BROUGHT TOGETHER BY HIVE! - Our Successful and Unforgettable First Hive Meet-UP with Cebu's Teacher/Bloggers!

It was successful. It was very interesting. It was fun-filled. It was our first Hive Meet-Up with the Teacher-Bloggers of Cebu and the two brilliant individuals @indayclara and @ybanezkim26 together!

The long-planned and most awaited Hive Meet-Up finally came to life when Indayclara pushed through the event last Sunday, May 21, 2023,, at Halfmoon Beach Resort, San Remegio, Cebu. The planning and the preparations were agreed upon and done on our Group Chat in Messenger, where everything went smoothly until the day before the event, Indayclara was forced (I think) to create a poll on whether to move the Meet Up the next week because of the bad weather or have it RAIN OR SHINE!

But hey, I wished for this day to finally come, I couldn't prolong the agony of waiting. And so I voted first on "YES, IT'S RAIN OR SHINE" and the majority did too!

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The Day of the Meet-Up! Excitement and happiness all over the place!

The Meet and Greet!

Fortunately, When we reached the venue where Indayclara and Sir Kim were waiting for us, the weather was as lovely and fine as their smiles. Mr. Sun was in our favor! @Indayclara, with her usual energetic and jolly personality, greeted us one by one. I sometimes wonder if the energy of this woman ever goes down, she is always bright and happy. She sets the atmosphere positive and light!

What a perfect weather for our Hive Meetup!

Meanwhile, @ybanezkim26 gave me the impression kind of "you know that smartest student in class who is quiet at the corner but always willing to help and share his answers with his classmates". Haha. He looks brilliant! And yes I wasn't mistaken. He is smart and excellent! I was shy at first to talk to him but he was good at making conversation.

_{I think he likes the T-shirt.😊}

While of course, my fellow teachers-bloggers looked as happy and elated as I am. It was a pleasant feeling to be connected to them not because of our profession but because of HIVE.

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Fun talks during preparation.

We didn't waste our time and immediately went on to our task of preparing the food. @selflessgem, @missjoycee, and @jobeliever grilled and cooked the fish and the meat. While @missleray and @amoreyl were busy preparing the table and @dehai and @naymhapz bought delicious homemade food too!

During the whole preparation, Indayclara was also very busy taking our pictures and videos while she asked all of us one by one about our Hive journey and experiences. Questions like "What's good about Hive?", "How's your onboarding journey?" and so many engaging questions were raised and were answered by the teachers wholeheartedly. The question and answer was fun, (I had double takes when she filmed my answer to her question.) Haha!

_{@indayclara doing the QandA}

Food is ready!

The food was so scrumptious and we were drooling looking at it. So when everything was set, we prayed for grace and then we started partaking of the food! It was like a feast! We have Meat, lechon manok, grilled fish, shrimp and lumpia, drinks, vegetable salad, and delicacies! Burp! we were so full!

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Another Food, this time it's for thoughts!

ITS HIVE!!!

Aside from the delicious food we just ate, the other food I was eagerly waiting for and really looking forward to was hearing MORE about HIVE. And thankfully @indayclara, especially @ybanezkim26 never failed to provide us with these.

So after lunch, we had a short program and short talks delivered by Indayclara and Kim. Indayclara gladly expressed her happiness that we were able to come and finally meet up, she also recalled a little of our onboarding experiences. After her warm welcome and acknowledgment, she then passed the microphone to Sir Kim.😃

@ybanezkim26 briefly introduced himself and the #OCD. While he was talking, I was all ears to him. I know all the words that he would speak will be very informative and helpful for us. First, he talked about the things that we must NOT do in HIVE, he reminded us to NEVER Plagiarize, and to always write based on our personal experience or in short write our own.

After the introduction, the open forum followed where we could ask any questions we have or things we want to learn about Hive. Kim said he might not be all-knowing about Hive because it's huge but he will try his best to answer everything based on his experience and learnings. Questions about the Token, hashtags, and communities were raised by my co-teachers and a lot more questions followed. I for one had plenty of questions raised. We were also inspired to pursue our growth in Hive when he shared his humble beginnings and how he keeps going.

Spread Hive! - The meat

Finally, Sir Kim opened up about the #Onboarding Opportunity, he encouraged everyone to invite other teachers or anyone interested in blogging. He assured us that he and Indayclara will be guiding everyone on how to onboard. He also shared the benefits that we could get once we become part of the onboarding team. This was the part that I love the most and also gets everyone super excited!

And before he ended the meaningful discussion, he checked our Hive Power individually and was happy to see that all of our Hive Power is above 1,000. His kind words and appreciation motivated us to keep blogging!

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Time for fun!

After the sound discussion and meaningful conversation, @indayclara, the mermaid, some teacher-bloggers, and the kids ride on a banana boat for some adventure! Oh, have I mentioned that this Meet-Up is an Extended Meet-Up, we could bring our families and children! Thanks to Indayclara for initiating this idea of gathering! You're the best indayclara!😚 So @dehai, @naymhapz, @jobeliever, and @simplechalyns brought their family with them.

While they spent their time riding on the boat and had some free diving, I also used my time to check out the beautiful view of Halfmoon! For me, Halfmoon is the perfect place for our Meet-Up. With its beautiful beach, wide shoreline, and white sand. We will definitely have fun, especially the kids!

While I was strolling, I couldn't believe that finally, we had our Meet Up in this beautiful place. There were also other people occupying the beach, and they asked where we came from or who we were because of the shirt that we were wearing. Of course, I proudly answered them, I am a Blogger at Hive, and those words sound so good to my ears. Wearing my shirt with Hive Logo will forever make me proud and feel blessed to be part of this wonderful community.

IT WAS A GOOD PLACE WITH GOOD PEOPLE.
THANK YOU HIVE FOR BRINGING US TOGETHER.

Of course, memorable Meet-Ups like this should be put in a frame! And here are some of our snaps at the beach!

Appreciation:

To @indayclara - Thank you for this Fun Filled and Unforgettable Meetup, the cottage fee, and the utensils, thank you for accommodating us all and for your personality that always radiates positivity.
To @ybanezkim26 - Thank you for this wonderful opportunity to see you, listen to you, and converse with you in person, You are an inspiration! I've learned a lot from you! Thank you for being generous with your insights and experience, You just don't know how you inspire us in our Hive journey.
To my #fellow teacher-bloggers - Thank you for making my Hive journey wonderful and fun.
To #OCD and #HIVE - Thank you for bringing us together. Thank you for these newly found friends and family. I am forever grateful.😍🙏

That was a MeetUp full of fun and learnings! We can't wait to share Hive to others as well!

Til next Hive Meet_Up!

That's it for our first Hive Meet together with my fellow teacher-blogger in Cebu. Thank you so much for reading, I wish you all safe and well always.

Don't forget to smile often!

Some pictures are from @indayclara and some are mine.