My last entry was one of those truly spur-of-the-moment projects. I had some ideas of what I wanted to say but didn't really know until it was already down on paper. But the sentiments I expressed were absolutely, 100 percent accurate. A Filipino friend (one of my adopted daughters -- I think I'm up to three now) read my blog and agreed that the picture I had painted was both accurate and factual -- I was neither over-reacting nor dramatizing the situation. In my own opinion, I thought the article was well-written. Maybe in a month I'll read it and disagree. Which leaves me with the question of what do I write about next.
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| Paths through the jungle can become overgrown quickly |
On the way "home" from Tubigon today, a new and interesting thought came to mind. I was taking that ubiquitous express van from Tubigon to Talibon (not to be confused with the Islamic fundamentalist group Taliban), and I had the benefit of sitting in the front seat -- giving me a distinct observational vantage point. Along the way it hit me. Now that the first culture shock was over, and the second wave had been identified and addressed, I realized I was no long looking at those more obvious differences between my world and the culture of the Philippines. Instead I was starting to recognize some of the smaller cultural tidbits. For instance, I had learned when I was in Carmen the previous weekend that people often lived back away from the roadway. The unobservant person (which I think I had been) would probably not see the slightly worn footpath leading back through the overgrowth and to a house our compound of several houses. I noticed school kids walking along the road and then suddenly they were gone. Where did they go? Then I saw the paths. With the way things grow in the tropics, a well-used foot path can be hidden by new growth rather quickly, so the path doesn't always look used. But by scanning the roadside I soon began to see them. Now that the "shock" had worn off, I was now able to notice more of the detail. With that realization I found myself hunting for all of the details I have missed up to this point.
It also dawned on me today that the Filipino people are very creative problem solvers. Given their lack of resources, I guess that's just a part of their every day life. I think Americans used to be that way, but now that we have access to so many resources we can just pick and chose the things we need. The second part of my trip -- the leg from Talibon to Ubay -- was via Jeepney. Now I've ridden Jeepneys before but only on short trips from one place in town to another. People come and go, much like a bus line in a U.S. city. This was a little different. The Jeepney itself is an indication of the Filipino's ingenuity and creativity. Each one is slightly different than the next. The number of passengers they can hold is strictly a function of their individual design. Or is it? On the trip to Ubay, I had the chance to see that creativity first-hand. I think if I was still in culture shock-mode I probably would not have looked at it in the same light. The Jeepney I was in today would probably seat 14 people comfortably. Now realize that I'm basing this on some concept of American comfort. I'm sure that if someone tried this in the US, even at 14 people some passengers would complain that it was too crowded. But this has nothing to do with comfort -- it is strictly about economy of movement. When I approached the vehicle I saw that it was already crowded. I also had an overnight bag and a computer bag. I thought, "Gee, there really isn't any room left for this big "kano" and his stuff." And so I hesitated. The driver's assistant encouraged me to get on and that they would make room for me. At that point I counted 16 people.
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| A Jeepney loaded with passengers - there's still room for more! |
What I observed over the next 30 minutes absolutely amazed me. They kept loading people. Jeepneys are generally set up so that you sit on long benches that are sideways in the back portion of the vehicle. You sit with your back to the side of the vehicle and face the people opposite you. I figured we were done once we had 10 people on each side. How could you fit more? But they did. Out of nowhere (I think they were on the luggage rack on the roof of the Jeepney) came some small benches that they placed on the walkway between the passenger benches -- they were big enough for one person to sit on . . . which means in the Philippines you can fit two. Three of those benches appeared, which allowed for six more passengers. I thought the driver's helper would sit in the front seat with the driver. Wrong! More passengers were loaded into the front seat. The driver's helper stood on the rear bumper of the Jeepney and hung on to the ladder which went up to the luggage rack. We were ready to go! The driver cranked over the engine and turned on the radio -- as loud as he could crank it up. Down the road we went. I was glad to finally be on the road. I studied the way in which we had been jammed onto the Jeepney and realized that I had discovered another one of the Filipino cultural gems. They take what they have, what ever they have, and make the maximum use of it. Oh . . by the way, we weren't done picking up passengers. I really don't know how they managed, but I lost count at 38. They were hanging on the back end, they were riding on the luggage rack on top, and we were stuffed into the passenger compartment tighter than college students in a phone booth. I smiled the whole time. I'm sure my fellow passengers thought I was loony, but I just found their ingenuity amazing.
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| Ubay market |
I found a new little "eatery" in Ubay that I like. I had to buy more "load" for my prepaid cell phone, so I wandered down to the market. After buying my load at the Globe dealer, I decided I should get something to eat. I spied a reasonably nice looking place called Peter's Bakery and Restaurant. I gave it a try. The fried calamari was good -- nothing to brag about, but it was reasonably well prepared. The rice was rice. The 7-Up was the same as anywhere. But the view into the market area gave me another interesting vantage point. I ended up ordering a mango shake, not because I needed anything else to eat or drink but because I wanted to justify taking up one of their tables so that I could watch the world go by. What I observed was that the Filipino people are extremely hard working and industrious people. Using motorcycles for nearly everything, they are able to haul cases of water (dozens of cases), bags of rice (75 pounds or so), people (three and four at a time), and countless other products. They deliver to all of the little eateries and shops along the market place. Mothers and their children hire motorcycle drivers to haul them home after shopping -- they just hop onto the back of the motorcycle and off they go. All of the seemingly meaningless hustle and bustle I had observed before was starting to make sense. What had previously looked like random running about turned out to actually be productive and reasonably efficient efforts to get things done. I was again impressed. I was also very pleased by my new understanding of the things going on around me.
I think the culture shock issue of the previous day was one of those growth moments. I'm sure for anyone who has plunged themselves into a culture that is vastly different than there own that this is a rather common experience. This was the first time I had really recognized it for what it was. I have a lot more to learn, but I think that this past week was a real good example of how we never can know too much and how we need to stay observant and thoughtful -- to avoid taking things for granted or making assumptions about the world around us. Now I am looking forward to tomorrow . . . to the next detail that comes my way.
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