I’ve learned that at any given time somewhere, people, and resources will always be exploited. I spent about 6 weeks with the University of Washington study abroad group and 2 weeks with my extended family. Throughout the 6 weeks, I was inundated with conflicting perspectives on the role of Government from people from all different types of backgrounds. I spent time learning about anti-imperialism through the political activist group AnakBayan, learned the traditional Filipino martial art Arnis by members of the Philippine National Police, visited places we read about in articles throughout the course of the quarter, attended graduate lectures on the Philippine Common Wealth Era by Dr. Jose, and became witnesses to poverty most people in developed countries cannot fathom. In the two weeks spent with my extended family I got to enjoy life the way they live. I also got great insight to their feelings toward groups like AnakBayan and the New Peoples Army (NPA). What they believe and feel might be similar to what a lot of people believe in the Philippines. I am asked how my thinking has changed, and my answer is it has expanded.
My grasp of the world has grown ever so slightly seen becoming enveloped in Philippine culture. Whether I believe everything I’ve been exposed to is irrelevant. What is important most to me is that I know positive things will come from my experience. Being part of the solution rather than sitting on the sidelines and waiting for something good to happen is what I’ve been driven to do. Being raised in the U.S. I am accustomed to certain things like rush hour, and traffic jams, but the intensity of traffic here is comparable to a windy day and a tornado. The amount of people here is overwhelming, and the amount living on the streets, in the slums, and surviving off less than a dollar a day is saddening. This has been the biggest lesson for me because when you see extreme poverty in your face you cannot deny help. It has expanded my perspectives on the cause of homelessness, and poverty and for this I am forever grateful.
“UW in the PI” is the name of our facebook group and thankfully since meeting everyone last spring quarter 2011 we have become more than facebook friends. I think we all had the mindset of going to the Philippines and gaining more than a grade. I can say that without a doubt each one of us was mentally prepared to see the poverty, but none of us really were until we were deep in it. What I mean is that it took a few weeks to actually get accustomed to people rushing at you begging for charity or begging for you to buy one of their handcrafted trinkets so that they would have money for food.
As far as teamwork is concerned we were all in sync with each other. Whenever we came together to kick it or to just talk about things we’d learned, we gained a lot of perspective just by being around one another. I personally benefitted from this experience because I got to work with a team of like-minded students and learned about the Philippines and my place in society. I know my identity and because of this opportunity I have discovered things I am passionate and truly care about. The best example I can give is the time when we visited the Office of Overseas Workers in Manila. I was given a short opportunity to speak to youth and adults who are in the process of migrating to other countries. Immigration is hard, and I know this because my family and I emigrated from the Philippines in the early 1990s. Outreach programs for youth, especially newly emigrated youth is important to me.
About the third week of the quarter we ran into a pretty big problem. Since our schedule offered us little chance to focus on our readings, and to write our blogs, a few students may have asked for one too many extensions. This created tension between the students and the staff because they may have felt that we were taking advantage of them. The only resolution to this was to sit down and talk about it. Both the students and the staff laid out their feelings on the issues at hand. Not all the students asked for extensions, and the ones that did had the best things to say in their blogs. We worked together to come to an agreement because without it the program would not have played out the way it did. The way I viewed it was that we were all adult-students on this study abroad trip. We know how to conduct ourselves as adults back home so why shouldn’t have this been any different in the Philippines?
The types of decisions that were made were not too far deviated from the itinerary given to us prior to departure. We had planned outings and activities each weekend that made it easy to navigate and manage our time. There were times though when staff and students did not mesh well together, but I view it as a natural product of our environment. One of the greatest traits a person can possess when leading a group is patience. There were times when we as a group would move too slowly and it caused stress between the students and staff because someone would always want to move faster. Over time though we learned to cope with each others personalities and became acquainted with each others mannerisms.
As far as contributions each team member gave, the top three I would have to say is insightfulness, respect, and openness to new and unfamiliar ideas. There were many times when we were not learning in the traditional classroom setting and in those times I think we gained a deeper understanding of things we learned in class. Conversations with each student were deep and thoughtful even at the most trivial moments such as playing games like “Would you rather”, in which someone would present two opposing options and the others would have to reply, which would usually result in giving some reasoning behind their choice.
The willingness to help each other was a great benefit to the group. Coming from the U.S. with dollars and spending pesos made money for us not a necessity. We all probably spent a little more than we budgeted for, but when it came to helping each other out there was no hesitation. If someone needed to borrow money someone would always be around to help out. It was a mindset that I don’t possess back home because the value of the dollar is less. I was surprised that everything was so cheap, but I was and continue to think in terms of dollars. As of right now the equivalent for one U.S. dollar is around forty-two Philippines pesos. One U.S. dollar can go a long way here in the Philippines. I bought street food at around ten pesos a piece, and you can get full off the food you buy from street vendors. For maybe forty to fifty pesos you could buy four servings of fish ball, balut, and barbeque sticks. Granted the food here is different from the U.S. but I am a food lover, and anything that looks appealing I’ll try. So far I’ve had isaw (chicken intestines), fish ball (grinded fish meat), balut (fertilized duck embryo), dugo (blood on a stick much like tofu), chicken & beef barbeque, sisig (pork ears), and so much more. I know much of it doesn’t sound appealing, but when you’re in the moment you can’t help but try. I’ve discovered some of the best foods in the Philippines are offered right on the street.
Isaw, Dugo, Coke, & Balut
The top three theories that have resonated in me were one) colonial mentality two) the special relationship between the Philippines and the U.S. and three) the mass migration of Filipina domestic workers to the U.S. These three are most memorable to me because I could see its effects on my life. My identity is filled with things I have been unknown to until this time. I’ve been living my life as if I were an individual, but I have come to realize that there are thousands of Filipino’s in America that have similar stories as me.
Colonial mentality was indirectly mentioned in a lot of the readings such as “Baguio Graffiti” in which the author spoke about his experience growing up in Baguio trying to fit in with American pop culture at the time. He related to rock n roll musicians such as Bob Dylan and the Beatles, and hung out at Camp John Hay. He came to realize though that to the American soldiers based in Camp John Hay he and his Filipino friends would always be looked at as outsiders.
In the “Colonial Mentality Scale for Filipino-Americans” it spoke directly about the very definitions of colonial mentality. In this article I could see my own past. Immigrating at such a young age and then being immersed in another culture through education grades k-12 and then college I transformed into a non-Filipino. Granted I am thankful for everything I have now, but in the process I lost my Filipino heritage. Assimilation is a natural product of the process according to the authors David and Okazaki. Many of the factors of colonial mentality are subtle and subconscious. In my case growing up in the American education system I conformed to my environment and my peers. I never analyzed it as if I were adopting a colonial mentality. But I do remember feeling inadequate in grade school when I could not speak English as well as the other students. I worked on my diction and tried very hard to sound like the other students. It worked because now whenever I try to speak my native language (tagalog) I sound like an American.
The special relationship between the Philippines and the U.S. is something that truly expanded my perspective. There are both sides to this dilemma. Many believe that the governing body of the Philippines is a puppet controlled by the U.S. and many believe that the U.S. has had great impact on the prosperity of the Philippines.
If colonial mentality is clearly defined many are blind to it. The feelings of inferiority are lessened by the desire to conform to a culture one is more attracted to, or one is engulfed in. I personally never used inferiority as a term to describe my upbringing. The authors described this as Covert Manifestations of Colonial Mentality (CMCM). Internalizing inferiority made it easier to conform to the majority because it blinded me to the feelings of inadequacy I held for myself.
The article “Migrant Filipina Domestic Workers and the International Division of Labor” had a deep effect on me because it described the life of my mom, which made me realize that if this article is a study on immigration than there are thousands of Filipinas who moved to the U.S. in the same manner as my mom. The struggles of Filipinos drive many to immigrate to other countries. This is what I am most sad about. It seems that the majority way of thinking is that life is better outside of the Philippines I hold this view as well. I look at my life and thank my mom for giving us the opportunity to live in the U.S. The minimum wage is higher, job security is greater, education is more available, etc. A lot of the motivating factors for immigrating to the U.S. are family who are already there and the misconception of living the “American Dream”.
My thinking has expanded in a way that has excited me to search for ways to benefit the lives of immigrants. I’ve gained a lot of insight into my own identity, and place in society. I’m not an individual, but one of many Filipino immigrants who now reside in the U.S. I must not forget where I came from and who I am, and thanks to this opportunity I have learned and seen more of the Philippines than most of my family who still live here.
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