Graduasyon sa eskwelahan

Two months have already past since I arrived in Davao! Last friday we were 11 students finishing a Cebuano course and we had a big celebration. After the mass everybody held a speech in Cebuano and introduced all his guests (we had around 30 visitors). Before lunch Joan and Bill, the head of the school, handed out the certificates. The teachers were very thoughtful in giving everyone a certain characteristic. My "sertipiko" says "maikagon" which means "interested". 

After lunch the program went on with traditional dances of the Peruvians 

as well as Filipino dances and songs from our teachers. Of course our celebration lasted until the end of the night. 

But when I opened the fridge the next day I found a big surprise cake (Ube Macapuno) from Richard! 

Although I was a little bit frustrated sometimes because the classes were going way too slow, at the end, I've learned a lot during these 8 weeks and the school helped me to get some important basics of Cebuano. From there I keep on practicing and expanding my language skills...  

Brown and White

While Germans use every ray of sun to get some tan Filipinos are avoiding the sun if possible. In Germany brown skin resembles "holidays" or having the time and the money for a nice vacation. Also the idea of being healthy goes hand in hand with a nice tan, maybe because you have to spend time outside with "fresh air" (if you want to get tan the natural way). You can find many lotions that help you to get darker skin. This advertisement from bebe for example includes a nice beach with tropical flowers, coconut trees and sunglasses in the background. And the product is called "holiday skin" :) And in a holiday place where you can find nice beaches, coconut trees and tropical flowers locals don't want to be tanned.This filipino ad says "Actually I'm not white... BUT thanks to SILKA I BECAME WHITE".

If you go to such a "bebe"- beach here in the Philippines it's the other way around - the people are admiring white skin. White in Cebuano and Tagalog means "puti". In the Philippines many products (not only lotion, also soap and even pills) are sold to "whiten" your skin. Puti is considered better. Marrying a white man is like stepping up the social and economical ladder, mixed children are seen more valuable, precious and better prepared for society. The ambition is to be like an American, like in the movies and TV: rich, handsome and superior. Sometimes Americans are presented like the saviors of the country that brought democracy. Furthermore, Jesus Christ and the Virgin Mary looked like Americans with their white skin and their long noses.

One of the cultural traits of the Philippines, possibly fostered by some centuries of colonial rule, is that of valuing things from abroad higher than their home produced counterparts. This is called the "colonial mentality" or the "stateside mentality". It doesn't refer only to skin color but to so many imported products (and apparently German products have a very good reputation).

Resilient like bamboo

The Philippine islands were already strongly influenced by Chinese business men and Muslim traders from Malaysia and Indonesia long time before the Portuguese explorer Ferdinand Magellan discovered the islands in 1521. Until today the Chinese population is small but influential, moreover Chinese beliefs and customs are still practiced. In example, dressing white for a funeral (or black which comes from the Spaniards) and also placing coins near the entrance door which goes with the belief that money will flow in the house. 

The Spanish rule lasted for over 300 years (1565 - 1898) in the archipelago. They gave the name "Las Islas Filipinas" (after Philip II of Spain), introduced elements of western civilization such as the code of law, the calender, new crops and livestock and last but not least: Christianity. 

The American colonial period followed right after (1898 - 1946) and also left its traces. Of course, in the political system and administration, they introduced democracy, some western values and food like McDonalds (the filipino equivalent: Jollibee). 

But most remarkable hint for tourists: the majority is fluent in English, many people assume that all "white people" come from America and they greet foreigners with "Hey Joe!" (which comes from the nickname of the US soldiers: G.I. Joe).

Even though so many western values and ideas were already imposed to the Republika ng Pilipinas, essentially it is still an Asian nation with its own cultural distinctions. 

Therefore it is resilient like a bamboo that bends with the wind but doesn't brake. So does the filipino flag proudly present the independence and the uniqueness of the Philippine islands. 

The white triangle stands for equality and fraternity; the blue field for piece, truth and justice; the red field for patriotism and valor. The rays of the sun represent the first 8 provinces that sought independence from Spain and the 3 stars stand for the 3 major geographical divisions of the country: Luzon, Visayas, and Mindanao. 

Vanishing Island

While standing infront of the bat caves in Samal island you had a nice view on what is called "Vanishing island". (It's this thin white line in the middle of the sea) Now you know why the Philippines  comes up with 7107 islands... 

The island looked so tempting that we took a boat to get there and had a closer view. Indeed, it is really vanishing with high tide because there is only a tiny stripe of sand (or even none) left that's not under water. And the water was very clear, clean and calm; nice for snorkeling (if you don't forget your goggles)! 

It's also possible to stay overnight in this house - just make sure you don't forget anything! 

A weekend in Samal

Well it seems that I'm just taking a huge vacation here but I can assure you that I'm studying all day! :D

And very very slowly, my Bisaya is getting better. Pieter and I went to Samal island (just 10 min boat ride from Davao) and explored some if its sights. Practicing Bisaya outside is a very good exercise because in school we mainly train our grammar but rarely a usual conversation. With this in mind we just spoke Bisaya with everyone, maybe not perfect but comprehensive. 

The first sight was a waterfall: Hagimit falls. 

This cute little mosque looked quite big on the map but if your not standing right in front of it you wouldn't even notice.. 

Close to the mosque we found a bat cave that inhabited around 2 million fruit bats! First time I see such animals and so many of them! But they really had a weird smell. 

Cesar falls

On our second day in Maragusan we visited a waterfall nearby. This was our friendly guide Chris2pher.

We had to take a motorcycle to get there. That was quite a trip since we were 4 people (driver, guide, Richard & I), a stony road that goes up and down for 30 minutes, no helmets, just slippers ;) 

We had a 20 minutes walk throu "the jungle" before we reached the first step of the falls. 

I wasn't really prepared to get wet but there was no chance climbing up the falls without going throu the water. 

We carefully made one step after another because the wet stones were quite slippery. But the way down was more difficult than the way up. In the end, our efforts were worth it and as gymnast I really enjoyed the exercise!

The big falls are called Pyalitan falls. Christopher told us a story that in the 80's, an army soldier jumped down the falls to escape the NPA (New Peoples Army) and his body was found there. 

That's how these falls were actually discovered and therefore they also call them after him "Cesar falls". 

Maragusan

Last weekend Uncle Richard and I went to Maragusan, a town north of Davao in Compostella Valley. It took us about 4 hours bus ride to get there and for the last 2 hours the street was very dusty and rocky. We drove up and down the hills, everything was green, sometimes some lonesome cottages along the road. The ride alone already offered a breathtaking landscape plus the driver made some breathtaking turns too. 

I just thought for myself "If my filipino friends will ever visit me in Germany they will just laugh at me when I tell them that the "Saarschleife" is a main tourist attraction in my province." Maragusan is surrounded by hills, nature and

 plantages. Therefore you can find many springs, waterfalls and the biggest flower Rafflesia there. 

After our arrival we went first to cold springs...

...and later on to hot springs where we went swimming. 

Class reunion

Marisol (Peru), Pieter (Belgium), Ana (Peru), Sister Carmen (California/Mexico) and our fotographer Joseph (Korea)

Frithjof (Belgium), Antonio (Peru), Constant (Kongo)

Last tuesday evening I went with some of my classmates to MTS (Matina Town Square - a nice place to go out and meet people and with live music almost every night). There was a group performing "traditional dances", singing and playing instruments. We enjoyed the indigenous music and the colorful dances - and of course practiced our Cebuano because it's the only language we share (mixed with English and Spanish). 

Monuments of Downtown Davao

In matters of land area Davao City is the largest city in Asia with around 3 to 4 million citizens. But you can not find many high buildings and big buildings are usually hotels, banks or malls. The downtown area doesn't clearly appear as the center of the city but you can see that most buildings there are very old. In front of the City Hall is a tiny park where people gather. 

While walking further you can easily overlook the main "downtown sights" like a statue of José Rizal and the San Pedro church. 

The church "San Pedro" has the shape of a boat which represents Noah's ark and the monument in front refers to its passengers. "The Commemorative Monument of Peace and Unity" is a beautiful statue with obviously Filipino peasants on it. Moreover the monument gives a clue to the philosophy of the nation. While it expresses nice words its letters are already hanging down - officially the Republika ng Pilipinas has a nice democratic constitution but in reality everything is going upside down.

BUT "Never doubt that a small group of committed people can change the world. Indeed, it's the only thing that ever has." (Margaret Mead).

And José Rizal (1861 - 1896) is one of them. He is a very famous Filipino nationalist and the most popular advocate for reforms in the Philippines during the Spanish colonial era. He wrote poems, essays and novels; his most famous works are "Noli me tangere" and "El Filibusterismo".

 His name is used for several streets, avenues or places in every Filipino city and usually many statues too (btw you can find his statue even in Heidelberg (Germany)). The Philippines also dedicated a holiday to him which is coincidentally on my birthday: december 30 (that was the day he died)! 

Actually most of the streets are either called after the names of Christian saints or of former Filipino writers and presidents. But outside people refer rather to landmarks and barangays than to street names. 

Durian

Durian grows only in certain areas around the equator. Mindanawons are proud to grow it and they love to eat it! It is hard and spiky on the outside but it has soft flesh inside. Foreigners tend to avoid Durian because of its really annoying smell! In some places, like Singapur, Durian is forbidden in public vehicles. 

Its white pulp tastes sweet and somehow it's not comparable to other fruits. The nickname "king of fruits" refers to its uniqueness. 

There is also the saying: 

It smells like hell but tastes like heaven! 

No wonder you can go to a "Durian Paradise", have a Durian shake, icecream, candy, chocolate and today I also tried the coffee! Yummy  :- ) I can't wait for the fruit season to start in august!