Islands of Smiles

Filipinos are big on smiles. They smile when they praise; they smile when they criticize; they smile when they are embarrassed and have caused some minor offence; they smile when they need something from you; they smile when they are happy - and for any other reason too! 

An awkward situation invites a smile because the air is charged with potential conflict and you are expected to smile back to refuse the situation and clear the air. A smile is a convenient reply when a person does not want to say something unpleasant. Rather than get some critical words you will get a silent smile. 

Clearly there is much to read in a Filipino smile. With it, subtle mechanisms of social interaction are triggered. Verbal concern would only turn public attention to your predicament and cause you loss of face. One's dignity is always more important than physical calamity. There are various kinds of smiles and half-smiles, accompanied bye eye contact, to cover all occasions. No wonder especially foreigners get quickly the impression that Filipinos are very friendly and happy people! In fact, they are quite friendly and very patient!

Saturday Night Fever

Last saturday my friend Maya and her friend Aijeen invited us to a fashion show at the Venue. But it was more a party than a fashion show because the "big show" existed of 5 girls presenting new designs... So we enjoyed dancing to some of the best DJs in town who were supported by a TV artist. 

    Maaike, Pieter, Maya and Aijeen
Pieter, Andrew and Harah
My room mate Harah and me

Trip to Upi

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SIPA kicks

Last week the LRC (Legal Rights and Natural Resources Center) hosted a conference for the Indigenous People (IP's, also called Lumad) in Mindanao. It was a 3-day conference called "State of Indigenous Peoples Address" (IPRA and beyond) and the date was not chosen by accident. At the same day the conference started the president GMA (Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo) gave her SONA (State of Nation Address) for the year 2008. The logic behind was: while GMA declares the situation of the nation and its future course of actions, the IP's can discuss their reactions to the SONA and develop a position paper of their own situation + further demands. The shortcut SIPA, coming from the initials of "State of Indigenous Peoples Address", means "kick" in Tagalog and is already an answer to the president's statement. 

For me, the SIPA was a very good opportunity to get in touch with the Lumads and to learn something about their problems (like land issues, mining or women's empowerment). During the workshops I could listen to first-hand experiences of current issues which are affecting them. And although EVERYTHING was in Bisaya (mixed with English and Tagalog) it was quite informative.

On the last day there was the solidarity march and the declaration of the SIPA in the Freedom Park (where the pics were taken). The Lumads showed their traditional dresses, dances and music which can be seen as something special because they prefer wearing jeans and t-shirt in everyday live, too!

My Fake American Accent

The Filipinos have their own way of pronouncing English words. The five vowel sound system  as in Spanish is more familiar to them compared to the complex and illogical phonetic variation the English gives to these vowels. For example, many Filipinos are not able to pronounce "f" which is substituted by "p" (an example being the national language Pilipino). But an even further complication is that the "f" sound paradoxically appears in place of "p". Also the English "th" is spelt as "d" and similar alterations occur to the sounds "a", the short "i" and the long "e" (i.e. spelled "beeg pis of hum" means "big piece of ham")

But that doesn't mean you have to speak this pidgin English. "D pipol" are quite fund of speaking English because they already start learning it in elementary school. Furthermore, walking up the social ladder (as in administration) the use of English language is manifested. 

My Fake American Accent is a movie about the lives of call center agents: "A slice-of-life workplace comedy following the lives of technical support call center agents in the span of 6 months. Speaking with a fake American accent is a prerequisite in the job. This ensemble comedy is an inside look into the maddening , sleep-deprived, coffeine-fuelled lives of those who ply their trade in the call center industry." 

This job is coming into fashion right now in the Philippines! Mainly companies and agencies from the US are demanding this kind of service, so the call center staff has to conform with the American clock (that means around 12 hrs backwards). But all you need is good English knowledge (or an "American accent") plus an high school degree and you can earn more money than all the nurses and teachers. 

Coca Cola Body

I never saw another country where Coca Cola advertising is so popular! Not only that there is no birthday or meeting without a cold coke but also the big red advertisements everywhere. Especially the "tindahan/tinda'an" (small stores) like painting their wooden cottages red with the Coca Cola letters all over it. The brand can be lucky because red is seen as a "happy" color here in the Philippines. Not only jeepneys but even street signs are sponsored by Coca Cola!

Somehow the whole Coca Cola phenomenon roots so deep in the society that the picture of a Coca Cola bottle stimulates further imagination (at least for men)! But how can women and Coca Cola bottles be combined? 

It's just a very superficial feature... the shape!

Hence a perfectly female body shape (or measures like 60/90/60) would be called "Coca Cola Body"! You can also say "Coca Cola body in can" that means the person is fat. 

These women, working on one of the floating boats in Bohol, wearing a traditional Filipino dress and a Coca Cola pinafore above it. Their bodies are also labelled "Coca Cola". Do you think it's meant to be a flattering? 

Let it rain

It is "ting ulan" (rainy season) in Davao! But that doesn't mean it is raining ALL the time, it just looks like it ; ) 

There are also very hot and sunny days in between! Often it starts raining in one part of the city and the other part is still dry. But if it starts it's usually a pretty heavy rain! All the waste which was carefully collected before is flowing with the stream; all the jeepneys are crowded because everybody wants to get home; kids offer a walk under their umbrella (ella, ella, ella - by the way: this song is so popular here that they covered it with Filipino lyrics) but no one escapes dry! 

Some areas and streets don't have a very good sewage system so the water stands in the street. Before, the University of Southeastern Philippines with the initials "USP" had the nickname: University Swimming Pool because it was always flooded. 

In fact, for some kids the water in the streets stands so high that it is used as a swimming pool.