When David flew to Manila back in October to interview for the position here, he sat next to a Filipina/American on one of his flights. She works for a U.S. company, and she spends half the year in the U.S. and half of it in Philippines. M. was so friendly and truly helpful, and she gave him her email address and invited him to get in touch with her if he wanted advice about touring. Never one to turn down a genuine offer for help, he did ask her to help him figure out how to get to the local volcano, and a friendship was born.
She offered to take us to her parents' home for Good Friday and show us around, and boy, did we ever get a cultural experience! We live in a wealthy bubble in our part of Manila, and we don't really see how the average Filipino lives on a daily basis, but she took us into a neighborhood where most foreigners rarely go.
She picked us up at our complex, and we drove about an hour away (and that's in nonexistent traffic that only happens on major holidays here, so it was a little on the outskirts of metro Manila.) We arrived at her family home, and we picked up her niece. Then we walked out to see the sights of Good Friday. Imagine narrow streets and concrete and block wall homes. There are trikes and mini bikes and people selling popcorn.
This little girl was selling tiny chicks that looked a lot like quail. They were 2 pesos apiece. Some of them were dyed blue and pink, I hear, but I didn't see that for myself.
This is a sari sari store. They sell small amounts of things like soap and cooking oil, candy, snacks, etc., and they're around every corner. Ben didn't understand why the stores were "sorry," and everyone laughed over that one. This one was owned by childhood friends of Manette.
Everywhere we went, children walked up to our kids and stared at them and sometimes touched them. Everyone was friendly, but seeing Americans around was clearly a novelty. I heard "Hey, Joe!" (a reference to G.I. Joe from the days of WWII soldiers in the Philippines) and "American boys!"
We were there to see and be a part, but I also didn't want to intrude on an important holy day that we share with them in a disrespectful way. I think we succeeded in showing respectful curiosity. At least, I hope we did.
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