How To Avoid Offloading

I do not know if it was due to a bit of luck and preparation but for my few travels outside this country I have never experienced (and hopefully will never have to) any crazy and awful scenario such as being offloaded from an international flight.

On one hand, this same scenario continues to haunt many of our fellow citizens who intend to travel beyond our territory  In fact, just a few weeks back,  when a woman's was offloading experience made the rounds in social media.  I don't wanna go into the details of that because I am sure many people have seen that post which went viral when a woman was not allowed to take her Cebu Pacific flight bound for Singapore due to her inability to produce certain documents asked by the Immigration officers.

My Personal Experience

Based on my past travels,  I really did not have much of a problem when it comes to the Immigration because I am very straightforward during the interview and I make it a point to be fully prepared for every question BI officers often asked of tourist travellers.  If you are going to another country on a tourist visa and would want to have a hassle-free experience at the Immigration, do take note of the following;

1. You must have your roundtrip ticket, copies of accommodations receipts or hotel reservations, address of hotel, name of contact person or whomever you will be staying with.  And yes, I even memorized the address of the hotels where I was staying.

2. You must be mindful of your flight dates,  where you are going and more importantly you know the details of your trip itinerary.  Must include details about cities you are visiting and even the tourist spots you intend to visit.  Have a background of the places you intend to go and reason why you want to go.

3.  I was never asked to present a financial document but I have ready with me copies of my bank statements, latest credit card statements,  letter from my employer, calling cards, Employment ID, birth certificate, even my enrollment/asessement form from my law school.  The Immigration officer may ask for this to ensure you have the financial capability to spend for your travel expense and that you really intend to go back to the country after your trip.

4.  I also addressed and answered their questions direct to the point without fussing up with unnecessary details.  Being a law student is really a great thing because we are trained to be responsive and answer direct to the point.  Of course, more important is that you must be truthful and consistent with your answers regarding your trip, your true purpose and other personal details.

5.  Finally,  I believe that being confident is also key.  The Immigration people can sense if you are not telling the truth just by profiling and indeed having truckloads of confidence can be a factor for you acing that interview.  As in every situation, carrying yourself with confidence can greatly influence how people see you and deal with, yes lucky you, that includes Immigration officers.  So be confident in every manner from the way you carry yourself, look the part of a tourist,  and answer their questions with ease.

I hope these tips help and lessen the worries of those who are planning to travel outside the country. If you have anymore questions regarding my own experience with our Immigration officers,  feel free to send your queries in the comment section below.

Studying Law via Audio Books and Lectures

My faithful study partner, a long-running Nokia Bluetooth headphone

I know,  I know I am getting ahead of myself.  My bar review days is still far but I couldn't help but be excited and look forward to it.  If there is anything that law students don't have is TIME.   Hence,  as early as now,  I am already finding ways to make use of my time efficiently and effectively, like listening to audio law books and lectures.

These past days I have been addicted to listening to all kinds of audio lectures and law codal which you may also easily find online.   I am listening to these lectures almost 24/7.   I have this long-running Nokia bluetooth headphones that I got 4 years ago but still works on 8-10 battery on a single charge.  Listening to audio books with this gadget makes everything so easy.

Whenever I am doing my daily mundane activities like eating, cleaning, doing other household chores, sometimes when bathing (I put on a shower cap to protect my headphones), and yes even when sleeping so I don't have any downtime.

Torture that muscle called 'brain'

They say that the brain is a muscle and the more you use it, the more efficient that muscle becomes.  I am trying to make my brain process two tasks at the same time. That makes for a crazy multi-tasking exercise for my brain. I am thinking of how to finish this blog while my ear and some part of my brain is processing some other knowledge.  This makes it more exciting and challenging.

I know the key in being good in one thing is to FOCUS and keep going,  but what if you can focus on multiple things at one point in time?  What if your brain can actually do this thus increasing your productivity 2x or more. That is what I am trying to do, trying to discover the potential of my grey matter and let's see how it turns out.

I really cannot vouch for the effectivity of this learning style and I am still figuring out for myself.  One thing is for sure,  it allows me to use time in a more efficient manner since time otherwise spent on mundane daily tasks can now be fully utilized.   When I first listen to the audio codals,   it was hard to give my full attention to it.  However,   having these significant law concepts playing over and over inside my head keeps my brain busy and useful on most times of the day.  It is fun to let your brain do some minimal work while you sleep.

So of course while I was writing this post,  I was also listening to another audio specifically on effectively increasing my time-management and productivity skill by my favorite speaker Mr. B Tracy.  Let's see how the post turns out but more importantly, I look forward to measuring how this listening impacts my review.