not enough – used textbooks, storybooks, some clothes and toys. But more importantly, I wanted to personally be there to interact with the Payatas kids (though I was also afraid that I would make mistakes and mess up).

I have experienced a lot of outreach programs throughout my time as an Atenean. But this year, during December 17, 2011, was my first time experiencing it with the Bridge Club here in the Philippines. During this event I realized how much I have missed during my long absence from the Bridge Club community. The event itself was very fun and I enjoyed interacting with the kids. There were games, presentations and of course, food. One thing I found different from other outreaches that I have been to is, that everyone did their best to entertain the kids and were eager to help out. The whole point of the event was to reach out to the kids which I think we managed to achieve. As an Atenean, I have been to my fair share of outreaches but one thing that was different here was that everyone present took the time to interact with the kids unlike in some, where a person only attends because he is required to do so. This experience also led me to realize that I needed to become a better member of the Bridge Club community. All in all this was a great new experience and it is one I would be delighted to do again years to come.

Last November 25, 2011, BCPH students from the Katipunan area met up at Pizza Hut to bond and discuss 2012 activities.

In the spirit of the Christmas season, we also donated to the UN’s World Food Programme to help feed children in the conflict-areas of Mindanao.

BRIDGE CLUB Philippines is now on its 2nd year.  In commemoration of this milestone, we had a Harry Potter-themed anniversary-reunion last September 25, 2011 at the Pacific Village Clubhouse.  26 former JAs attended from batches 2001 to 2011.

The event was hosted by Professor McGonaGEL and SeptiMARGE Vector.  The opening remarks were given by the BRIDGEwarts Headmaster, Professor DumbleTINO.  And soon after, the students were sorted into 4 houses using the Sorting Sumbrero.  The first house task was to create a Filipino team name and a cheer to match.  The 4 teams competed for house points in games which tested their teamwork (Transfiguration), knowledge of the Asia-Pacific region (Muggle Studies), and athletic ability (Quidditch).

After the afternoon banquet, the outgoing president, Marge Bumagat, gave an emotional year-ender presentation.  This was followed by a summary of the 23rd APCC by this year’s PAs, Monique Caparros and Lianne Garcia.  After sharing their vision for the coming fiscal year, the hew Executive Members were elected and they signed the new constitution.