#232 Liszt Cagayat (Philippines)

Kamusta? こんにちは!

“If your thoughts get too big, go somewhere you feel small.” — Scott Stillman

Photo from my first ever Akky support

Before Obubu

A few days ago before writing this, while waiting for my intern wakoucha to oxidize, some of the AMs, my co-interns, and I watched our internship application videos. It felt like a full-circle moment, hearing my past self talk about being interested in tea processing and field work. But what stood out to me most was hearing myself talk about wanting to “feel alive.”

Now, more than ever, I believe that everything I felt and did a few months ago led present Liszt to where I am now.

For years, I’ve been a Multimedia Designer for different brands, doing anything and everything the industry needed; 3D mockups, posters, packaging designs, social media posts, etc. I’ve always loved creating since I was young, so it felt natural to take this path. But even after the pandemic, I found myself in the same place every day, cooped up in a small condo unit, staring at a computer.

So many thoughts started rushing through my mind. Questions about who I was as a creative, and as a person. I couldn’t help but feel stuck. I knew there had to be something else I could do to make the most of this ✨life✨.

That led me to look for other creative outlets and chase ideas that excited me. One of them was matcha🍵. As cliché as it sounds, matcha was my introduction to Japanese tea. I fell down the rabbit hole of how it was processed, its history, and its different cultivars, through content creators and podcasts.

Thanks to the TikTok algorithm and lots of doomscrolling, I found out that some Japanese tea farms hosted internships. On the brink of total burnout, past me did something “daring”: I applied to a few.

I didn’t pass any of them.

I thought, maybe it just wasn’t for me. But I still followed the curiosity. I signed up for a short-term pastry arts program, took a life-changing trip to Yame in Fukuoka, and kept chasing the little things that excited me.

Then, through a Japanese tea workshop in the Philippines, I learned about Obubu. (Thank you, @jacqueandmatcha_! 💖) Naturally, I applied.

Surprise, I didn’t pass that one either (lol)

But then, a few months after finishing my Pastry Arts program, I got an email.

I passed. 🥹

So many things happened in between (hello, Nicole and Fiona! 👋), but somehow, everything fell into its right, perfect place. And that’s how I ended up in Slot 3 of 2026. Looking back, I honestly wouldn’t have wanted it any other way.

During Obubu

I didn’t have any expectations for the internship, but what I had were worries and hopes (as past Liszt would be). On my journal before my flight to Japan, I wrote:

“Worries: Can I live alone for 3 months in a new country and new environment, away from family and friends?…

Hopes: Learn things about myself and the things I love. Recharge. Reflect. Relax. Breathe.I hope I’ll be led to greater places after this experience… be a sponge!“

I can finally answer these worries and hopes as the present Liszt. ✌️😗

Coming to a new place with so many new people, and living and working at Obubu, was surprisingly easier than I thought. I’ve always perceived myself as shy and anxious, and yet, for some reason, I never felt alone. Maybe it was our shared interest in tea, but something about each other’s quirks and weirdness seemed to make us all mesh together (lol). Sometimes, one person would just meow (honestly any sound lol hi Monica and David) or dance out of nowhere, and another would do the same (vibe check = passed ✅).

There were days after our shifts one of us would say, “I wanna go home,” and that’s when I realized this once unfamiliar place had become comfortable enough to be called home.

After a while, I found myself cooking more than one portion and thinking about if other people already ate, or what they wouldn’t like to eat (shoutout to Chong Jun’s cheese 🧀). Every once in a while, someone would share their food, and suddenly, one dish would become a whole feast filled with serious or funny conversations that ends, of course, with a cup of tea.

“Plant? Hama Sushi? Mcdonalds? Lawson?” 👀 Became a trigger word for a simple after-work adventure. Something mundane like grabbing dinner became special because of the people I was with.

I remember the first night we went to Plant (miss you, Leah), we felt the need to fill in the silences with ice-breaker questions like “What’s your favorite food? Where are you from?” and after a while the conversations felt more natural, and the silences didn’t feel awkward, rather, a safe space for a questionably random driving playlist into sunsets. 🎵The Climb – Miley Cyrus🎵

The question “When’s your next day off?” means a trip to Tokoname, Nara, Kyoto, or Uji. Itinerary was not needed, only vibes, and Google maps recommendations from Obubu people years before.😭

And if not, a trip to Taikoyama, Tsunagiba, or Wazuka-cha suffices. Wazuka may be a small rural town away from the city, but it never stopped us from exploring (thank you, Amber🩷- my date all the time).

I think this was the answer to my past self’s biggest worries. I was afraid of being away from everything familiar, but I didn’t realize how quickly unfamiliar faces could become friends and family. Somewhere between shared meals, random errands, long journeys, I stopped feeling like I was simply staying here and started feeling like I was living here. And just when it started to feel like home, it was almost time to go.

One of the things I’ve learned about myself going to Obubu was how much I underestimated myself. I’ve found brief moments when I tell myself, “hey, you did that!” especially during tea tours. Speaking in front of strangers was what I was most worried about when I came here, and yet I was able to manage speaking in front of 2 big groups. I just needed a little push, a “you got this,” and some intense pep talk from everyone. 😂

Being surrounded by people who are unapologetically themselves; chasing what they love and what fascinates them gave me the inspiration to do the same. Every now and then, I would hangout with Obubu people and can’t help but think, “wow, they are so cool,” and instead of feeling “why can’t I be like them” I would catch myself thinking about the parts of myself that I love, and should be proud of. Like me being anxious (a lot) yet, I am also fearless. Maybe being fearless doesn’t mean I’m not scared or anxious. Maybe it just means I don’t always let those feelings stop me.

Beyond Obubu

From present Liszt to future Liszt:

I hope you remember what you learned and experienced here, especially the moments when you asked yourself, “Can I do this?” and then you did.

I’m not quite sure what the future awaits, but I think now more than ever, I know that to feel alive, I don’t always have to worry about what comes next. Maybe sometimes, I just need to live day by day, and task by task.

I just know that everything I’ve done in the past 3 months has led me to where I should be. And right now, maybe that means starting small tea lounges in my own country, finally creating that tea-centered business I’ve been sitting on for a while, or maybe finding small ways to help with the agricultural problems back home.

Whatever comes next in my tea journey, I hope I never forget where it started. I hope that when I look back, I can say that that first taste of matcha somehow led me to this present moment, to the moment when I finally felt alive.

And I hope future Liszt (and you, the person reading this) keeps chasing that feeling, wherever it takes you. 💖

Thank you, Trey! 🫡

Handpicking in Aoimori for my Wakoucha