1st Day Off in the Phils

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I am still in the Philippines. Once again, my co-workers have given me a window on the country I would not have had otherwise. And that window is....the life of the upper-middle-class professional city-dwelling Filipino/a! I can't say I mind. It is extremely hot here, and it is nice to have a driver. It's very nice to sit in an air-conditioned coffee shop. Oh, lest I forget, these people love coffee as much as I do. Another thing that ties our two countries together.

First, let me say I LOVE how out the gay people are here. Out and totally embracing who they are. It seems like people here are just who they are, no matter what that is. I wish more people were like that in the United States. I am obviously only getting a very superficial look at things, so who can really say. But it doesn't seem to be a big taboo here as it would be in our office in the US. As far as I know, I am the only person in my office that doesn't hide it! I also found out that, unlike the US, people here don't assume bellydancers are strippers just because our costumes are sexy. They think of bellydance as just another form of exercise, like yoga. So I could tell people here that I'm a bellydancer and not feel like I should have kept my mouth shut.

After work, Roy, Donabel and myself went to the huge Mall of Asia. It was only built two years ago or so and is the third largest mall in the world. We didn't go inside, but rather ate on the shoreline walk. It's beautiful, all reclaimed from the ocean. We watched the sunset there, and then walked along and watched the fireworks (on Fridays and Saturdays), and the magical fountain. Tons of people were out with their families, and there was a really good energy. I love being in a place with so many people and so much happy energy. Roy & Dona taught me some Tagalog words, although they are not so useful for the office - like "I love you" and "Ugly". :-) But their word for thank you reminds me of the word peace in Arabic - Salamat. I wonder how long it would take me to learn Tagalog - if I come back, I would like to be able to speak a little bit.

Also, about women...I asked my co-worker (a female Chemical Engineer by education, an EHS engineer by profession) whether there were many women in engineering. Yes, she said, of course. I told her how in the US, not too many women pursue engineering and about Lawrence Somers' comments a few years back. She was shocked. So, yes, my assumptions were right - it is not enculturated here that "women are bad at math", "technical things are manly", "women are not good at computers" - so women DO do these things. They do them equally as men do. They do not think twice about their femininity when they do. There is no conflict to love pink, shoes, and makeup .... AND be a smart engineer! YAY!

So what we did today - briefly went to Rizal Park (a.k.a. Luneta) and Fort Santiago. We rode on a Calesa, where I confirmed I am indeed allergic to horses. We cooled off in a Starbucks. We went to the National Art Gallery and the National Museum. I saw some amazing modern art, historic art of the Philippines, and the anthropological section about the various peoples of the Philippines. I enjoyed that a lot! I also liked seeing what came out of the various wrecks - sea wreck archaology is big here, with all the sunken galleons and Chinese junks. The Philippines has been part of a Southeast Asian trading network for a long time. Oh, and I learned about the different dialects (SO MANY).

We had lunch in a seafood restaurant on Manila Bay. Live fish and lobsters! The grilled salmon was amazing, as were the green mango shakes. I learned how to properly eat with a fork and spoon. And as we left, we checked out the lobster tank - two huge lobsters were mating! At least, I think they were - the bigger lobster totally mounted the smaller lobster. We were giggling like schoolgirls.

We saw the American cemetary (what the hey - it was a beautiful setting and my gramps will like the pictures). I never knew that much about the pacific war of wwII. So many names, so many dead, so many crosses that it looked like an abstract piece of art.

Then we went to Serendra. What is that, you ask? It is an outdoor "mall", in a new city that is being built, an upscale city judging from the looks of it. The center of the mall is an outdoor plaza with fountains, sculptures, waterfalls. Then on the side, it is lined with upscale stores. We stopped in a Filipino coffeeshop called Figaro, because I wanted to buy some of the local coffee beans. We had the best coffee there (kicked Starbucks in the ass!). We went to a good bookstore where I picked out the perfect gift for a friend, and another novel for the plane. I never would have asked to go to yet another mall, but I had so much fun at this one. It was really relaxing, after the extremely hot sun. Also, the air quality was a lot better in this neighborhood, and it was cooler.

Now I am here in the Horizon Club again, drinking a nice vodka tonic and looking at the lights at Makati. Tomorrow is my day of rest - maybe I will go to the spa and then to the malls here in Makati. Next trip, I will try to go to Palawan. But this trip, I am stuck in this city and I think I'm going to enjoy what huge Asian cities have to offer - FOOD and MALLS. :-)

On Monday, we are going on a full day trip to Corregidor. Look for another post then!

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Comments

[digital_explorer]

Enjoy your stay... mabuhay
Im smiling while reading your journal. It seems you are enjoying your stay in my home country. I miss the Philippines after leaving the country in 2005 for further postgrad studies in the UK. Im sure you will enjoy your trip to Corregidor which will provide you the our past during the war. Keep sharing your Philipine trip!

[Vince]

Ah Manila
The sights and the sounds...great blog. It's always nice to see a city on a local's perspective and great observation. Manila may lack the 'exotic' flavors like it's Asian sisters, but it does offer some charm still. And yes, the eating fork and spoon is the way to go! Rice with fork? That's a big no-no.