Stranger

I am at the airport in Manila waiting for my flight to
Seoul and then to Chicago. In the last two days I
have met with many old friends. Jay Ar stayed in
Payatas for one night. In one month he will be
onboard ship as a seaman. Flor, Jay Ar, and I met
Sterling at the SM mall. She is expecting a baby is
waiting for a visa to see her American husband in
North Carolina. Mary Joyce's mother and her sister
Kaye came later, and I bought books for Mary Joyce,
Kaye, Moy Moy and Idoy and clothes for Mary Joyce. I
also met with Christopher Sedillo who is trying to get
a visa so he can work as a caregiver. On Sunday Jay
Ar and Flor and I went to Flor's church where I met
several people I knew and a friend of Flor's who had
just come back from working as caregiver in Jeruselum.
A common theme is how much time is devoted to seeing
that ends meet. Working overseas is a big, big part
of the Philippine economy. People know that Filipinos
are good workers, and much of the hard work in
Medicine, caregiving, and shipping is done by them.
In turn they send back money largely by Western Union,
and this makes up a sizable part of the income of the
Philippines. Getting visas, however, can be a really
difficult and expensive proposition.

Living in Payatas is not easy. Students can expect to
have huge classes--80 students is not unheard of--and
while some students go to school for 6 in the morning
until 1, others go from 1 to 7:30 in the evening.
There is a great deal of uncollected garbage lying
about from the hundreds of stalls that sell clothing
and food. Air quality in Payatas is like Bangkok.
For the second year in a row I have left Payatas with
a cough. It is probably a place where running is not
particularly good for your health. It is amazing to
me that air pollution, garbage collection, and
polluted water are problems where there are solutions.
One has only to look at the fact that Funeral Homes
advertise rates for children (3500 pesos) to see that
there are consequences to not dealing with
environmental problems.

There is much that I really like about Payatas and
Montalban. People are not quite as outgoing as one
sees in the provinces, but as I run by each morning
there are people who say, "Hi Joe" or "Hi Man".
People stare at this "very tall" foreigner, and if I
smile they readily smile back. There is music
everywhere and hundreds of small stores and stalls. A
whole pineapple costs the equivalent of 35 cents. My
haircut which included a shoulder and head massage
cost 35 pesos which is about 80 cents. I have made
some wonderful friends here, not only among the people
at MMP but also among the students--Rapha, Jireh,
Queenie, Vanessa, Myca, and many others. As people
walk down the street there is conversation everywhere
including among people who are strangers to one
another.

On Sunday evening i was invited to dinner by Attorney
Raineer Chu and his wife Mila. I go with Flor and we
meet Pastor Winston at the Trinomial Mall.

It is a different world. In many ways.

Everything in this mall is spotlessly clan. There is
no hint of heat or humidity. This is an upscale
version of the malls I am used to, and the prices are
what one would expect on North Michigan Avenue in
Chicago. The shops are polished, and there are nice
waterfalls, cold fog, and other well planned effects.


But there is something here that makes me wish I were
in the poor section of town. Unless you meet someone
you know, no one smiles at you. People are polite and
well-mannered, but no one would think of saying, "Hey
Joe" or How are you my friend?". People are strangers
here in the mall, and they will remain strangers.

The plane is about to arrive. I am in the final
sprint home, and in the last week I have been trying
to memorize a poem by the Filipino poet Rio Alma. It
is in Tagalog, and there is an English translation
with it.
In English the title is Stranger

Here are the final lines in English:

And so at night when the world is still
And dew is intimate with leaf
I would douse my bonfire
Sling upon my shoulder the small backpack of my life
And squint ahead at what might be
The path to the nearest star