Sunday, January 27, 2013

And that's all folks


It’s been 175 days since I began this journey. 175 days filled with school, work, research, travel, beaches, a fair bit of debauchery (sorry Mom) and far more rice than I ever thought I’d eat. 

I’ll be the first to say Manila is not much of a city for travelers (or for Pinoys). It lacks charm and is neither particularly attractive nor interesting. But over the past 6 months this city has managed to win me over. And that is primarily because of the incredible people who have been kind enough to take me in. Filipinos are hospitable and generous, quick to share a laugh, never hesitate to lend a hand and most of all exude such a positive, resilient spirit. Little remains of “true” Filipino culture, after 300 years of Spanish colonization, 50 years of US occupation and several years under the Japanese. What is left is a country of thousands of islands, rather disjointed, its people creating a culture of their own by borrowing from those previous influences. You could imagine then generations raised with growing resentment and frustration. But I’ve never heard any ill sentiments spoken of Spain (except perhaps toward the Spanish basketball team that nearly beat the US in the Olympic finals). And most Filipinos tell me all about a sister or cousin who lives in LA and how they dream of visiting one day. The Philippines is the most pro-US country I have ever traveled to. 


This is not to say they don’t feel cheated or upset about their history.  As the only predominately Christian country in Asia, they lament that they’re therefore the only country in Asia to be so fundamentally conquered, all history and culture effectively expunged. In recent years, there has been a push to preserve what little remains and to maintain the more than 100 native languages.

It is this country that welcomed me so warmly back in August, when I had no idea what I was getting myself into. To explain how this experience changed me is more than one blog post can do justice. I will say though that I can’t imagine my life had I not come. My view of the world, my career direction and my aspirations are so tied to this country and the people I met along the way. Thank you to the Philippines for helping me get here. I will miss the city and the people, but don't worry...I'll be back :) 

To those of you in the States, I should be home for 6 weeks before the next journey (and possibly the biggest) begins. Stay tuned...





Saturday, January 5, 2013

A Very Bali Christmas


Happy Holidays, friends! I hope everyone had a wonderful few weeks with family and good food. Mine was fantastically…different.

While I’ve never spent my Christmas in such a hot climate, the intensity with which the Filipinos embrace the Christmas season helped me get into the spirit. They start preparing when the “ber” months come around (SeptemBER) and by the time December rolls around, every employee at the malls has a Santa hat on, the lights are nearly blinding and you can’t escape the caroles.

But I had other plans for the week. I arrived in Bali after a 16-hour trip (there are only 2 non-stop flights a week from Manila, and I wasn’t on either). The airport and the entire city was a madhouse but I made it back to the Mothership, Karen and Gusky’s lovely compound. There I met my two cousins for the first time – Mira, a senior at SMU, and Giri, a sophomore at Lafayette. We shared an unspoken consensus to ignore just how odd the situation was. They are both great and have a really interesting balance of growing up in Bali but being American-ized.



Mira had a few friends from the US staying at a house down the street. In this group of 6 guys, 3 had gone to Dartmouth and one of those lived on the floor below me during my semester "abroad". Talk about a reunion, in Bali no less! Our first several days were spent relaxing in Ubud, enjoying the beach bars, watching the sunset and gallivanting around Bali at night (ahem, even in Kuta). Karen and Gusky’s close friends came on Christmas Eve, so with 9 of us the house was filled.




Christmas Day involved opened presents under the Christmas orchid and then spending the rest of the day on the beach. A solid day of surfing, tanning, delicious noodles and Bintang (the local beer). That evening, dinner was the main event. A number of their friends from Bali joined and 22 of us dined at the lovely table on food their catering company prepared and served. Food coma #1.


Dec 26th was Gusky’s birthday and to celebrate he invited another group of family and friends to share Babi Guling (roasted whole pig). It's a rare occasion and one that I thoroughly enjoyed. Food coma #2. 



We had a one-day break from the festivities and then December 28thwas Karen’s big 5-0! Gusky planned major surprise party at their Thai restaurant in Ubud. Great people, killer food, delicious mojitos. Food coma #3. Karen danced the night away and we didn’t return home until well after turning into pumpkins.


My final two days in Bali allowed for a bit more relaxing, food comas #4-6, and pool in both forms of the word. Sunday night I made the trek back to Manila, bummed out of leave my newly acquainted family. A New Year’s Eve spent at Friendly’s and another few days at WHO, and somehow now I’m down to my last 3 weeks here. Time to enjoy it while I can! xxx