The Whitening Aisle(s)

For those of you who have traveled to Taiwan, Korea, or other parts of Asia and Southeast Asia you may or may not have seen commercials for beauty products that “lighten” and “whiten” one’s face. Well, Pond’s, Nivea, Neutrogena, you name the company that makes toner, facial wash, lotion, and any other type of cleansing or softening facial product and you can bet they make a version that has a “whitening agent” as part of their formula. I first encountered this marketing at a spa in Taiwan and I thought, hum, this is curious, looks like this lotion might be meant to make the user’s face whiter. But to what extent? What does this mean? White like “white” in terms of the whiteness that I know so well as a student of race, identity, and racial politics in the context of the U.S.? Or, rather, some other kind of white, and if so, what kind? Based on what type of white ideal? I mean whiteness itself is a constructed category (like so many others) and can and does vary from time to time and place to place. But, true enough, the “whiteness” that is being invoked by the discourse these products use appears to be in line with the normative American whiteness that has concretized itself in not only the forms of what might seem beautiful in terms of skin color, but also what is attainable in terms of the social and economic class statuses that accompany and are often defined by a certain racialized identity. So, these products are selling a hue, a normative status, a middle class position and perhaps even an attitude (of superiority? Perhaps). And, here in the Philippines, as I see time and again on television commercials and can attest to by describing (which I’ll spare you) at length in the TWO aisles at the grocery store that are devoted to whitening products of all sorts for women and men alike, lotions and potions that aim to reveal the “inner skin” or the “inner you” or that “pink hue beneath” I can’t help but ask myself: And what is this this? What is the real inner me beneath and can Pond’s skin cream really help me to find it? Well according to advertising it is the true layer of whiteness with a pink undertone that is locked, hiding, beneath the outer-layer of all of our skin. And, the key to its release is simply to use this tonic or that cleanser. So then what happens?

Kiara's 35th Birthday in Manila!

Three different birthday "cakes" to try. Incredibly sweet and the greenish frosting on the brownie cupcake was SO buttery I actually couldn't eat it. But totally recommend the other two, these are Salipadas. And then of course obligatory blowing out of candles. There's a video too, but the internet at home is too slow so we'll have to wait to upload that to the blog.

Dialectical Tension: The beauty of the Philippines & remembering things

I’m not a historian of Manila and by no stretch can I begin to understand the Filipino language. I’m not even an “honorary Filipina” the way Colleen is in the eyes of my advisor Matt. But, I’m an observer. My dad always said that there are people who can see that there’s a bowl of fruit on the table and then there are the people who remember exactly which types of fruit were in the bowl, their color, their different sizes and shapes and maybe even how they smelled. And he thought that I was one of these types of people. Whether I like it or not I’m always observing (and sometimes not wanting to remember, but remembering what I have seen and wondering what to make of it all). So we’ve been here almost a month, and Colleen’s daily commute brings her into close contact with the University of the Philippines, and with people, customs, language, and pretty much everything else. But, thankfully I’m keeping my own observer’s list of little things that I have witnessed and that at first seemed antithetical to each other -- to be in tension with each other, but now I am wondering, maybe the coexistence of these things is simply the beauty of the Philippines. So, here’s a brief list of some Hegelian twins. Thesis + Antithesis = Synthesis? Well, perhaps it’s more complicated than that, or actually maybe simpler? I no longer think about what I see in oppositional terms but rather as mutually constitutive. All of this is to say that maybe you can have two different ideas, systems, or approaches not because they push and pull against each other but because they reinforce the need and meaning of the other. Alright, enough theoretical musing, here’s the list (gosh I love to make lists).

1) Wet Markets: OUTSIDE, expansive, crowded but not too crazy, the smell of meats hanging is a bit intense (even for Colleen the non-vegetarian), and what a range of goods, fruit? Sure, and flip-flops? Why not. – AND -- Supermarkets: INSIDE, not well populated, usually connected to a Mall, with smaller freezer sections and a different variety of fruits and veggies than the U.S., but basically a supermarket here looks, feels, and smells a lot like those I am familiar with back home.

2) Slow food cooking techniques: Not everywhere, but when you find it, delicious foods prepared through bbq or braising and a range of regionally inspired techniques. These dishes take time. Time to clean, cut, and prepare delicate or just elaborate vegetables and meats that are combined with a fragrant array of spices and often fresh herbs or milk from a coconut (not so simple to get at that, right?) -- AND --Fast Food restaurants: uber-prevalent, at the Mall, on the street corner, everywhere you look and what a range. There’s the local version of “McDonald’s” called Jolliebee, and also Spaghetti House, Balot, Mr. Pepperoni Pizza, along with Gerry’s Grill and a host of U.S.-based joints (like KFC).

3) Visible acceptance of different forms of sexuality (it’s okay to be gay) and

--AND --easy access to regular Church Services, not just on Sundays, but other days too. The guidebooks have said that there is an openness and acceptance to gay men and women and this would seem to be the case in terms of the couples I have seen holding hands in public and also younger (tween) children who are going to the movies with their parents. There is certainly an extended history of Catholicism here, but along with the Catholic Church there are a number of different protestant faiths and what would seem to be a rise in evangelical style religious observation practices. These aren’t things that need to be oppositional but in the U.S. it’s no small thing that the fiercest opponents to gay marriage, gay adoption, or just the basic idea that gay people ought to have the same rights as any citizen of the U.S. happen to be organizations (eg. In Defense of the Family) whose largest contributors and on the ground organizers call themselves devout Christians.

And not to belabor my point, but two more examples that come to mind of the intriguing blending and coexisting of different but intertwined ways of being that make up Manila have to do with language and urban planning. Keys to living in any place would be how we communicate our needs to each other and how we navigate and inhabit the spaces that we share. Thus, let me briefly comment on the ever-present: “Taglish.” (akin to Spanglish to be sure) this is the language I experience most on TV shows, advertisements, and in everyday conversation. This lingua franca seems to be more and more a way of communicating, and to my ear it’s the perfect aural bricolage of Tagalong & English, and at times, the different cultural heritages of both of these complicated languages. A more visually arresting, but equally useful way of getting to know Metro-Manila is what I find to be a matrix of hyper-urban planning: highways, hi-rise developments, mega-malls and metro train lines interwoven with trash dumps, low income housing projects, rushing jeepneys and their hawkers, the partially built or partially destroyed buildings inhabited by the less fortunate alongside security patrolled and hi-walled “inner cities” of wealthy condo developments.

So far these aren’t earth shattering observations really as much as reminders that when I’m far away from my own everyday I start to look at the “everyday” objects and comings and goings of my new place in ways that uncover the intermixing and mutual construction that exists back home.

-KMV

Antipolo (or how I learned to stop worrying and just enjoy the ride)

It's Friday afternoon around 230pm. I've decided to pack it in early for the day...mainly because I've ran out of room on my digital camera and there's not much use requesting a new box of materials if I can't find a way to make copies of the matieral (later I'll need them from writing). It's a lucky break....I eat my lunch outdoors (there's a mandatory closure of the library everyday from 12-1pm which is like enforced civilized behavior for folks like me who find it hard to waste anytime during research trips...and god forbid a whole hour for lunch! So On most trips, I usually end up quickly shovelling a granola bar, small yogurt, or bag a of peanuts into my face before shuffling like an addict back to my boxes).

It's a lucky break, this using up of digital camera memory, because as I discover during my lunch that it's gorgeous outside! No clouds, breeze, bright sun, warm but not humid. I even eat my lunch perched on a small hill in the sun...rather than my usually spot on the library steps. So I tell one of the archivists that has been helping me the last week that I'm leaving because I can't take anymore photos...and he laughs. But then again, they always laugh at me. In a good way...like a "aren't you a cute strange little person" kind of way...but yes, it's a consistent chuckle.

I text Kiara that I'm leaving and I start making plans in my head about how to spend the afternoon. I hop on the jeepney that shoots along university and commonwealth ave. directly to Katipunan station..it's easy and I've done it everyday this week. The next jeepney ride, the one that takes me from Katipunan to somewhere within walking distance of our apartment has foiled me the entire week. I don't know why...in the morning I manage to take the right jeepney from our neighborhood TO Katipunan, so why can't I figure out how to do the same for my return trip? Part of the problem is that Katipunan is a station for jeepneys---and when I say station--I really mean just a bunch of jeepneys parked in parking lot somewhere. BUT because there is a lot of jeepneys, that means there's also a lot of driver's assistants trying (hawking) to get you to ride in their jeepneys. Usually the system works fine....they say "Saan ka pupunta" (where are you going?) I say "pumupunta ako sa Marikina, sa sports complex. Pupunta po ba?" (I'm going to Marikina, to the sports complex. are you going there?). They say yes or no and that's that.

Friday things were not as smooth--which of course I didn't discover until it was too late. I had my little exchange, gave my 10 pesos for the ride (or a little less than 25 cents) and settled into a seat on the bench close to the driver. The driver's assistant, instead of sitting in the front next to the driver, was working from the back...hanging on so that he coudl hop on and off quickly... similiar to the way garbage people hang onto their trucks. A few minutes into the ride the guy starts shouting at me in Filipino---I can't really hear him because I'm up in the front and the wind is blowing--but I think he's asking me again where I'm going so I shout back "sa Sumulong Hi-way." Oo, Oo (yes, yes) he nods.

Ten minutes later we're flying down Marco Hi-way, which isn't a problem for me...I've been this way before to get to my house and I'm thinking..oh, he'll just take a turn in Cainta (the city next to Marikina) and we'll cruise up Sumulong from the other direction. Turns out, I'm wrong about that. We're weaving around other jeepneys at top speed, occasionally stopping to pick up other passengers.

So a few details are necessary here:

If you saw the picture Kiara posted of the jeepney, you can see that the windows of the jeepney are pretty narrow...wide enough to let lots of air in and you can certainly stick your head out the window to get a better view of the surrounding...but to do so also means getting a healthy dose of warm soot blown up into your face. The second detail is that each Jeepney has two destinations painted on it's side, not unlike any other form of public transport in the U.S., it's the destinations located at either end of the route and once reaching the end of the line the jeepneys typically turn around and start heading the other direction . The destinations on my jeepney are Antipolo and Araneta Center. I KNOW I don't want Antipolo...it's not even technically a part of Metro Manila and Metro Manila is HUGE. But unfortunatley it's quickly becoming clear that Antipolo is exactly where we're headed. "Eh," I think. It's not that big of a deal, I'll just stay on and we'll flip around eventually.

That plan is foiled however by the clearly psychotic driving tendencies of this particular jeepney driver. While stopped at a large crossing, sometime just a bit further along the route than I realize I should be, I hear shouting...then a police signal....the driver's assistant runs back, hops on the back, and bang we're off. The other passengers are as curious as me and we're looking around for the source. Which...becomes very clear when a couple of miles down the road a police officer zooms up on a motorcycle shouting at our driver to pull over, which reluctantly our driver does. Some conversations between police and driver ensue, but it's resolved suprisingly quickly and we're off again.

By now the other riders, who have dwindled to less than 10 including myself, are starting to look at me...and like the driver's assistant, who is also by now staring at me, probably thinking to themselves that this little blonde white girl with tatoos on her arms (which is NOT common here for women) has probably missed her stop. The driver's assistant, who is now sitting on the bench with the remaining riders, leans over while pointing at me and I'm guessing asks an elderly women where I'm getting off. The elderly women asks me and I say Marikina. A mutual, but silent "Oh Shit" passes through the riders and I'm gently told by the woman sitting next to me that "we're far passed Marikina now." I say "I know" and just continue smiling like everything is under control. Inside my head I'm thinking (in the words and voice of Bob Woods) "weeeellll shit."

Ok, so by now we are literally climbing a mountain on a winding road to Antipolo. We're not making stops anymore...because there are none to make, just roadside stands and tourist-type hotels with kitchsy fake nipa-huts. The route to Antipolo, it seems, is a tourist trap of some sort. The woman next to me and the eldery woman across from me are clearly worried about me by now, even though I appear to be less-than-worried, and tell me that there is a terminal in Antipolo and I can catch another jeepney back down the mountain to Marikina...but that's another 10 or so miles away so for now, it's just time to sit back and enjoy the mountain scenery.

I'm still thinking that I'll just stay on the same jeepney and ride it back down the mountain to Cubao where Araneta Center is located and where Kiara and I have been. From there I have a plan to either catch another jeepney headed for Marikina or grab a cab at one of the numerous malls clustered around Araneta Center.

But as we finally stop in a dusty, narrow street, full of lurking trycle drivers I realize this plan.... the one I've been hanging my hopes on, the one that has kept me smiling, shrugging my shoulders as if to say "what are you gonna' do" to the worried gazes of my fellow riders....is not going to work. Because as we pull to a stop, so does the police officer on the motorcycle who, unbeknowst to me, has been tailling us the entire time.

It seems not only is this driver not going to make the trip back down the mountain in his tricked-out jeepney, he might not be going anywhere for awhile. I don't have time to watch as this law-and-order philippine style story plays out because I'm grabbed by the elbow, dragged across the streeet, and quickly guided to the "terminal" (a dirt parking lot full of jeepneys) by my concerned elderly woman who is now shielding her face from the street's dust with none other than a callaway golf towel. Despite the fact that I'm speaking to her in Filipino, she's speaking to me in English. So as we weave in and out of trycyles on our way to the rural version of a terminal we're conversing poorly---her in a broken, stuttering english and me in an equally broken, poorly conjucated filipino.

She puts me on a jeepney, walks around the front pulls the jeepney driver to the window near me and tells him the whole story. She leaves me saying that she has told the driver EXACTLY where to take me... still not trusting the fact I do know my neighborhood area and can confidently shout "parada po" when I get there. But then again, if I were her, I'd probably not trust me either.

The Jeepney fills to capacity and I'm uncomfortably (but familiarly) squished between passengers as we make our way back down the mountain hi-way, Taylor Swift blasting through the speakers. It's surreal. But after an hour and a half, I'll take surreal if it get's me home.

The first of 3 Close Readings

So one of the tools that I've developed over the past 4 plus years of graduate school work has been how to read an object, image, building, or a text really closely. In fact, one might say that a distinguishing feature of my dissertation will be the way I balance close readings with other types of analytical work and historical research. That said, I'm uploading three images to our blog today and will offer some close readings of each.

First is the Jeepney. Colleen has a

lready written a bit about what transportation on one of these looks and feels like, but this image gives you a bit more to go on in terms of the flair with which these odd vehicles are adorned. Spray paint, stencils, and a range of posters, horns, metallic siding, and certainly stickers festoon the jeepneys of Manila in ways that make each machine incredibly unique and yet there's a strange uniformity here as well.

Let's take a step back, looking to the left, what do you see here?

A burst of red and white color along the side of a long bus/jeep-like car that functions as cheap public transport throughout Metro Manila. What's uniform about the decorations, so far as I have observed, would be the invocation of a few well-known ideologies all of which are intimately connected to the workings of Manila and also the world. Two in particular that come to mind are Christianity and Democracy. So, you might see images reminiscent of the American flag or Optimus Prime (a well-known transformer character and toy for children from various parts of the world) which might be the theme used to structure the Jeepney's "message," and also incorporated with this message just as readily would be bible verses, images of Mary or Jesus, or both, and sometimes the more basic (but usually in bold): God Bless You.

So these are machines that rock n roll, they blare loud music, they use colorful lights and a range of well-known images to attract the attention of potential riders. They also usually have a driver's helper, a woman or man sitting in the front passenger's seat who leans out the window and signals to possible customers that the Jeepney is there and ready for them. There's a performative discourse here that makes all these jeepneys appear to be similar in their difference, and thus, shaped by a shared cultural logic (which I can never fully understand). The dominant part of this logic that we've been told about is that Jeepneys don't tend to go anywhere without a minimum number of passengers, and if it's rush hour or inconvenient to drive, they don't go anywhere then either. Thus, the rider is at the whim of the driver to some extent and they can decide to drive or not as easily as they might decide how to decorate the exterior and interior of their Jeepney.

Almost hidden amidst the color, flash, and hoopla is the substance of what you (as a rider) really need to know: the destination/route of this vehicle. On the sides of the Jeepney, written in what looks like a huge sharpe marker are usually the From and To locations for the Jeepney or the main Road that it travels. Interestingly these can vary quite a bit and may need additional interpretation in order to unravel the transportation system at work, but indeed it is a system and I'm happy to say Colleen seems to be mastering it for traveling on two different Jeepneys to get from where we live to her archives housed at UP.

We'll hopefully capture more images of Jeepneys before our time is through and post these to the blog as well.

Next time: the Pentecostal Church in our Neighborhood and the Marquinton Residences (our Condo Community) I did upload these images too, but they seem to have disappeared somewhere, so next time I'll upload them again.

What's a grad student to do....

As we entered week two in manila kiara and I were feeling pretty confident about our adjustment to our new city....but, like any big city (and especially, as we're learning, any big southeast Asian city) Manila has continued to school us in the ins and outs of navigation, transportation, communication, and so on and so on...

our newest lesson is that if one attempts to buy an airline ticket that originates in the Philippines, one must devote a half-day, day, the rest of one's life, etc. to sitting and waiting in one of those corporate airline offices that I feel like don't really exist that often outside of airports in the US. I'm probably wrong about that, I'm sure they must exist somewhere in the US...but not being to buy a plane ticket online or over the phone poses challenges to Manila's newly arrived.

But our luck continues and we were kindly instructed to go to the Philippine Airlines Office in a Mall within Jeepney distance of our apartment. With help from a neighbor we figured out which jeepney to take and how much to pay the driver.

Although we also need to buy a plane ticket home still--the purpose of this trip was to buy plane tickets and hotel vouchers for a trip to Cebu (we leave a week from saturday!)

The jeepney ride, like all others---had no immediately clear route, cost,or destination--but did include, again like all others, plenty of visual stimulation (this particular jeepney was bedecked in britannia paraphernalia), close quarters and steamy temperatures and of course...a load of pollution-hazy air blowing through the open windows. But sure enough, about 10 minutes after boarding the driver shouts and points to the our mall of destination.

After waiting for our turn, successfully buying our tickets, and then stuffing ourselves with a late lunch I decided that it was too late to trek out to UP and my archives, so we disembarked again for---yes, another mall--to work before finishing up the evening with a little grocery shopping.

Frustrated by not making it to the archives as planned and a poor internet signal at the mall we packed it up early and did as any other good grad student would do under such circumstances...we hit the bar for a cheap (but tasty) local beer in a frosty mug.

Week 2 in Manila

So the internet we have at home is a little bit slow and sometimes spotty, so I'm going to quickly update folks with a few photos and hopefully a video or two. These will give you all a sense of our first week in the Philippines so far. Hooray for digital cameras! The food photo is of zucchini flowers that have been stuffed with feta, ricotta and herbs and then lightly fried. Amazing. The video is of East Wood Center or is it Village? It's a mall/living complex that's only about a year old, and we're thinking it might become our regular hang-out spot mainly because it is pretty close to where we live and in addition to being able to walk around outside there are a number of really good restaurants.
-kmv

Remember this Cereal?

Kiara and I trekked out to UP today to meet with the archivist and even though we were only there for half a day it was exhausting! I mean this is more "rigorous" then a typical day at the archives in that I was moving around more---we had to walk around the huge UP campus to actually find the library (OF COURSE i forgot the city atlas I so carefully purchased last week) and once there we did some bouncing around getting our visitors passes, etc. etc.

but in my experience this is quite typical--to feel totally exhausted after being in the archives. to clarify... this is historians speak to say "in the archives." it basically means going to the library and looking at old documents, often in personal papers or collections donated to the library...sometimes there are restrictions like researchers need to get permission to access the papers..but I haven't run into that yet. anyway, where was i? yes, so being "in the archives" usually means going to certain spaces in the library...sometimes it's "special collections" "rare books and manuscripts"....you get the idea. Or maybe you don't...it's really here nor there. The point is: sitting on a hard wooden chair, head down, quickly scanning materials for something to pop out and shout "hey colleen's dissertation...right here!", hour after hour, page after page...is exhausting! yes, sitting all day is exhausting.

Part of it is that throughout there is this creeping anxiety that the golden nugget (or as one professor I've met called it the "lottery moment") of your dissertation, the fact, quote, newspaper article, photograph, letter, blah, blah that brings it all together...proves you were right all along...will somehow slip past your unblinking attention! But of course in the rational mind...that never happens a dissertation certainly isn't proved on one thing...or maybe it is? I don't know, I haven't written one yet!

In other news...
At our new favorite supermarket (yes it's in a mall) Kiara flipped her shit at the sight of a cereal! Turns out it's a cereal...a quaker oats cereal nonetheless...that made "for American export only." What's that about?!

Blog readers (all six of you) are you familiar with other American products, especially food products, that are made "for export only." We find it strange. And yes, if you're wondering...the cereal is brilliant. pure honey saturated sugar brilliance.

My Top 5 for Metro-Manila (for now)

1. Free wi-fi in the mall. Yep, it's pervasive and incredibly fast. It makes communication and this blog possible. So thankful that we can use it.

2. The "trike" as transport. Not as cheap (or as hectic) as the Jeepney not as air-conditioned and expensive as the taxi, one man and a motorcycle can cover short distances and the view of the streets is really up close and personal.

3. Our Condo: the pool, Danny (one of our doormen who is super smiley), and of course close proximity to all of our shopping and exercising needs. The noticeably absent fourth floor (we live on the "5th" that is in fact the 4th) also indicates that this is Chinese investor's project, since 4 is an unlucky number.

4. Marikina's Athletic Oval. For 10 pesos (roughly 25 cents) you get a ticket to enter and run, run, run to your heart's content around the large outdoor track. SO awesome. Adding to the atmosphere, a group of older men who are part of a cycling club and do their own rounds on the inside track really really fast!

5. Things that are similar but also different. For example, Pizza Hut "le bistro" here serves wine and has fancier digs than most of the other restaurants around.

Definitely more later, time to go to the supermarket. -KMV

Marikina City: Our new home in Metro-Manila!

The Philippines…well the parts of Manila (a sprawling and mish-mashed cityscape) as I know it so far is a place in love with malls and food courts. Food courts in Southeast Asia (as anyone who has visited Taiwan can tell you) aren’t the same food courts we might know in the U.S. No Orange Julius here. Although the Malls of Manila do have some similar shops and offerings that reminded me a little bit of suburban America. And perhaps not in a good way.

That said, the food options at the supermarket and the “Wet Market” (which for us in Marikina City is an incredibly large outdoor market set up arcade style along and across several stretches of city blocks) vary widely to reflect the diversity of Filipino taste. Indigenous and Spanish influences survive and sometimes are re-inscribed through newer American-style cuisine. So it’s not actually that difficult to find a “taste of home” here, I mean I got a hold of peanut butter in the first supermarket I found. True enough it has sugar added, but you can find a “light” variety without sugar. In our local market I bought Libby’s brand because it had cane sugar as opposed to corn syrup and it tastes pretty good, not too sweet after all. We also went to a local bakery and bought some sugar free whole wheat (freshly baked!) sliced bread. Again, super awesome and delicious for breakfast! Yes, I am food-obsessed.

So where are all the rice and noodles? This is a country that can produce its own rice (and we’re hoping to visit the rice terraces in the north soon) and yet they are a relatively major importer of rice and instead are an exporter of “parts” of electronics. I keep thinking about why there is this trend towards building these mega malls and how the economy of the Philippines, especially Manila, really works. I know a newer development are a number of “call centers” who employ people hoping to compete with India in terms of helping U.S. companies offer 24-hr telephone support. But these jobs require only a bit of training and in terms of advancement there is little to offer there, so what is the future of the Philippines in the world marketplace? It remains unclear to me, although I’m sure Colleen has more to say about this topic. So, let me return to the food. Spaghetti as fast food? Sure. Anything you can imagine seems to be sold at a stand in the mall. They have: waffles, baked potatoes, five different types of ice cream, and even a place that specializes in cereal called “cerealicious.”

It’s definitely carnivalesque here, but in an air-conditioned and highly manicured space, which is patrolled and supervised by security guards carrying guns; they cheerfully inspect your bags upon entry and the more “mega” the mall the greater the metal detector devices at the entrance. A mall bombing in 2007 seems justification enough for such precautions, right? What I have found so far that makes me feel all the more excited about living here, is that despite extremes in wealth and poverty (and climate, wet and dry seasons, and typhoons that can devastate even the ritzy areas of Manila) the majority of Filipino people I’ve encountered have been extremely friendly. A smile goes a long way. Perhaps this idea is a truism for travelers all over the world. For now, all I know is that in our little corner of Marikina City, a neighborhood “barangay” called Santo Nino, has folks who don’t seem to find us too strange, and so perhaps we won’t be strangers for too long. Fingers crossed.

Getting settled in Manila

Hey readers...sorry it's been so long since we've updated. we have had a few hectic days getting things sorted out in manila...but I'm happy to report that we've found an apartment that's perfect for us, we've bought our cell phones to communicate with each other and friends here, and we've *finally* figured out how to get our internet to work. We've also discovered that we can get two tickets to see a movie, a large popcorn, and two drinks for 6 dollars!
we saw the craziness that is avatar...for those of you who haven't seen it yet, I think you should....and kiara had to drag me to see it, I really didn't want to. what a ridiculous flick. yes, the special effects and visuals are phenomenal...and it's not exactly a simple plot but there are just SO many cringe-worthy points related to native-ness, colonialism, technology, enviroment, etc. etc. The quintessetial example for me was when the scientist, Sigourney Weaver tries to explain to the militarist/capitalist of villians in the movie that the religion of the Na'vi people: "isn't paganism or vodoo...it is REAL." Yeah, it's like that.
We've posted a lot today...so make sure you keep reading!
Anyway! We've arrived in Manila. leaving Vietnam was tough because I felt like there was so much more to explore--not really in HCMC---but into the delta, central highlands, danag, dalat, and into the north. But I guess that's for next time.
I am feeling ready to end the holiday and get to work, the anxiety of my short time here is creeping in and I need to hit the archives running.
But first things first...Kiara and I saw the apartment that Tita Domingo from UCLA hooked us up and it's perfect for our needs! Such a relief! It's actually better than I think both of us expected--it has a pool! There is also the Marikina City sports complex just across the street--that cost just 10 pesos to access. Our apartment complex has a gym but the building suffered flooding--five feet of water and mud--and they haven't been able to reconstruct the gym yet, we have hopes that it will re-open before we leave, but the sports complex will fit our excercise needs for the time being--the only downside, it's entirely outdoors so I think we'll have some early morning workout sessions to beat the heat.
So we've been at the Holiday Inn in Ortigas Center for the past two nights (we're moving in to our new home this morning!) Ortigas is an interesting spot in Metro Manila, a Makati-lite for those of you that aren't familiar with the city Makati is Manila's expensive business district. I stayed for some nights in Makati the last time I came to the Philippines and like Ortigas it's the kind of a soul-less urban space that I usually try to avoid. In fact, I've spent most of my life trying to avoid malls. Sure it has it's conveniances--a reliable cup of strong coffee at Starbucks, internet access, nice restaurants, manicured tropical greenery but really it's defined by business and the quintessential shopping mall.
Meeting with Francis, a History professor tomorrow at UP so I can get to work! Can't wait to hit the archives....

Our new form of Transport in Manila

More Phu Quoc with Melvin, Orlena, Andrea, and Jean

 
 
 
 

Mango Bay Hotel on Phu Quoc

 
 
 
 

Phu Quoc

 
 
 
 

A few pics from our new home in Metro Manila!

 
 
 
 

Welcome to Manila and the Mall!

So we arrived around 4 AM in Manila and were only able to check in early to our hotel by paying for an extra night, which was disappointing, but TOTALLY worth it to sleep and take a shower! Turns out that our hotel is directly connected to Robinson’s Galleria, which is a gigantic mall. Not the biggest by Manila’s standards, as there are 31 mega-malls here. So in a sense I feel that I am actually experiencing a great deal of the “real” Manila even if that means a lot of Mall. I’ll write more about my thoughts on where we’re actually going to be living (which is in Marikina City, a part of Metro-Manila). For now, a quick list of the things we’ve accomplished in the past 24 hours:

1.Getting our bags (which are somewhat heavy, although we only have six in total, is this a lot for four months?) through security, customs, and to the hotel. There’s a lot of valuable books and archival material in there, I’m really relieved to have it with us.

2.Finding a place to live! We owe Tita a lot for putting us in touch with her cousin who has a condo (a small apartment really, but condo is the parlance here) in a secure, clean, and really nice residence where there’s a pool! And, which is only a quarter of mile from the local athletic complex where I can go for runs on their track. Woot! Now we’ll wait and see what folks think about my Vibram Five Fingers…

3.Getting local cell phones and internet. We were able to purchase two cell phones that we can use for unlimited texting and 20 minutes talk time a day along with a modem that can be plugged into our computers for internet in the condo.

4.The Condo is furnished but we needed an extra hot plate, electric kettle, and dvd player, and we got all three for a great price. I’m starting to see why these malls are so popular.

5. We’re going to see our first movie in the Philippines. Cinema is really big here, all the malls have theaters (including the small mall that is close to where we’ll be living) so it looks like we’re going to see Avatar later today. Should be interesting to see this particular movie in this context.
So this is it for now from Manila. Looking forward to figuring out how to get the internet working in our new place so that I am more g-chat and skype connected, so look out for that too!  Kiara

Final Thoughts about Vietnam

Part 1: From Saigon to Phu Quoc
After being in Saigon for barely two days we headed to Phu Quoc Island. This was once the site of horrific torture and today it is a rapidly expanding tourism market. At the War Remnants Museum in Saigon we saw examples of the prisons and torture devices used first by the French, and then later by the U.S. and South Vietnamese who had captured political prisoners. Arriving in Phu Quoc via plane we took a taxi to “Thousand Stars Resort” which is probably best described through some of the photos that we took there, so do look for those on picasa. This was a place well past its prime, and I’m not quite sure how it might have looked then. Perhaps a cross between Coney Island and the boardwalks of Atlantic City but with a tropical small island feel? Oddly there were large cement animals that ranged from horses and giant prawns to monkeys and cheetahs. The idea behind these? Not sure, to add “ambiance” to what is already a naturally beautiful place. Phu Quoc is very green and lush with red sandy roads and amazingly warm waters. The highlight of 1,000 Stars was meeting up with friends who had taken a cycling trip through the Mekong Delta. Orlena (a friend of mine from college) and her sister Andrea (who I taught with in NYC) along with Andrea’s partner Melvin and their friend Jean arrived in the late afternoon on January 2nd. On the morning of the 3rd we all (quite happily) took a taxi to Mango Bay. This is a must see place! An eco-friendly resort on a different part of Phu Quoc we stayed together in the “Reef House” which was an open air thatched roof place that provided us with incredible views of the water and relaxing verandas. I’m not a hot weather person, and I was definitely still overwhelmed by the heat when we got to Mango Bay, but the warmth of the people who own and operate this place really helped me get over my aversion to the tropical climate’s heat and humidity. The accommodations were well priced since there were six of us and made up for the high cost of food and beverages, but everything was worth it. We even planned to take a boat out to go scuba diving the next day. This is a story unto itself.
Part 2: Apparently I get boat sick?
Andrea, Melvin, and Jean are all certified divers so they were pretty excited to check out the underwater environment along the northern shore of Phu Quoc. Colleen opted to Snorkel whereas Orlena and I decided to do a “Try Dive.” We had a great instructor, John, who went over the details of equipment, breathing, preparation, etc. At one point he said to me “you look kind of nervous” and I replied, “well I might have some anxiety about all this.” I decided to do some snorkeling along the reef on the first boat stop to see how that went before committing to the “try dive” and it turns out that scuba might not be my thing after all. The good news: the reef was incredible! Colleen and I could see A LOT just by snorkeling. The not so good news: en route to dive site number two I started to feel sea sick, and this turned out to get even worse so that by the end of the boat trip I was on the verge of throwing up. The captain of the boat, a really nice Vietnamese man, seemed to be concerned about me and watched as I sat close to the side of the boat (just in case) leaning to one side he wondered what was going on (probably because I was crying) and with a cigarette hanging off his lip he motioned to me. Fortunately Colleen let him know I wasn’t feeling too well but I’d be okay, and he walked back to the front of the boat. The water was very choppy that day. Colleen got boat sick while snorkeling in fact! And Orlena ended up throwing up watermelon into the water after her second dive. So we were a sorry lot, but we still ended up having a pretty good time.
Part 3: I kinda like Saigon, especially the food.
Amazing food. Night swimming. Free range cows and chickens along the grounds a reflexology foot massage later we left Phu Quoc after three nights and were Saigon bound. The traffic is totally crazy in this city and crossing the street definitely takes a bit more effort than I think I would want to manage on a daily basis, but for a bustling place of over 10 million the impression I left with was that people are quite friendly. And food wise this place is awesome, lots of different options at a range of prices. We ate some rice pancakes stuffed with a variety of mushrooms that you fold into a lettuce leaf with fresh herbs and then dip into a sauce, SO delicious! And we also ate a range of Vietnamese dishes from different regions, Pho of course, and also lots of other rice based dishes, curries, and a range of noodles. I decided by the end of our time there that I really want to go back to Vietnam. To see more places, try more types of dishes, and definitely to be able to meet more of the people. I am grateful we were able to take this trip. And it was a good way to acclimate me a little more to SE Asia…so now on to the Philippines! Oye, only wish we didn’t have to take a 1 AM flight to Manila.

Phu Quoc

After spending two nights in HCMC we caught a plane to Phu aQuoc, an island of about 80,000 inhabitants and an unique breed of indigenous dogs, south of the Mekong Delta . Interestingly we learned at the war museum in HCMC that Phu Quoc was once home to a prison, first run by the french and then the Americans and the South Vietnamese. during the Vietnam war the prison held 40,000 Vietnamese and again as we learned at the museum most of these prisoners were tortured in unthinkable ways. without going into details, the museum of war remants in HCMC made me think about the impossibility of comprehending the multiple histories of war. where there is war there is torture, undoubtedly. it's a tough thing to stare at in a museum when it's in the form of a photograph blown up to poster size or recreated or as in the case of a device called the 'tiger cage' actually salvaged post-war. as a historian of the era and the region it's not suprisingly, but nonetheless it's as unsettling, infuriating, nasueating, and honestly, confusing (how does someone do this? who does this? etc.) as ever.
anyway, before I degress into a manifesto on the past and present brutalities of the french and american empire...i'll just finish by saying that it's a snippet of island's past...
So onto the travelling bit....We're staying at an "eco-resort" called Mango Bay. It's an interesting place with several seperate bunglalows all a stones throw from the beach. The six of us--me, Kiara, Orlena, Andrea (Orlena's sister), Melvin (Andrea's boyfriend), and Jean (Andrea and Melvin's friend from Taiwan) are renting a spacious two bedroom house on the edge of the property.
Finally....Vietnam is quickly becoming my favorite place--a spot which I thought Italy would never surrender. I know I know---I love red wine. Loooove red wine. and the wine here more vinegar than anything else---well perhaps that's not entirely fair, we did buy the cheapest bottle of dalat white wine--but I can't say I'm lining up to try another variety. but nothing pleases me more than a spicy meal and a cold beer and there's nothing easier to find here than a 50 cent Saigon beer and plate of firey food. even small red chilies come floating in the ubiquitous bowl of soy sauce that appears at every meal. and maybe it's because i spent the majority of summers of my youth un-airconditioned gyms...but the heat doesn't bother me and actually it's not even as humid as I thought it would be. but it is january and the alternative is another cold, grey michigan winter....so maybe i'm still just drunk on the idea of skipping winter.
I'm sitting at the Phu Quoc airport so it's back to traffic of HCMC now.....
I'm not editing these posts at all so please forgive typos or nonsensical sentences...OH and we're gonna set up a link to picasa to post some albumns from our travels.

how to get to the other side....

How do I cross the street? Or, it's Kiara vs. the mosquitoes!

HCMC (Ho Chi Minh City, or as we've read in guidebooks, still Saigon) has, like many other large cities, A LOT of traffic. I admit, unlike Colleen, I'm not a fan of large, crowded, and often dirty and loud cities. Even after living in New York City (arguably one of the greatest of such cities in the world today, or so many of its residents would assert) for 6 years I never developed a love (nay a tolerance) for the grit & grime and noise. Traveling, however, often moves one (for sure me!) to be open-minded. And, so I'm kind of liking Sairgon. I really like that many of the people we've encountered are really, smilely, and generally mellow. Pretty unlikely for such a hectic place. But, let me get back to the title of this post. Yes, there are malaria carrying mosquitoes in Vietnam (according to health maps) BUT not in this city. Well, at least there aren't supposed to be mosquitoes here. Funny thing is that I've now gotten bitten twice. First, while we were indoors in an air-conditioned room getting a pedicure (for $6, those of you who know the cost of a NYC pedicure will be impressed with this price!). Second, in the coffee shop where I'm now typing this post. So, I guess mosquitoes will find me wherever I am, even if I'm ensconced in AC behind glass. Oh well. But mosquitoes are really not the danger of HCMC. Our "shoestring" guidebook warns us about pickpockets and over-charging for transportation. But really, in the end, it's crossing the street that gets you. Sure, the heat is a challenge (definitely for me) and sometimes too is finding a way to communicate that I don't eat meat, but just now Colleen started laughing out loud to herself because she remembered when I failed to cross the street with her yesterday.y Thusly I was left to find my own way across and ended up running wildly through motorbikes, bicyclists, buses and taxes. You may be wondering then: Are there cross-walks? (yes) Are the traffic signals? (sometimes) Are there roundabouts and medians? (sure) Do vehicles yield to pedestrians? (sort of)...so the thing is that folks here tend to walk slowly, yet deliberately, across INTO traffic of all sorts and they somehow magically (almost majestically) get to where they need to go. Our technique? Look, hope, and dart dart dart across to the other side. IF we can (and I often pray that we get to do this) we find a local who is crossing where we want to go and like a good second place horse, we draft them to the finish. Yep, crossing the street is quite a task indeed. But well worth it to see new things, eat amazing frozen yogurt, smell the food stalls in the market, or just know that at the end of the day you've made it to Vietnam.

More Market Scenes

Scenes from Ben Thanh Market

HCM

Well, we made it!! After a 13 hour flight to Seoul and then a 5 hr flight to Ho Chi Minh City we landed about a half hour before the New Year. By the time we got our baggage, went through immigration--where I was questioned about looking nothing like my passport photo--and caught a cab the new year had already arrived. The ride to our hotel, which is in the central district of downtown Saigon was a little like trying to drive through times square on a new years eve---lots of people, lights, and celebration.

Instead of writing too much more (we're heading to the airport to fly to Phu Quoc in a bit) I'll post some photos of our sightseeing yesterday.