To the original hunk from whom I got my stunning good looks (minus my button nose I got from my mother, darn!)...
To my very first teacher who did a very good job that my siblings and I were able to skip preschool...
To the great singer who always has a ready song by request...
To our loving father, though impossibly strict while we're growing up, who provided and care for the family the best way he can...
Happy birthday, Tatay, and we love you so much more than you ever know.
I have long lost the faith in Filipino hospitality. I have observed countless times how we Filipinos show this world renowned attribute selectively. And based on these observations, I have concluded that we are only nice to people we can get something from.
Take for example a sales lady. She is only all smiles and uber attentive to customers who she assesses to be able to contribute to her daily quota. You can observe her to scan you head to foot first before beaming that tourism-poster-worthy Filipino smile. But expect to overhear side comments with squinting eyes as soon as you leave the store after you ruined her carefully arranged merchandise without buying anything.
Take for example traveling via public transport. I am certain that all of us would agree how rude most Filipinos can be. A lot wants to sit comfortably at the expense of other passengers. A lot hates to hand over fares.
Need I elaborate why our traffic condition is the most undeniable proof how we Filipinos want to advance our own interests at the expense of another?
Until I set foot in the beautiful province of ILOILO!
Before going there, I have been told by a lot of people how nice a people the Ilonggos are. I was even told by a friend to try to step on an Ilonggas toes to see how she would react. The pessimist that I am, I naturally dismissed these raves because I thought that, of course, they have seen the good side of Iloilo because they were tourists.
But was I proven wrong yet again. Evil Twin Sister and I decided to take the public transport in going around the province, instead of the usual comfortable chartered van, which allowed us to truly experience Iloilo and its remarkable people. And I must say that we were honestly overwhelmed by what we've experienced. (Brief recap: ETS and I are not very "nice" people, we are not offensive but we are very defensive that the slightest hint of an attack on us will meet irreparable consequences.)
We were tame as a lamb the entire time. Everyone, and I mean everyone, we saw, talked to, walked by, sat beside with and what have you, did not have a single mean bone in their bodies. And it is not even how they interacted with us, but how they dealt with each other. Jeepney konduktors carefully and automatically assisted everyone who rode in and got off; men and women, old and young. Drivers, especially, of jeepneys never honked out of aggression or impatience because either there was nothing to be impatient about because everyone gives way, or they really are just insanely patient that nothing could get to their nerves. There was no traffic light in their version of Aurora-EDSA crossing but there were no bottle necks, no honking, no impediments whatsoever, as if they were being guided by an invisible hand.
There was even a time that we rode in a jeepney in the wrong place and got caught by the traffic police. The driver, like a zombie in some apocalyptic movie, just approached the traffic police, signed the ticket (non-cash transaction) and went back to the jeepney. And while he was out there, the passengers just amiably discussed the situation. We were ready to get some scolding for the delay we caused but all we got was a smile from the old lady in front of us.
There was also this incident, while we were on our way back to the hotel from our road trip all the way from Antique, where we sat beside a girl who brought out her analog cellphone Nokia 5110 and started texting away. The mean persons that I and ETS are, made fun of how such a primitive gadget survive in this day and age. The girl, who thought we wanted to ask her something, looked at us smiling as if waiting for us to throw in the one million dollar question. ETS blurted instead, "Miss, how do we get to Smallville (our hotel location)?". The girl carefully gave us instructions and asked where we are from. After which she took a call from her phone. What surprised us even more was while she was talking to somebody on the phone while getting off the jeepney, she took a special time to excuse herself from us and bade us goodbye. That is of course unusual in Manila context.
To prove that the environment does a lot to the disposition of the people living in it, I would give myself as the guinea pig. On our jeepney ride to explore the southern part of the province, a sabit accidentally stepped on my hand while I was holding onto a bar. If I were in Manila, that man would no longer see another day with two feet. But there, all I could mutter was a very whispery "ouch", almost shy to let anybody know what happened. See, I even described it to be accidental. There, if you were wronged by somebody, you would naturally think it was not deliberate, hence, no harm done, hence, everyone happy. Up to this day, I have this weird feeling that Iloilo's good nature rubbed off on me. I still have the calmness and patience I have acquired in our 3-day stay there.
I can never stop writing about the many surprisingly wonderful experiences we had in Iloilo. But to sum it up, Iloilo is such a very special place, in fact, my favorite place in the world yet.
And it is not because of the mouth-watering food:
Nor its clean, wide, well-paved roads:
Nor its magnificent old structures:
But its definitely because of the naturally beautiful people, inside out, that proved to me that Filipino hospitality is still alive and very much thriving in this special place in the world.
