Diletante Escritor

–also posted on Hit-or-Miss

Philippines was “sold” by the Spaniards to the Americans many years back and then and there the Filipinos have learned and became fluent in the English language.

The English language is known as the universal language. It is the common language which every single earthling should know to be able to communicate to the entire world. But there are still plenty of countries that are not knowledgeable about the English language. It’s evident in the Miss Universe pageants. The representative from Japan needed a translator to be able to understand the judge’s question.

English speaking countries are very lucky to have their national language as a standard for communication in the entire globe. In our case, we might consider such skill to be a blessing. Most non-English speaking foreigners come to our shores to learn the English language. For this year and last year, I have seen a significant number of Koreans in all four corners of the world I move in. At first, it was a shock for me. But eventually, I got so used to seeing at least five Koreans every school day.

Our capability to speak in English also lures Americans and other English speaking nationalities. I really don’t know what they are all doing in the Philippines. Perhaps they have started a new family here with a Filipino or are just on a vacation. Seeing Philippines as a paradise, $1 is equivalent to P40+ plus they won’t have a problem communicating with us. The foreigners contribute a bit to our economy, which if you ask me doesn’t completely make me happy. I am earning dollars online and if the exchange rate between the dollar and peso goes down, my earnings also go down. But, just ignore my sentiments. I am but one Filipino only, part of the public, a group of people who the government here does not give a damn sh*t about. Ok, please totally ignore what I just said.

Anyway, I had always wondered if being fluent in English really did any good to us and if the process of learning English before (as if the Philippines had a choice) was all worth the time. Such skill gave some Filipinos an opportunity to work abroad and leave their families behind. But some of them don’t always get a fairy tale ending. Some end up having their families broken simply because of the distance, just to be able to survive or to improve their financial status.

I was once proud of myself for being fluent in English at such a young age. You see, when my father conversed to me back then, he would often speak to me in English. In effect, I learned the language easier and faster. But the drawback was I sucked in my own national language. I hardly ever understood Filipino. I knew the basics but my grammar was bad and I can’t speak Tagalog well. I felt the disadvantage when my grades in the Filipino subject were unsatisfactory and when I played a major role in a Filipino play we did in high school. It was hard to memorize and speak something I hardly understood.

It is a fact that everything always has advantages and disadvantages. In my case, I have seen both sides. If you ask me, I’m happy to be able to write this post in English but would be afraid to translate this into Filipino. It’s a shame not to know a lot about my own national language. Overall, I’m not proud of myself because I can’t converse well in Tagalog. Don’t get me wrong. I learned English because I was more exposed to it than to any other language. But if I were to choose, I would have preferred learning Filipino and English at the same time.

So is being fluent in English a blessing or not?

I have heard of global warming before not knowing what it really meant. I only had to care about myself and if I do not understand something, then I do not bother about it. But one time in our Biology class, our teacher required us to pass a reaction paper of a film called: An Inconvenient Truth. Obviously, I had to focus on the film for me to have something to pass. Then and there, the truth shocked me. How could I not care about this? What was I thinking?

Global warming is the gradual increase of the temperature of the earth’s lower atmosphere as a result of the increase in greenhouse gases. These greenhouse gases are actually essential for the Earth to be inhabitable. But ever since the Industrial Revolution began, there has been an increase emission of these greenhouse gases, creating now what we call as global warming.

Greenhouse gases make the Earth warm enough to be inhabited. Without these gases, the mean temperature of the earth would have been −19 °C. But it is now leading us to our own destruction. The shocking fact is that these gases, aside coming from natural sources, is also produced by our very own activities.

We should have seen this coming. Everything in this world is connected to each other. Many slight mistakes can result into a huge disaster. We should all act before everything gets out of hand.

Think of it this way, we all need to save money. That is enough motivation for you to be able to make a difference. Believe it or not, but by being thrifty can equally mean combating global warming.

As a student, use less paper. Recycle them, use the back parts. If you are running for elections, use other means (e.g., email, radio and television) to expose yourself. And if you plan to give someone a gift, use newspapers instead of gift wrappers for the gift. The person will have to rip the wrapper off anyway. Not only you can save money by using less paper, but you are actually saving more trees. Saving more trees means lesser pollution and an increase in the reduction of carbon dioxide in the atmosphere!

In your homes, replace incandescence light bulbs with fluorescence light bulbs. You are able to save money because fluorescence light bulbs convert almost all the power used into usable light, and thus release very less heat. The incandescence light bulbs do the opposite, most of the power it uses is turned into heat. If you live near the equator, this is a good thing. You do not have to turn on the electric fan or the air conditioner and thus you are able to save some money and electricity.

As much as possible, use electricity only when you need it. Unplug all electronics from the wall when they are not in use. Wait until you have a lot of clothes to wash before using the washing machine. Turn off the TV, read books, walk, run, bike, surf, and play tennis. Just spend your time on anything that does not consume energy. Not only you are saving some hard earned cash, you are also saving electricity. Electricity is mostly from nonrenewable resources which release large amounts of carbon dioxide. Carbon dioxide is the leading cause of global warming. Cutting off the production of carbon dioxide (i.e., using renewable resources for the production of electricity) is the best thing to solve global warming.

Another way to lessen carbon dioxide is by planting the very specimens that need them, trees. Trees “inhale” carbon dioxide for their food production and “exhales” oxygen for our use. If you like, plant fruit bearing trees. Not only you can enjoy the shade they bring, you can also get free fruits. Or better yet, sow flower bearing plants or trees. You won’t have to spend too much on air fresheners again!

Lastly, although this does not make you save money, but it is essential. Schools and the media should join forces in spreading the issue. We may not know it, but some people might still be not knowledgeable of the globe’s situation. For this worldwide problem, it takes a lot of effort and a lot of people, or better yet, everyone to fight back and save Mother Earth from destruction.

We need all the help and knowledge we can get to combat global warming. Global warming is not a joke. It is the real thing. Do not make your grandchildren blame you for what you should have done, but did not do. Let us all act now and save the only planet that we call home.

“This is my entry to the Blog Awards Challenge No. 2: Blogging for Global Warming”

Sources: Wikipedia and Reference.com

I honestly do not know how to respond to what I’ve seen. Those kids were younger than those Indonesian minors in jail due to overexposure to pornographic sites and magazines. Goodness gracious! I really can not imagine the youngest in our family do those “exhibitions”.

BLAME WHO?
It’s obvious. Pornographic things are out in the open. Young kids now have an easier access to these materials compared before. And I believe when I was still their age, I have never seen a couple kissing (my parents are not in to PDA) or anything like those kids in the picture were doing.

After seeing the pictures, I was like, “How do they know those things? Where do they get those things from?” I just can’t imagine youngsters sit in front of some pornographic material and gaze at it. No way! But now, it is possible. And it’s unbelievable how people are allowing these things to happen.

Speaking of which, how in the world are the parents of those children raise them? Where are the parents anyway? I think it’s unsafe to leave their kids anywhere. They could get lost. And who is the one taking those pictures? The person would have at least stopped those two. But I’m partly thanking him/her for taking the pictures (I’m not delighted, trust me).You know, for awareness purposes.

DO THEY EVEN KNOW WHAT THEY’RE DOING?
I hardly even think they feel anything while doing those things. Aren’t their hormones “mature” enough to feel the heat? But still, it’s obscene right? God knows what they’ll do. They might experiment or something and might create something unhealthy and dangerous (e.i. develop a disease).

Kids just absorb everything they see in their surroundings without question or objection or second thoughts. Their brains are like sponges. People should really be careful when young kids are around.

Let’s just hope this doesn’t happen in our country..

What’s hot and what’s not. We follow what we see in the media. Televisions are filled with superficial stuff that makes an impossible standard. Long and straight hair, white complexion, thin body, the list goes on. Everybody is struggling to be perfect only to end up broke or even worse, have their lives ruined.

It’s so silly actually, Filipinas still find time to worry about their looks when in fact our country is facing a much bigger dilemma compared to having a huge pimple on the face. Women save money for a whitening soap but ignore the poor beggar girl on the street. A mother goes gaga over a new line of mineral make up and forgets to buy food for her children back at home. Ok I think the last one is a bit exaggerated but you get the point.

So is it really wrong to try to look good? I never said no, right? I even think it’s appropriate to take care of yourself, including your looks. It’s the very first thing people judge if they see you, so why not make a good first impression? You must practice good hygiene and posture. Wear clean clothes and make sure you brush your teeth at least twice everyday. But we get very envious of that girl we saw at the mall. She has a very fair complexion and she looks like a model in an ad! And now we look at ourselves, and suddenly we feel down for not having the same complexion. Insecurity sinks in and we are drowned by sorrow and self pity. Eventually we find ourselves saying, “I’m not pretty enough.”

Personally, I have stopped buying magazines. First, because whatever tips those magazines can give, I can find them in the web. Second, I’d prefer to buy myself some food than a copy of a magazine. And third, I don’t like their models. Just like any other form of media, the magazine also imposes an impossible standard. In other words, I get insecure when I get myself a magazine. It makes me feel bad and sorry for myself.

So instead of joining along the bandwagon, I chose to go my own path. I rarely watch television and as much as possible, I avoid advertisements during breaks. I ignore what people say about me (i.e. too thin, dark skin, etc.) and I try not to compare myself with others. The whole avoiding thing gets easier actually, only if you surround yourself with the things you like and do the things you love doing and you are good at.

Sadly, some people couldn’t get away from it easily. I know I’m not alone when I wanted to change my views pertaining to this topic, but there are factors that affect everything. Fortunately, I’m not in a private school (Everything is easy when you are not rich enough, you are forced to accept things the way they are.), I’m not surrounded with overly superficial people and I know that if I joined the trend, I will of course look better, but I know I will never be contented and I would keep on wanting for more, thus will lead me to have a miserable life.

Blame it all on the media and the stupid beauty industry. They are in it for our money that’s why they have to try to hit us hard.

As we all know, Philippines has a very long way to go. It’s progress is very, very slow. But before we go on and blame the corrupt officials (I’m not defending them by the way), let’s see things in another perspective. And in this perspective, it’s us, the ordinary citizens, that are in it. I am talking about how we should view things around us. I am talking about ethnocentrism.

But before I give out the meaning, let me give you it’s counterpart. It’s eurocentrism. Eurocentrism, according to Wikipedia, is the practice of viewing the world from a European perspective, with an implied belief, either consciously or subconsciously, in the preeminence of European (and, more generally, of Western) culture, concerns and values at the expense of non- Europeans. If I were to give my own meaning, it would be, loving anything Western and putting away anything Asian. It’s evident in our country. It’s in the choices that we make and the way we do things.

Let me cite an example which I know most Filipinos can relate. We prefer a lighter skin tone over a darker one. The reason is much more deeper than saying lighter skin tone looks more clean than it’s dark counterpart. In case you haven’t noticed, Americans love to get a tan but are having a hard time doing so. Filipinos should start to appreciate their own skin color! But anyway, I believe that it all started when we were being colonized by the Spaniards (Westerners!). Since then, there was a “caste system”, or the division of classes in the society. The elite then, were of course, the Spaniards themselves. And to be like them, one must be like them. One should dress like them, act like them and look like them. Then and there it happened. People wanted to be mestizos. And since then, the mentality of having whiter skin being better than having a dark one has been established.

Another example would be, our preferences on things. We prefer anything imported, anything foreign. Haven’t you all noticed? We tend to embrace anything alien. Anything but our own. We love western music, movies and clothes. We patronize half pinoys, because they look and are partly alien. But we tend to forget our very own. We forget how wonderful it is to listen to native music and to dance in a native way. I’m not saying we should really dance like that. Appreciation is what I’m trying to get at.

I was once an active member of a performing organization which promotes our very own native music and dances. We also did Cebuano plays which depicts our very own way of life. I once thought of it as boring but I was wrong. They are equally entertaining compared to foreign entertainment productions. If only we start to open our eyes and realize that we also have very wonderful things right HERE, then there would be no need for us to patronize the foreigners’ works.

I know. We lack durability and quality on some of our own products and you think being very Filipino is very uncool. But since when did foreign things become cool? It all started when we rejected our very own and started to idolize their products.

Have you people ever heard of Bollywood? At first, I thought this was a pornographic film industry (silly me). But actually, it’s like Hollywood, only that it’s not. It’s an Indian film industry. Bollywood circles itself with Indian films and does not patronize any Hollywood/foreign films. Why? Because Indians see foreign films and their culture alien, weird and not very Indian. Although they haven’t won any Oscars (e.g. Lagaan), I believe their movies are much more entertaining than Hollywood films. Indian films are always like musicals. They have many sing and dance numbers plus there is always a lesson in each film.

Now why am I getting obsessed with Indian films? Because they promote their very own culture and I believe they rarely do anything foreign. Indians have a sense of conservatism and it’s evident in everything they do.

And now I’m going to introduce the meaning of ethnocentrism. Ethnocentrism, which is the opposite of eurocentrism, is the tendency to look at the world primarily from the perspective of one’s own culture. It often entails the belief that one’s own race or ethnic group is the most important and/or that some or all aspects of it culture are superior to those of other groups. Do you now see where I am getting at? I am trying to convince readers of this entry to appreciate and learn to love our very own culture. I see this as one of the many steps in helping our country.

Now why is ethnocentrism important? Why do we have to have this? Ethnocentrism makes us appreciate our own culture more. It makes us all unite for we are in one nation and we share a common place. When people are united, they can’t easily be separated. If we are ethnocentric, we can claim ourselves as unique from others, and therefore we cannot be easily manipulated. If we can’t be manipulated, we can have more time for ourselves. More time for development and improvement.

Why do I say this can help solve some of our country’s problem? Because if someday we are successful in getting rid of the greedy and corrupt government officials, what use is it if we still don’t have our very own identity? As what I’ve said, ethnocentrism acts as a shield. By the time we start fixing things, we need all the shield we can get to keep things going.

What better time than do this now? Our economy will greatly improve if we start buying our own products. In our own little ways, we can slowly try to appreciate what we have. Start watching our very own films. Make sure to watch at least one every month. Buy original OPM music. Instead of having an expensive vacation outside our country, why not just stay here? Even foreigners love our beaches. That should be enough reason for you to splurge your fortunes here. There are countless ways on how to begin being ethnocentric. And it all depends on how determined you are in becoming one.

Originally posted in Hit-or-Miss.