In the summer before my fourth year in college, the requirement was to undergo practicum training for two months. Our grade would be based on the evaluation of whoever supervised us in the establishment we were assigned to and that given by our adviser.

As a tourism student, my options were to work with airlines, hotels, resorts, and travel agencies or tour operators. (Yes, there is a difference between a travel agency and tour operator although one establishment can be both).

Most of my batchmates wanted what they thought were glamorous gigs: an airline, hotel or resort. I decided I wanted to discover how things work in a travel agency.

Applying for a 'job'

Part of the requirement was to get ourselves taken in by the enterprise we wished to train with. That was quite a challenge. It was pretty much like applying for a 'job'.

A letter of introduction was provided by the college, but it was up to the student to convince the HR or business owner or whoever ran the on-the-job training program to agree to take them in for two months.

Big companies like airlines and hotels do accept practicum students, but with limited slots. I decided to look for a smaller business, where the chances of being accepted were supposedly greater.

It wasn't as easy as I thought it would be. Small businesses have this thinking that having a trainee meant an extra burden for them. While they were not required to pay us, or provide allowances, having a student underfoot wasn't a particularly welcome addition to their responsibilities.

After a day of trudging under the sun, I finally found a relatively new travel agency that was trying to find its niche among established players. The owner, Mamerth Banatin, welcomed me into their fold, and regaled me with stories of how he started the business. Suffice to say, the man took a liking to me (probably because I listened to his non-stop tales).

How I spent my summer

Adam's Express Travel was an hour or so away from my home via commute. Office hours were from 8:00 am to 5:00 pm. Since I would be traveling with the rest of humanity and run smack into rush hour, that meant leaving the house no later than 6:30 am.

And because I hate to be late, I was always early. Sometimes, I was in front of the office a little after 7, and it would still be closed. I remember hanging out in a store nearby or the eatery next door while waiting for someone to arrive. (I can't remember if they gave me a spare key later (such trust) since I was always first. That way, I could start cleaning up before we opened.)

Eloisa, the boss' right-hand woman, was my immediate supervisor. I could tell she wasn't thrilled having me around the first few days. So I made it a point to be useful, always offering to do something, even if it meant running errands.

This was in the day when bookings were just starting to be computerized, and most business was done over the phone (landlines). Since the agency was just starting, it was still building a track record and cannot issue plane tickets to passengers directly. That meant going to a big travel and tour company or the airline itself and paying up front before the ticket was issued.

In the first two weeks, my tasks were limited to answering phone calls regarding flight inquiries, having documents photocopied next door, some ledger work (entering ticket purchases) or typing vouchers. I guess I proved I can be relied upon to do this even if I was not a regular staff.

Pretty soon, the rest of the staff - mostly sales reps who were out of the office calling on clients - realized that they had someone to do menial tasks for them - ME.

Among their favorite assignment for me was to place a call to airlines, where you would be asked to hold the line forever until some rep took your call and did the booking. It took so long that when you finally got them on the phone, you better be sure to conduct ALL your business - 5 to 6 separate bookings sometimes. I practically memorized all the airline jingles because of that.

Over time, I picked up how they handled such transactions and ventured to go a step further - handle the query and booking myself. Was I being brazen? No. I just learned by observing them and figured I could do that, too.

The most sensitive part of that task was plane fares. Agencies were usually given a net and gross rate, and it was up to the sales people or the office to add mark-ups (that's why ticket prices vary even if it's the same date or flight class).

Pseudo travel agent

As my proficiency improved I was given the go-ahead to handle walk-in clients or calls that had no assigned rep. It was an office account. After clearing with Eloisa or the boss, or some sales agent, I could give a quotation of the fare and even proceed with ticketing.

It had become part of my job to hop from one travel agency to another within the area (Ermita, Manila) to get those tickets. There is a messenger who handles this, but sometimes he's already out on an errand and a new ticket needs to be picked up.

While there are jeepneys plying the route, the traffic would usually be horrible that it was faster walking. Often, I would end up running as well, because the passenger/client was already at the office clicking their heels while waiting for the ticket.

And that is how I learned the streets and side-streets of Ermita and Malate (shortcuts were necessary), and how I improved my walking speed. Everything was always 'RUSH'.

Filipino travelers are a big mystery to me. They decide to buy plane tickets right about when they have to leave so they would be pounding the agency to produce the ticket ASAP because their schedule is tomorrow even when they only booked a flight today.

It's so much more convenient now because you just go online and do the booking yourself, pay with a card or deposit money in the bank, and voila, the ticket or voucher is either emailed to you or sent via text message.

Lessons learned

But those days of pounding the pavement, so to speak, taught me a lot. Not just about the business but also people's characters, values, and behavior. I didn't just deal with people in the office, clients in person or over the phone, but those who worked in other agencies and airlines as well.

I knew to pick out the ones who looked more accommodating and could attend to me immediately, and avoid those who were already stressed out because of the mountain of work they had done and still needed to do. They were more likely to snap at me if I so much as squeaked about how I was pressed for time.

A few weeks before my practicum was to end, the boss had me trained in putting together tour packages. A package didn't just include airfare but hotel bookings, local transport and tours.

By then, Eloisa loved me because she could count on me for quite a bit of stuff and I rarely, if ever, complained. I was a gopher yet an aspiring travel agent.

When I completed the training, Mr. Banatin had a standing offer for me to join the agency. After all, I already knew what they did so no training necessary. At that point, he wanted to build a niche as the go-to agency for Medjugorje pilgrimage tours. (Years after I know he achieved his goal, and the office was no longer a hole-in-the-wall establishment but housed in a swanky building).

It was an enlightening and productive summer for me. I learned much more than the airline alphabet (alpha, bravo, charlie, delta, echo...) which is how you spelled out everything over the phone when booking a flight.

Could I have been a success in a travel agency? Perhaps. I was a quick study. And I always made it a point to learn as much as I can wherever I am working, and not just stick to what I am assigned to do. The work was interesting and there was much to learn.

But alas, fate had other plans for me. I enjoyed that summer. And the one-point-oh grade I got was more than worth all the hardship and sacrifice.