Yesterday was the first time I felt the effects of the heat and humidity – the cold shower felt great, and I drank a lot of water when I got home. But I’m not complaining – floods and landslides from the heavy rains of Kiko caused deaths in the north near Mt. Pinatubo. As for me, I decided to do something air-conditioned today (other than go to a mall).
I went to Makati City today, the classy part of town, which the postal clerk had accurately described as being like Manhattan (I hope my package gets here soon, by the way – it’s been three weeks. I probably should have sent myself a letter, too, to test how long it would take. Not that I’ll get any mail!). Here is where I felt the culture shock. It was quiet – no heavy traffic, no jeepneys (only taxis, all lined up), no honking horns. Wide, smooth sidewalks. Tall buildings, landscaping, fountains. Other foreigners. Green spaces! This is the area where all of the luxury hotels are, where there are even more malls, where the expats live and work. What a bubble! Do I want to get involved in the expat community? There really wasn’t an accessible one to me in Morocco. But here, it could potentially mean job leads, friends, maybe even dating. But that would mean time away from my community (where people are getting to know me, if not I them yet); it just doesn’t feel right to be spending a lot of time there while I am in the Peace Corps. On the other hand, it is a nearby escape any time I want it.
I went to the Ayala Museum, which was as well-put-together as any museum in the U.S. They had three special exhibits – one on archaeological pottery found in the Philippines, mostly from China via the Maritime Silk Road, one on archaeological gold found on the islands and the jewelry and ornaments made from it, and one on costumes of the (Spanish) colonial period, all very interesting. An entire floor was devoted to the career of a Philippine painter – interesting to see the different influences that shaped him. And then there’s a permanent exhibit of dioramas of Philippine history – I’ll have to go back another time for the audio tour, but the dioramas were interesting enough without the explanation. I did watch the multi-media shows on the Marcos era and on People Power, which reinforced how amazing both Corazon Aquino and, even more, her husband Ninoy were – as well as the power of democracy. It was a wonderful museum day!
And something else nice, from yesterday – one of the regular PCVs who was in the Peace Corps office invited us PCRVs to their Thanksgiving gathering – it’s a Peace Corps Philippines tradition. They take over a hostel near the rice terraces and spend the weekend hiking and such, complete with turkey dinner. It’s bigger than Christmas, which many PCVs spend with their host families or in their villages. Bahala na, count me in!
Sunday, August 9, 2009
Saturday, August 8, 2009
Some Aspects of American Culture
In our orientation notebooks, we were given a reading called The Values Americans Live By. This was developed by someone who does cross-cultural seminars for people coming to the United States. He found 13 deeply ingrained values; he also notes that Americans see all of these values as positive, whereas people from other cultures might see them as negative and undesirable.
As an illustration, the author, L. Robert Kohls, mentions that if a foreigner asks for directions, the American would tell someone details of how to get there on one’s own, rather than walking 100 meters to accompany you – that is because the self-help concept is so strong that no American would think someone would want to be dependent on another, even temporarily. Also, the future orientation makes Americans think it is good to prepare you to find other addresses in the future.
The paper pairs each American value with a counterpart value from a more traditional country. I know I wouldn’t have thought of these in this way, so I am summarizing here:
1- Personal Control over the Environment – vs. Fate – Americans consider it normal that man should control nature, that individuals can control whatever in the environment might affect him or her, that problems are not a result of bad luck as much as laziness and unwillingness to take responsibility, that it is normal to look out for one’s self-interest.
2 – Change as Seen as Natural and Positive – vs. Tradition
In the U.S., change is indisputably good; it is linked to development, improvement, process, growth. Other cultures value stability, continuity, tradition, and a rich and ancient heritage (as an aside, then, I wonder how these cultures viewed the Obama campaign?).
3 – Time and its Control – vs. Human Interaction
To foreigners, Americans seem more concerned with getting things accomplished on time than with developing deep interpersonal relationships. Americans’ language is filled with references to time. And the international visitor learns soon that it is rude to be late, and that one must call if one is going to be late.
4 – Equality/Fairness – vs. Hierarchy/Rank/Status
Equality is a cherished American value, along with the assertion that all people have an opportunity to succeed in life. The author claims that seven-eighths of the world sees rank, status and authority as much more desirable – even to those who find themselves near the bottom of the social order.
5 – Individualism/Indepenence/Privacy – vs. Group’s Welfare
Individualism developed in the Western world from the Renaissance onward. Americans do, in fact, join a lot of groups – but they do also leave these groups. The word “privacy” doesn’t exist in many non-Western languages; if it does, it often has a negative connotation, suggesting loneliness or forced isolation from the group.
6 – Self-Help/Initiative – vs. Birthright Inheritance
Americans take credit only for what they have accomplished without outside assistance. If you look at an English-language dictionary, you can find more than 100 composite words with “self-“ as a prefix. Equivalents of these words cannot be found in most other languages.
7 – Competition – vs. Cooperation
Americans believe that competition brings out the best in an individual, and even very young children are encouraged to compete. The author notes that many Peace Corps volunteers are distressed to find lack of competition in the classroom, when they had thought it was a universal value.
8 – Future Orientation – vs. Past Orientation
Valuing the future and the improvements Americans are sure the future will inevitably bring means that they devalue the past and, to a large extent, are unconscious of the present (ah, that is why I am trying to live more in the moment!). Since Americans believe that Man, not Fate, controls the environment, that has made them good at short-term projects.
9 – Action/Work Orientation – vs. “Being” Orientation
Reading this section made me long for the simple life in Morocco – it says that Americans routinely plan and schedule an extremely active day, including relaxation that is limited in time and pre-planned… And when (workaholic) Americans meet, the first question will be, “What do you do?” (will the economy change that?)
10 – Informality – vs. Formality
Those coming from a more formal society will find Americans informal and, it seems to them, disrespectful. Americans are some of the most informal people in the world – even compared to the Western Europeans. Titles, dress, and greetings are especially illustrative.
11 – Directness/Openness/Honesty – vs. Indirectness/Ritual/”Face”
Many other countries have developed subtle, sometimes highly ritualistic, ways of informing other people of unpleasant information. Americans are not only direct and honest, but also public about it.
12 – Practicality/Efficiency – vs. Idealism
Americans have a reputation for being realistic, not philosophical. This also causes some professions – those that make money – to be more valued than ones that are aesthetically pleasing.
13 – Materialism/Acquisitiveness – vs. Spiritualism/Detachment
Americans value and collect more material objects than most of the world’s people would ever dream possible to own. And since they value newness ad innovation, they sell or throw away their possessions frequently and replace them with newer ones.
Of course, these values also help to explain why America and Americans have had so many achievements…but seeing these values listed this way does make you think.
As an illustration, the author, L. Robert Kohls, mentions that if a foreigner asks for directions, the American would tell someone details of how to get there on one’s own, rather than walking 100 meters to accompany you – that is because the self-help concept is so strong that no American would think someone would want to be dependent on another, even temporarily. Also, the future orientation makes Americans think it is good to prepare you to find other addresses in the future.
The paper pairs each American value with a counterpart value from a more traditional country. I know I wouldn’t have thought of these in this way, so I am summarizing here:
1- Personal Control over the Environment – vs. Fate – Americans consider it normal that man should control nature, that individuals can control whatever in the environment might affect him or her, that problems are not a result of bad luck as much as laziness and unwillingness to take responsibility, that it is normal to look out for one’s self-interest.
2 – Change as Seen as Natural and Positive – vs. Tradition
In the U.S., change is indisputably good; it is linked to development, improvement, process, growth. Other cultures value stability, continuity, tradition, and a rich and ancient heritage (as an aside, then, I wonder how these cultures viewed the Obama campaign?).
3 – Time and its Control – vs. Human Interaction
To foreigners, Americans seem more concerned with getting things accomplished on time than with developing deep interpersonal relationships. Americans’ language is filled with references to time. And the international visitor learns soon that it is rude to be late, and that one must call if one is going to be late.
4 – Equality/Fairness – vs. Hierarchy/Rank/Status
Equality is a cherished American value, along with the assertion that all people have an opportunity to succeed in life. The author claims that seven-eighths of the world sees rank, status and authority as much more desirable – even to those who find themselves near the bottom of the social order.
5 – Individualism/Indepenence/Privacy – vs. Group’s Welfare
Individualism developed in the Western world from the Renaissance onward. Americans do, in fact, join a lot of groups – but they do also leave these groups. The word “privacy” doesn’t exist in many non-Western languages; if it does, it often has a negative connotation, suggesting loneliness or forced isolation from the group.
6 – Self-Help/Initiative – vs. Birthright Inheritance
Americans take credit only for what they have accomplished without outside assistance. If you look at an English-language dictionary, you can find more than 100 composite words with “self-“ as a prefix. Equivalents of these words cannot be found in most other languages.
7 – Competition – vs. Cooperation
Americans believe that competition brings out the best in an individual, and even very young children are encouraged to compete. The author notes that many Peace Corps volunteers are distressed to find lack of competition in the classroom, when they had thought it was a universal value.
8 – Future Orientation – vs. Past Orientation
Valuing the future and the improvements Americans are sure the future will inevitably bring means that they devalue the past and, to a large extent, are unconscious of the present (ah, that is why I am trying to live more in the moment!). Since Americans believe that Man, not Fate, controls the environment, that has made them good at short-term projects.
9 – Action/Work Orientation – vs. “Being” Orientation
Reading this section made me long for the simple life in Morocco – it says that Americans routinely plan and schedule an extremely active day, including relaxation that is limited in time and pre-planned… And when (workaholic) Americans meet, the first question will be, “What do you do?” (will the economy change that?)
10 – Informality – vs. Formality
Those coming from a more formal society will find Americans informal and, it seems to them, disrespectful. Americans are some of the most informal people in the world – even compared to the Western Europeans. Titles, dress, and greetings are especially illustrative.
11 – Directness/Openness/Honesty – vs. Indirectness/Ritual/”Face”
Many other countries have developed subtle, sometimes highly ritualistic, ways of informing other people of unpleasant information. Americans are not only direct and honest, but also public about it.
12 – Practicality/Efficiency – vs. Idealism
Americans have a reputation for being realistic, not philosophical. This also causes some professions – those that make money – to be more valued than ones that are aesthetically pleasing.
13 – Materialism/Acquisitiveness – vs. Spiritualism/Detachment
Americans value and collect more material objects than most of the world’s people would ever dream possible to own. And since they value newness ad innovation, they sell or throw away their possessions frequently and replace them with newer ones.
Of course, these values also help to explain why America and Americans have had so many achievements…but seeing these values listed this way does make you think.
A Blessing on Your House...
One of the rituals of Filipino life – that I didn’t expect to experience, because I am not in homestay, and because I am in the city – is the blessing of a house. It is not proper to live in a house that has not been blessed. Prayers are said, and a priest comes and sprinkles holy water in every corner of the house. Important guests hold candles, one throws coins for the others to catch, and after the blessing there is a feast. The building where I live was blessed this morning (now I have even more reason not to want to move to the place where they were originally going to put me – first, this is more accessible. Second, I have settled in. Third, now it is blessed!). The address is 88 and today is 8/8, so even though they have owned the building for a while, it was a good time for a blessing. It certainly worked out for me – I had the priest sprinkle some holy water in my room. Can’t hurt, right?
Then I went out on my own for the first time (by the way, there is a name in Tagalog for that constant companion that Hanna was and maybe still is to me – kasama. They really can’t understand that sometimes Americans want to be alone!). To the Mall of Asia, which someone said might be the biggest mall in all of Asia. Now that I have been to the hypermarket, where I wanted to go in the first place to get my settling-in things, I have decided to embrace the malls (I now have to work on embracing the lunch options at the office building where I work – the best I could do yesterday was a tuna sandwich – a minute amount of tuna on soft white bread). Met up with my warden, who lives in a province nearby – but it might be easier for her to get to downtown Manila than for me; it certainly is easier for her than for the PCRV men, but they came too, as did Beryl, a new PCRV who was still waiting for her visa so she arrived a week after the six of us. She volunteered in Moldova and has done extensive disaster preparedness work; she’ll be with Save the Children, but not in Metro Manila. All of us had lunch, and then “the boys” and I had ice cream, and then Charlie, Jonathan and I took a walk by Manila Bay. The water is gray and dirty, but it was still nice to be by the water. Manila Bay! The battle for Manila Bay was fought in 1898; it included Dewey’s famous line, “you may fire when ready, Gridley.”
While working on my movie I looked at the current Peace Corps Response openings. I saw one opening for a marketing person – marketing a tourist resort in Jamaica. Gee, I’d consider something like that! It will be filled before I leave here, but I wonder what openings there will be in six months? Of course, I will also be looking for real jobs….
An unfortunate consequence of Cory Aquino’s death is the oft-played (and therefore stuck-in-the-mind), “Tie a Yellow Ribbon ‘Round the Ole Oak Tree.” I heard it in the MegaMall the other day (see, embracing the malls). Oh, the MegaMall also has a store with Filipino artisan items, so now I have an idea of what’s available. I am sure I will want some Filipino touches in the imaginary apartment (Moroccan rugs and pottery, Thai and Lao table runners, and Filipino home décor?) Of course, I’d rather buy from artisans directly, but I don’t know if I will meet any. Were there any orange and black traditional clothes? You may have to wait until next June to find out! I am told that one can get great deals on pearls here – place your orders now!
Then I went out on my own for the first time (by the way, there is a name in Tagalog for that constant companion that Hanna was and maybe still is to me – kasama. They really can’t understand that sometimes Americans want to be alone!). To the Mall of Asia, which someone said might be the biggest mall in all of Asia. Now that I have been to the hypermarket, where I wanted to go in the first place to get my settling-in things, I have decided to embrace the malls (I now have to work on embracing the lunch options at the office building where I work – the best I could do yesterday was a tuna sandwich – a minute amount of tuna on soft white bread). Met up with my warden, who lives in a province nearby – but it might be easier for her to get to downtown Manila than for me; it certainly is easier for her than for the PCRV men, but they came too, as did Beryl, a new PCRV who was still waiting for her visa so she arrived a week after the six of us. She volunteered in Moldova and has done extensive disaster preparedness work; she’ll be with Save the Children, but not in Metro Manila. All of us had lunch, and then “the boys” and I had ice cream, and then Charlie, Jonathan and I took a walk by Manila Bay. The water is gray and dirty, but it was still nice to be by the water. Manila Bay! The battle for Manila Bay was fought in 1898; it included Dewey’s famous line, “you may fire when ready, Gridley.”
While working on my movie I looked at the current Peace Corps Response openings. I saw one opening for a marketing person – marketing a tourist resort in Jamaica. Gee, I’d consider something like that! It will be filled before I leave here, but I wonder what openings there will be in six months? Of course, I will also be looking for real jobs….
An unfortunate consequence of Cory Aquino’s death is the oft-played (and therefore stuck-in-the-mind), “Tie a Yellow Ribbon ‘Round the Ole Oak Tree.” I heard it in the MegaMall the other day (see, embracing the malls). Oh, the MegaMall also has a store with Filipino artisan items, so now I have an idea of what’s available. I am sure I will want some Filipino touches in the imaginary apartment (Moroccan rugs and pottery, Thai and Lao table runners, and Filipino home décor?) Of course, I’d rather buy from artisans directly, but I don’t know if I will meet any. Were there any orange and black traditional clothes? You may have to wait until next June to find out! I am told that one can get great deals on pearls here – place your orders now!
Thursday, August 6, 2009
More on Aspects of Filipino Culture
- More gestures: obscene gesture is extending the middle finger out, arms akimbo is considered arrogant, a faux pas is indicated by scratching the back of one’s lowered head, when crossing a room put hands together in front of you and lower your head, beckon someone with hand out and palm downward rather than crooked finger (M).
- Filipinos are big on smiles. For many (maybe even all) reasons.
- Daily baths are the rule (definitely not M!).
- Here’s another good word – pakikisama – the ability to get along (in interpersonal relations).
- A common greeting among Filipinos is, “have you eaten?” If the person asking is eating, the person should invite, but the askee does not have to accept. The greeting I have been getting is also common – “Where are you going?” I don’t have to specifically answer (it would be like answering how I really am when people ask how are you) – but usually I have been.
- A day is divided into breakfast, lunch, merienda (afternoon snack) and dinner. With more snacks and coffee breaks in between. Oh – while I am on the subject – the Nescafe three-in-one is too sweet for me. Sugary coffee is as challenging as sugary tea. Or maybe more so. But it is common here to carry a toothbrush and brush after every meal – which is what I intend to do!
- Fiestas are big, but I don’t know if I will get to one. Each town has one, and there are some famous ones, but many occur in May just before the rains and the planting season. Holy Week has parades that sound like the ones in Seville. Christmas has lanterns, and January 6th is a big holiday too; children receive gifts from the Three Kings (also known as their parents). On January 9th, there is a parade of an icon in Manila’s Quiapo church. Chinese New Year is also big (in Chinatown). More if/when I see for myself, I guess.
- Cockfighting, horse racing, basketball and boxing are the big spectator sports. I looked up the Thrilla in Manila on wikipedia, cringing at the description of the heavy blows of Ali and Frazier more than 30 years later. Maybe I will go past the arena where the fight took place. By the way, that blog name was taken (by someone who, when I looked, wasn’t even using it!).
- Filipinos love Americans (!). And call every one, “Joe,” for G.I. Joe.
- The Filipino flag has two bands of equal width, with blue, symbolizing peace and justice, on top and red, symbolizing courage, on the bottom. On the left is a white equilateral triangle, for equality. At each of its corners is a small, yellow star – they stand for the three major geographical regions, Luzon, Visayas and Mindanao. In the center of the triangle is a sun with eight rays, symbolizing the first eight provinces that fought for independence against the Spanish.
- I’ll talk about language in another entry.
- Filipinos are big on smiles. For many (maybe even all) reasons.
- Daily baths are the rule (definitely not M!).
- Here’s another good word – pakikisama – the ability to get along (in interpersonal relations).
- A common greeting among Filipinos is, “have you eaten?” If the person asking is eating, the person should invite, but the askee does not have to accept. The greeting I have been getting is also common – “Where are you going?” I don’t have to specifically answer (it would be like answering how I really am when people ask how are you) – but usually I have been.
- A day is divided into breakfast, lunch, merienda (afternoon snack) and dinner. With more snacks and coffee breaks in between. Oh – while I am on the subject – the Nescafe three-in-one is too sweet for me. Sugary coffee is as challenging as sugary tea. Or maybe more so. But it is common here to carry a toothbrush and brush after every meal – which is what I intend to do!
- Fiestas are big, but I don’t know if I will get to one. Each town has one, and there are some famous ones, but many occur in May just before the rains and the planting season. Holy Week has parades that sound like the ones in Seville. Christmas has lanterns, and January 6th is a big holiday too; children receive gifts from the Three Kings (also known as their parents). On January 9th, there is a parade of an icon in Manila’s Quiapo church. Chinese New Year is also big (in Chinatown). More if/when I see for myself, I guess.
- Cockfighting, horse racing, basketball and boxing are the big spectator sports. I looked up the Thrilla in Manila on wikipedia, cringing at the description of the heavy blows of Ali and Frazier more than 30 years later. Maybe I will go past the arena where the fight took place. By the way, that blog name was taken (by someone who, when I looked, wasn’t even using it!).
- Filipinos love Americans (!). And call every one, “Joe,” for G.I. Joe.
- The Filipino flag has two bands of equal width, with blue, symbolizing peace and justice, on top and red, symbolizing courage, on the bottom. On the left is a white equilateral triangle, for equality. At each of its corners is a small, yellow star – they stand for the three major geographical regions, Luzon, Visayas and Mindanao. In the center of the triangle is a sun with eight rays, symbolizing the first eight provinces that fought for independence against the Spanish.
- I’ll talk about language in another entry.
Plans and Goals
Today my supervisor, my counterpart (now I have met him!) and I went to a meeting with the Department of Social Welfare and Development. They want Habitat to build a number of homes on Mindanao. One of the requests was that the houses be made portable so they can be moved in case of armed conflict. There is an iconic image of villagers getting together to move a house, which shows the spirit of cooperation in the Philippines; so the move part isn’t that unusual – but maybe the reason is.
The traffic there and back was terrible – we probably spent three hours in the car for a half-hour meeting. It is raining again today (typhoon2000.com has upgraded this tropical storm to a typhoon! But it seems to have two names – Morakot and Kiko – so I need to learn more about how the web site works). Sir Tony said I have now experienced the rain and the traffic but have yet to experience the flooding!
On our drive, I started to read “Working with Filipinos – A Cross-Cultural Encounter,” a book I borrowed from the Peace Corps library. Again, it mentions such things as being indirect, not rushing etc. – and then Sir Tony asked me what ideas I had so far! I still haven’t really met with my counterpart, Ritchie, but I do have some ideas. I’d rather put together a plan first and then execute it, but I think I may look for some things I can do right away, since I think that is what they are looking for.
I can tell that they are expecting a lot of me – I haven’t had that feeling in a while. But I don’t think anyone is expecting more of me than I expect of myself. I have said more than once that my goal for this year was to have no goals (well, to go through my stuff in storage and to have no other goals). I still do have that goal – that is, my goal here is to continue to work on living in the present. But I have to balance that with doing my job. And at some point with looking for the next job – I do want to start on that while I am here, whereas I couldn’t add that to my plate as I was finishing up in Morocco.
This evening I went to the hypermarket – where I wanted to go in the first place, rather than the malls – and got a table lamp, plastic shelf rack, and another fitted sheet. And now I am happy! It doesn’t take much. I was also thinking today how much I like Southeast Asia. The Philippines is in some ways completely different from Buddhist Thailand, Laos and Cambodia and from Muslim Java and Hindu Bali, but there’s something all of those places have in common, too. I feel good here.
The traffic there and back was terrible – we probably spent three hours in the car for a half-hour meeting. It is raining again today (typhoon2000.com has upgraded this tropical storm to a typhoon! But it seems to have two names – Morakot and Kiko – so I need to learn more about how the web site works). Sir Tony said I have now experienced the rain and the traffic but have yet to experience the flooding!
On our drive, I started to read “Working with Filipinos – A Cross-Cultural Encounter,” a book I borrowed from the Peace Corps library. Again, it mentions such things as being indirect, not rushing etc. – and then Sir Tony asked me what ideas I had so far! I still haven’t really met with my counterpart, Ritchie, but I do have some ideas. I’d rather put together a plan first and then execute it, but I think I may look for some things I can do right away, since I think that is what they are looking for.
I can tell that they are expecting a lot of me – I haven’t had that feeling in a while. But I don’t think anyone is expecting more of me than I expect of myself. I have said more than once that my goal for this year was to have no goals (well, to go through my stuff in storage and to have no other goals). I still do have that goal – that is, my goal here is to continue to work on living in the present. But I have to balance that with doing my job. And at some point with looking for the next job – I do want to start on that while I am here, whereas I couldn’t add that to my plate as I was finishing up in Morocco.
This evening I went to the hypermarket – where I wanted to go in the first place, rather than the malls – and got a table lamp, plastic shelf rack, and another fitted sheet. And now I am happy! It doesn’t take much. I was also thinking today how much I like Southeast Asia. The Philippines is in some ways completely different from Buddhist Thailand, Laos and Cambodia and from Muslim Java and Hindu Bali, but there’s something all of those places have in common, too. I feel good here.
Wednesday, August 5, 2009
Some Aspects of Filipino Culture
These are some of the things I found most interesting from Culture Shock: Philippines. If it’s similar in Morocco, I’ll note it, sometimes with an M.
- Teasing is a way of indirect criticism – it is how children learn proper behavior.
- All Saints Day is big here – people go to the cemeteries for vigils, often with refreshments.
- Three concepts are hard to define but seem of ultimate importance in understanding the psyche and behavior. Hiya is shame, a loss of self-esteem. Approval by the community. Amor-propio is another traditional value – self-respect. Utang na loob is personal favors, reciprocal obligations.
- Because of hiya and amor-prioio, go-betweens are often used rather than direct confrontation.
- Bahala na – leaving things to God, is the equivalent of inshallah. Hamdullah that there’s an equivalent! I still find myself thinking or saying it. In fact, now that I am trying to learn Tagalog, Moroccan Arabic words are coming back to me. Must be firing the same neurons.
- Homosexuals are tolerated. I can’t say the same is true for Morocco, but like Morocco, men can walk together arm in arm or hold hands, and ditto women, but men and women should not hold hands (etc.) in public.
- Mangkukulam appear to be the equivalents of djinns. And psychic people can cause illness with a stare. The good old evil eye! There are other superstitions and myths – my favorite is that the number of stairs in a house should not be divisible by three. People count stairs oro, plata, mata – gold, silver, death. Don’t end on mata.
- There’s a distinction between private space (which is kept clean) and public space (which can be full of rubbish). M!
- Filipinos borrow freely from family members – and if you are living with a family, they may help themselves to your things too. M
- Filipinos ask what Americans perceive as personal questions in an attempt to get to know you. M – note, I already had most of my answers prepared, but got tripped up by one over the weekend and gave an unintended direct answer! We’ll see if it has consequences; otherwise I’ll let it go.
- Filipinos won’t open a gift in front of you. M
- It’s polite to be late (and impolite to be on time) to a social occasion.
- (One of my favorites) – Filipinos often greet each other with their eyebrows – eye contact established, the eyebrows are raised up and down. Not from the book but from our hour of language, Filipinos often pout and point their lips to indicate direction.
That’s a good place to stop for today. More to come.
And speaking of Morocco, I received an email yesterday that made my day – from the Country Director there. For COS Conference (wow, almost a year has gone by since I had mine!) they requested videos from those of us who COSed last year, talking about adjusting and giving advice to those about to COS. I hope I am not spoiling a surprise here! I love being asked to do things like this! I reacquainted myself with imovie (which I used once, to film an introduction for Jeff) and learned something new – how to upload a video to youtube. Now to think about what I want to say and record it! Some of the current second-years have already been in touch with me with questions about Peace Corps Response; I miss some of my friends who are there and it will be nice to think I am talking to them as I do it.
- Teasing is a way of indirect criticism – it is how children learn proper behavior.
- All Saints Day is big here – people go to the cemeteries for vigils, often with refreshments.
- Three concepts are hard to define but seem of ultimate importance in understanding the psyche and behavior. Hiya is shame, a loss of self-esteem. Approval by the community. Amor-propio is another traditional value – self-respect. Utang na loob is personal favors, reciprocal obligations.
- Because of hiya and amor-prioio, go-betweens are often used rather than direct confrontation.
- Bahala na – leaving things to God, is the equivalent of inshallah. Hamdullah that there’s an equivalent! I still find myself thinking or saying it. In fact, now that I am trying to learn Tagalog, Moroccan Arabic words are coming back to me. Must be firing the same neurons.
- Homosexuals are tolerated. I can’t say the same is true for Morocco, but like Morocco, men can walk together arm in arm or hold hands, and ditto women, but men and women should not hold hands (etc.) in public.
- Mangkukulam appear to be the equivalents of djinns. And psychic people can cause illness with a stare. The good old evil eye! There are other superstitions and myths – my favorite is that the number of stairs in a house should not be divisible by three. People count stairs oro, plata, mata – gold, silver, death. Don’t end on mata.
- There’s a distinction between private space (which is kept clean) and public space (which can be full of rubbish). M!
- Filipinos borrow freely from family members – and if you are living with a family, they may help themselves to your things too. M
- Filipinos ask what Americans perceive as personal questions in an attempt to get to know you. M – note, I already had most of my answers prepared, but got tripped up by one over the weekend and gave an unintended direct answer! We’ll see if it has consequences; otherwise I’ll let it go.
- Filipinos won’t open a gift in front of you. M
- It’s polite to be late (and impolite to be on time) to a social occasion.
- (One of my favorites) – Filipinos often greet each other with their eyebrows – eye contact established, the eyebrows are raised up and down. Not from the book but from our hour of language, Filipinos often pout and point their lips to indicate direction.
That’s a good place to stop for today. More to come.
And speaking of Morocco, I received an email yesterday that made my day – from the Country Director there. For COS Conference (wow, almost a year has gone by since I had mine!) they requested videos from those of us who COSed last year, talking about adjusting and giving advice to those about to COS. I hope I am not spoiling a surprise here! I love being asked to do things like this! I reacquainted myself with imovie (which I used once, to film an introduction for Jeff) and learned something new – how to upload a video to youtube. Now to think about what I want to say and record it! Some of the current second-years have already been in touch with me with questions about Peace Corps Response; I miss some of my friends who are there and it will be nice to think I am talking to them as I do it.
Pictures from the Field Trip
Medium-rise buildings:
Kids playing in the rain:
Home interior:
Concrete block technology:
Squatters' homes that Habitat is working to replace:
Manila American Cemetery:
Map from the Memorial:
Sign for Corazon Aquino:
Kids playing in the rain:
Home interior:
Concrete block technology:
Squatters' homes that Habitat is working to replace:
Manila American Cemetery:
Map from the Memorial:
Sign for Corazon Aquino:
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