Meditations on Manila
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This journey began much the same way that so many of my trips begin; with me staring at my clock, paranoid that I will oversleep (of which I’ve never done) and miss my flight ruining my trip before it ever began. I made it to the airport by 4:00 am for my 27+ hour journey to the other side of the planet. Shockingly, to me, the flights were smooth and uneventful. Our ragtag group of teachers met in Japan for our final jaunt over to the Philippines.
My brief introduction to Manila brought back feelings of deja vu. Exiting the door to the airport I was immediately punched in the face by the type of humidity that we don’t know in the US. Oh, it’s going to be like that Manila? Bring it. The humid air carries with it the diesel fumes from the busses outside, the smell of sweat from the throngs of people waiting to pick someone up, and the sweet, yet to be determined scent of a new adventure. It reminds me of so many other places that I’ve arrived to in the middle of the night. Like Bangkok, Ho Chi Minh City or Havana, my first introduction to this place leaves me guessing what I will experience when I see it in the daylight. Did I make the right choice in coming here?
We are whisked to our hotel where it is immediately confirmed to me that I chose wisely. The hotel is the type of lavish opulence that I am unaccustomed to in my travels, but could easily learn to like. Our party of 8 (6 teachers, our rep from IREX and Alex, our filipino fixer) is taken to a private dining room where we are fed a 3 course meal that is exceptional albeit not filipino in the least. That comes tomorrow. As for now, I retire to my room which, to be honest, is significantly larger than my bedroom at home. A guy could get used to this.
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As I slowly acclimate to my new environment, I’ve gained some insight into Manila:
We don’t know what traffic is. I think the DMV has the second or third worst traffic in the US. Manila makes it look like nothing. In addition to the throngs of cars, jeepneys and motorcycles, there are no rules as drivers jockey from lane to lane to try to get a couple inches closer to their destination.
The food here is amazing. More on that in another post. The custom here is to feed your guests. Everywhere we go, every school we visit, there is a pause for snacks. To give you an idea of the magnitude of these snacks, we visited a school for neglected children the other day after lunch. When we showed up, they insisted that we have snacks which consisted of fried chicken, pansit and egg sandwiches. As it is impolite to refuse the gesture, we dug in and ate in the sweltering heat and humidity. Did I mention it’s humid here? The heat index yesterday was 109.
Shopping seems to be the number one activity here. I had heard that things were cheap here and it was a shoppers paradise. I underestimated what that meant. I visited a five building mall complex that was right next to another five building mall complex. We were told that when we get back to Manila from our field experience we’d be visiting the big mall.
We’ve visited three schools so far. Virlanie School is a residential program for neglected, abandoned or otherwise abused children. The kids live in a series of houses where they receive medical and psychological care so that they can attend school. The kids, depending on their ages, are responsible for most of the chores around the houses and get to attend school. They stay here until they can be reunited with family, get adopted or age out. You can find more info here http://www.virlanie.org/. It was heartwarming to see these abandoned children laughing and playing.
The other school we visited was the Benigno Ninoy Aquino High School, a school of roughly 5000 students. The school is so big that students have to attend in shifts. Our visit there began with a brief welcome presentation and, you guessed it, snacks. We were then allowed to visit classrooms and observe instruction. It was so impressive, I don’t know where to begin. I’ll start with walking into a classroom. The first class that I observed was a geography class in a room on the fourth floor of the non air conditioned school. Did I mention that it’s humid here? When I walked in, 60 students (that’s not a typo) jumped to their feet in military precision, “Good afternoon visitor. We are glad you are here. Buhay!” I then watched these kids give group presentations that were filled with so much enthusiasm and creativity. After the fourth presentation, we were told that this particular course is usually taught in Tagalog, but the kids give their presentations in English for our benefit. What? They actually changed the language they used to present to a class of 60 for us. The students stand when they address the teacher to show respect. It’s a little different here than it is at home. Every class we visited was more impressive than the last. They have a vegetable garden that helps feed some of the kids and vocational programs. The kids were eager to talk to us and practice their English and the teachers were enthusiastic and obviously cared for their kids. I could work in a school like this.
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Our last stop was Pembo Elementary school, a school housing over 5000 students (the average class size is 45). I couldn't believe how warm and dedicated the teachers here are, amid the chaos of an elementary school almost 4 times bigger than my high school. They seemed completely unphased by the magnitude of what they do every day. No excuses, just hard work. After a welcome ceremony we observed a variety of classes before adjourning again for snacks.
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Tomorrow I leave for Iloilo and the real adventure begins. Much of my anxiety and trepidation has given way to excitement and impatience. Here’s to hoping the second leg of this journey is as rewarding as the first.