Ebay.ph, a Reflection of Filipino Culture

Ebay can be addicting. I should clarify, Ebay.com, NOT Ebay.ph. There really is a difference. Mainly, Ebay.com is true auction online whereas Ebay.ph is retail with 5% discount online.

To be continued...brain freeze.

WHOA!!! Did I have a month of brain freeze? I started the two paragraphs above on October 6, and it's now November 9. Actually, I have been preoccupied with so many other things, I just couldn't focus on putting my thoughts down.

I started writing this post in Las Vegas. Now I continue it in Makati a month later. 6000 miles away. My sentiments are still there; I still love my Filipino culture. I still have my qualms. Especially now, that I am completely immersed, there is no escape from the things I love about my Filipinos. I am here in this country, and the only way out, is a ticket back.

Ebay.ph. I shall post only a small tidbit about this now. On Ebay.ph, the auctions are not really auctions, since the prices on the products sold there are so expensive; the prices are almost retail for used items. Ebay.com on the other hand, thank God! Great pricing. I've gotten a $100 Blackberry, $6 Abercrombie and Fitch clothes, $15 Diesel Jeans, and so many more. I guess I'm cheap.

Why do you think the pricing on Ebay.ph is so expensive? How is that reflective of the culture? For me, it's because the Filipinos are not so willing to depart with their items; my friend said that they will use their items to the very end; till it can no longer be utilized. And these items on Ebay.ph? They're not really on auction, he said; they're just there sitting, until the right stupid, auction-impaired, foolish buyer sees it.

Of course, there's a lot of other reasons; I don't intend to list everything here. There's also a lot of culture reflections; to write all of them down here would take days. For now, I'll leave this as a simple reflection.

Fake Filipino DVDs in Phoenix too, not just Philippines

Back home in Las Vegas. My temporary home for now, as I will be moving back to the Philippines in about two weeks. Home is where the heart is, and my heart is with the Philippines, for now. My weekend in Phoenix was a refreshing time for me. I got to visit one of my best friends whom I've known for a little over ten years since my days in Hawaii. It's always great to keep in touch with friends, no matter the distance.

Yesterday, in Phoenix, my friend and I decided to do some culture tripping, Filipino culture there is. We started driving around Saturday night in Glendale looking for a Filipino store so that we could rent a few Filipino movies. Since we were both new to the area, we couldn't find any. It was mostly Mexican supermarkets. So we called information, and we get a Filipino on the other line, working for a call center. She helped us find the location of Philippine Island Store and Manila Oriental Market. The next day, we drove around looking for these stores, but they did not have any movies. Wow, this was becoming an adventure, just to find a Filipino movie; we almost gave up.

We asked one more Filipino restaurant and they recommended another store; we finally found that place, and fortunately they had some DVDs. Lucky us. We rented three movies: Lagot ka sa Kuya ko, Pinoy Blonde, and some movie with Bea Alonzo, John Lloyd Cruz, and Sam Milby; I forgot the title; funny, I remember the stars in it. Thanks to the time I spent in the Manila last year.

To make a long story short, with got 100 percent bonafide Pinoy product. Only Filipinos. Yep, we got pirated DVDs with poor quality. The DVDs played only the first 10 minutes, and when we tried them on my laptop, they played only half way through. OK, OK, it's not just a Filipino thing, but this incident reminds me so much of those DVDs they sell in the Philippines for 100 pesos. The pirated ones. We paid $3.50 for each, so I figured they would at least be quality, the real ones. But no, they were skipping and scratched.

Is this a sign? A reminder that I truly need to go back to the Philippines? I don't think so, but this Filipino thing, whatever it is, just follows me where I go.

Instead, we went to the theater and catch Jet Li's epic movie, Fearless. Great film. In this movie, he learns, succeeds, and falls. But just like the Phoenix, he rises again to claim his destiny. Oh yeah, and the fighting scenes are awesome. One day, I will have those skills. Maybe in a million years.

So renting DVDs for almost 200 pesos each doesn't necessarily mean you're gonna get the real deal. In fact, those 100 peso DVDs with 5 movies in them in the Philippines are actually better. Oh well, things happen for a reason, right?

Taking Things for Granted, Learning in the Philippines

I skipped church today. I'm just really not feeling well. I thought I would have gotten rid of this cold by now, but this virus is more persistent than I thought. I've taken Benadryl, lots of vitamin C, water galore, Tylenol for cold, tomato juice, more liquids, but damn, this thing is just tougher to beat than I thought. What makes the situation worse is that I'm here in Phoenix visiting a friend, and I have tried my best to maintain sanity and look healthy.

He woke me up today at 8 am to get ready, but my body was just saying no. I tried to force my mind to make my body go so my soul can be fed with the spirit, but in the end, my body was unwilling to cooperate. Or maybe it was my mind. Was it mind over matter? All I know is that I really felt like I wanted to sleep more. I was twisting and turning last night because of this pestering stuffy nose and uncontrollable cough. I got up a couple of twice to eject the phlegm that was stuck in my throat. I had to pee as well. Too much information, huh?

I remember being sick in the Philippines last year while I was staying in Makati. Same thing, cold and coughing. I remember taking a lot of Neozep, which zapped me to sleep right away. I remember my throat being so itchy, it was almost unbearable; I wanted to see my doctor. Instead, I weathered it out; it was just a common cold, and I was acting too spoiled. I mean, most people weather it out, and here I was, being a big baby about it.

I clearly remember that first night when it hit me really bad. It was about 10 pm. I frantically searched for a Mercury Drug, but they were all closed in Makati. I walked to Mini Stops and 7-11s, and I settled for one finally. NeoZep. All it did for me was knock me out to sleep. Finding medicine at this time alone was a nightmare. I began to think of the luxuries I had back home. The 24 hour Walgreens or WalMart. My car. My doctor. My warm bed. 24 hr stores to buy soup.

Instead, I was stuck in the middle of Makati. Fortunately, the cold went away in a couple of days, and I could function normally again.

There are so many things we take for granted living in the US. The little things we take for granted because they are in front of us daily. Then we go to an underdeveloped country, and things change dramatically. For me, at least, I began to see how good I had it in the US. I began to be so much more appreciative of such luxuries as 24 hour stores, even my car.

I began to think, how do people live this way. You have to be really strong to make it through a life in the Philippines. Either that, or you really get used to that way of living. I wonder how the poor people get their medicine. Can they even afford it? Do they have any kind of health insurance? Even the workers themselves probably do not have adequate health insurance provided by their companies.

So today, I will just rest my body so that I can get better sooner. I will just reflect on how much tougher I had it back there in the Philippines. I will never forget how it's like to live in the Philippines during those times. I am going back to live there for a while now to start my own projects there. I am very scared, but I know that I have to take this step. This risk. This calling.

Milenyo in Philippines, Katrina in New Orleans, Volunteerism

I did not know that there was a typhoon in northern Philippines when I called my friend. He was at Greenbelt at that time when the winds started to pick up. There were many people stranded as rain began to pour in and the winds carried branches and other debris. I could hear people in the background screaming, not in fright, but in the change of direction of the winds as they tried to look for cover.

This morning, I read that at least 61 people are dead and 61,000 families are displaced.

Rewind. Last year, I was in Manila when hurricane Katrina hit New Orleans. it was the worst hurricane the US has ever seen as it flooded the entire city and everyone had to be evacuated. It was a vibrant city full of culture and the arts, but it was ravaged instantly. I saw clips on TV and how people were on top of their houses waiting to be rescued, and how thousands fled to the dome to wait to be airlifted somewhere. Millions became homeless.

George Bush was blamed for the slow response to aid the people affected. There is still a lot of discussion as to whether or not they did the best they could to help these people immediately. But thousands of volunteers from all over the US and internationally flew to New Orleans to help out. There is a great sense of volunteerism here in the US. When I was in college, my Jesuit university placed a strong importance on volunteerism and helping out the community. Noone from my school graduated without having volunteered for a cause. Me, I chose the homeless and impoverished people as my project. I became a coordinator for events for the low-income housing.

Fast forward. I wonder how strong volunteerism is in the Philippines. Growing up, I have been taught that the Filipinos of the past prided themselves on the bayanihan concept, that is, helping one another in the barrio. I remember seeing pictures of men carrying a bahay kubo, which meant to represent bayanihan or cooperation. The last few times I was in my province, I remember seeing the people working together for free to improve their neighborhoods. The barangay council organized a beautification project planting trees and plants alongside the road, building little nipa huts, and general cleaning up.

I wonder if these same people will ever be able to go to the ravaged areas hit by Milenyo and volunteer to help. I wonder if they will be mobilized by other organizations, recruited and bussed to go to help.

What I saw in barrio/barangay, I hope that it will be reflected nationally. There are so many things I would like to do in the Philippines. I hope that one day, I can organize a volunteer group to help the needy, the poor, and the underprivileged. I just have to remain focus. One step at a time. One day at a time.