It's so catchy- and we were there!
Sunday, February 6, 2011
Monday, January 24, 2011
the Philippines
With a 93% literacy rate and with English as an official language, the Philippines has become a lucrative labor market for (more or less) industrialized countries to fill their own labor shortage. Currently, there are over 11 million Overseas Filipino Workers (OFWs) worldwide, roughly 11% of the entire population of the Philippines. Coming from a pool of varied skill sets, Filipinos are hired to do anything from construction and domestic help or aids, to entertainers and sea men, to doctors and nurses. Every Filipino family has at least one member working abroad, and it is a goal for most Filipinos to work abroad and earn foreign currency. After all, remittances account for 14% of the country’s GDP, bringing in billions of dollars each year.
It’s become apparent that the Philippines, with such a sterling reputation for its contribution to the global work force that much doesn’t necessarily translate to what occurs in the homeland. While billions of dollars come into the country every year, nothing in my opinion, at least when it comes to infrastructure, has changed. Shopping malls and condos have a higher priority than mass transit and the development of a better highway system. Regardless of all the statistics you hear, I feel like the incessant traffic of Metro Manila is one of the worst. I can’t even begin to explain how it’s so bad.
With the last two generations paving the way as OFWs, the promise of a better, wealthier life living in a foreign country has been instilled in the minds of the current middle class generation. I mean, I guess it’s true considering the large number of Filipino immigrants to the States and their relatively high incomes. And I guess my family made it out too, but anyway let’s not digress. A fairly common golden ticket to the land of the free and higher valued currency is through a nursing degree. While I was in the Philippines, I’ve noticed the number of schools advertising –often named after Saints or other religious figures- nursing programs (there are hundreds of privately owned colleges offering technical and nursing programs), as well as the number of students, mostly young girls, dressed in their nurse outfits (unlike the States where they wear scrubs, students are required to wear all white and wear that white hat thing). Among the cousins who are my age, three of them are studying nursing. Perhaps it’s the middle class upbringing, or moving to liberal ass Seattle- actually, I take it back, it is because of my middle class upbringing and moving to liberal ass Seattle that I feel some sort of unwarranted bitterness/sympathy for the lack of diversity when it comes to advanced studies. Again I digress. Filipino nurses have a bubble of their own. While nurses are still in high demand worldwide, the Philippines have produced so many that they are regulated in foreign countries, and since there are so many nurses in the Philippines already, the domestic market for nurses has been long filled. But what do I know.
But I guess my real concern or problem or whatever is the Philippines’ obsession of living a comfortable life. Every middle class family has one or two live in maids that do everything from childcare to cooking and cleaning and even hand washing clothes. I don’t know where this trend stems from, but I’d like to think it originates from the Spanish empire and telenovellas, where all protagonists live dramatic, physically painful lives and ultimately get their big break getting rich somehow, as well as the Philippines’ deep infatuation with American/Western consumerism (most American brands can be found in the Philippines), materialism and extravagance. This all is part of the cycle when it comes to OFWs and remittances and studying to become a nurse. For those who work abroad, it is common and expected that a majority of their income (if they aren’t married to someone abroad) to send money back to their families. You can tell when a family has a member abroad when additions, extensions or remodels are made to their modest homes. The same applies for kids and Nikes. Should we blame the colonizers?
With the number of talented and educated Filipinos living and working abroad and a percentage of young people studying and training to work abroad, and ultimately returning home for a comfortable retirement in the province, what does that leave for improving their homeland? iPhones and Levis jeans have successfully integrated itself into the culture but recycling and mass transit, some indicators of a industrializing country, are scarcely found.
While I was born in the Philippines, I’m an American citizen and have not lived in the Philippines so as a disclaimer I cannot say that I fully understand the dynamics of what happens in the Philippines and what I say here is purely observation and opinion. I will say though that the Philippines is a beautiful, diverse, culturally rich place with wonderful people and delicious food (and even more delicious tropical fruit) and you should all visit.
--
In other and possibly more controversial news, I went to Taiwan and it was great.
It’s become apparent that the Philippines, with such a sterling reputation for its contribution to the global work force that much doesn’t necessarily translate to what occurs in the homeland. While billions of dollars come into the country every year, nothing in my opinion, at least when it comes to infrastructure, has changed. Shopping malls and condos have a higher priority than mass transit and the development of a better highway system. Regardless of all the statistics you hear, I feel like the incessant traffic of Metro Manila is one of the worst. I can’t even begin to explain how it’s so bad.
With the last two generations paving the way as OFWs, the promise of a better, wealthier life living in a foreign country has been instilled in the minds of the current middle class generation. I mean, I guess it’s true considering the large number of Filipino immigrants to the States and their relatively high incomes. And I guess my family made it out too, but anyway let’s not digress. A fairly common golden ticket to the land of the free and higher valued currency is through a nursing degree. While I was in the Philippines, I’ve noticed the number of schools advertising –often named after Saints or other religious figures- nursing programs (there are hundreds of privately owned colleges offering technical and nursing programs), as well as the number of students, mostly young girls, dressed in their nurse outfits (unlike the States where they wear scrubs, students are required to wear all white and wear that white hat thing). Among the cousins who are my age, three of them are studying nursing. Perhaps it’s the middle class upbringing, or moving to liberal ass Seattle- actually, I take it back, it is because of my middle class upbringing and moving to liberal ass Seattle that I feel some sort of unwarranted bitterness/sympathy for the lack of diversity when it comes to advanced studies. Again I digress. Filipino nurses have a bubble of their own. While nurses are still in high demand worldwide, the Philippines have produced so many that they are regulated in foreign countries, and since there are so many nurses in the Philippines already, the domestic market for nurses has been long filled. But what do I know.
But I guess my real concern or problem or whatever is the Philippines’ obsession of living a comfortable life. Every middle class family has one or two live in maids that do everything from childcare to cooking and cleaning and even hand washing clothes. I don’t know where this trend stems from, but I’d like to think it originates from the Spanish empire and telenovellas, where all protagonists live dramatic, physically painful lives and ultimately get their big break getting rich somehow, as well as the Philippines’ deep infatuation with American/Western consumerism (most American brands can be found in the Philippines), materialism and extravagance. This all is part of the cycle when it comes to OFWs and remittances and studying to become a nurse. For those who work abroad, it is common and expected that a majority of their income (if they aren’t married to someone abroad) to send money back to their families. You can tell when a family has a member abroad when additions, extensions or remodels are made to their modest homes. The same applies for kids and Nikes. Should we blame the colonizers?
With the number of talented and educated Filipinos living and working abroad and a percentage of young people studying and training to work abroad, and ultimately returning home for a comfortable retirement in the province, what does that leave for improving their homeland? iPhones and Levis jeans have successfully integrated itself into the culture but recycling and mass transit, some indicators of a industrializing country, are scarcely found.
While I was born in the Philippines, I’m an American citizen and have not lived in the Philippines so as a disclaimer I cannot say that I fully understand the dynamics of what happens in the Philippines and what I say here is purely observation and opinion. I will say though that the Philippines is a beautiful, diverse, culturally rich place with wonderful people and delicious food (and even more delicious tropical fruit) and you should all visit.
--
In other and possibly more controversial news, I went to Taiwan and it was great.
Friday, December 31, 2010
Revisiting goals for 2010
These were my goals for 2010. How much have I accomplished?
Make my own money
-Yes
Not lose interest in scuba
-Went scuba diving twice!
Go to these places:
Thailand
-Went!
Mongolia
-Nope
Philippines
-Yes!
Phase out flannel and bangs
-No comment.
Speak Chinese
-Technically, yes.
Its been a good year!
2011年的愿望
1。养一只猫 （最重要的!)
2。跟研究所有关的事 (是个秘密!)
3。存钱（不可能!）
Make my own money
-Yes
Not lose interest in scuba
-Went scuba diving twice!
Go to these places:
Thailand
-Went!
Mongolia
-Nope
Philippines
-Yes!
Phase out flannel and bangs
-No comment.
Speak Chinese
-Technically, yes.
Its been a good year!
2011年的愿望
1。养一只猫 （最重要的!)
2。跟研究所有关的事 (是个秘密!)
3。存钱（不可能!）
笑话
This is a joke my 16 year old student told me. Her English isn't very good so her translation of it wasn't very clear, but it was good enough for me to get the gist of it.
Q. Why didn't [a famous terrorist's name] try to attack China?
A. Apparently he did.
He sent four men to do his dirty work for him. The first man is was told to blow up some famous bridge (I don't remember the name) but there were too many bridges and could not find it. The second man was sent to set a bomb off in a public space but before he did, someone stold his bag. The third man was to blow up a bus but failed to do so because there were too many people inside for him to even get on. The last man was sent to blow up a coal mine. This man was successful but no one heard about it because these coal mine explosions happen too often to be worthy of news.
-
Statistics show that the number of people who use the internet in China has reached over 450 million people, almost a third of the country's population. The Chinese government, notorious for its censorship, is scrambling to come up with ways to control what can get published on the internet. My teacher has told me that for every major city, there are thousands of people that monitor messageboards or forums and promptly delete or pursue these 'dissidents' to uphold 社会和谐- or social harmony. However, with the growing number of users online in China outnumber the number of people keeping them in line and news travels fast. I frequently visit a number of websites that are translated from Chinese to English (such as this and this) and while there are still some things posted by these netizens that make me uncomfortable (nationalism and gay issues), its refreshing to see that people have the ability and access to the social injustices that occur everyday. Its something I guess.
The popular catch phrase and story behind"我爸是李刚" or "my father is Li Gang" is an excellent example of the power of people online. Check it out!
Q. Why didn't [a famous terrorist's name] try to attack China?
A. Apparently he did.
He sent four men to do his dirty work for him. The first man is was told to blow up some famous bridge (I don't remember the name) but there were too many bridges and could not find it. The second man was sent to set a bomb off in a public space but before he did, someone stold his bag. The third man was to blow up a bus but failed to do so because there were too many people inside for him to even get on. The last man was sent to blow up a coal mine. This man was successful but no one heard about it because these coal mine explosions happen too often to be worthy of news.
-
Statistics show that the number of people who use the internet in China has reached over 450 million people, almost a third of the country's population. The Chinese government, notorious for its censorship, is scrambling to come up with ways to control what can get published on the internet. My teacher has told me that for every major city, there are thousands of people that monitor messageboards or forums and promptly delete or pursue these 'dissidents' to uphold 社会和谐- or social harmony. However, with the growing number of users online in China outnumber the number of people keeping them in line and news travels fast. I frequently visit a number of websites that are translated from Chinese to English (such as this and this) and while there are still some things posted by these netizens that make me uncomfortable (nationalism and gay issues), its refreshing to see that people have the ability and access to the social injustices that occur everyday. Its something I guess.
The popular catch phrase and story behind"我爸是李刚" or "my father is Li Gang" is an excellent example of the power of people online. Check it out!
Tuesday, December 14, 2010
称呼
称呼 cheng1hu (n)- form of address
In China, it is considered impolite to refer to a person's name directly so it is more common to attach a title or "称呼" before their name, or even just calling them with a "称呼".
Here are some common ones
服务员 fu2wu4yuan2
waiter/serviceperson
小姐 xiao2jie3
Chinese equivalent to "miss", except that in the South, it can refer to a prostitute
老板 lao2ban3
boss (only for men); can refer to a man working in a shop
小朋友 xiao3peng2you3
"small friend"; refers to children
(my personal favorite)
阿姨 a1yi2
auntie, but usually refers to an older lady, as well as a cleaning lady/nanny
师傅 shi1fu
master, but refers to anyone with a skill. I've heard it commonly associated with taxi drivers.
大姐 da4jie3
big sister; an older lady but not that old. I call my landlord "大姐" because I don't know her real name.
In China, it is considered impolite to refer to a person's name directly so it is more common to attach a title or "称呼" before their name, or even just calling them with a "称呼".
Here are some common ones
服务员 fu2wu4yuan2
waiter/serviceperson
小姐 xiao2jie3
Chinese equivalent to "miss", except that in the South, it can refer to a prostitute
老板 lao2ban3
boss (only for men); can refer to a man working in a shop
小朋友 xiao3peng2you3
"small friend"; refers to children
(my personal favorite)
阿姨 a1yi2
auntie, but usually refers to an older lady, as well as a cleaning lady/nanny
师傅 shi1fu
master, but refers to anyone with a skill. I've heard it commonly associated with taxi drivers.
大姐 da4jie3
big sister; an older lady but not that old. I call my landlord "大姐" because I don't know her real name.
heard it through the grapevine
According to my Chinese source (aka a real Chinese person), if one was interested in purchasing a new car, whether it is domestic or imported, it would be impossible due to high demand and production constraints. Instead, one can make a deposit on the car and wait for three to six months for your desired car to be available. She also says that the demand for cars was a result of some sort of government regulation that will prohibit cars currently on the road from driving everyday. Current regulation says that on one day out of the week, depending on the last digit of your car's license plate, you cannot drive or else you will be fined. New legislation will increase the number of days to two days a week so, because the car lifestyle has made it into China, car owners are scrambling to buy a second car to insure that they can drive everyday.
I find this amazing- China with their unprecedented manufacturing ability and status being unable to satisfy domestic demands for cars. At the same time, cars in China are significantly more expensive than the rest of the world, even if they are local brands. And, according to "my source", these local brands are much poorer in quality despite being comparatively priced with their international counterparts.
But I'm sure your biggest concern is not China's car policies but this- what kind of car is "my source" in the market to buy?
She and her husband are planning (or have already bought?) a new Mini Cooper, which is appropriate since they both lived in England for a signficant amount of time.
And how much is she going to pay for this car (or have already paid?)?
Before tax, 290,000 RMB (about $45,000). And of course, since it is China and places extremely high taxes imported goods (according to some quick research, the tax on imported cars could range from 13-33% of the base price) , the price will have dramatically increased by the end of the transaction. This makes you wonder how people are able to buy a car, a house and pay for all that entails when average yearly salary is around 36,000 RMB/$4,500 (according to some quick search online).
Of course she and her husband didn't have to pay a dime, the car is a wedding gift from her husband's family. They're generous.
I find this amazing- China with their unprecedented manufacturing ability and status being unable to satisfy domestic demands for cars. At the same time, cars in China are significantly more expensive than the rest of the world, even if they are local brands. And, according to "my source", these local brands are much poorer in quality despite being comparatively priced with their international counterparts.
But I'm sure your biggest concern is not China's car policies but this- what kind of car is "my source" in the market to buy?
She and her husband are planning (or have already bought?) a new Mini Cooper, which is appropriate since they both lived in England for a signficant amount of time.
And how much is she going to pay for this car (or have already paid?)?
Before tax, 290,000 RMB (about $45,000). And of course, since it is China and places extremely high taxes imported goods (according to some quick research, the tax on imported cars could range from 13-33% of the base price) , the price will have dramatically increased by the end of the transaction. This makes you wonder how people are able to buy a car, a house and pay for all that entails when average yearly salary is around 36,000 RMB/$4,500 (according to some quick search online).
Of course she and her husband didn't have to pay a dime, the car is a wedding gift from her husband's family. They're generous.
Tuesday, December 7, 2010
Wikileaks
US embassy cables: African countries prefer Chinese aid to US-China cooperation
"Sunkuli claimed that Africa was better off thanks to China's practical, bilateral approach to development assistance and was concerned that this would be changed by "Western" interference. He said he saw no concrete benefit for Africa in even minimal cooperation. Sunkuli said Africans were frustrated by Western insistence on capacity building, which translated, in his eyes, into conferences and seminars (REF C). They instead preferred China's focus on infrastructure and tangible projects."Since they seem to be a crowd favorite in Africa, I won't be surprised if China becomes the new hot thing in international aid. I could only imagine what goes on in meetings between aid recipients and US aid organizations- a lot of buzzwords, synergy and empowerment workshops coupled with feasability reports and market research while China has built roads and power lines.
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