Ahh, the Philippines. What’s there to say about a country whose two national beers are ‘San Miguel’ and ‘Colt 45′?
Even before my more recent sojerns into the world outside the lower 48, one of things I’ve always enjoyed about visiting and/or moving to new places was that undefinable feeling of ‘getting’ the new place — learning its people, its culture, its … rhythem.
This typically comes for me from walking a place for several days. I quickly learn the layout of a city, how the residents get around (nobody walks in L.A., right?), the location of surf breaks, or (most importantly) the ‘vibe’ of the local population.
And usually, the time frame in which I usually ‘get’ a place is fairly short — within a matter of 1-2 days or, in some places — like Singapore, for example — within hours.
Indeed, when I first arrived to Arizona from Philadelphia for college, I was able to grasp the underlying ‘vibe’ of the Phoenix area really quickly. A vibe to which I immediately connected in my core that filled me with gratitute that this new place would be my home for the following several few years (and potentially forever). In retrospect, I was not incorrect in my feelings towards the city.
More recently, I have similarly been able to determine if I hold a connection – wither positive or negative – with a place in all my recent travels abroad. Several places I thought I would immediately connect with I immediately did not, like Bali, Indonesia. Meanwhile others, like Krabi and Singapore itself, I felt an almost instant gutteral connection.
And then there’s the Philippines.
There have been far too many times over the years where I just KNEW how something would play out and I still refused to succumb to that inner voice telling me the way things were. And after a couple weeks here, I wish I was a bigger slave to my initial instincts (especially after reading ‘Blink’ by Malcolm Gladwell).
I had the most awkward feeling when I first arrived in the Philippines (hell, even before I got here) — a feeling I just knew will come to fruition, yet still wanted to put to the test).
Within minutes of my arrival in the Manila airport, I felt, no, I KNEW that, unlike any of the other places I’ve been to (at least in recent memory), I would never, never, NEVER be able to ‘get’ the Philippines.
It’s really kind of hard to explain. Shit, given the frenetic disorganized pace of Manila (and indeed, the whole country), it’s hard to describe what the fuck was going on even in the 30 square meters around me when I first got ‘in country’, let alone what the entire country is like. However, I’ll try to explain it by using my own personal ‘country comparison’ barameter — the only tool I really know how to use:
I find Cambodia to be a more severe, meloncholy, and less ‘centered’ version of the beautiful, tourist laden Thailand.
I find Malaysia to be the more organized, more forward thinking, ‘a-type’ twin sibling of Indonesia, which still doesn’t yet seem to be as concerned about keeping up with the rest of the world.
I find Singapore to be an asian version of Miami – cosmopolitan, international, stylish.
The Philippines are not so easily defined.
The closest I can come to describing the Philippines is that, to me, it is a mix of the permenant corrupt disfunction of Mexico, with some of that carefully cultivated ‘laid back yet still safe third world country’ feel of Costa Rica, while also having a low cost of human life (very low) prevelant in so many similar places. And add into this morrass a violent Muslim revolution going on in the Southern islands (immediately south of where I am now), and you’ve got some interesting Television.
Upon my initial arrival here (and since), I’ve encountered such a wide array of inexplicable conduct (and stories) by the Philippinos with whom I’ve met, such as would give an aspirin a fucking headache.
For every 1 Philippino that looks to you like ‘hostage bait’, there are another 4 who seem to be genuinely nice people. But honestly, I still have a hard time figuring out which is which.
Maybe it’s because the country itself is a ‘mish-mash’ of used parts from a variety of different sources. A look at a local menu will tell you just how confusing it is — a mish-mash of Malay, ‘lite’ Thai, cheap Mexican (Spanish), and bad BAD AMerican food (think balony, canned corned beef hash, and white bread as main ingredients for a ‘pepperoni and sausage’ pizza — I only WISH I was kidding).
It’s all so very confusing.
There is a ‘hate-hate’ relationship between the Filippinos and the money-toting tourists now afflicting their much maligned islands. Every interaction is a dance between wanting to believe in the good of people and having to protect oneself from the desperation that poisons every interaction.
Maybe that’s why I’m having a hard time getting a grip on things. Hell, I took a boat out to surf Doku Island with an Israeli kid who has been here for 3 months now and told me that HE still doesn’t get this place. But unlike me, he’s a sadist and plans on giving it another month to find out.
I still want to test that feeling, on the off chance this place is as beautiful as it sometimes appears. So I’ll be staying a full month, but unless something changes my opinion, no longer. I’m obviously willing to learn about a place, but there’s gotta be a limit.
Regardless, be it neither a good nor a bad thing, but I really think I’ll wind up leaving the Philippines without ever ‘getting’ this country.
