Boxing in the Philippines

I knew I was in the Philippines when I noticed that one of the stewardesses on the Cebu Pacific flight was named Jolly.

I have a great time in Bontoc the last two days. Today I ran on the backroads and a total of 16 kids ran with me. They would get tired and then I would head back and groups would rejoin as they caught their breath. I am teaching the kids here juggling and they are teaching me Visayan. When I get tired of juggling, I play my flute, and then they start singing, but I tell them I only want to hear Visayan songs. I am determined to learn how to speak Visayan, and I am making some progress.

Last night I was tutoring Barbie in algebra when Judith came in on her motorcycle. It is Judith's class that I will be teaching Thursday and Friday in Libas. She told us that algebra would have to wait. There was something big going on in Bontoc that evening. Well, it was big. Bontoc may only have 100 landlines, but there were between two and three thousand people at the pavilion when we arrived. They were getting ready to watch five hours of boxing. This included 25 three round bouts. Let me tell you. Boxing is a big sport in the Philippines. People used to joke that a military coup was once called off because Manny Pacquio was boxing that weekend.

It was a great joke, but it was probably true.

This was only the second time in my life I had seen a boxing match live, and the last time was over thirty years ago. The bouts were all amateur, but as the evening wore on they got better and better. I could tell by watching that one of the referees had been a great boxer in the past. He truly had presence! By one o'clock the top bouts were being fought, and I could see how skilled these guys were. It is always great to see athletes or performers who are really good at what they do, and these boxers were. And the audience was educated about the sport.

Well, I have to go. Being here, feels like going back in time. There are few televisions. Most households don't have computers, and all washing is done by hand. One would be fooled in thinking these kids are deprived. In may ways their lives are far richer than the lives of kids in the city. The way they sing, the way they play, and the sense of adventure that they have is something that I remember from when I was young. And they still have it.