Cebu

Had my first vacation this last weekend, 4 day weekend for the end of Ramadan. Even though 98% of the country is Catholic...I believe the reason for this is to appease the muslim population located in the Mindanao region. Hey, you don’t have to explain yourself to me, Philippines.

My roommate had a free ticket to Cebu with his mom and Aunt, so I decided to tag along. Cebu is an island in the Visayas region in the Philippines, and I convinced them to come with me to a town called Moalboal because it is supposed to have fantastic Diving. And it does. Wall dives, reef dives, spectacular diversity of coral and wildlife, including sea turtles, dolphins, and, most famously, the Lion fish, which is pretty badass. I went on 4 dives, two full mornings, for a total cost of $100. Which, interestingly enough, I still haven’t paid for. They told me I could pay for the dives altogether at the end with a credit card, so I spent all my cash on Tanduay rum (obvi). Then when it came time to pay, their line for the credit card machine was down and they told me there was no way to enter the number manually over the phone.

There was also no functioning ATM for miles, although during my search I did discover an Automatic Tubig Machine (Tubig is the Tagalog word for Water). Their proposed solution was for me to go to an HSBC branch in Manila with their account number and deposit money that way. Ahh the developing world. No paperwork, just trust that I will do the right thing.

Anyways, this town is awesome, totally in the middle of nowhere, dirt road with small resorts along the beach. I could wander out of my guest house in the morning, cross the road, and be at the dive shop. The second morning it was just me and the dive master, Dodo, living the dream.

“I’d like to dive with some sea turtles, Dodo, where should we go?”

“Oh, Tongo Point, its beautiful and many sea turtles live there.”

“Word.”

It was beautiful weather the entire weekend, and we managed to avoid the typhoon that passed by Manila over the past few days. Actually a good deal more powerful that the one that just hit the east coast of the US. And I bet none of you Americans even knew about it. How does that make you feel? Just kidding, I hope everyone on the east coast is alright.

On the 3rd day Jeff and I rented motobikes and drove about 8 kilometers to Kawassan falls. It wasn’t quite the serene waterfall I had been anticipating, as the area was packed with filipino tourists. But the falls really were beautiful, with turquoise blue water and numerous pools deep enough for swimming.

Two Very Different Weekends

My second weekend in the Philippines, I accompanied Jeff to Cavite, a small town outside of Manila. He grew up in Cavite, and his family still lives there. In stark contrast to manila, it was extremely quiet. On the drive in we passed a basketball court near his house, which I got very excited about (I haven’t played any basketball since arriving in the Philippines). Two minutes after arriving I was out the door with my sneakers and a flattened basketball I found in the house. However, the guy at the gas station up the road informed me that he did not have a needle which was required to blow up my basketball. Duh, stupid american. Unphased, I walked to the basketball court with my flat basketball, only to find that the gate was locked and had large “Private Property, No Trespassing” signs all over it. So I went home. Good story, Danny. Then I found 20 dollars. I did end up buying some very nice basketball shoes later in the weekend at the sports store that Jeff’s parents own.

Spent that whole weekend lounging around Jeff’s parents house. I finished reading a book Jeff had lying around written by Jose Rizal called El Filibusterismo (the subversion). For those that aren’t familiar, Rizal is one of the foremost Filipino national heroes, and this book was one of two novels that led to his execution by the spanish colonialists in 1896. It was written in spanish, and is a fictional work depicting the lives of different castes and ethnicities living in Manila around the turn of the century. Fascinating book, obviously very critical of the greed and hypocrisy of Spanish friars.

Jeff’s parents have a live-in maid (pretty much everyone here does, I think my boss has 7) who made all of our meals. On sunday I went to their family lunch gathering, which is a very common Filipino custom, and ate more than I should have. I sat around that afternoon watching sports and chatting with Jeff’s dad and uncle, then drove home.

So that was weekend number 2. Enter Ken, the other PIA fellow living in Manila this year. Ken went to princeton, and has been an investment banker in new york for the past 2 years. He likes to party. One of his coworkers is a cambodian expat who brought us to this seafood restaurant called hongkong master chef. Before entering the restaurant we bought about 3 kilos of live seafood from a market immediately outside. Haggling over the price per kilo while three different vendors shove live crabs in your face is always good times. Afterwards, you bring that fresh seafood into the restaurant and tell them how you want it cooked.

After copious amounts of shrimp, crab, and beer, we went to meet a friend I had met through my roommate at Resorts World Casino. However, both Ken and I were wearing shorts, so were not allowed into either club. So we went home. And I found 20 dollars in my pocket. Kidding, Ken ends up hitting on one of the ladies working at the casino and gets her number (despite the fact that he is wearing shorts and a backwards polo golf hat). So we spent the rest of that night and saturday night clubbing with her and her friends, all of which claim to be models. Judging purely from the amount of makeup, outfits, and quality of conversation, I have no reason to doubt it. I read no books that weekend, but I did manage to make it out of the house on Sunday to watch Rise of Planet of the Apes.

Which lifestyle will Danny lead? Will he become well versed in Filipino history and traditions, or end up in clubs where shots cost more than in Seattle? Find out on the next episode of DannyPIAPhilippines.

Thoughts on Manila

Over the past two weeks I have often found myself comparing Manila to Shenzhen. They are similar in many ways, but have noticeable differences. While I am working and networking with mainly the rich and powerful (had dinner with 3 harvard grads on tuesday), Manila is far less developed. The level of poverty here is much more out in the open than what I saw in China. I haven’t had the chance to travel to a really impoverished area in the Philippines yet, although I am planning to in the next week. But even in Manila, entire neighborhoods consist of people essentially squatting in makeshift slums along the banks and overhanging the heavily polluted Pasig river. From what I have learned, they are totally undocumented and unregulated, and people just live there as long as the government will let them.

Because of the lack of development, particularly with roads and drainage systems, there is constant traffic. I didn’t think it was possible, but Manila is noticeably more crowded than Shenzhen. At rush hour it can take an hour and a half to drive from the office to our apartment, a drive that in the middle of the night would take 10-15 minutes. taking the Light Rail during rush hour is quite hectic, with lines stretching out into the street and train cars packed to the gills with passengers. It is currently the rainy season, and when it rains the streets and sidewalks flood. I’m talking water literally up to your knees, which just exacerbates the traffic issues.

Many people do speak english, far more than in Shenzhen, but not everyone. Even those that do know english often speak tagalog, and business meetings and general chatter around the office often jump back into Tagalog. I am picking it up pretty quickly, but obviously have trouble picking up the subtleties of long conversations about rural empowerment.

I stand out due to my physical appearance, but not near as much as in China. No one has asked to take a photo with me, and children do not point at me and shout “foreigner!” I am called Sir quite often, but that is very common even among Filipinos.

The culture is much more open. In the business world people are very laid back and prone to make inappropriate jokes. Apparently I live in an area with abundant prostitution, which people like to joke around about. One of the closest villages we work with apparently has many volunteers from France and other european countries, and at least two people have suggested that I hook up with some or all of them.

There is far less propaganda and much better television programming. Jeff (my so-worker and roommate) likes to cook, and I swear there is a cooking show on 24hrs a day.

I can’t say I am super into the food yet. Home-cooked meals have been great, and I have had some really excellent dishes at expensive restaurants. But the low budget spots and street food haven’t thrilled. Still looking for the equivalent of $.50 dumplings.

In general here I am much busier, working pretty long hours and spending at least an hour commuting every day. I am trying to use that commuting time in the car with Jeff to practice Tagalog, which he is pretty receptive to. He is an academic at heart, and tutors math and english as a side job, so enjoys teaching.