Most of our Oregon party have left so Vincent and I are left with my mom. It's sad to wake up knowing that it's going to be much quieter around here. Fortunately the days ahead of us are already full.
My time here in Manila seems much shorter than it really has been. We've been very busy here, yet at one I point I wondered what have I been busy with. I haven't been very productive since I am on vacation. I don't have to worry about Vincent and school. I don't have much housework to do -- actually, I practically have none. What has been keeping me busy?
I may have mentioned this earlier, but... We have been busy being with people. It's lovely how much time people spend with each other here. The only person I know who kept keeping an eye on a watch to get back to a commitment was me. Otherwise with everybody we've met it has felt as if they had blocked off a chunk of time to be with us. Again, I don't think it's only because we're visiting here and they're wanting to spend as much time as possible with us. That's just how people spend time with each other whenever possible.
I also don't think I've laughed this much in a long time. There's just always something to laugh about. When I came back here in 1993 I was told by my boss at IBM at that time, "You know... Life is so hard here, people just laugh their problems away." Laughter has been such a big part of this trip. We do make light of a lot of situations around here by joking about it. At one point I would have thought that it's a way of brushing off responsibilities of doing anything about the problems that we have here or a form of demeaning the people and the country, but I take that back. The awareness is there and turning it into laughter is almost as if claiming a sense of ownership. It's like being able to laugh at yourself. Now if others from the outside poke fun of us or make comments, then it's insulting. But when you make it about yourself, then it's acknowledging who you are.
There also seems to be a growing sense of patriotism in the Philippines. It surprises me to see how many people are wearing clothing with very Filipino designs -- the Philippine flag, jeepneys, etc. More clothing stores are carrying very modern Filipino designs. This may seem very trivial and may not seem like much. You see... In the past the big think would be to sport designer labels on your clothing -- authentic or not. We have not been known to wear theme-oriented clothing here. Nobody wears the flag colors during national holidays, red and green clothing during Christmas,... That's just not what we do around here. It's a huge step to see clothing stores in the upper-scale malls dedicated to Philippine-themed designs. It's a small start, but it's a step towards change.
Tomorrow I get to go with my Tita Chary (Aunt Chary) to the Feast of the Black Nazarene. The Black Nazarene is the patron saint of Quiapo (or Padre Nuestro Jesus Nazareno de Quiapo). This is attended by thousands and thousands of people who believe that their faith in this saint will bring peace and harmony in families, long life and good health among people, deliverance from all calamities and disasters, and prosperity, joy and love among nations. Men are the ones who participate in this procession because of the difficulty of being a part of this. They carry a life-size statue of the Black Nazarene carrying a cross, which was brought over by the Spanish in 1607, in the midst of thousands of people. The ship actually caught fire, burning the image and has since then been known as the Black Nazarene. It's interesting because the news have been calling on people to not show up drunk, to be sure they are able to take part in this procession, and telling people what to expect. I will post pictures and another blog entry afterwards.
I believe that people honor their patron saints so strongly because of their need to have a visual representation of what they are worshipping. The Spaniards forced Catholicism among the people. These were people whose religions at the time idolized images and the nature around them -- things that they could see. Some rituals incorporate the beliefs of the past with the beliefs and traditions of Catholicism. This was something that was pointed out as well while I was in Peru. We all practice our faith differently and representative of who we were and who we are now. Yet we are still connected by one faith, one belief, and one God. So simple, yet so complex. I love it!
More again later...
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