Friends Forever, Ffffound.

I've always wanted to wander the world with my wonderful friends. And we're starting with baby steps. It only took us less than three hours to reach Tagaytay City but it felt a lot shorter because of the many stories we swapped while on the road.

These beautiful sights welcomed me and my friends ♥

Manila has been unbearably hot and humid lately, so the lush greens, cold and cool breeze, and rustic charm of Kampo Berde (The Green Camp) are a big relief! The Villas family have made a lot of changes and developments to the place since the last time I was there just a year ago, but it is still the same paradise I remember and love.

With my friend Carmela. We've been close friends since we were eight ♥

We occupied the little hut shown on the fourth photo on the collage above. Aside from a balcony and a bathroom, it has four bunk beds inside.

Sorry for the mess (we're a big group of 11 people, what can you expect?), but here's what it looks like inside.
I stayed on the top bunk (and yes, that's me heehee).

Aside from being a weekend getaway for our barkada, we also wanted it to be an advanced birthday celebration for Carmela and a despedida party for Christian who will be leaving for Canada on Tuesday. Surprises are always great, especially when they're appreciated :)

(1) Our improvised cake made of donuts, mallows, and chocolate wafer sticks. (2) Our food. We had  pork barbecue, roast chicken, hotdogs on stick, and spring rolls. (3) Carmela and Christian (4) Loot bags containing toothbrushes, toothpaste, powder, disinfectants, wet wipes, shampoo, and hair gel LOL.

Love love :)

After the party, we stayed up late just reminiscing about our elementary and high school days (including the fights we had) and playing our favorite indoor games like Concentration, 7Up, and the bestseller Spin the Bottle. It was so much fun! I don't think I have ever laughed that hard since this year started :)) We went to bed at half past two in the morning; I actually didn't want to sleep yet because I wanted to make the most of our time together but they all drifted to dreamland before the clock struck 3.

And even though I was the last one to sleep, I was still the first one to get up. I went out to have coffee and read at a nice spot (where the photo from the previous post was taken) and waited for them to wake up so we can eat breakfast together.

From left to right: Ric, Chester, Dianne, Christian, Third, Carmela, Fem, Aiza, Niel, and Jer.
Except for Fem who is Aiza's boyfriend, I've known these guys since we were kids :)

Girls vs Boys in patintero

The same guys striking a pose on the left are the same guys scrambling to shower haha.

♥

We're missing a couple of people who weren't able to attend, but here's hoping our little big group can be complete again at another gathering someday.

Thank you, Kampo Berde, for adopting us for a while :)

So many years have passed and so many things have happened, but one of the most solid and special things that remain constant in my life is the friendship I have with them. We all grew up together, and we've seen one another go through our awkward adolescence stages, puppy loves, difficult school subjects and even more difficult teachers, and first heartbreaks. I know friendship is not about whom you have known the longest; it's about people who came and never left your side. Well, I'm happy to tell you that they are both of those definitions to me ♥ I don't think I could have survived high school without them, and even though we had our fair share of misunderstandings and differences before I know I couldn't have had a better set of friends than them. 

My friends remind me, by their very steadfastness, that truth, beauty, and goodness exist in the world, and that, no matter what, there are and always will be people loving people through thick and thin.

Other people, including our parents, have expressed surprise that we have still managed to become good friends even after all these years, but for me personally I think there are no big surprises there, really. I am just continuously amazed and grateful that we still make a collective effort to make time for one another. We may not see one another for months, but when we do manage to get together it's always as if no time has passed. Nothing has changed and nothing will change - in my heart of hearts, I know we will be best friends until we're old and gray, and it doesn't matter if we lose our way because we'll keep on coming back.

We'll always keep on coming back.