Si Me Voy de Aquí Mañana …

… o en un mes.

1)  Epic Rap Battles vs SNL -- SNL is being called out for its lack of Asian cast members.  Witness Manny Pacquiao played by a white woman.  Lame.  In defense of SNL, I can think of at least two former cast members who are part Asian, Rob Schneider and Fred Armisen.  That's like what?  Two during the last 40 years.  On the other hand, Epic Rap Battles of History has had at least two Asian characters played by, well, Asians.  What a concept.  And ERB has only been around for maybe 4 years.   ERB wins. 

2)  Farewell Song for Panama  -- my PM sent me an email about upcoming reports, DOS and poop samples.  COS must be coming up.  Time to think of a song to use for a video montage (that I would never make) of my time in Panama.  Maybe a song with an accordion.  Or maybe a cover of Lynyrd Skynyrd?

Note to Giles:  record a longer version of this song. 

3)  The battery dies like a bad joke on stage  -- my dumbphone works just fine, but I was toying with the idea of getting a smartphone and that led me to an article about cellphones with a long battery life.  But this poster still makes me hesitant to get one:

Poster at the UN in Geneva

4)  Bochinche -- that's my new favorite Spanish word.  It means 'ruckus' or 'uproar', according to my Spanish dictionary, but the PC Panama handbook says it means 'gossip'.  Ex:  La chiquitita quiere bochinche. 

5)  This Blog Post Was Brought To You By … -- I can't say enough about safety razors.  I used it to shave my head recently and it wasn't as tough as I thought.  No more electric razors for me. 

Perro Salchicha

"The only true currency in this bankrupt world is what you share with someone else when you're uncool." -- Almost Famous

1)  The Town Fair -- my town is currently having a 5 day fair, called La Feria de San Sebastian.  Its your typical fair with rides:

music:

educational demonstrations (here's a guy talking about the awesomeness of yucca, aka cassava):

and of course, a dog show:

Perro salchicha

My counterpart organization also had their own stand/booth at the fair:

I created a Three R's pamphlet as well as a pamphlet
holder (thanks, internet). My pamphlet literally stands out from the rest.

Requisite photo of me with a counterpart

My counterpart organization's booth

2)  Uncle Chan's Redemption?  -- Is Ken Jeong's documentary about the walk-on Notre Dame kicker, Reggie Ho, enough to make up for his "Uncle Chan-ish" role in The Hangover films? 

3)  Incertidumbres -- I've been to the capital 3 times recently because of my shoulder injury and there was a lot of uncertainty about what treatment I would need.  But the results are finally in and I'll just need some physical therapy.  No surgery needed.  On the bright side, being in the capital allowed me to drink root beer and buy some habanero peppers, the seeds of which I just planted at post. 

4)  Landfill or Incinerator -- the recent NY Times article about incinerators and the problems associated with it made me want to comment a little bit about the topic.  Whether you're in the "developing" world or in the "first world", the problem of garbage essentially boils down to this:  people can reduce the amount of garbage they produce.  Many people just choose not to.

Just take a look at Zero Waste Home and (as the NYT article points out) cities like San Francisco and Portland.  If more people did what they were doing, we wouldn't be debating whether or not landfills or incinerators are the better choice. 

Garbage collection at post

5)  "And hey, I met you.  You are not cool." -- I just saw Almost Famous for the first time even though the film came out in 2000.  Can't believe I've never watched it before b/c its pretty awesome.  And not just because Jimmy Fallon, Marc Maron and Mitch Hedberg were in it.  Not to mention the guy who cut off Jamie Lannister's hand. 

Lo Siento

1)  Current Music of the Day -- U2's I Feel Free.

2) Wahlberg Forgiven By His Victim -- "What a humble kind soul this man is to forgive."  C'mon, Mark, man up and personally apologize to the guy already.  You know its the right thing to do, so just do it!  And pay for his kids' college fund while you're at it. 

3)  Videos of the Day --  on the way to the mountain town of Guarumal ...


... to go to a fiesta:


4)  Sugarcane

Me for scale

5)  Behold -- Avocados. 

I see guacamole in my future.

El Día de la Madre

Just some thoughts during Mother's Day in Panama. 

1)  Wishful Thinking -- Ah, to be a kid again like these indigenous kids.  And have all my hair. 

in Boquete

2)  Music of the Day -- Eric Clapton's cover of San Francisco Bay Blues and his original song My Father's Eyes, both acoustic versions.  Also, Junior Brown's Baby, Let the Bad Times Be. 
 
3)  Best Comments on the Mark Wahlberg Story --  "I'd give Wahlberg the benefit of the doubt if he'd at least looked up his victims and tried to make some sort of monetary amends (when you have $200 million, you can afford to do that).  After all, 45 days in jail doesn't quite make up for being blinded in one eye.  But he never has.  He's only as sorry as it's convenient for him to be."  Or maybe this one:  "F*** him.  He can't buy him a new eyeball." 

4)  Armchair Quarterback -- I know people are really eager to get rid of 49er coach Harbaugh.  But remember where the Niners were before Harbaugh got there.  Remember the Dennis Erickson days? 

5)  Throwback to Cameroon Again -- found this picture that I've never seen before, back when my group was still a bunch of trainees:

I look like I'm ready to bolt for the exit

Incidentally, I found this photo on a fellow trainee's page, who's not even in the picture. 

Sin Título

1)  Split Personality -- I work with a counterpart who acts differently when he and I are with a bunch of people versus when he and I are just by ourselves.  Its like when he's with a bunch of people, he has to be a stand-up comedian.  When its just us, he acts like a normal person.  Reminds me of someone I met in Cameroon ... 

2)  Quote of the Day -- "How about owning up to your past, claiming your mistakes and living with the consequences? And then make good on your supposed redemption".  And I LIKE Mark Wahlberg. Say it ain't so, Mark?

3) News Articles Recommended By Me --  concerts moving away from plastic bottles.  The concert article is awesome because the comments in the original article led me to this:  Klean Kanteen and pickathon.  Second recommended article:  How cool is Stephen Curry?  So cool he rode BART.  Respect! 

4)  Mother's Day -- this holiday is celebrated on December 8, which is incidentally also my mom's birthday.  Anyway, I had the following interesting conversation with my counterpart the other day:

Counterpart:  Cuando es el Día de la Madre en los estados unidos?
Me:  No sé.  Mayo, pienso.
Counterpart:  No sabes?  Es un día importante.
Me:  Cada día es el día de la madre.
Counterpart:  Ah, buen respuesto.  Todos los días son El Día de la Madre.  

Good save, right? 

5)  Panamanian IGAs -- funny hats:

We Have To Go Back …

… and reminisce.  Not actually go back.  Just reminisce.  About Cameroon, I mean. 

1)  1 Year Anniversary -- about a year ago, I was giving stool samples to Peace Corps as part of my medical check-up to wrap-up my service in Cameroon.  How time flies.  Ah, Cameroon … one of the most unreal or surreal things I've ever experienced.  Its hard to put into words those two years.  Maybe "Its complicated"?  The highs, the lows, the weird, crazy, awesome and life-changing experiences, the friendships and yes, the frenemies.  When I got back to the states, I wondered, "Did that actually happen or did I just have a crazy dream for 2 years?"  A lot has changed one year later.  Except, well, I'm still in the Peace Corps.  This time, the dream is not as crazy.  And in Spanish.

Stickers since I left Cameroon

 2)  Quote of the Day -- "Until you start believing in yourself, you ain't going to have a life."

3)  Cake News -- I don't know if this is good or not, but I've been getting a lot of my news from Cake's newsfeed.  Sometimes, they have posts about one of their upcoming concerts, although I can't remember the last time that happened. 

4)  Cameroonian Food --  In Ebolowa, there were a couple of merchants from the North who made a dish, which was some type of stir fried beef and then mixed with pasta and plantains or potatoes.  Add mayonnaise, of course.  C'est magnifique. 

5)  Media Coverage -- On a more serious note, check out this article about how the media outside the US is covering the Ferguson story. 

Interlude

We interrupt my list of 5 things in order to bring you a short story entitled Racism in the Corps (aka Why Some People Can't Be Helped), a throwback story. 

My story takes place back in Cameroon.  As I've blogged previously, during my time there, I experienced a lot of harassment from the locals because I was Asian.  Surprisingly, I also got it from fellow PCVs.  There's an ugly truth during my time in Cameroon -- there was racism amongst PCVs.  It was along the lines of "Let's make fun of the Asian guy's ethnicity because its ok to make jokes about the Asian guy". 

It all started when I became friends with a fellow PCV fairly early on.  We would make jokes and we had a good time.  Sometimes though it seemed like the jokes started to creep towards crossing the line.  Eventually, they did.  This fellow PCV started using words like "chink" or "Chinaman".  As a joke.  I wasn't laughing.  There's more.  He kept making jokes about Kim Jong Il and of the inability of Chinese to distinguish between "L" and "R" and directed them at me.  It all came to a head one day when he made a joke using one of those racial slurs.  There was another fellow PCV who heard it.  She just looked at me kind of shocked.  Then, I suppose, not knowing how to react, she laughed, although kind of a nervous laugh.  This was 2 years ago and I myself couldn't believe that I would be subject to racism in that day and age, let alone from a fellow PCV.  That's when I realized.  My so-called friend is actually a d-bag.  Also a racist.

Now I have to say that he was not alone in thinking it was ok to use those racial slurs.  There were other PCVs who used those words.  But then they stopped using them once I called them out on it or when they realized I found it pretty offensive.  Yet the fact that I had to call people out on it in 2012 or 2013 is astounding.  Anyway, things were never the same between me and said PCV after that incident.  I don't keep in contact with him and I doubt I ever will.  He has never apologized for his racist comments and he probably doesn't even think he did anything wrong. That's ok.  I don't need any d-bags in my life anyway.

Casi Dos Meses

1)  Throwback For my Mom -- something that's religious and that doesn't involve me hiking volcanoes or crossing the Mexican border:

Semana Santa in Guatemala a few months ago

2)  Reduce, Reuse, Refuse? -- I was at a shopping center in the regional capital and I told the cashier I didn't need a bag for my purchase.  She said store policy requires that I accept the bag.  En serio?!

3)  Speaking of Bags -- Well, I guess the former SF tour guide is not a total D-bag after all.   She owned up to her racist comments and apologized.  She said she would like to work with the Chinese community to mend relations.  Hmm... not sure how she'll do that, but it should be interesting.  She should probably do something that doesn't involve a microphone.

4)  Quote of the day -- "What I do know is there are 12 presidents in Africa who credit a Peace Corps volunteer with starting them on the path to the presidency."  Paul Biya is probably not one of them.  Mind-blowing fact:  Peace Corps has been in Cameroon for 50+ years and during that time, Cameroon has only had 2 presidents.

5)  Teaching English -- my colleagues at my partner organization wanted me to teach them English in a classroom type setting so I willingly obliged.  It was a short class, but it was quite fun.  I think I've found my calling.  Either this or selling recycled crafts.

¡Alla La Vida!

1)  Spanish Subtitles -- Lately I've been watching TV shows or movies without Spanish subtitles.  Its time for me to stop relying on subtitles.  There's no subtitles in real life.  Either I understand it or I don't.  I need to figure it out for myself. 

2)  Cardio for the day -- planting plantains with some students:

3)  Songs to air drum to -- Rancid's Journey to the End of the East Bay, Smashing Pumpkin's Cherub Rock, U2's All I Want is You (the live version), The Police's Every Little Thing She Does is Magic.  I need to meet a drum teacher in town.  Supposedly, there's one who plays at church. 

4)  Three News Articles -- A short history of the media and the Washington team, the D-bag (former) tour guide, and an eco-friendly wedding.  Also, the headline (Reuse, Recycle, Romance) couldn't be any better. 

5)  Possible careers in the Philippines -- start a recycling business, teach people how to make recycled crafts, sell recycled crafts, teach (Latin American) Spanish or French (with a Cameroonian accent), teach English to Koreans (or other foreigners), and of course, Peace Corps. 

I Wrote a Blog Post and You'll Never Believe What Happened Next

Well, I posted it.  That's what happened next. 

1)  Side Gigs -- I was listening to my brother's senior recital from his saxophone playing days.  He had a pretty good original piece there.  You know, bro, Joshua Redman was accepted to Yale law school but ended up deferring.  The rest is history.  Just sayin'.

2)  Enviro Ed Topic? -- There's nothing like trying to read an article in Spanish about making plastic bags from cow farts.  If there is, you'll have to tell me.  I wonder what my counterparts think of this. 

3)  Dinero -- When I left Cameroon, I made the mistake of not converting about $200 worth of CFA into dollars.  So if anyone's going to Cameroon and you're passing by Panama or if I'm going to see you when I'm visiting the US, I gots what you need.  I'm just glad I don't have to exchange currency in Panama since I can use the US $ here. 

4)  Question(s) of the Day -- How is it that most of the supermarkets in my town (and apparently in most of Panama) are owned by the Chinese?  Supermarkets are so associated so much with the Chinese that the locals call the supermarkets 'Chino'.  e.g. "you can buy X at the Chino."  How have they come to dominate the supermarket business?  Are they all part of a business association?  Do they get incentives back home to set up shop in Panama?  More importantly, where did they learn Spanish?  Well, I suppose I can always just ask them these questions instead of wondering on my blog.   

An ethnic Chinese student in Panama with my counterparts.

5)  There's friends and then there's Facebook friends --  Every once in a while, I unfriend/block people on Facebook.  Although I realize now that that's a little harsh for some of them.  Some, not all.  I probably should've just unfollowed some of them.  Its just weird to be Facebook "friends" with some people I've never met in real life or with people I barely know.  Come to think of it, using words like "unfriend" and "unfollow" is weird.

Siete

1)  Quote of the day -- "The NFL has had an inappropriate language penalty in its rule book, and this year is having officials enforce it with an emphasis on eliminating racial slurs."   Unless of course when the racial slur is also the name of an NFL team. 

2)  Currently reading -- the Spanish version of Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets (La Cámara Secreta).  Vocab that I learned in the book that I'll probably never use in real life:  pergamino, which means parchment. 

3)  Advantage of a dumb phone -- my dumb phone has this really cool app, where I only need to charge my phone once and it lasts for 3-4 days.  Its pretty cool. 

4)  Floyd Mayweather -- I watched a Mayweather fight for the first time several weeks ago.  The one against Maidano.  Man, that was a boring fight.  I can see now how Mayweather has had such a long career.  Then again, if it wasn't boring, then somebody was probably getting their head bashed in.  Ah, boxing. 

5)  A Day at the Office

Come Visit Me. Yes.  Here.  In Panama.

 6)  Cameroonian English -- I was wearing a shirt from Cameroon that said "Join us improve the environment" and a counterpart was reading it out loud, trying to learn English.  I told him its probably not a good idea to learn English from that shirt. 

7)  Just Like Lebron -- Talked to my mom last night.  Looks like I'll be moving back to the Philippines next year after I finish my service in Panama.  Not sure how useful a TEFL certificate would be over there.  Probably not very. 

The PI and Cameroon

Just got back from the Philippines where I saw many similarities with Cameroon.

1)  They both sell a lot of things in small, plastic packets in small boutiques (or sari sari stores).  Everything is apparently the opposite of buying in bulk -- whether its coffee, flavoring mixes (maggi cubes in Cameroon or sinigang mixes in the PI), detergent, etc.  Every ten feet, there's one of these boutiques.  Now if the PI would just get their heads together and sell hard liquor in small plastic packets…

 2)  They both have great hikes to mountains -- Mt. Cameroon and Mt. Pulag.  The difference is that Mt. Pulag seems better maintained and not as trashed.  It may have something to do with more conscientious hikers.  We had to watch an orientation video at the visitor center before our hike, advising us not to trash the mountain.  I'm not saying that was the reason Mt. Pulag seemed better maintained, but it may have helped. 

3)  Speaking of trash, they both burn their trash.  They both, however, reuse their beer/soda bottles, so I suppose that's something.  I did see some locations in the PI that separated their trash into recyclables, trash, organics, etc.  I didn't see any recycling facilities however. 

4)  They both have merchants who walk the streets selling their goods.

5)  They were both colonized by European countries white people -- Cameroon by the French, English and Germans and the PI by Spain and the US. Colonial mentality is still alive and well in the Philippines as evidenced by its skin whitener billboards. 

This post was written in honor of my blogging buddies, Marj and Bill:

Photo right before the hike to Mt. Pulag. 

Dix Choses Dont Je Pense

I don't feel no pain
I don't have no time
to listen to conflicting points of view
Its a crazy world to live alone
-- Sublime

In honor of RPCV Cooper's blog, Cooper in Cambodia (and also because I don't really have a specific topic to blog about), I'm listing "ten things I think" (or have done) of late, a potpourri of thoughts and actions, if you will:

1)  The Undiscovered Country  -- I've been listening to a lot of Sublime and Mitch Hedberg lately.  The lead singer of Sublime and Hedberg, of course, have been dead for several years now.  Gone before their time.  Due to drugs, I believe.  One can only wonder how much more they could have contributed to music and comedy.

2)  Movies -- I watched Django Unchained but after recently reading Uncle Tom's Cabin and Peter Mathiessen's Shadow Country, the film was a bit of a disappointment.  

3)  Asians in the Media -- Is Ken Jeong an Uncle Tom for playing the ridiculous Asian gangster in The Hangover films?  Is he basically "dancing for the white man" at the expense of Asians?  Are people laughing  at Jeong because he reinforces the stereotype that Asians are goofy, nerdy, etc.?  Has Jeong set Asian-Americans back 100 years?

4)  "Western" Food -- I recently came back from the West region of Cameroon, but when someone from my town asked me if I tried the local food, I realized that I mostly just ate  shawarma and a few hamburgers during the trip.

5)  Funny PCVs -- I don't know too many people who can make me laugh, but I gotta say that I've met some pretty hilarious volunteers -- Emily, Ryan, another Ryan, Rob, Sarah, Ben, to name a few. 

6)  Latest Derangement --  some kid called me "sensei" and then bowed, like I was some sort of martial arts teacher.  I had to restrain myself because I was ready to go off and have a violent reaction.  Then again, if I had that reaction, that would just reinforce their idea that I know martial arts. 

7)  ¿Donde vas?

I almost said "tambien" instead of "aussi" while talking to someone.  That could mean that my Spanish is slowly coming back, which is good.

8)   Things Cameroonians never say:  "Oh, I'm sorry.  Did I cut in front of you?  A thousand apologies.  Go on ahead."

9)  Cameroonian French -- I like how Cameroonians add "un peu" to a lot of sentences, e.g. "Tu vois un peu", "Tu comprends un peu", "Ca marche un peu", "Descends un peu."

10)  The Weather -- The upside of being in a humid climate:  no matter how cold it gets, a cold shower (or bucket bath or river bath) isn't really cold. 

Le Dérangement

Scene at a bus station:

Cameroonian:  "Chinois, est-ce que c'est ton sac?"
Me:  "Non, ce n'est pas le mien.  Aussi, je ne suis pas Chinois."

Whenever I'm walking around town, people would "derange" or annoy me with shouts of "Chinois" or "Ni ho".  I've had several approaches to dealing with these annoying people.  One of my more successful approaches involved wearing a foulard and growing a really long beard:

Instead of the usual shouts of "Ni ho" or "Chinois", I would get "Salam Aleikum" or "Arab" or "Tu es musulman?(Are you muslim)".  Sometimes, I would get "bin Laden", but not that often.  I decided to abandon this approach however when people started calling me "pere" or "papa" (father).  And they weren't trying to be funny or anything.  They were sincere in calling me "pere".

    My approach now is just to look as I would back in the US -- no more foulard or long beard.  This new approach invites trouble because Cameroonians in the South love to "derange" or annoy Asians while being more reserved towards Muslims.  Go figure.  But its fine.  I've decided to follow the advice of a fellow volunteer who told me that the worst thing to do when people start annoying me is just to ignore the "derangement".  Its weird because when people "derange" me with their shouts of "Ni ho", its usually because they think that its the way to say "Hello" in my language.  I don't think they're being jerks or anything.  On occasion, I would even have a decent exchange with the "dérangeurs" and they learn that I'm a Pinoy.  Sometimes, however, they ARE being jerks and so I would usually reply with "Ce n'est pas poli" or  "Je t'amuse?" ("Do I amuse you" a la Joe Pesci in Good Fellas) or if they're really annoying, "Tu es malade?" (Are you mentally ill).  Either way, after a few weeks of this more "confrontational" approach, the "derangement" has died down.  I still get deranged, but not as much as before.  The decrease could also be due to the fact that the townsfolk now know that there's an Asian guy in town, who is apparently not Chinese.  My goal in my remaining time in Cameroon is for the people in my town to yell "Magandang araw" or "philippin" at random Asians they see.  

Facebook's Influence

Perhaps due to Facebook or Twitter's influence, my journal entries (electronically and on paper) have become one to two sentence entries. Hence, the following blog entry with one or two sentence descriptions of recent events or thoughts:

1) My French is as good as my Tagalog, which means that its not great, but I can get by.

2) Speaking of languages, I have found an effective way to learn Bulu, the local language in my village. I just take a French college textbook and translate the lessons into Bulu, with the help of a tutor, of course. This method gives the lessons more structure and less randomness.

3) The sound of Cameroonian drums is pretty awesome. Except when its 5 in the morning, in which case, its annoying.

4) I'm glad that Cameroonians sell rice in the market because frankly, I am Asian and bread is no substitute for rice.

5) I learned how to prepare coffee without a coffee maker (i.e. I use a strainer). A strainer works well with tea leaves as well.

6) I believe in carpooling as much as the next guy, but fourteen people in a car (ie bush taxis) is freaking ridiculous! Thus, I am going to explore other modes of transportation such as a motorcycle. If I just accept the status quo, nothing will change, right? I was thinking that perhaps they could have a bush taxi that has less people but would cost more. Like those VIP buses. VIP bush taxi perhaps? I bet there are people willing to pay extra not to sit in a car with 14 people.

7) Whenever someone says 'Ni ho' or 'Chinois' to me, I feel like I'm in a Seinfeld episode because I feel like shouting: "I'm not Chinese!" And then quickly adding, "Not that there's anything wrong with it."


8) I think solar panels would be great in Cameroon since its an equatorial country and gets more direct sunlight than non-equatorial countries.

9) An acquaintance brought a girl over to my house (his cousin) one night and offered that I sleep with her. Awkward. I declined.

10) Cameroonians love putting the maggi cube in all of their cooking.

11) Had a pretty good meeting with the Forestry delegate at my village. Among other things, I learned that one can sell bush meat at restaurants as long as one had a permit. Of course, the question is: how many have a permit?

12) Recent books I finished: William Easterly's The Elusive Quest for Growth, Roland Bunch's Two Ears of Corn, Mario Puzo's The Godfather, Elmore Leonard's Get Shorty, Malcolm Gladwell's Blink, and Michael Lewis' Moneyball.

13) I never liked eating raw onions until I ate them with hot pepper sauce and braised fish.

14) Speaking of braised fish, I can no longer eat the braised fish from the street after buying fresh mackerel and realizing how small the street mackerel is.

15) I think I should've brought a portable water filter to Cameroon. Or learn how to make one a la Les Stroud. I've been to meetings where so many water bottles are handed out, which sort of contradict the Environmental-friendly philosophy of my position.

Native Americans

I recently visited Indian Grinding Rock State Park in Pine Volcano, several miles east of Jackson. The park features a reconstructed (Native American) Miwok village ...
... as well as a ceremonial house:

The park also had some limestone beds that the tribe used as mortars that were then used to grind acorns, hence the name Grinding Rock:

Here's some interesting trivia: the park spells it "Miwok" while the casino owned by the same tribe in nearby Jackson spell it "Miwuk". Another bit of trivia: nearby Jackson is named after Colonel Alden Jackson, no relation to former US President Andrew Jackson.

Speaking of Native Americans and guys named Jackson, I happened to watch The History Channel's episode on Andrew Jackson, who was president during the 1800s. The interesting part of that show was when they discussed Andrew Jackson's relationship with the Native Americans. They're apparently not fans of each other. Jackson forcibly removed them through the Indian Removal Act. The forced migration west came to be known as the Trail of Tears. Many tribes like the Cree and Cherokee view Jackson as a traitor and consider him a war criminal. Many refuse to use the $20 bill and have even considered banning the $20 bill at their casinos because Jackson is on that bill. If you get the chance, try to catch the episode if they air it again on The History Channel.

Technorati tags: Indian Grinding Rock

The Kite Runner

It may be a bit strange to be talking about a book that came out 6 years ago, but since some commenters recommended The Kite Runner on one of my blog posts, I decided to check out the book. I guess the commenters mentioned the Kite Runner b/c the blog post was about the friendship between a British-Indian reporter and his Pashtun guide, which was an episode of the TV show Locked Up Abroad. The Kite Runner also involved friendship, but this time between a Pashtun and a Hazara, two ethnic groups in Afghanistan. Compared to The Kite Runner, those guys in the Locked Up Abroad episode had it easy. They just spent about a month in a Pakistani jail. hehe. Nobody died in that story, at least. The Kite Runner is a bit different. Characters die (or nearly die) left and right. Definitely lots of sad moments.

The story takes place in Afghanistan, Pakistan and California. I knew a little bit about Afghanistan from the news and from Ahmad Rashid's book Taliban, but its different when a novel is set in Afghanistan and characters created. They just seem more alive in the hands of a good novelist. The frequent mention of Afghan food also made me want to look for Afghan restaurants here in the Bay Area. hehe.

As for the film version of the book, I haven't seen it yet. I might be disappointed though. I checked the movie's official website and I'm already thinking to myself that some of the castmembers don't look like how I envisioned the characters. For instance, I thought the Hazara characters would look more Chinese, for example and that Baba would be fatter ... err... I mean bigger. hehe.

My only quibble with the book is that it had one too many twists and turns. ***Warning: Spoilers ahead. Oddly enough, the book mentions that Afghans don't mind spoilers. In fact, they want to know the ending of a film or book, whether the guy or girl in the film finds happiness in the end. hehe. But as I was saying, I think the story could've ended with Amir and Sohrab leaving Afghanistan. Sohrab attempting suicide was too much. I didn't think it was necessary b/c I think the story is about Amir and his chance to be a good person again and he already did that by risking his life to rescue Sohrab. End of Spoiler***

Other than that, I liked the book. Specifically, I liked the theme of redemption. Baba and Amir trying to redeem themselves through their actions -- Baba through his generosity and Amir by trying to rescue Sohrab . It's better than simply writing a happy ending in a novel like that character Briony in Atonement did. What is it about characters who are writers having a dark past? hehe.

Anyway, here's some quotes from the book that I liked:

1) For me, America was a place to bury my memories. For Baba, a place to mourn his.

2) But the Bay Area's smog stung his eyes, the traffic noise gave him headaches, and the pollen made him cough.

3) It may be unfair, but what happens in a few days, sometimes even a single day, can change the course of a whole lifetime, Amir.

4) We may be hardheaded and I know we're far too proud, but, in the hour of need, believe me that there's no one you'd rather have at your side than a Pashtun.

5) How could I, of all people, chastise someone for their past?

6) Sad stories make good books.

7) "Why didn't you leave?" I said. "Kabul was my home. It still is" [, replied Rahim Khan].

8) ... a boy who won't stand up for himself becomes a man who can't stand up to anything.

9) And that, I believe, is what true redemption is, Amir jan, when guilt leads to good.

10) ... better to get hurt by the truth than be comforted by a lie.

Technorati tags: The Kite Runner

Ilocano Lesson via Meme

I am half-Kankanay, an ethno-linguistic group that has roots in Sagada, Bontoc and Mountain Province. However, my Kankanay language skills are very poor. So to get in touch with my Kankanay side, I am trying to learn the language. Nevermind that I can't even speak "proper" Tagalog. Some may say I should master one language first before working on another. But I think there's nothing wrong with being mediocre in both languages. hehehe. ;) Anyway, since Kankanay is related to Ilocano as shown in the following chart from the book Ilocano Dictionary and Grammar by Carl Rubino, I figure that I will try to learn a little Ilocano:

I figure that learning Ilocano will help me in eventually learning Kankanay. Thus, I will answer a "middle-names meme" from Major Tom by using Ilocano words.

The rules:

1. State your middle name. If it’s too long or not sounding so good, then think about the name you wish you had as a middle name. And use that, of course.

2. For each letter of the middle name stated in Rule #1, write a specific trait or characteristic of your person and elaborate reasonably.

3. If you had five letters in such name, tag the same number of bloggers. Like if that name has seven letters, then seven other bloggers. If such name has one letter, then tag that one single blogger. Now wait, I don’t think that middle names—or any name for that matter—could probably have one single letter on it. But who knows, some names might just be like that, like Mr.X, or Mr.Y. We got a lot of names like that back in my accounting subjects in college, Mr. M owes this much, Mrs. Q earns this much, and so on and so forth.

4. There is no Rule #4 so might as well go on.

Instead of using English words, I will use Ilocano words for the initials to describe myself. Another thing though is that I don't really like my middle name. Fortunately, the rules say I can choose a middle name if I don't like my given middle name. Thus, I choose "Danger" since "danger" is my middle name. haha. That joke is from the movie Austin Powers, of course. hehehe. So here's the Ilocano words that describe a little bit about myself from the initials of my chosen middle name:

Dayaw - with the root word "dayaw" meaning honor or glory, the word "manangdaydayaw" means respectful. I try to be respectful of other people even if we don't agree on certain things. That should be a given, no? ;)

Álus - used, second hand. I rarely shop for clothes, but when I do, I usually buy them at thrift or second-hand stores.

Nadalimpako - wavy or curly hair. As I stated in a prior post, I once had wavy hair. I still do. Just not as many. ;)

Gadang - with the root word "gádang" meaning either wading, short pants or shallow, the word "magadang" means shallow, water not reaching the waist. Although I can swim, I don't like swimming in the ocean if its deep. In fact, I've never swam in deep ocean water. I prefer swimming in the ocean if it's shallow.

Étika - This is actually borrowed from the Spanish word for ethics. Most of the words in my Ilocano dictionary that start with 'e' are derived from Spanish words. Anyway, I choose this word because although I have my inner struggles like everyone else, I still try to lead an ethical life.

Raém - polite. Another given. Example from the book: Raementayo kuma ti pammatida a kas met ti panagraemda ti pammatitayo. Translation: We should respect their beliefs as they respect ours.

Now how to use the other 5 Ilocano words in an actual Ilocano sentence is another story. hehe. So there you have it. An attempt to learn Ilocano via a meme. I just need to do this meme several hundred more times with different Ilocano words and I should be a fluent Ilocano speaker in no time. hehe. Now, according to the rules, I now have to tag 6 bloggers, the same number of letters in the middle name. Thus, I'm tagging the first 6 commenters of this post who have yet to be tagged by this meme. If you don't have a blog, then just reply to this post with your middle-name meme. ;)

Technorati tags: meme, Ilocano

Final Thoughts on my Vacation

I've pretty much posted the highlights of my Philippine vacation. Now for some random thoughts about my trip:

1) The Philippines is still obsessed with looking white (i.e. skin whiteners). Here's some billboards I saw in Manila :

Is this colonial mentality or what? Although I have to point out that I only saw these ads in Manila, not in any other city I visited. So I don't know if I can attribute this "wanting to look like a white person" phenomenon to the entire Philippines.

2) Discrimination is still rampant. Here's an example of a typical job ad from a Baguio newspaper with height, age, and of course, the "pleasing personality" requirement:


Do you really need an age or height requirement when working the front desk? C'mon, just have them sit or stand on a couple of books if they're short. :D Meanwhile, at this Manila establishment, they don't mince words:

What's an unattractive person to do? hehe. Can you imagine being rejected for this job? "Miss, you've got all the qualifications, but unfortunately.... well, you're not easy on the eyes." hahaha. Well, at least the restaurant didn't require the waitress to have a "pleasing personality." :D

3) Fireworks....annoying fireworks. I became annoyed at all the people setting firecrackers near our house in Baguio and leaving their trash everywhere.

I suppose this graphic poster of severed fingers they had posted at the sari-sari stores wasn't enough to deter the revelers from playing with fireworks:

I'm not trying to be KJ, as they say in the Philippines, but some of these fireworks ARE illegal and dangerous. I did see a headline the next day that there were 600 fireworks-related injuries. So much for that graphic poster.

4) Nothing beats relaxing around a bonfire with a few drinks. Here's one where I drank hard liquor around a bonfire, but didn't get drunk. The liquor was only 65 proof. :D
We had to move the hard liquor b/c it was a little too close to the fire. ;)

6) The export of human labor continues. Yet another relative has left to work overseas as a nurse. I have another relative studying nursing. I think she already has a degree in another field. Is the Philippines always going to be an exporter of human labor? Will there ever be a time when people will consider the Philippines as the one with "greener pastures"?

7) Tough jobs....there's a lot of them in the Philippines. Some of these tough jobs include vendors (whether it's chicharon or peanuts or sweets,etc.) on buses or those prawn vendors along the highway who advertise their product by holding up the prawn as you whiz by them on the highway. Other jobs are unofficial. For example, kids will flag taxis for you but expect some sort of tip. Probably one of the toughest jobs I saw was the restroom or comfort room (CR) attendees at bus stops who collect 1 or 2 pesos from riders who use the bathroom. If I had that job, I wouldn't even touch the coins. I'd just tell them to put it in a box or something. And if they ask for change, I would just let them use the CR for free. ;)

Well, I guess that's all I have to say about my trip. Looks like I can get rid of this sim card I bought in Manila... won't be needing it anymore:
I had a blast. As Dorothy in The Wizard of Oz once said, "There's no place like home." Too bad I won't be back for a while. Yan ang buhay ng Fil-Am .... or Amboy, as someone once called me. ;)

Technorati tags: Baguio, Philippines, skin whitener, discrimination, firecrackers

Pinoy Show Biz

A few months back, my cousin told me about this game show in the Philippines called Starstruck, an American Idol knock-off. Anyway, there was some controversy when a contestant made some derogatory comments about a fellow contestant, who was an Igorot. The guy eventually apologized, probably b/c he was swamped with complaints by all the Igorots from around the world. Strange how people still make ignorant comments about ethnic groups they don't know anything about. Anyway, when I heard about this, I looked it up on the internet and found another Pinoy in Show biz who also made derogatory comments about Igorots. This one involved Lucy Torres, a very European-looking Pinoy. I didn't find much info on the controversy involving her though b/c, as my cousin later told me, it occurred back sometime in 1999. Seems like there's no shortage of Pinoys in show biz making ignorant comments about Igorots. I'm half-Igorot myself so I would probably be offended if I heard those comments, but I'm over in the states and perhaps the only friction b/w Pinoys here is maybe the one b/w American-born Pinoys versus the FOBS, of which I'm a member. As Rodney King once said, "Can't we just all get along?" Sorry, Mr. King, no such luck. ;)

Anyway, while I was looking up info on Ms. Torres, I stumbled upon a Korean girl working in Pinoy show business. Her name is Sandara Park and her story fascinates me. She moved to the Philippines when she was 8 and became famous during her teen years after an appearance on a Pinoy reality TV show. What's weird is that South Korea obviously has a better economy than the Philippines and yet it looks like she prefers to work in the Philippines, probably b/c she's in the limelight and practically spent her formative years there. There's a switch: an overseas non-Filipino worker in the Philippines. Who'd have thunk? Well, I guess since the Philippines is exporting all their human labor overseas, the Philippines should at least get one foreigner who wants to work in the Philippines. After all, the Philippines does have a shortage of Show Biz entertainers. haha.