Manila...In transit

I am presently in Iloilo, but with all the experiences I have had already, I felt the need to break my posts up.

Manila was intense to say the least. The feeling I had while being there was strange, hard to explain, and unlike one that I have ever experienced before. I felt tense yet I was yearning to absorb all that was taking place around me. The city functions in a form of intangible organization within chaos, which makes for an awkward yet beautiful urban atmosphere. I was quite impressed with the way in which it worked, within all of this chaos, they just made it work. The poverty is acute and pervasive. Subsequently, everyone becomes an entrepreneur in their own way. The people are smart, aware and persistent, yet kind. Not to say that these characteristics are incompatible, they are just rarely embodied simultaneously by citizens of western society.

We took a tour around the Intramouros (the old, wealthy area of Manila that was exclusively occupied by the Spanish during colonization) on Saturday before our flight. It was so interesting to learn about the ways in which Filipinos have understood and experienced their colonization over time, by both the Spanish and the Americans. They truly are amazing, resilient people. People who have a history that, as westerners, we really cannot begin to relate to.

Again, the level of poverty in Manila is incredibly high. Thus, there are many street kids that come to speak to you and beg for money. Joelle and I both found these situations, which arise often, incredibly difficult to navigate. Of course, I wanted to give them something, anything. But what are the implications of this. Does this just further reproduce power relations that are already acutely unequal. Or is it simply an act of empathy? Moreover, what does it mean to be a begger. What does it mean to be a 'provider'? These socially constructed definitions are just that, socially constructed. But there is a lived reality within them.

Needless to say, I have thought a lot about this over the past few days. It is times like these that one may find it particularly difficult to come to terms with their own identity and position within the world.

That being said, my experience in Manila really was exciting, invigorating and eye-opening.

And...on to the next phase....