Saturday, July 25^th, 2009

 Hey Folks!

 A few things I learned in Manila today:

1. I am a hottie according to Filipino standards.  Hey, not my words! I hope the ladies in the US can hear that.  Perhaps, it’s a bit vain for me to put this at the top of the list.  No, actually it IS….
2. When eating boiled eggs, remove all eggshell pieces before eating.
3. Don’t be afraid of conversation—especially with your cabbies.
4. You can never be too adroit or too experienced at the timeless art of haggling even if you have South Asian genes swimming in your blood.
5. Riding a Calesa in midday traffic is the best way to get noticed—by everyone!
6. It’s always a good idea to order a back-up dish when you stab at a local delicacy.
7. The Manila Oceanarium (Aquarium) has more fish from the Americas than the Philippines.
8. A cheap $2 cowboy hat is your best friend in the scorching heat.
9. There are no traffic laws—at least none are obeyed.
10. Everyone wants to be captured on a camera.
11. Unfortunately, if you are a young foreign male, you’ll be offered a prostitute at every turn.
12. It is much easier to find a McDonald’s than a Filipino eatery.
13. There is a Chinatown in every corner of the world!
14. Don’t ever order a $3 dollar soda—especially without knowing its price.
15. Sadly, I’ve finally given in: Harry Potter, you have won!

Jose Rizal's statue guarding the entrance to Fort Santiago

Despite a few awkward moments with the shady characters that wander the streets much like every other mega city-center in the world, I had a very relaxing and thoroughly enjoyable day.  A tip off the bat, dispose of your electronic shackles as often as humanly possible in this “progress” driven age.  I did not have my cell-phone (so, no Google maps, Gmail, phone, etc…) and no watch.  And—that was perfect!  Now, I am not advocating complete severance from time-conscious devices but I am simply relaying the serendipitous potential of being free from the penciled-in appointments, programmed routines, and constant electronic-connectedness.  Anyways, I got my day started with a comprehensive and well-adorned continental breakfast in one of the many restaurants in our hotel lobby.  I must say, this was the first time I was actually impressed with a complimentary continental breakfast.  Just after I swallowed eggshell pieces, I joined Dr. Russell at her table for a quick chat.  Needless to say, I had to kindly excuse myself in order to free my poor throat of the pain that stupidity wrought.  I know I will mention this countless times again, so get used to reading this: Dr. Russell is awesome!

We chatted away about the plans for the day.  Since, she had to rendezvous with another project, which is focusing on mobilizing and connecting community workers and non-profits across the country, (More about these projects later!)  so she was giving me some advice about what to see and what to do on my own.  Amidst our conversation, as I was telling her a little bit more about my interests and my activities, Dr. Russell proclaimed that I was more of an Anthropologist  than a traditional aspiring Physician.  As most of my friends know that that is a huge compliment to me since the man I admire in Medicine is none other than Dr. Paul Farmer, a Physician Anthropologist (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Paul_farmer).  So naturally, I was elated to hear that.  Once I got her helpful tips down on paper, I set off to explore Manila.  I took a metered taxi to the Intramuros (http://wikitravel.org/en/Manila/Intramuros), which is the much older Spanish part of Manila. 

For those who don’t know, something I got a crash course in compliments of Dr. Russell, the Philippines were a collection of independent sultanates and territories until the Spanish took control and colonized its peoples.  After Spain ceded the Islands to the United States of America following the Spanish American War, the Philippines remained under US control until the Japanese invaded prior to WWII.  After the US defeated Japan, the Philippines were under US mandate until the latter part of the 20^th century and full independence.  And now, there is a bitter battle waged by some Muslim separatist groups and the government which still assures that violence and unrest stay a part of the Filipino life. Therefore, much of Filipino history is rifed with oppression and struggle.  This is greatly reflected in the many monuments, memorials, museums, and parks in Manila.  Also, you’ll see quite the admiration and respect that Filipinos have for their national heroes, Jose Rizal and Andres Bonifacio to name a couple, a far cry from the corrupt and spoiled politicians they rightfully complain about today. 

With the history lesson out of the way,  I can safely proceed.  My taxi driver was quite a guy or maybe I am just very generous in offering favorable opinions when people act like decent human beings.  Either way, it puts him in a positive light and deservingly so.  Amidst spinning tales of my beauty and potential for playboy success in the Philippines, he was extremely forthcoming about offering me advice to stay away from corrupt cabbies, pickpockets and such.  He taught me a few phrases in Filipino and God bless the man’s soul for trying his best to talk to me in English.  Even though English is compulsory in school, unless you’ve completed your schooling or you are in a position to use it, it’s hard for most people to remain fluent and comfortable with the language—especially with a foreigner.  Nonetheless, he was quite effective in relaying his thoughts and feelings to me.  Among many things, he told me about how he has a lot of family all over the US but that family hasn’t done much to uplift his own out of poverty.  In a culture where familial responsibility is more sacred than individual happiness, this sad reality can be quite an affront.  As cultures become more homogenized or rather absorbed by the prevailing dominance of a powerful one, some of the older values and traditions just don’t carry as much weight anymore.  I still wonder, are we increasingly defining success in a manner that rips humanity from the stitching of our nature? Are we just becoming as assembly produced and as cold as the very machines and advancements that we owe our present progress to? Though these questions may be naïve to some or just pedantic to others, I firmly believe that self-reflection can never do any harm but is an ever-bright guiding force. 

My Calesa

After wishing my new friend a warm good bye, I successfully haggled with a Calesa, a traditional miniature horse drawn carriage to show me around the famed walled-city.  I was not to be disappointed although the sun almost had his way if it weren’t for my cowboy hat.  I had a chance to go to the Manila Cathedral, which is famous for its age and artful construction.  Actually, there was a wedding going on and yet they still let visitors go and check it out.  Weird.  There were many Churches and Cathedrals along the way but I feel a bit uneasy at treating places of worship as visiting centers and tour stops.  I would gladly step into one with an open heart if I am entering for the purpose of spiritual cleansing but otherwise, I’ll stay away as much as I can.  It’s quite hard to do that when there is so much to venerate from the history to the beautifully constructed altars and halls.  My Calesa took me everywhere: Fort Santiago, all around Intramuros, China town, downtown Manila, McArthur bridge (yes, Genera McArthur), Rizal park, Pasig River, Maniala Bay and much more….  The driver seemed nice enough except the part when he offered to get me a “girl”  and target practice at a range before I concluded the tour.  More about this shortly.  My little horse drawn carriage seemed to have elevated me to Cinderella-like stature.  I know she had her glass shoes but I think my magic rested in my cowboy hat and dark sunglasses.  So, as one can imagine, riding through jam-packed Manila traffic (it’s worse than NYC), I was quite a sight for the locals.  All I could do was accept my newfound celebrity and wave back with my winning smile. Ha! 

Howdy, Folks!

After my tour, I decided to have lunch at one of the many seafood restaurants overlooking Manila Bay.  The place was quite expensive!  In any case, there is nothing like letting the breeze swirling the waves and waters of the Bay wisp you away into another place altogether; no annoyances, no worries, no past,  and no future.  The sounds of the people eating and the waves rocking back and forth against the dock were strikingly in tune to perpetuate the placidity of the moment.  Oh yeah, the food!  Well, I ordered fish and chips because I wanted to try Lapu Lapu, a locally  preferred fish.  Good thing I went for the timeless and dependable fish and chips because my overpriced Sweet and Sour Lapu Lapu wasn’t as delicious as advertised.  It barely had any meat on it!  In the end it was just a fish body swimming in sweet and sour sauce.  Although, the few morsels that I did pry away from the bones were delicious.  After an enjoyable lunch, I walked around to find myself at the Manila Oceanarium, which adjoined an in-door strip mall.  The mall had all sorts of stores, mainly it featured edible creations.  Too bad I had already eaten!  The Oceanarium was just like any other aquarium except that it featured more fish from the Americas than the Philippines.  For some reason, all these fish were huge and I mean huge!  At the same time, I don’t know how I feel about aquariums and zoos in the way the animals are kept there but that’s another conversation for another time.

Lapu Lapu

After roaming around in the Oceanarium, I headed back to the hotel for a quick nap, which guaranteed that I would miss going to the Ayala Museum but I am hoping to catch that on my way back to the US as my last day will be in Manila.  After my nap, I had a fancy Thai dinner at the hotel and then ventured out for a walk into the Makati night, region in Manila where the hotel is located.  I didn’t go too far since I just wanted to stop by the bookstore and see some of the happenings in town.  As I was walking, the bell boy (definitely not a boy, was at least 40)  from the hotel recognized me in the street and stopped me and started talking to me.  As the conversation took its natural course to what I was doing here and where I was wandering about, he offered to bring a Filipina back to my hotel room.  Was there something in “I am here for business and pleasure and now I am going to the bookstore” that screamed my desire to be dissolute tonight?  I mean, I wasn’t mad or angered at the suggestion, just disappointed.  Disappointed because obviously it’s a service that is sought frequently by many who come and visit that he felt comfortable enough to offer it to me.  Mind you, he only suggested this after I told him I was American not Saudi.  What does this say about how we Americans conduct ourselves abroad?  Prostitution is a wretched industry that preys on the weak and vulnerable for the physical pleasure of the weak-willed.  Trust me, that is the kindest way I can frame that!  I am not the paragon of moral excellence either but something about exploitation on this level wreaks of utter wretchedness.  It strips the humanity off of these individuals and clothes them in sheer disrespect and humiliation.  I know that the problem is not as simple as hedging demand but each of us should really evaluate our actions in the context of ourselves, our families, our communities, and our countries when we perpetuate abuses as visitors in foreign countries.  Society has many demons to struggle against and I do hope that we can appropriately recognize these sources of exploitation and oppression before we truly lose ourselves. 

After that shock, I needed to take my mind off the matter so I found myself purchasing Harry Potter and the Deathly Hollows.  Yes, Samia, you’ve won! Sorry Khaled!  Then, as I was exiting the bookstore, I found myself in another mall!  Too many malls here… but this time I found an arcade, well it was really a collection of closely spaced video game machines in the mall lobby.  I had some fun playing a few games, something that I never get a chance to do during the school year.  Then, I cam back to the hotel to sip on a $3-sprite while I gobbled down a hundred pages of Mr. Potter in the comforts of the soft couch and the soothing voice of the nightly singer accompanied by her pianist in the hotel lobby.  After which, I returned to my room to call Dr. Russell to see how her day was and find out the plan for tomorrow.  I told her about my day and we discussed a few things that I discussed above including the limits of cultural relativity.  She really is an amazing woman and I am excited to learn more from our enriching conversations.   Now, off to bed for my morning flight to Mindanao, the Muslim-dominated southern Island.  But…I must have my complimentary sumptuous mango first….life is sweet provided you choose to eat the right things.

Palum Kabee Gun= Goodbye Friends  (I told you that I would learn!)

With peace,

Mokaram

Friday, July 24th, 2009

Peace be upon you all,   

Thanks to a gracious and extremely generous invite from the Philippines Youth Leadership Program (http://www.cseas.niu.edu/PhilAccess/default.htm), I’ve finally made it to Manila!  Dr. Susan Russell, the program director (http://www.seasite.niu.edu/russell/), and I departed from Chicago on July 23, 2009 in the afternoon and by way of Detroit, Nagoya, Japan, and 18 hours of flying, we are here at last.  Despite the long journey, I feel energetic and well rested.  On that note, I will offer this helpful piece of advice to my fellow globe-trekkers: don’t sleep the night before your flight.  Now, that seems outrageous but trust me it’s much better to be tossing and turning in your cramped economy class 9 square inches than it is to be wide awake for 18 hours without a TV monitor to distract you.  Believe me, not even Harry Potter will last you that long.  Aside from waking to change planes or eating my sqaure-shaped meals, I haven’t done much here.  

We arrived in Manila on Friday evening at 11:00 PM. Going through security was a breeze especially for an innocent 21-year old who knows the TSA personnel far too well for his liking.  As I stepped out of the airport, I couldn’t help but feel at home.  The warm and humid air that strikes you across the face leaves you with a sense of serenity.  Weird, but true.  There is a palpable calmness over the people and surroundings, something which is sorely absent in the fast-paced and hectic American cities and way of life.  Manila feels strangely similar to Sri Lanka and Pakistan.  I don’t know if the comparison starts and ends with the climate but remarkably, the panic that we are taught to fear just isn’t as alarming as the whistle-blowers and nay-sayers make it seem.  Don’t get me wrong, I don’t mean to deny that a place like the Philippines has its fair share of frustrations and dangers that accompany political and ethnic unrest but I think that, we Americans, can learn a lot from peoples beyond our own majestic borders.  

As we were driving to our hotel from the airport, the juxtaposition of a prominent and bright neon glowing KFC sign overseeing the highway with a small reserved 8-year old boy knocking on the car window for a foreigner’s charity got me thinking.  This is neither the first nor the worst contrast I’ve seen but the helplessness and the guilt I feel doesn’t go away.  We speak so reverently of globalization but it’s hard to see its advantages for the already marginalized and vulnerable peoples.  In any case, I will stop my social commentary right there—it’s 4 AM!  I need to wrap this up if I have any shot of exploring Manila tomorrow.  

Once I got to the hotel, thanks to my helpful traveling tip, I had to annoy management to open the gym exclusively for me so I can expend the energy I had stored up.  I love running outside but I settled for a state-of-the-art treadmill in the hotel.  The run was great except that it was a bit creepy to be watched by the security guy while I worked out.  After a while, he started doing his own thing–seemed like he was doing yoga.  Is that even popular here?  Oh well, after feasting on a sumptuous mango in my room and getting e-mails out of the way, I am off to bed for a few hours.  Dr. Russell has already started filling me in on the regional politics and cultural relations, all of which I will relay to you all in due time.  Oops, I didn’t even talk about the program and why I am here.  Well, there is always next time.  Stay tuned…..Good bye for now!  (I promise I will learn to say that in Filipino by the end)

Manila Skyline

With peace,

Mokaram