turista

filipinos love to be tourists. theres a lot close to here so daytrips are the usual. i figure its would take more than a month/year a bigger budget and a personal trip planner to really see everything north to south. at least i've seen a lot in south luzon, and if anything it give me more motivation to come back and see more on all 7100 islands. the greyhounds (like ten companies) here are cleaner, and more convenient so spontaneous trips are easy...me and my ateh melo at a mall, "hey lets go to baguio" "ok we'll leave tonight after dinner", so we take a 6 hour trip from 3am to 9am, do all the siteseeing, feel the "coldness", leave at 10pm and arrive at 3am. you knock out anyway in the bus. the next trip is to boracay via boat so thatll take a lot, but three days 2 nights in bora will be worth it.

my mom said she's never been to baguio. its seems like her generation of 8 siblings were on hyperdrive, and really didnt have the time to do anything fun. for her it was gradeschool to highschool in the province, four years undergrad at feu, four years med at feu (both during martial law mind you), and then off to states in '81 to start a family and finish residency. thats straight up hella. i can barely concentrate in this climate, with everything going on around me, with a fully stomach and sufficient funds.

in tagaytay there is pineapples...check
in baguio its cold...check
in vigan theres calesas...

off to find the mythical rarang and its metaphorical pearl.

kalye

at the last nwfasa conference i talked about my experience in 01 when i went back to the philippines technically for the first time (going when you are under 5 doesn't really count for me). i said my experience was "sterile". its like everywhere you go, everything you see is through some sort of lens or glass, real and imagined. from an ac house to an ac car to an ac mall and back was how it went down. we didnt really go through the 'rough' neighborhoods nor at night so i can barely recall anyone asking for money. you see it but don't experience it. but would i really want to, or could i bear one day in their feet? as much as i may think i know about poverty, economics, etc, i still know nothing.

yesterday i watched shrek 3 in makati greenbelt. hung out for a bit and went home. seeing kids on the streets selling sampaguitas. dodging traffic running through fences. they couldnt have been more than 8 or 9 years old but one cant tell with their malnutrition. on one hand, damn, greenbelt is crazy nice. hella restaurants and bars at happy hour prices, but on the otherhand an obvious indicator of the vast wealth disparities. you cant really enjoy anything and cant help but feel guilty with knowing what goes on outside, with how much you've just spent even though it is not much in translation. once the movie stops life resumes. once you leave the protected complex there is a mix of luxury cars, jeepneys, taxis, and people in the streets. driving through squatter areas attempted to be hidden by 'city face lifts' which are bright colored walls. its no wonder why escapism is the preference. malls and media. but i am not one to judge. i am just an observer for now, and will sampaguita after i'm done with school and settled, which will take about a decade. but who knows what will happen in that time. here people measure time by the power of the peso...."back in my day, it was 8 to 1". in this past month its has gone from 47-45, stock markets have been finishing at record highs, both good and bad politicians are being elected and more transportation and construction plans being executed.

the last time i saw a filipino go up to cardoors in traffic was myself during a change drive for my senior year community service project. but that was in the suburbs, after eating breakfast, for some charity which i dont remember, and not for my own survival.

katinpunero

off to our philly...cawit, cavite. from one nation's beginnings to another w/in two months. one's fully realized, the other not yet. my cousin doesnt celebrate june 12.

pineapples

back from tagaytay. saw taal and the best located starbucks. its hard to really comprehend the people living under the shelter of the one of bajillion megasize billboards advertising multimillion peso homes that most people cant afford in this country, and is advertising 'to buy your second home in tagaytay'. in a confused state that retail therapy cant fix, though buying a kahon for $30, though cheap, still makes me feel guilty for what i see around me everywhere. the only thing to help is family...more later.

bittersweet

first post from the rp. cant say much because i am wanted for halohalo downstair. but so far everything has been bittersweet, just as i expected. nothing in particular to expect, but the experience has been like no other. if that makes any sense. its too hot and i am burnt....more about manila, province, elections, pahiyas festival, and else. just for curiousity sake, my goals are:

1. family
2. history
3. nature
4. culture
5. tbd

made in taiwan

not really, but i'm here for about three hours. all the damn filnight scenes were going in my head while checking in, gloria's suicide song, and hella other stuff. i passed out during most of the flight and only woke up for meals and to catch the last half of the pursuit of happyness. food was good, ramen was spicey. no real revelations right now except the idea that "this is asia". there is no order for bording except for business class. people start to get up and line up at the plane door while the plane is still moving and the fasten seatbelt sign is still on and you hear hella different languages surrounding you. also all the duty free shopping is wierd to me. this terminal is more of a mall with the 'trendy zone' and 'spirit way' stores behind me, but at least they got free internet. you can feel the humidity. i'm still trippin in more ways then one. off to explore and look at all the stuff i wont buy.

lets see if this post will work. 80% of the computer text is in chinese.

i'm off.

my bags are all packed....for the most part, been preppin for this trip my whole life, or at least since the last time i came..first time everything was new..mga sorpreza..family i've never known except through bcube box names..kept in touch via friendster..it had enough impact on me to devote the last 5 years to attempting to understand my identity, my culture, who i am..all in all it has set shit in motion..enough to where i don't know where i would be now, or who i would not have met if i didn't go this path..the goal this time..i dunno..maybe find inspiration or ways to go back more..something to give me that push while in school for the next 8 or so years..something to be proud of..something to bring back..it is my home..an imagined placed in a far away land..where all my expectations will be exceeded..a lot of studying..time to live it.

i'm outro. next post will be in taipei or manila. ingat to me!

ps. great job to the filnight cast/crew. maybe i'll run into a boxer, popstar, student, and sayaw in the bathroom.