Eye-Opener: Memo

The Philippines: A Trip Full of Wonder and Learning

Introduction

This summer I did more than just travel to the Philippines to do my Honors Capstone Project. I did immersion learning in order to remember my roots and to reflect on my own personal growth. This trip was more than just site-seeing and spending money. I became familiar with the language, I read Philippine literature, went to museums and libraries, watched the news, attended cultural shows, and traveled throughout the main island Luzon from Laoag in the north down to Ragay in the southeast.

This trip wouldn't be complete without some downtime. I had several to have a balance between work and play (but when you like what you are doing, only a very thin line separates the two). I spent time with my family. We went to the movies and attended fiestas in the province. We had an excursion in Bohol in the Visayan part of the Philippines archipelago. I did a lot of shopping (books, clothes, shoes, and music), and I learned basic ice skating (Pre-Alpha level 1).

But not all is glitz and glamour, outside this academic bubble and privileges, I saw Poverty. There's a big gap between the poor and the rich. There's also a gamut of scandals involving of course the government and other institutions that should be serving the people (not the other way around). There's hope in the people's will to go on and to improve (using humour and entertainment to get through life's hardships). There are citizen patrols all over the Philippines and the world making differences in their fields.

I'm not an expert on any of the implied issues I mentioned above (maybe spending money J/K), but I am a student, who make observations. The upcoming blog entries will be reflections of my experience in the Philippines this summer (2006) from May 17 through Aug. 21. My own privileges limit me from several experiences for example poverty. With my background both in education and in life, I can only hypothesize, speculate, empathize in order to help (take actions) with the situations and problems the best way I can.

Outline

Pop Culture
-Movies
-T.V.
-Fashion
-Music
-Malls (Shopping)
-Food

Cutural Center of the Philippines (CCP)
-Theater
-Film Festival
-Art Exhibits
-Folk Dance

Honors Capstone Project
-National Museum
-National Library of the Philippines
-Department of Tourism
-CCP Archives and Library
-The Metropolitan Museum
-The National Bookstore
-University of Los Banos (UPLB)

Literature (Supplementary Reading Materials)
-Selected works from Contemporary Philippine Literature in English
-A Survival Guide for Visitors in Manila: Never Ever Bite into a Seed of the Lanzones
-Makata sa Cellphone (contemporary poetry in Tagalog)
-Teach Yourself Tagalog
-Jose Rizal's Noli Me Tangere and El Filibusterismo (translated in English)
-Jessica Zafra's Twisted Flicks, Twisted 1, Twisted 6, and Twisted 7
-Philippine Speculative Fiction Vol. 1
-The Mythology Class (Graphic Novel)
-Biyaheng FX: Round Trips to Pinoy Life
-Introduction in The Folktales
-Tito Alquizola's Return Flight and other essays
-PhilArt Magazine (Vol 1 No. 2 February 2006)
-Authentic Though not Exotic: Essays on Filipino Identity-
John F.R. L. Santos et al's Alamat
-Various Children's Picture Books
-Excerpts from other books related to my project

Sight-Seeing
-Manila
-Hundred Islands
-Great Valley Mountain Hiking
-Tagbilaran (Bohol)
-Laoag
-Bagui City

Philippine Tidbits
-Top Five
-Urban Wildlife
-Facts/trivia
-Hospitality
-Transportation
-Mingling
-Language

A Philippine Reality: Not All that glitters is gold
-Poverty
-High Unemployment
-Power abuse
-Colonial mentality
-Class Division
-Economy (money)

News/Current Events
-Da Vinci Code movie
-Impeachment
-Overseas Filipino Workers (OFWs)
-Weather
-Mt. Mayon Volcano
-Terror Alert

Me
-Family
-Being: A Fil-Am with a Pinoy Heart and an American Spirit

Posted by Michael Diezmos at August 25, 2006 11:23 AM