Philippines: Fun and Beauty in Chaos
Being the largest
Catholic Asian country and formerly under the Spanish, American and Japanese
powers, the Philippines is surely a unique place to live and visit. One could
identify within the country the similarities and strong contrast among the
nation’s people, places and traditions. However, due to the innate variations,
the question of the how one could define the true Filipino identity is
difficult to answer. More complicated is to define a pattern, which truly
describes and suits us Filipinos.
Many would mistakenly
associate Filipinos to Chinese, other Southeast Asians, and even Latin or
Arabian origins. The question remains there is no distinct Filipino appearance
or physical characteristics. It is simply a complex genetic mixture of Western
and oriental races, which makes no pattern in attributes. Moreover, the
relative and accepted concept of beauty changes fast in the course of time.
Before a fair-skinned Latin-like beauty seems to be the gold standard,
reflecting the colonial influences of the Spanish and American regimes. Just
few years ago, fair-skinned with expressive eyes, resembling Korean celebrities
became a short-lived fad. However, it has only been in the recent years, when
Filipinos embraced the Filipino bronze skin and exoticism of Filipinos as the
new aesthetic benchmark.
Aside from the
natural hereditary variations among Filipinos, there seems to be no pattern in
the Filipino behavior. Filipinos are simply unpredictable. Many would describe
Filipinos as shy, silent, timid and meek. Perhaps, this is the racist myopic
association of a typical Asian. However, should one live in the Philippines for
a longer period of time, one realizes that Filipinos simply do not fit in such
associations. People are generally loud and fun to be with. There is simply no
limitations in the way we socialize with others. Moreover, Filipinos have unique style of
hospitality and family orientation. There is literally no concept of social
distance in communication for we could be intimate with another, despite of
knowing one in a very short time. However, we are overly-cautious, but
emotionally-sensitive and overly jealous. Therefore, just like any other race,
Filipinos differ from each other such that putting them into one category is
impossible.
It is not unusual
that Filipinos are asked by foreigners whether they all speak English or the
Filipino national language. The answer is yes, but Filipinos are
multi-linguistic. There are thirteen indigenous languages in the Philippines,
including Filipino (commonly called Tagalog) and Cebuano, which is spoken as
mother tongue by most Filipinos is the Central and Southern Philippines. People
think these languages are simply dialects, but it is not the case. A person who
speaks Tagalog may not entirely understand Cebuano, or those speaking Cebuano
cannot understand those speaking the other languages spoken in the North.
Another misconception is the general English proficiency of Filipinos.
Filipinos understand and can speak Basic American English, but not all are good
in using English language in speaking and writing, especially academically.
Furthermore, the medium of instruction in schools is generally English, but
explanations of the concepts are done in the mother tongue, not necessarily
Tagalog. Hence, learning Tagalog or English does not guarantee one to be
understood by all Filipinos at all times. There is simply no general rule.
Perhaps, use gestures and actions more. That would be better and more useful.
On the other hand,
there are two conflicting images of the Philippines. The prevalence of poverty
in its metropolis and rural areas, and the beauty of its nature. Again, this
association is simply not true. Filipinos would somehow consider themselves
poor; but in reality, Filipinos are generally not as poor as one expects it to
be. To qualify the degree of poverty Filipinos experience nowadays, one could
describe it as a state wherein one could not meet all its basic need and simultaneously meeting its basic wants. However, the gap between the richest
and poorest in the country is indeed widening, while the middle class is also ballooning
as a result of improved access to higher education and continued rise in the
employment abroad. In fact, the richest in the Philippines are even richer in
the some of the richest in certain European and first-world countries. Due to
this widening gap, it would be impossible to say Filipinos are comparable with
other developing countries. Hence, the Filipino economic demography is unique
with its youthfulness, international-orientation, growth in access to higher
education, expanding middle class, increasing influence of oligarchs, and
continued alleviation of poverty.
Furthermore, the
Philippines is not just a tourist beach destination, or a country resembling
other Asian countries with temples, churches and towering megastructures. The
Philippines’ urban areas are simply chaotic with no patterns and general
standard. It is a mixture of real estate properties, varying in ownership,
utility, depreciation and appearance. One could simply build anywhere, anytime
and anyhow. On the other hand, the suburban and rural areas are changing its
landscape. Many of the agricultural and forest lands have been transformed into
residential areas; destroying the traditional Filipino farm landscape. However,
even though such changes have taken place in the recent years; the Philippines
remains a beautiful country to travel and explore. Just one should not expect
monotony and pattern in places where one will visit.
Lastly, the
strength of the Philippines is its people. Our resilience is tested by time and
challenges we face. World’s strongest typhoons hit us often and controversies
plagued the country due to its weak political systems and structures. However, in spite
of these, Filipinos stand and prove that the essence of failures is the actions
that follow it to cope and withstand the difficulties. Perhaps, this is
something similar Filipinos have amidst the differences and lack of patterns in
people, places and traditions.
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