The Life of a Student Traveler: An Interview with Jam Donado

Jam Donado, a student from City of Mandaluyong Science High School, talked about
her adventure last year. She had her ups and downs but it made her strong to pursue
travelling while studying.

“2017 was a blast, I get to study hard in school and at the same time I get to travel
new and exciting places,” she said. It is true, as a student, she have projects and
assignments to do and travelling is not going to accomplish them. But with a little
innovation and planning she kept up with her studies while sightseeing and exploring the
country.

Jam started her year with a trip to Baguio, the summer capital of the Philippines. She
said that the mоuntаіnоuѕ tеrrаіn and ѕtrаtеgіс lосаtіоn within thе Cordillera mоuntаіn
rаngе gіvеs it thе аdvаntаgеѕ of a сооl temperature аnd scenic vіеwѕ. Thе сіtу hаѕ an
аbundаnсе of fоrеѕt rеѕеrvеѕ, раrkѕ, and ріnе trееѕ, аnd thе high еlеvаtіоn рrоvіdеѕ
mаnу places wіth ѕwееріng vistas. She went to the beautiful Mines View Park, Burnham
Park, Camp John Hay, Good Shepherd Convent and the ever busy Baguio Night Market.

“As summer finally approached, we visited Ilocos Norte. It was my first time visiting it,
so I was excited going there. The province offers many popular destinations for tourists,
locals, and foreigners alike. If Italy has its leaning tower of Pisa, Laoag City has its own
local version: the Sinking Bell Tower. They said it is incredibly heavy and built on sandy
ground and that is why it is called sinking tower. After that, we went to the Lapaz Sand
Dunes and sand boarded. Then we took a visit in the famous Vigan City, took some
pictures and ate the delicious skinless longganisa,” she happily narrated.

On the first month of school, she went to Romblon. On the way, she visited her
province, Bulacan, for a side trip. Barasoain Church was her first destination and in there,
she attended a mass. Then she went to Casa Real de Malolos. It is the place where you
can have a background on the history of Malolos. After meeting her family there, she
carried on with her trip. They went island hopping on the amazing and breathtaking
islands of Romblon. A newest attraction in Looc, mesmerized Jam. It is the replica of Eiffel
Tower in Paris is made of bamboo and wood. She was very pleased to visit another place
of her bucket list.
 “Pozorrubio, Pangasinan was my last destination of 2017. Actually, we went there just
to accompany my aunt but my family decided that we tour the place for a while. It was a
Sunday, so we visited St. Padre Pio Parish and attended a mass. Also, we went to
Manaog Church. It was a magnificent place filled with alluring murals all over the walls,”
she recounted.

2017 was a year of exciting and fun travels and she is expecting to visit more places
with her family and friends this year.