Obladi Oblada...life goes on

It's true you know. No matter how often someone gives credit to John, Paul, George, and I guess Ringo there is still more to give for knowing exactly how things are.

This song came up twice in recent trip to the community of Pasil, an urban poor community on the edge of the sea, currently schduled for demolition due to its proximity to water and thus being classified a "danger zone". Even though I stayed in the home of a lady named Helen, I spent most of my time being led around by two "youth", Insit, who is 17, and Rosalynda, who is also 22. They first took me around the Capon market, which is vast and crowded, and to St. Nino, the oldest church in the Philippines. The first time this song graced my ear, we were in the market, which was a little amusing because the song talks about working in the marketplace. It's funny how songs can really be a blessing. They can often say the thing we need to hear, or put into words just what we're thinking. I was very worried about being in the community, I guess honestly for the sake of my own comfort and because of the difficulties of being without anyone I knew, even for the short time I've been in Cebu. But the words rang true, life does go on. That situation, that world is life, and it does continue whether I'm uncomfortable about it or not. And life is what these people have, which I can't demean simply by disliking their situation; it is certainly not one they choose.

The funny thing was how comfortable I ended up being. I have hardly opened my mouth since I've gotten to Cebu. I can't seem to learn the Filipino sense of humor to make a joke, and most of the talking that goes on occurs in Cebuano. So I've mostly come across as a very shy, quiet person, which is quite counter to my nature and would shock most of my friends and family. When I was in Pasil, though, I couldn't shut up! At least during the night I was there. At first I was very nervous and not knowing what to say or how much English the girls would know. I think, honestly, the part that broke the ice happened over a little something called karaoke. Heard of it? Been scared to do it? It's HUGE in the Philippines. Even in an impoverished community, there are videoke machines galore, which people are willing to put in one peso per song to use. I was persuaded to sing, which I thought would only mean one, possibly two songs. But when I got there, Insit had exactly ten pesos she insisted on me using. So I sang a whole ten songs. The children that came to see the crazy americana singing seemed highly unimpressed, because they eventually took to chasing after a house lizard, or "tiki" while I was singing. And as it turned out, one of their choices of songs was "Obladi, oblada"...and life went on.

The other grand thing that happened, that oddly broke some more ice, was watching the Tagalog news program, 24 oras. Even though I can't speak enough Tagalog to save my life (and won't be learning much more, since, again, Cebuano is the dialect here), I was able to make out enough when they announced that the Democrats had won the House and the Senate and that Donald Rumsfeld had resigned. I explained, well, I tried my hardest to explain in "easy English", what a Democrat was, why there'd been an election, and if this had any affect on the Philippines (which is a very difficult thing to answer because I don't know and couldn't say with any accuracy or authority).

So in all, my time wasn't as challenging as before. In all honesty, life in this community, while very similar to that in Parola, didn't seem as bad. Maybe it was becasue the last trip was such a shock, or maybe because I am a lot more comfortable with the Philippines and Filipinos in general. It could also be that their situation wasn't as bad. The Barangays were as numerous and there weren't as many people. Walking around Parola, I felt like I was underground, walking under the streets in the sewars, even though my feet were firmly planted on top. There was less of an occurance of this feeling in Pasil. There was more light, which often makes for a better feeling. I got to interact a lot more with the people, who spoke English a lot better because they were able to go to school, which Parolans often don't get to do. There were even internet cafes for the special occasion that the people can afford to go. The difference in situation makes more sense to me when I thinkt that most of the people in Pasil are from the area of Cebu. Many of the people in Manila have moved from increasingly harsher situations in the provinces all around the Philippines. I don't know if this makes sense, so write me if you would like further clarification.

So once again my expectations haven't exactly been met as planned. I thought that this trip was going to be unbearable. While it was very difficult to be there because of the situation and reality that these people face as I had expected, there was the welcoming atmosphere I keep encountering here in this country and I ended up being able to simply be with the people I met. When I went to Parola, Becca said, "have fun" and afterwards I thought she was crazy. This time when I left, Junita said, "I would say have fun, but...", and in this case she would have been quite right and justified to have said so.

I think this blog has ended up being full of words and not much substance. I could have compressed all this rambling into a point that was shorter, but I guess that's just how my mind is working right now: shuffling through many words and thoughts to try and make sense of things, going through a constant state of processing. You all just get to be in on the conversation and part of the trip.

I leave tomorrow for the mountains again. I'll be glad when Monday comes and I can finally rest!

Peace, I hope