My Weekend With the Beta Sigma
By GV Basbas
(A Betan's son writes about his dad's fellowship with his UP Brods)

I was eager to get out of the often-sleepy town of Livermore, California. I saw this camping trip to R-Ranch in Napa-Beryessa as an opportunity to meet Filipino friends as well as to get to know a bit about my father's days of youth. Nevertheless, there was a question in my mind. "Ano kaya ang mapupulot ko sa isang weekend na kasama ang mga Beta Sigma alumni?"

Anyway, I'm G.V. Basbas, age 20, and a college student at Las Positas Community College in Livermore, California. I graduated from high school in the Philippines, and came to California in May 1998. My dad, Gilbert, was a part of the fraternity in the 70's. I come from a generation that witnessed a depressing number of frat-related deaths in several Philippine universities in recent years. Unfortunately, many of my peers believe that the word "fraternity" is a synonym for "violence." But I wanted to know what draws my dad to be with his brods in spite of the fact that it has been two decades since his graduation from UP Diliman.

Back to the camping trip. When we finally found our way to our R-Ranch cabin (Maswerte kami. Twenty minutes lang kami nawala. Iyong ibang pamilya, halos isang oras nag-ikut-ikot! It's not that the directions were very confusing. Kailangan lang siguro natin ng concentration kahit na winding at scenic ang daan!), our starving stomachs were satisfied by a lunch of barbecued chicken, duck and coleslaw. Then in order to enjoy the spring afternoon sun, I went swimming. Some of the brods' children were also at the pool, playing ball. It became a little cold for me, so I decided to get up from the pool.

Going back to our cabin, I met some people from the UP Beta Sigma group who were about my age. It was amusing to know that even though my peers and I grew up thousands of miles apart, (lumaki ako sa Manila, sila dito sa Amerika.), we shared a list of common realities in our lives. During a hearty dinner, we talked about dealing with discrimination, having overprotective Filipino parents (At least, we know that our parents love us very much.), wondering how our old dads dealt with a frat initiation many years ago. From that point on, I knew that my peers and I had quite a lot to talk about.

For the after-dinner program, we had a game called "Seven Up" first on the group's agenda. Everybody formed a big circle, and every person who made a mistake was called out of the circle. It was so funny because the "teenager within" our middle-aged parents burst out during the game. Each minute, somebody would blurt out a humorous remark. My own dad even tricked my brother so that my brother would be called out of the circle! I was amazed at how some of the winners, although decades older than I was, remained alert and confident so that they could win the prize.

All kinds of dance steps and songs (Ang dami palang "frustrated" songsters sa Beta Sigma!) followed until the end of the program. What really touched me was the camaraderie the Betan brods exhibited. There were brods that were just about ten years older than I was (or at least they looked like it) as well as brods who were about my lolo's age. It was remarkable how they related with each other. Despite the age differences, the brods were one big barkada, telling jokes, singing out of tune and so on. I'm sure my peers were also glad to see this in their fathers.

The camaraderie went on until breakfast. Several brods lent a hand to cooking breakfast (Marami rin palang "frustrated" chefs sa frat ng dad ko. Just kidding. Masarap ang niluto nila, honest!). As a result, there was a whole variety of egg and meat dishes in addition to coffee, juice and bread. Afterwards, the group played "WAR," a game that was like a massive "jack en poy" with the men against the women. It was hilarious! Since the gentlemen were still reeling from all the drinking and fun they had the previous night, they lost against the ladies who were pretty organized and took the game quite seriously (tongue-in-cheek). Anyway, everyone had fun, and the game was a good warm-up for the grand finale - a lunch table laden with lots and lots of food!

So, there we have it - my version of what went on during the UP Beta Sigma R-Ranch Camping. Ngayon, ano nga ba ang napulot ko sa isang weekend na kasama ang mga Beta Sigma alumni? I learned that my father belongs to a group whose bond transcends age and distance, a brotherhood whose camaraderie and humor live on many, many years after graduation from college. As I move on with my young life, I hope to really find friends as lasting as those my dad finds in UP Beta Sigma.