I survived Geog 1!

Now we are down to this last requirement before I can finally say, “Hay salamat! Makakatulog na rin.” This course, to be honest has been one of the most excruciating subjects I have ever had. I did not expect it to be this hard. I mean, I often hear people saying “madali lang yang Geog 1” and “chill lang ang Geog 1.” But please don’t get me wrong, I do not regret the day that I asked Sir Palis to accept me in his class. Actually, after all the blogs, group projects, quizzes and individual assignments that I have accomplished without any failing grade or late submission, I can say that I ended this semester as a better student. It may have been very exhausting but it gave me a lot of realizations and taught me lessons in life. Let me tell you some of the most memorable experiences I had in Geog 1.

Basically how I look like when reading

Photo from http://www.betterparenting.com/get-your-kids-some-boring-books/

The quizzes, to be honest had been a burden for me. Not being a bookworm, it was not easy for me to read ten to fifty pages every week. Before I start reading a sentence, I would have to convince myself for an hour or so.  I often wake up at 3 or 4 in the morning to read them and continue as I ride the jeepney and bus to school. And yes, you can say that I crammed reading a lot of them. And it is kind of ironic that the ones that I crammed the most are those that I got perfect scores at; and the ones that I did studied hard for are the lowest. Crazy right? But after all the eleven quizzes, I can say that I learned a lot. If I were not forced to read them, then maybe I would not be able to get what Sir Palis was talking about.

The blogs have also been quite challenging for me. I am not a great writer. I can tell. And I have also accepted that fact that I am not that good in the English language. I am not like some of my classmates who write blogs when they are bored or when they just want to say something. So writing a blog of seven hundred to a thousand words was really a great challenge for me. It usually takes me a couple of days and nights to finish a single blog. It was really exhausting but after I finish every blog, it makes me feel really good. I am often surprised of myself that I was able to do them. The blogs made me little proud of myself as I say “uy, it’s not that bad.” I never thought that I could do it just until now.

My drawing skills have not developed since kindergarten

Photo from http://www.principalspage.com/theblog/archives/we-need-more-8-year-old-kindergarten-students

The drawing assignment of AS parking lot had also been a struggle for me. If there is one thing I can’t do, it’s drawing. I really have no talent in this at all. Even when I was in grade school, I would ask my mom or my sister to draw for my assignments so please bear with me. And that also was the problem that I and my group mates in the group assignment had. How unlucky it is that none of us know how to draw. But I am not mad with them because at least there was someone who has skills in Adobe Photoshop. Well, thanks to Migo! He saved our group! But aside from our lack of drawing skills, we also had a hard time in conceptualizing. Globalization as a topic was kind of hard and challenging because there were a lot of things about it. Many of readings have mentioned the topic. So what we did was compare the core and periphery. We did it simple and we thought that Sir Palis wouldn’t like our project but we were happy that he actually did. I was just kind of pissed off that some of my group mates were not that concerned for our group output. I can say that I contributed enough in the concept making and leading the group and I expected that those who were not able to attend the meetings, be it in person or online would take the initiative to print out our project; but they just didn’t. I understood some of their reasons but there was just this one person who had a lame excuse of having a class from seven to four in the afternoon with no breaks. It just did not make any sense because if it’s true then it means that have all eighteen units during Tuesdays and Thursdays. So I was left with no choice and took the task instead.

That would be all. As you can see this course had been a test to my reading, writing and drawing skills. It was not easy but I am proud of myself that I made it! Thanks to Sir Palis! If not because of him, I would not be able to believe that anything is possible.

PHOTOgeoGRAPHY

This photo of me with my boyfriend was taken in Harrison Road in Baguio City last December. Every night, when the clock strikes 9, the road is closed and the shopping begins. This night market is quite popular in Baguio. Even tourists include this place in their itineraries. It is where one can find very cheap pre-loved items also known as “ukay-ukay” and Baguio souvenirs. There are also some food carts at both ends of the road that are strategically placed for shoppers who want to have snacks after haggling with the vendors in a middle of a crowded street. Harrison Road had been one of my memorable places ever since I studied in Baguio for a year. Even though my friends and I used to visit the place every now and then to shop for “new” outfits or even just to hang out, this place is still a symbolic landscape for me. Shopping here was one of our ways to relieve stress after a day or a week of solving math problems, writing papers and reviewing for the exams. Every time that this place is mentioned, a lot of feelings evoke as I become nostalgic about the place. It gives me the feeling of pleasure in strolling in a crowded yet cool street with the people that I enjoy company with and buying a lot stuff that I want for less than a thousand pesos. It has produced its sense of place in me.

These photos are taken at the parking area of a Shakey’s branch while I was waiting inside the car. It is a picture of a child eating leftovers given to him by the customers just outside the restaurant itself. This photo gives a good image of one of the negative effects of globalization. As international companies invade the world, the gap between the rich and the poor accentuates. While some of us are capable and willing to spend a couple of hundreds of pesos for a single meal, there are people out there like this child who is not even sure if he would be able to eat anything in his day – people who despite the overall economic growth of the country are deprived with the nutrients they need just because of poverty.

This is a photo of the lounge of my home college, Asian Institute of Tourism. Like any other colleges in UP, our lounge is a place where the students hang out during class breaks, eat lunch and do other activities. It also has certain areas where different groups of people, student organizations to be specific, have marked their territories. Well actually, the student council together with the different orgs decide how big and where their tambayans will be.

It is evident that there is a sense of making bubbles in this kind of setting; and as expected, everyone tries to respect those bubbles. Yes, people say that everyone is welcome to hang out in their tambayans but in reality, if some stranger just sit on the couch of a tambayan without asking permission, some members of the organization would feel awkward. Org tambayans are also being social markers in a way. Different organizations have different images or reputations that somehow define what kind of orgs they are (stereotypes like “party org” and “GC org” (grade-conscious) are some of these image), and just by hanging around the tambayans of the orgs people are already judged even if they are not actually part of those organizations. For instance, when a freshie sits on the coach of a “gc org”, some may judge her and say “GC pala siya? Wala sa itsura niya” even if he is really not affiliated with that org.

This is a wacky photo of me with some of my best friends at Bonifacio High Street. Being less than an hour away from our place, my friends and I would always hang out in the area. We would always make sudden meet up and go here to grab some tea or coffee and talk about anything, from who is in relationship with this heartthrob to what are our goals in life. I personally think that I have developed topophilia in this place because it always reminds me of the bond that my best friends and I have. It reminds me of the how warm their company is and how easy life can be. Every time we hang out in this place, I feel like all the stresses from school and other things have flown away and the last think I wanted to do is to go home. 

That Place Called Pateros

Map of National Capital Region
Photo from http://rehiyonsapinas.blogspot.com/2012_10_01_archive.html?view=classic

I grew up in the humble municipality of Pateros. In case you do not know where that is, just look at the NCR map at the right. Our town is situated at the south of Pasig, east of Makati and north of Taguig. It is the only municipality in the entire Philippines that is not a part of a province and it is also the only local government unit in Metro Manila that is not a city. Its insufficient size, annual revenue and population are the reasons why it remains as a municipality until now. It is the smallest local government unit in the region; so small that the entire Cubao is even bigger.

The municipality of Pateros is mostly a residential area. In fact, it is the second most densely populated in the Philippines, next to the city of Manila. But despite that, Pateros still have the least population in the entire National Capital Region. Because of this, a little space is left for commercial establishments to rise, therefore having only a little source of revenue for the municipality. We do not even have a single mall, only small groceries. We also do not have a hospital, only clinics and small baranggay medical centers. The only known industries in Pateros are the alfombra and of course the famous balut. Alfombra is a kind of footwear worn mostly by people before. It could already be considered as a falling industry because less and less people are using it as they prefer to use the rubber slippers that are more accessible in the market and significantly cheaper instead. As a matter of fact, there are only two alfombra stores left in Pateros. Balut industry on the other hand is still doing fine as many people still eat this internationally known Filipino delicacy.

Balut
Photo from http://www.bizarrefood.com/blog/fertilized-duck-embryo-balut/

Alfombra Slippers

 Photo from http://www.ivanlakwatsero.com/2011/07/pateros-journeying-balut-capital.html

Alfombra Slippers
Photo from http://pasigphotographer.blogspot.com/2014/02/alfombra-slippers-of-pateros.html

But despite all its simplicity, if I were given a chance to live somewhere else, I would still choose Pateros – “A small town with a big heart” as how they call it. I would still choose Pateros because of its rich culture and customs even if it is surrounded by highly urbanized cities.

The first reason why I would still choose Pateros is because of its people. As I have said, our town have only a small population; and because of that, everyone knows almost everybody.  People are also very friendly. If you go to the plaza, for sure you will see someone you know and ask “kumusta?” or at least smile. I can still remember when I had my 18^th birthday party, almost three hundred people came. Almost all the people I knew were there; from classmates, friends, neighbours, my parents’ friends from their local organizations, to even some of the councillors and our municipality mayor. My mom made sure that we invited everyone we know in our town to reassure our friendship with everyone and to avoid hard feelings. That is how people of Pateros give importance to its ties.

The second reason why I love Pateros is because of its rich culture of Fiesta. Pista ng Santa Marta is held every second Sunday of February. Santa Marta is one of the patron saints of Pateros, San Roque being the other. This day is widely celebrated in the town unlike in other cities in Metro Manila wherein less and less people are celebrating as what I observed. Every house prepares food for their visitors and goodies for the pasubo where the locals throw candies and chips to the dancing crowd in a street dance-parade called Pandanggo sa Daan. This activity is participated by people dancing to the beat of a traditional folk song with a specific choreography. The good thing is that people of all social classes, all sexes and all ages join in dancing so this tradition is well-preserved. A Pandangguhan competition is even held every year wherein baranggays, schools and different organizations join to glorify the patron saint. This competition is usually held in the complex of the only church in Pateros, the San Roque Parish also known as the Shrine of Santa Marta. This church may be a symbolic landscape for some, but it is a vernacular landscape for me. Being raised as a Roman Catholic, our family would always go to this place every Sunday to attend the mass.  My parents are also part of two separate religious organizations, the Daughters of Mary Immaculate and the Knights of Columbus; so we also go to this church during their events. It became even more vernacular for me when I started going to school at Pateros Catholic School which is situated just beside the church. Every day, I used to pass by that church and say my short prayers before going to school. My friends and I would also choose that place to assemble every time we had to meet.  It is also where we spend the evenings of Misa de Gallo. This church is also where I had the sacrament of confirmation.

Facade of San Roque ParishPhoto from https://www.flickr.com/photos/marcviaje/5450200565/

               Through the years, I’ve seen how it evolved. Most changes were done when Reverent Father Roy Rosales, the presiding priest of the parish took charge. It started with the facade of our school being refurbished, and then the walls of the complex came next. After that, the altar was also renovated. It may have changed physically but everything else remains the same. It is still the place that first comes in my mind when I hear the word home as this church gives me the feeling of comfort, humility and love for family.

               That is all I can share about my hometown. There is also no other symbolic landscape in our place as it really is a small town and there is not much to see. It may not have much of built tourist attractions like the Eifel tower or Opera House but the richness of its culture and traditions and the warmth that the people make me feel are way enough to make me stay. I am so lucky for not everyone is given a chance to live in a humble town in the middle of an urban region.