Observations

Subways and Buses

I've been riding to and from work by subways and buses. I wouldn't venture into the subway lines and the buses I ride home but more on the quirkiness of the people who ride in these things. According to one of my professors back home, what makes a psychologist a good psychologist is his/her ability to observe and most of the time "meddle" with the environment that (s)he is living in. Riding the subways and the buses reminds me of the times I ride the jeep going to and from La Salle. You see people, how they react, how they group, what they talk about, etc. You get to see things that you're not accustomed to seeing from the life "box" that you have grown so attached to.

You can easily differentiate the minority (Asians, Indians, Arabs, and the likes) from the majority (Blacks and Whites). You see the minority walking with their head down, careful not to meet some hot-headed haughty people from the majority. You see the minority either silently talking or extremely talking or laughing out loud while the majority normally keeps things to themselves. Personal space is so treasured and respected here that you sometimes miss the knee-to-knee confines of a jeepney. I now understand and see the Western Culture that one of my psychology professors have been lambasting about. I am now, one of those many Filipino immigrants who are forcefully fed this culture. . . it's a good thing that I know who I am and who I will always be. . . a Filipino.

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Writing Draught

I've been in a writing draught these days.

I miss writing so much that it consumed me and because of that I don't know what to write. Mwah19 suggested I "revolutionize" this blog and write in Filipino. I would love to do it but my fear of grasping for equivalent words for English terms hinders me. Since I was small, I have always been more inclined to write in English rather than Filipino. In the letters I've sent to a lot of people, I wrote in English most of the time. It's a shame that I am not so fluent writing in Tagalog because I have been professing time and time again of knowing my roots and loving who I am and will always be. I bet Rizal's turning in his grave right now because of me. How ironic isn't it?

Funny how you realize how valuable and important a certain thing is once you lose it. I've realized how I missed talking comfortably in Tagalog and how important it was that people I talked to understand what I am saying even though I am not half-way done with my sentences. I think one of the disadvantages that our educational system back home has is that it prioritizes English over our native tongue. It is something that we should both condemn and commend. Commend because we can be understood by those "powerful" nations and condemn because it alienates us from our own country.

Dapat nga nating tangkilikin ang sariling atin. Knowing how to speak and write in Tagalog is one of the greatest achievement any Filipino should be proud of.

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Olympic Questions

>> Why is it that some countries have two athletes in some events/sport?
>> Why is it that people oggle at the tv watching the Olympics and scrutinize the athletes while not even attempting to get off their butts and exercise?
>> What is the Olympics for? To know who is the champion or the greater nation or for uniting each country on the globe?
>> Why is it that commentators see more of the flaws in a performance than the judges?

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I am Angel. . . who wished upon the first star she saw tonight.