the reflective journal

And now for what I'm sure...*cough* you've all been waiting for...the journal about the Philippines that isn't just a diary entry. I personally have been waiting for it, because my time there was a lot more than just what we did every day, but I couldn't really reflect that while I had a lot of other things to check in the 1 hour time limits at the internet cafes. So, you get it at the end of my trip, after I had the chance to share with the NICF this morning about our time there, and also after the time I've had to rest and do some internal reflection since we've been back.
I'll start going city by city, since we spent time in 3 of them.
Manila: Before we went, I heard many Filipinos say that Manila reminds them of Shanghai...very crowded and the most westernized city in the Philippines. Fair enough. I got there and realized it was partly true. I liked the shopping in Manila :) but as far as everyday living...I'm not sure I could handle it. An hour-long jeepney ride to the Mall of Asia from Intramuros was a bit tough to take between riding sideways and the exhaust and smell of gas from the engines...on top of the fact that we got on and off 3 of them. The city is extremely spread out and a bit confusing as well...there are many different "cities" that make up Manila, and taxis can get expensive as you go from one city to another. But like I said, the shopping was great...the Mall of Asia reminds me of malls back home. I spent a lot. But I also liked the historical, touristy side of Manila that showed me Philippines history. I learned about the Spanish colonization and Dr. Jose Rizal's struggle before his execution, how the Filipino people are very proud of this man they call their national hero. I also learned about past presidents, as well as more about the current president, and began to form opinions based on what I heard and the questions I asked. The Philippines is a great country with a great past, but a past that definitely had to put forth a lot of effort to get them to the present...if that makes sense.
Manila is also where I was first exposed to the extreme politeness and hospitality of the country. Every single shop you go into, you hear "good afternoon ma'am/sir" or "thank you ma'am/sir" as you exit. Everyone is so helpful. Plus, you feel very safe when you're shopping. At every single entrance to any shopping mall in any city, you have armed guards with a detector wand and a stick to poke through you bag as you enter, males on one side, females on the other. When you go into a shop, you go through a dectector while a guard watches. It's interesting.

Davao: I'd have to say that though Davao is also a big city (the 2nd largest in land size in the world), it certainly didn't feel that way when we stayed there. Probably because we were pretty centralized...but I really did feel very different in Davao. It's cleaner, surrounded by mountains, and has a lot of great history and business opportunities. Though I didn't get to see much history, I was exposed to more of the pop culture of the Philippines on Raul's and my date night to a couple of the bar/clubs in Davao where we heard some great local music. Shopping on San Pedro Street with Ma, I got a sense of what everyday life is like in Davao...and how some things are similar to and very different from China at the same time.

Mati: I loved Mati. Though it has well over a couple hundred thousand people in the city as a whole, since the city is divided up into so many different barangays (neighborhoods) that alone have around 5-10,000 people, it feels much smaller. And, the fact that it's all spread out along southwestern Mindanao's Pacific coastline also makes you feel like you're in a much smaller town. I felt like if my hometown of Fairmount was transplanted into the Philippines, this is much of what it would be like. I loved this town. The people were warm and friendly, so polite. I was stared at a lot, too :) Since it's a small town, there's probably only a couple foreigners, so I stuck out "because you're so white" as his mom told me. I'm not that white, but put me in the Philippines, I may as well be a ghost :) But the staring didn't bother me as much there as it does here in China. In China, it's a hard, cold stare with nothing really friendly about it (almost all of the time), but in the Philippines, the stare was usually followed with a smile or a question to either Raul or his mom about who I was. I also became a celebrity at the market and at the JJBC. Our second Sunday at the lunch fellowship, one of the little boys got really excited when he arrived and saw that "the American lady is here! she's here!"Then there were the many comments "you're so beautiful" or "she's shy because she thinks you're so beautiful". That'll do wonders for your ego when you're self-conscious in a country full of beautiful people. :)

What I miss about the Philippines:
The clean fresh air. I couldn't stop commenting on how beautiful the sky was. During the day, the sun and clouds were so pretty, and at night...I couldn't even begin to count the stars. One night at a beach resort, I just looked up and almost felt dizzy, there were so many.
The fresh fruit. Every single fruit I knew about before I went tastes so different in the Philippines. Mangoes are sweeter (Guiness once called it the world's sweetest fruit) and juicer, and bigger... Bananas are smaller and denser and have a different taste. Pomelos are smaller and have a pink meat instead of the clear I was used to in China. Papaya is kinda crunchy and dipped in a spicy white vinegar (sooo good) and guava is sliced like an apple and dipped in bugoong shrimp paste (not so good...I couldn't stomach the weird combination of the 2 and the saltiness of the paste)
The people I met. I know I'll see them again, but still...
Everything.

Guess that sums it up :) Want to know more? Email me or actually leave a comment...no one leaves comments on my blog....ever. (except for Deven :)