Anecdotes of Manila

 So I thought I would reflect a bit and write about various aspects about my life in Manila. I can say one thing right off the bat, Manila is not initially a very charming city. The car exhaust can be choking and the way people drive here would drive any American crazy. There are rarely stop signs and the traffic lights seem pretty sparse so most of the decisions made on the road come at the whim of who's driving. Cross walks with pedestrian lights are also a rarity so I have to cross a five lane highway everyday to work with only some courage and a vague hope that those driving will not kill me. Yeah but anyway aside from the driving the rain does get to me.

I've bought already three umbrellas since I've got here. I lost the first one I got probably a day or two after I bought. One morning I got caught in the rain, and trust me the rain here is severe and you will be soaked through in a matter of ten seconds, and I was carrying my computer so I was forced to stop at the closest convenient store. Now there was only one umbrella left in the store and it happened to be neon pink. I would never have bought it but I really had no choice. Honestly, it was actually the best quality umbrella I've owned with the only catch that was bright pink. Normally, when I was living in the US or Canada I don't care or self-conscious about wearing outlandish things. Here though being a foreigner I already attract a lot of attention from the average person and carrying around a very feminine umbrella also caused me to attract the attention of guys that I had no intention of attracting. After numerous comments from my female co-workers I decided that it would be a good idea to get a another umbrella. So last Monday the cleaning woman came to our office to clean up the place and she brought her daughter who was about 7 or 8 years old to help her. That caused another row between my boss and her because the lady was taking her daughter out of school to help her with her work but that's a different story. Anyway, I was impressed with the little girl, not only was she very nice and cute but she stayed and worked with her mother all day and did not give even a hint that she was bored. I know when I was 8 years old and my parents made me go to boring places within 5 minutes I was difficult and self-centered but this little girl handled the day with an amount grace that impressed me. So at the end of the day I had one of my co-workers explain to the mother that I was forced to buy this umbrella and that it wasn't really my color and I arranged to give to the girl as what I thought was a small present. I found out later that actually the umbrella I gave the girl, which was only about $2.50 was about one-half of the salary that her mother earned for the whole day of work. I realized then just how large the disparity of wealth is and actually I think that woman was actually decently well off compared to the average Filipino. I mean if Americans come here on vacation the reasonably high-end restaurant only costs about $5-$6 per person and the average taxi ride would cost only about $3 but this is still out of reach for most of the people living here. The Philippine currency is actually kind of ridiculous because it is forced to operate on such vastly different levels of affluence. There is a 1 Peso coin which is divided the same way as one American dollar with 5 cent, 10 cent, and 25 cent coins. But seeing as $1 is around 40 Pesos the small change is really worth nothing to me at all. There are also 5 and 10 Peso coins which are useful because the buses cost about 7 Pesos or so. Now there are also 20, 50, 100, 200, 500, and 1000 Peso bills. The ATMs only give you 100 or 1000 Peso bills and since most things I buy cost only around 50- 100 Pesos, believe me trying to find a store that will break a 1000 Peso bill is no easy feat. It's really a chore to break those bills and I jump on any opportunity I can. Since the average laborer or employee at a restaurant only makes around 300-400 Pesos a day, only foreigners or wealthy people actually have 1000 Peso bills. Anyway, aside from the money a lot of things about Philippine society intrigue me.

The Philippines is a predominantly Catholic country, around 75-80%, but also has a population of Muslims, probably 10%-15%, who predominantly live in the southern island of Mindanao. There is a conflict between the Muslim people of Mindanao and the Christian people of Northern and Central Philippines. Basically the people Mindanao feel that they want to separate and form their own Muslim country. Now the situation is actually kind of complicated I don't think I can adequately explain it because I do not fully understand. I do know that there is a terrorist group called Abu Sayyaf which operates out of Mindanao and supposedly has links with Al Qaeda. These guys are responsible for numerous kidnappings and terrorist attacks but all the Filipinos I asked do not associate Abu Sayyaf with the struggle of Mindanao people but recognize it as a fringe group. I thought it was funny that most Americans might think that the Philippines is a “backwards country” but while Americans are debating whether or not some crazy guy is Florida should be allowed to burn Qurans, even with all the conflict and strife we had a national holiday here for the end of Ramadan. Another aspect I think is interesting is that the Philippines is the only Asian country I know of where you see openly gay men and women in the street. Now if you compare Japan which is a largely secular nation but where it is extremely rare and difficult for homosexuals to be open about themselves with the Philippines, which is one of the most passionately Christian countries I've been to, it is common and accepted to see openly gay people. When I say “passionately Christian” I mean that you can't walk a block in this city without seeing “Jesus Loves You!”, “Repent Your Sins to God!”, “God Bless Us!” plastered on a wall or on the buses. I assume there is some conflict between the Filipino Christians, Muslims and homosexuals but I can tell you it isn't obvious.

The night life here is fun so far. I haven't been to any clubs yet but I assume they are similar to American or Canadian clubs which I never really liked anyway. The bars are affordable and there is a wide range of different styles; from the dark shadier establishments to outdoor cafes to your more respectable places. I am also a big fan of a local beer here called Red Horse, its like Colt 45 but tastes better but most Filipinos enjoy San Miguel. There are different kinds and it is quite similar to Corona but the only thing I don't get is that most Filipinos put ice in their beer. They claim that it is so hot here that they only like cold drinks but adding ice to beer that is as light as San Miguel seriously turns it into water. 

I live right by the universities so I've met some Americans, Europeans, and other Asians and I usually drink with my Japanese, Filipino, and American friends. I enjoy going out and my neighborhood is pretty safe at night but once I while I was walking back trying to mind my own business this young girl maybe 5 or 6, with only one arm approached me asking for money. Now after a night of drinking with my friends it was a very sobering experience to meet this poor girl and you have to be hardened person to shoo a girl like this away. Instead of giving her money I just bought her a bag of chips or something. She was very sweet but seemed kind of disappointed. People here constantly tell me that if I really want to help out homeless people its better to just buy them some food because otherwise you don't know where the money will go. I remember another time my friend was driving me and some friends to local concert and I was in the front talking about this or that with the guy driving. We were at a stop light and then all of sudden while we were talking this old man walked up to the car and stuck his stump of an arm on the window. I think we were talking about Street Fighter or some old Nintendo games or some crap like that and honestly I found it real difficult to concentrate with this destitute partially crippled man staring at me. The other guy just continued talking as if this was normal. Its going to take some time for me to get used to this side of the Philippines but trust me it is no easy task.