May 10-16 Edition
Liking Cebu
The Crudes
Culture Clash
Residents Evil
Liking Cebu
April 10, 2014
Thursday
So many times I've overcome the sweet temptation of judging. As a traveler, I really have to
struggle against passing judgment on the culture of the places I'm passing
through.
I'm thankful I found good friends
here in Cebu. I'd rather be here than in Manila because of the relative lack of
traffic and typhoons. There are exceptions, but my
experiences with the locals are consistently negative. Yesterday I wrote about
in my journal the story of the new neighbor who deliberately plays his radio
too loud.
Today alone there are two more
examples. On the lobby earlier (aside from
another separate story I wrote on the locals' brazen lack of elevator
etiquette) I found it staggering to see so many women here that are noisier and
more flirtier than the prostitutes of Manila.
Then, when I was in the office
canteen about half an hour ago, I saw a real emblematic scene. The pantry TV
was showing Chasing Mavericks. I haven't seen it before and I would have
watched it.I go early before my shift just to watch cable movies on the pantry
while having dinner.
Chasing Mavericks
Then somebody just switched the
channel. I remember him on an earlier scene. He's one of those loud people who
are desperate for attention. I saw more superficial people here in Cebu than
the entire Luzon and Visayas. But this creature is easily the
most pretentious person I have ever seen. That's what struck me the first time
I saw him, watching American Idol and projecting an image of sophistication.
Now, he just switched the channel,
again to American Idol, just like that. This plastic creature did not even have
an iota of decency to even pretend to be considerate. I like Cebu. The place.
The Crudes
April 21, 2014
9:08 p.m., Monday
I was trying to watch The Croods in the 12th floor office
pantry. That’s when again I saw the dark side of the people in this town.
The more I mingle with the locals
here in Cebu, the more I lose my hope in the goodness of man. It really seems
that being inconsiderate is part of the local culture.
Just now, I left my ID on an empty
table near the TV to ask the kitchen crew to heat my dinner because the
microwave isn't working. Some guy with a dark aura sat in my seat while I was
in the counter.
Then another guy, whose aura is
insidiously negative, came to buy candy. I felt waves of dreadful vibes being
next to him. He went near the TV and sat beside the guy who took my seat. They can see that an ID has been
left on the table because somebody was sitting there. But they didn't care. I'm
overwhelmed by their obviously uneducated behavior.
The Croods
I encountered the greediest and
most shameless people I ever met here in Cebu. That's saying a lot because I've
been more places that I can write here. A lot of natives here are no different
from the territorial power trippers from the slums of Manila.
Culture Slug
April 23, 2014
Wednesday
This is the most sustained culture shock I've ever
experienced. I'm now over a year in Cebu and I'm
still consistently stupefied by the flagrant lack of basic good manners here.
If that has an insidious ring to
it, it was validated by what I saw yesterday. I was sitting on the floor of
BookSale in Elizabeth Mall rummaging through the piles. I heard an American
national complaining that he has never seen such rude people anywhere.
"Me neither," I said to
no one in particular.
Here's the scene: the American and
a Filipino were both looking at the shelves. The Filipino bent down and bumped
into the American. It was the Filipino who had the gall to be irate. He told
the American that he shouldn't be there because he was looking at the books.
The American said it was obvious
that there was somebody at the back. But the Filipino was adamant. It's a
typical cultural trait of being territorial, exemplified most viscerally in
squatter areas.
"Sir, you should take
responsibility for how you are affecting other people," said the American,
clearly upset but visibly trying to control his anger.
I know exactly where he's coming
from. I'm up to my neck in my encounters like that. The American moved to
another section.
"You son of a bitch!"
said the Filipino, walking away. It's totally uncalled for. That was
indisputable proof of his low character.
"Excuse me?," said the
American, stunned. "Are you calling me names?" He went after him.
The Filipino, true to form,
scurried away, like the coward he is. It's the uncouth local barbarians like
him who give foreigners a bad impression of our culture. He is a disgrace to
our country. Either that, or he's the epitome.
"Pathetic bastard," said
the American.
"Amen," I murmured.
Residents' Evils
April 29, 2014, Sunday
I'm a traveler, I'm extremely overwhelmed by the sheer number of negative
characters here in Cebu.
Just now, in an Internet shop, I
saw again how consistent is greed in the local culture. I asked the rude
counter girl to print something I downloaded. It was four pages. She asked if
four pages, and I said yes.
By the time I was logging out, she
charged me for hundreds of pages. She was insisting that I told to print four
copies of each page. I was adamant that I will not pay
it. I declared that I will pay only what I asked to printed. She changed the
fonts so my file came up to seven pages instead.
I said we can go the police or the
barangay (village district) captain but I will not pay it. She called their main office and
explained to her boss. "Sinungaling (liar)" I
said for all to hear. "I want to
talk to your boss," I said, but she put down the phone. As I was going
out, she told me not to come back. I never will.
Huggybear's Journals
April 9, 2014 Wednesday
This is my Tagalog text marathon to my friends RG, GD and JM
in Metro Manila. It's my way of keeping in touch and expressing my feelings
Sa dami ng mga pinagdaanan ko sa buhay, matagal kong pinaglabanan
ang mawalan ng tiwala sa sangkatauhan. Subalit, sa gitna ng Ondoy at
Yolanda, tuluyan na itong naganap. Ngunit pilit ko pa ring tinatanim sa isip ko
na marami pa rin ang mga may mabuting kalooban. Sana madalas ko silang
nakakadaop-palad.
Nangyari na naman kanina lang
tanghali, ngayong Araw ng Kagitingan at isang linggo bago mag-Cuaresma, na
nakita ko na naman na may mga taong ubod ng itim ang budhi.
Ang tinitirhan ko ngayon ay isang
maliit na kwarto malapit sa kasalukuyang pinagtatrabahuan ko. Masaya ako nung
mga unang buwan kasi tahimik at hindi mainit kaya nakakatulog ako nang maayos.
Ngunit dumating ang bagong kapitbahay na sobrang ingay magpatugtog. Talagang
dumada-ngundong pati ang pader ko. Hindi yun ang unang pagkakataon. Hindi yun
ang unang pagkakataon. Sinabihan ko ang kasera. Kakausapin daw niya pero wala
naman siyang ginawa.
Naghihinayang ako, hindi dahil
gusto ko ang lugar, kundi dahil mura lang ang upa kaya nakakatipid ako sa
gastos at nakakapag-ipon kahit paano. Pero kailangan ko nang umalis. Pang-apat
ko nang bahay ito sa Cebu bukod sa Talisay. Nangupahan ako una sa Sudlon,
dalawang beses sa Lahug at ngayon dito sa Cabantan. Isa lang ang dahilan bakit
palagi akong lumilipat: maingay masyado ang mga kapitbahay.
Marahil hindi maarok ng isip ko
kung bakit may mga gano'ng asal. Bakit may mga tao na walang modo at wala man
lang ni konting pagsasa-alang-alang sa iba? Kung wala silang malasakit, sana
pwede kahit konting hiya man lang. Ang tanging pakonsuwelo ko na lang sa sarili
ay hindi ako tulad nila. Sa palagay ko, may naghihintay na mas magandang
tirahan na may mga kapitbahay na marangal at may kagandahang asal.
Ako yung tipo na mas gusto ko na
nasa bahay lang, tahimik na lumilikha ng mga obra or kaya ay nagbabasa ng mga
aklat, kaysa makisalimuha sa madla. Naging lagalag ako dahil sa mga tao na
hindi ko talaga masikmura ang pag-uugali. Wala naman akong sariling tahanan
kaya walang pumipigil sa akin upang manatili sa kung saan ay hindi na ako
masaya. Dahil duon ay tumanim sa isip ko na malaki ang mundo. Ganun pa man, nais ko pa rin na maniwala na
mayroong lugar sa na kung saan maaari kong masabi, kahit pansamantala lamang,
na duon ako nababagay, na kung saan ay magiging panatag ang aking kalooban,
habang tinatahak ko ang landas ng aking buhay sa ilalim ng langit.
5 comments:
On one side of the building where I'm currently working, there are steps leading up to a bank. I was there around four in the morning earlier, having my second coffee break on my midnight shift work. Taxis are parked on the curb, waiting for passengers.
One of the early joggers had one of those small battery-operated blinkers strapped to his arm. It's a device which cyclists attach to their bikes so drivers would see them even in the dark. He went by me, blinking like a firefly.
(Phone Notes Diary, May 1, 2014, Thursday)
I just got off from work. I'm at the office pantry letting the elevator crowd go ahead. I had two hot pork empanadas for breakfast. The canteen TV is on History Channel, showing a documentary about an elite military strike team from Sri Lanka. The training is superhuman. One of the recruits almost got killed by a marauding wild elephant. I've been there before, in another time, in another life, when it used to be called Ceylon.
Last night I uploaded the first batch of my Bogo footage. My trip out of town last Sunday got me going again. I'm thinking if the word "refreshed" is right, though I'm certainly better off for it, taking the metaphorical cobwebs from my neurotransmitters. But I felt like a deflated balloon when I returned to the city. I didn't want to go back. I belong out there, on the road.
(Phone Notes Diary, May 14, 2014, 8:28 a.m., Wednesday)
Photos courtesy of
aceshowbiz.com, liveforfilms.com, ramascreen.com, forum.freestateproject.org, learnwithus.info, jyotipunj.com
"Surfing soothes me, it's always been a kind of Zen experience for me. The ocean is so magnificent, peaceful, and awesome. The rest of the world disappears for me when I'm on a wave." ~ Paul Walker
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"Ako yung tipo na mas gusto ko na nasa bahay lang..."
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