THE METAMORPHOSIS
By
Ernie D. Delfin
COMING HOME
2012: NOSTALGIA AND SERENDIPITY
(First in a series of articles)
To go on a vacation, be
away from one’s business, work
and family and be free from the routine of daily living, has always
been an exciting and colorful rich experience for me. It also adds fresh perspectives and meaning to what life is all
about. My 5- week adventure in the Philippines last month was no
exception. I went to a dozen of places,
a few of them I have never been before,
like Palawan and the Hundred Islands in Pangasinan, that added to the excitement. For a few days, I again visited for the 9th
time (over a span of about 40 years in
America) the barangay or barrio called ANIS, a farming village in the town of Manaoag, now
a part of the newest town of Pangasinan, called LAOAC,
Pangasinan.
Instantaneously, the many years of my boyhood reappeared in my
mind screen showing the countless events
of my care free years through high
school. Ahhh, those unpolluted memories filled with bitter-sweet experiences still make me happy and nostalgic. Above all,
I feel quite grateful to that Somebody Upthere for a very good
journey, called LIFE, that I have
had so far.
This trip was probably one of the most memorable trips that I have made because many things happened without even
planning it. Through a mysterious Hand,
many call it Divine Providence or Karma, I was in places that I have not even planned, experienced a few things that made my over a month
vacation quite different. A couple of examples: my sister Leticia, a Dominican nun who was
vacationing in the Philippines from her current assignment in Guam, was
stranded in Manila for over a month due
to some kind of legal technicality: her U.S.
visa not being stamped in her Philippine passport! When
she responded to my email I learned that she was still in Manila, so I invited
her to join me and my fellow Rotarian, Victor Nejal from Northern
California, to our Palawan R & R trip which she happily did. Serendipitously, that trip allowed us to bond
(again) for about 4 days! Through her
positive encouragement and prayers, we might
even have a “retirement home” in that island
province, that is now getting world famous due to its Underground River that was just voted as one
of the 8 Wonders of Nature in the World!
Another unexpected occurrence
happened at the Maxine By the Sea Resort Hotel in Hundred Islands. During one breakfast, as I always do a “small talk”
to local people, including the hotel employees, about their place, business conditions etc,
a Filipino woman in a group of
Australian tourists overheard me when I
mentioned I was also from Manaoag and now a part of Laoac, blurted out that she
was from that place too! Lo and behold that started an unexpected
animated conversation, that connected our families in the barrio as her mother
as per her recollection was the exclusive
hairdresser of my own mother decades ago! With that brief encounter I met Imelda
Merlito, her Australian husband John and
the family of Werner Schwendener, a
manager of Sonic Innovations in Australia. (To my new Australian friends, I am seriously considering to accept your offer to visit you
next year, as I will be semi-retired my then!)
* * * * *
“It’s more Fun in the Philippines” , the
new Phil Department of Tourism motto is
quite apropos in marketing this country of 7,100 islands. If you have been in many countries and see
beyond the concrete buildings but simply observe the how the people live,
their genuine hospitality in their
normal simplicity, you will agree that
there is more life and fun in the Philippines.
Just watching the topography of the many islands with its many rivers, lakes and mountains, one cannot help
but think that the Filipino is indeed uniquely
blessed and especial people. Just compare the Philippines vs. many
countries in Africa! For reaffirmation
of this belief, I strongly recommend the
latest book of a dear friend Atty. Alex Lacson,
entitled “12 WONDERFUL THINGS about the Filipino & our Motherland”. (For a small donation to our “Foundation for
Next Generation, I can send you a copy
of this best-seller book, while supply lasts.
Email me at ernie.delfin@gmail.com)
People in the country can smile genuinely even with standstill
traffic or despite incessant news of
“bad news” on TV and in the papers.
Foreigners even told me that it seems that Filipinos can smile even
with no reason at all. Probably so, as
it is one inexpensive coping mechanism to go through
life. Sometimes it is better to smile or laugh, in order not to
cry!
Everywhere you go, the land is so fertile, making
many varieties of plants and trees grow and become verdant green due to rains that come in overabundance. And the
people are so friendly, simply happy
(with what they have, unlike many of us in America who seem not happy nor contented for not having the advertised car, designer
clothes or 5 bedroom house in an nice neighborhood) and seemingly very much contented with just having the most basic
necessities of food, shelter and clothing.
The vast majority of those in the
lower economic strata in the
country cannot even afford to send their children to high school, much more to
college, making it a great challenge for them to escape poverty where they are
born into. This great socio-economic divide of the very poor and the very rich
is the greatest perennial
challenge of the country’s
leaders since the country has
become independent from foreign invaders.
As Pope Paul VI said, “there can
be no lasting peace without social
justice”.
Our Filipino culture is also unique
and different than the Western culture. Consider that in the Philippines, it is quite
normal for a typical family will vacate a room for
you, prepare the best food they can buy for you if you are their guest (of course, but must not
be abused beyond a day or two as their guest!) Living in America for almost 40 years,
I feel quite uncomfortable when a “poor” (for lack of a better
adjective) family prepares unusually large quantity and variety of foods for me, especially now in my “senior” age when I can no longer consume as much
nor eat meat as I did decades ago.
Often, many members of the host family, by habit or
tradition, may be, choose to eat later after the guests and the main hosts are finished
with their meals!
* * * * *
Have you ever noticed that there is practically no meeting in the Philippines that is not centered on food, or drinks and
merienda? It is said that it is quite easy to be loved
or liked by any Filipino (male or female) by being genuinely interested in his culture that can be summarized by five F’s: family, faith (Catholic) food, fiesta and fun. To enjoy one’s adventure to the Philippines,
it is not only important but imperative for any foreigner or a long-time balikbayan like me to have a new paradigm shift once he steps
in the Philippines soil. From the time
you land in the Manila International
Airport, do not be scared when a person
gives you a paper towel after you do your thing and even has the temerity to
ask you, “How are you, sir or
ma’am? Although I never dreamed to be a
“Knight”, many people call me “SIR Ernie”! Only in the Philippines that you are given a
title that you may not even deserve!
Lest,
the reader brands me that I live in utopia, that all is well and dandy in the
country of my birth, I am not saying
that. There are also many “things” that I
strongly detest and wish that the so-called business leaders and public
officials should address right away. It’s
an urgent matter of life and death,
I mean pride and shame! And yes,
Anita Schon, I am referring to the shameful condition of public restrooms, aka
Comfort Room or C.R. in the Philippines!
It’s a
common sight that a person is standing outside the entrance of many public comfort rooms waiting for the C.R. user to pay him some money as posted on the
wall. Five pesos to use a stinky toilet
per visit is absurd and sub-human! (To put in perspectives, a daily minimum wage
in the Philippines ranges from P280 to
P380 depending on the province or city; current exchange rate is about P42.00 per
US$1.00)
In my view, this is one area that the merchants, bus companies and all local businesses must
contribute some money into a pool, like the “home owners association” dues in the USA, to maintain these public comfort rooms
(restrooms) as a FREE public service to this very basic human need. A
serious public-private initiative can easily solve this, if there is a will to do it. I am again recommending that the local governments MUST require
all businesses that cater to the
public to offer the use of CLEAN public
comfort rooms for FREE! (Can we Overseas
Filipinos especially the 3,000,000 Filipino Americans demand this basic right
for everyone, from our so-called leaders, both in private and in
public? The election season has started
in the Philippines and it is a great opportunity to ask every candidate how they can solve this very undignified practice of “collecting” money from people
for using public restrooms! Lastly, may I recommend to all Filipino American newspapers
have a joint EDITORIAL on this very
“shameful” practice that many of us,
especially foreign tourists find
detestable and abhor!
COMMENTS, DEAR READERS?
** **
(TO BE CONTINUED. . . . More on People,
Places and Politics, and our GK e-Rotary
Club’s EDSA project in the homeland.
Abangan!
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