6 things Thomasian students miss about the University of Santo Tomas (UST)

It has been years since I graduated from my university and countless memorable moments are still in my head. It was all re-lived when I got the chance to visit it again for quite sometime.. So for this post, let me share with you some of the things I know most "Thomasians" can relate with especially if you are from the same college/building.

A tiger inside the campus?! Oh no!

After graduating from high school, I took several entrance tests to a number of schools.. I remember taking a test in Ateneo, UP, and UST. I was not aware of the "big 4" that time nor was aiming at any specific school.. I just wanted to go further and finish because that is the norm lol. But now that I am a bit older, it is just recently that I appreciate things I don't understand back then. Well, God has plans for everything and I think UST was really meant for me.

So let's start the list:

1. St. Raymund's building

College of Commerce

Since I graduated from this college, of course, this would be the no.1 on my list. During my time, our college was assigned on the 3rd and 4th level so getting to class without getting a bit tired is rare (lol). An elevator is present but a few use it - besides, it can only carry a few students at a given time. They say most varsity or athlete students are from this college.. Well, I did see many. I can't guarantee if we have the most though.

2. Accounting building

The building of accountancy a.k.a The Mall

This is the building that all Thomasians love. Why? Because it houses all the food establishments that can serve not only all the students but all the visitors and guests as well. You have two floors to choose from and most of them are the popular fast-food chains we are crazy about. We usually eat here after some morning jogs or whenever we crave something special.. Why not on normal days? You'll know at no. 5.

3. First milk tea experience

The start of my milk tea life (lol)

It was our era there that I think I first heard about milk tea. I was like "milk plus tea"? It doesn't sound very well. But as time goes by, students started lining up just to buy it.. even doctors from the hospital are patronizing it regularly. Though I was still not convinced to buy one until a friend of mine encouraged me to have a quick zip from his cup. I still remember telling him that it tastes like metal rust at first but it grows on you eventually and craves for its taste after. I was joking that they might be putting something addicting there (like drugs or something) that people look for it from time to time. 

Their first brand was "Simple Life" but turned "Simple Line" a few years after. Now that the milk tea industry is turning big, I really appreciate them more now. More of its story here.

FYI. For me, their milk tea is still the best compared to the new breeds a.k.a Coco, Dakasi, Tiger Sugar, etc...  

4. DOTA sessions at Pacific Suites

Pacific Suites - Dapitan

If you are a gamer and schooling at UST, you should know that this building is not your ordinary building. Haha! Looking for a 5 VS 5 DOTA match? For sure you'll find vast of them here. With more or less than 200 - 300 (as I remember) units of computer, there is no doubt that this is one of the biggest tech playgrounds we had those days. Most of the time they have no vacant chair (yes, even with those numbers) so we often organize immediately after or even before the last class ends. 

We were always excited to form our team of 5 (sometimes 10) and have the adrenaline burst during the games. Haha! Fun times. 

5. THE famous Asturias street

Asturias street - Dapitan

Dapitan is the go-to place of every thrifty Thomasian student. And the most famous street in Dapitan is this street, Asturias street. So as mentioned above (on no.2), during normal days - you'll find us here in this area, of course, when its eating time. It is famous because aside from finding Jollibee (lol), here you'll find the affordable food establishments that would fill stomachs without hurting your pockets.. that much.

More to see in here are the affordable bookbinding and photocopy/xerox services, resto-bars, apartments, computer shops, and more.. As a matter of fact, the first branch of Chiquitos was first established here too.

6. Selecting your P.E. class (I don't really miss this but quite memorable)

One of the gyms inside UST

I would have never imagined taking Folk Dance as my P.E. class but guess what, I did it here. Haha! It never crossed my mind that such a unit can be full that fast and early. I don't know what happened and why it happened to us but it did. I forgot what was the other option but for some reason, folk dance was the better one. I heard there was a kite flying class which I would have chosen over this (not to disrespect folk dance but I really don't dance - lol) but as a consolation, I have classmates who are enrolled to the same folk dance class and was worse than me so let us just laugh about that lol!

Main building - UST

This will be all for now. I know there are more "in my" and "on your" lists like the daily commute stories,  Paskuhan moments, watching UAAP games live (which are crazy), and more.. Let's all tackle them some other time as it will be a great time if I can do a part 2 of this reminiscing post. We'll see..

By the way, I recorded my recent visit at UST and hope you appreciate this video of mine:

If you cannot see the video above, click HERE for it

Feel free to share your experiences below the comment section if you can relate! Haha! Viva Tomasino!