Behind the Scenes

moments that made up the board exam experience

Lunch Break

In a carinderia somewhere in the University Belt, a bunch of architecture graduates from a prestigious university exchange tips and techniques on taking the board exam:

Grad # 1 : When in doubt, I always choose C!
Grad # 2 : Ako, I choose B.
All : Why is that?
Grad # 2 : Becase “B” is for “best!”
Grad # 1 : Eh, “C” is for “correct.”
Grad # 2 : Hindi ba, “C” is for chamba?
Grad # 1 : Eh, kung “B” is for “bopol”???
Grad # 2 : Uhhh…(sirit)
Grad # 3 : Naalala nyo ba yung prayer bago mag start ang board exam? “Lord, may we never guess, or rely on luck, or take the exam lightly…”
Grad # 4 : Oo, ako pa nga ang pinabasa ng proctor, kaya feeling ko ako pinapatamaan.



Disabled

The day I applied for the exam at the PRC, I saw this girl hobbling on the sidewalk near Morayta St., assisted by two other people. When I looked closer, I realized it was somebody I knew from school. She was supposed to apply that day but didn’t go through with it because she slipped and twisted her knee cap at the PRC toilet. She completed the application later, though. When exam time came two weeks later, we were assigned on the same floor. Her kneecap hadn’t completely healed yet; it was still painful to move so she had to walk slowly. She was worrying about how she would be able to deal with the design exam on the third day; whether she would have to stand the whole time if the chair wasn’t high enough to sit on. Then we saw this guy at the end of the hallway with two crutches. He had on a white shirt and was obviously taking the exam. We couldn’t imagine how he could do it. My friend realized she was still lucky. She did wonder, though, after the exam, whether or not it was a sign that she twisted her kneecap, and whether or not she should have continued with the application.


White Shirts

Everyone seems to look good in white. Upon seeing the first few white shirts at six in the morning lined up on benches facing the University of the East courtyard, I wished I’d brought my camera so I could take a picture. Some two days before, I accompanied another friend while he was buying his white shirts. We went to Bench, where he bought two tight-fitting cotton tees (with lycra). He even got two free Dao Ming Si posters with it. He was going to wear the shirts with low rise jeans, of course – no sense in tucking in a shirt in high-waist jeans and feeling baduy while you’re taking the exam. I went across to HerBench to see if I could find any white blouses. They were twice as expensive. I decided to just wash my old ones.

Mr. Chummy Proctor

While a friend and I are discussing exam questions in the hallway, this guy in a brown polo shirt passes by and makes a comment: “Kung saan-saan nila kinukuha yung questions, no…” And we both look at each other and think: “sino yun???” Later, I find out he’s a proctor. He’s assigned to our classroom on the second and third day. Somebody asks to clarify a question, and he just says, “analyze n’yo mabuti, ha…” which almost makes me laugh out loud given the absurdity of its application in particular questions. When I meet him on the hallway, or even if I just see him from afar, he looks at me and nods his head, as if we were friends. I almost nod back on impulse, but eventually end up giving him a blank look. Later I find out my friend has the same experience. During the design exam, she happens to look up from her desk, and is freaked out to see him on the viewing glass of the door, looking at her. Weird.

Coping Strategies

Before the exam, I see one girl sticking little pieces of masking tape on a chair. She’d probably done about 50. I think about doing the same thing, but I didn’t want her to think I was imitating her. I also see a guy laying out his pens in an orderly manner in a plastic case. I begin to wonder whether I should have brought a bigger pencil case. I comfort myself with the fact that I taped different colored pieces of paper to the ends of my pens, so I could identify them easily.

The room we’re assigned in for the design exam has airconditioning and two ceiling fans. I can’t think fast when I’m freezing, so I ask the proctor to turn off one ceiling fan. Thirty minutes later, the guy in front me says, “miss, mainit, pwede bang paandarin natin?” I say, wait just one or two more hours for the room to cool. An hour later, the girl beside me says, “miss, mainit talaga…” I give in, and the ceiling fan is turned on again. I suppose it really was hot, but I still felt cold. I think better when I’m perspiring.

During the course of the exam, the noise of shuffling tracing papers and pen strokes audibly increase. I also hear somebody’s watch beeping per hour. I hear a whirring sound, though, that didn’t seem familiar. I look for the source, and it turned out the guy to my right was using what looked like an automatic eraser (I didn’t know those existed). I felt really primitive with my P7.50 eraser, blowing the dirt off, not having one of those nifty brushes.

In Midst of Quiapo

Quiapo is one of the most fascinating places in the world (I haven’t exactly been out the Philippines, but I just have a feeling it is…but maybe it’s just me). The mix of historic aged buildings with the squalor, the hustle and bustle of the schools and the various small businesses gives it a unique character that makes enclave developments like Rockwell Center or Greenbelt feel bland and made up. This is the real inner city, the best place to hold the board exam – where architects-to-be can see neoclassical, art deco, gothic, bahay-na-bato, and modern buildings coexisting – and decaying. They can see what time (and the city) does to architecture. While the taxi we are riding in goes around, I get a glimpse of the old mosque and Quinta market. Just in front of the gate of the school where the exam is held stands a dignified bahay-na-bato. On the fourth floor, I am pleasantly surprised to find that there is a Chinese temple on the other side of the building. At the end of the design exam, when I get out of the classroom, I see the lighted peaks of the towers of the Basilica of San Sebastian, and I think – what a perfect sight to end the day.


Special Thanks!

To Noel and Ving (and Harold, for the two sessions he attended), my co-group reviewees, for the shared knowledge and all the chikahan in-between,

To Johannes, Nap, Ferdz, Jing and all those whom I may have forgotten (or didn’t know) who passed down their notes and reviewers (though winner pa rin si Ferdz, with the liquid-papered terms on Ching, and the Filipino terms on the index cards…heheh)

To Maureen for making the PRC application almost seem fun,

To Kareen and Matet, for the company on the day of the exams,


And, dear reader, for reading another long article on the board exam!

(Fete de la Musique!!! :)