Ok Ok, I have been here for a month and half already; nuts. I think I have earned the right to complain a little, right? But to keep it balanced we'll split it up.
Likes and Dislikes of The Philippines;
-Cheap public transportation (taxi from here to Makati is PHP 60=$1.29); LIKE
-How every security guard, starbucks employee, supermarket attendant and window washer mutters "Afternoon Ma'am" when you enter/walk-by. At first it was kind of charming. I have always hated being called "Ma'am" but when I arrived here understood it was a cultural thing. Until every person you pass, encounter or ask for an iced latte from calls you "Ma'am". Even the girls who work the front desk who see me every day call me "Ma'am". It is at the end of every sentence and I am really beginning to despise it; DISLIKE
-Jeepney art. Every Jeepney driver has the freedom to name and decorate his Jeepney as he desires. Most of them pic some pop culture icon like Spiderman or Jesus (not all pop culture I guess). But many of them name it after an astrological sign. I have no clue why and don't normally associate catholics following their daily horoscopes much but who knows. I finally saw my first Gemini Jeepney yesterday, painting of two blonde white Ken-looking men. Haha!; LIKE
-Smells; woosh. Damn. I mean, I'm not that sensitive to smells but it can get pretty bad here. Certain parts of certain streets are just really bad (garbage+sewer+construction worker kick it spot). Or the lobby of my apartment; what is that god damn smell? The worst is the supermarket at Market Market. Somewhere in between the LIVE fish aquarium aisle and dried animal in plastic bag aisle I start to give up on shopping at dart to the checkout aisle. I stay super clear of the deli there....DISLIKE.
-Buko/Coconuts; Most everywhere you go you can find fresh coconuts to buy which can be cracked open on the spot to drink the water. This might be my favorite pastime. After you're done re hydrating, you can eat the coconut meat inside. Double whammy! And there are mangos in/on everything; Sushi, Frozen Yogurt, Margaritas etc. So far I still can't get enough of either of these! LIKE
-Live animals on the freeways; I used to enjoy my time in the car on the way to the Alabang studio. A time to rest, reflect, window gaze and plan out my class for the evening. But lately my day-dreaming has been disturbed by trucks of live pigs on their way to the bacon factory and chicken in route to McChicken sandwiches. Breaks my freaking heart. And HONESTLY makes me consider being a vegetarian every time they pass. Oh and that's the worst part. Normally on a freeway you'd expect the truck full of pigs to just pass by, out of sight out of mind. Oh hell nah. Manila's got traffic; so whoever you're rolling with on the on ramp is your traffic buddy for the next ...mmmm.....45 minutes. Sigh. DISLIKE.
-Advertisements; Manila is HUGE on advertising things in the largest most eye catching format they can think of. There are vertical billboards next to the roads about every 30 feet. Most ads are for new condos, Halo Halo and tuna. So many tuna billboards with a couple in bathing suits.....???? But they are super entertaining in the car and they change every 3 weeks so they get a LIKE
-Traffic guards; god these men are worthless. They stand a corner and watch the traffic go by making sure no one goes the wrong way on the street which if they do it's cool, but the dude will wave him the other way for next time. Other than hand signals and chatting it up at 7-eleven these guys do NOT help a sister out. Trying to cross the street here is a battle since there are no crosswalks. You would think that when someone was trying to cross that would be his cue to use that bright neon yellow vest and get me across the street? But nah, he leans up against the street post and stares at me seeing how fast I can run across without getting hit. Thanks brah. DISLIKE.
-Movie theaters; I couldn't find time to see very many flicks in Portland but here in Manila I am ahead of the times. Iron Man2, Miley, Robin Hood, Sex and the City2....seen it. People love their movies here. So much that instead of regular movie seats they have lazy-boy reclining chairs! I finally got to experience this for the SATC2 premiere on Wednesday along with unlimited popcorn? Are you sure? Ok. The best part of all is that they have popcorn flavors to chose from; normally it's just BBQ or cheese which on any normal day in Ptown would probs make me sick just thinking about it but here in Asia it just feels right. Oh yeah and they have assigned seating. Pimp.LIKE
-Publc urinals on the side of the road; men only. DISLIKE (no explanation required)
-Emoticons; it took me a while to realize why some of the texts I was receiving from people here had so many uppercase U's with 2 dots on top. I figured my broke ass Nokia was just struggling but then I realized they were smiley faces. Lots and lots of smiley faces. Since calling is more expensive than texting here EVERYONE texts. Restaurants, museums, friends, schools etc. I have to admit there was a time when I really couldn't stand when people used emoticons probably because it gave me AIM nightmares from middle school but I kind of like them now. And yes, I use them :) LIKE
-Recycling; there isn't anywhere to recycle anything anywhere. Except for 1 mall. No pick up/drop off service at my apartment which has 18 floors and 5 towers=so many residents and only garbage chutes. Depressing. I have saved every piece of recyclable material and bagged them in my laundry room. I saw a receptacle at Greenbelt next to the Ayala museum so I guess I'll have to take a taxi with all my cans and bottles and make a drop one of these days....I just can't throw plastic, glass or aluminum away. Blame those damn yellow Portland bins and my mom...DISLIKE
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