Filipinos speak English, even to each other. I went about browsing different Filipino-oriented blogs and forums yesterday to get a more thorough insight into how overseas Filipinos think and feel. I felt uneasy when I gathered that some overseas Filipinos took issue of the fact that some Filipinos do not speak the native tongue even among each other. The native "tongue" was specifically referred to in one entry as "Filipino," which in fact is Tagalog. Hey, I'm Cebuano-speaking (a.k.a. "bisdak" or "bisayang dako") , so that already gives you an idea why I cannot relate with the sentiments. Cebuano and Tagalog may have common words, but hey, they're different. An untrained Cebuano will not understand, much less speak, Tagalog and vice-versa. My wife is Tagalog and my children will grow up speaking Tagalog and English because we live in Metro Manila. I don't mind that at all. I'll be teaching them Cebuano in due time. This post is n...
Heroism thrives in the country. That's what Typhoon Ondoy taught me. Yes they say that in the newspapers, TV and Facebook. But I also heard it from first hand stories of people whom I know personally. One of them is from an lady army sergeant, a member of the Women's Auxiliary Corps of the Philippine Army, who wishes that I don't mention her name. Let's call her Wilma, the woman in the army. She's single and the only daughter of a widow. In short, she only has her mother for her family.
Traffic jam in Metro Manila on a Sunday? This happened around 11am on October 18, 2009 at E. Rodriguez Avenue, approximate in front of Saint Joseph. It turned out that a provincial bus was stuck with a tricycle that hit its rear. Whew! Was it fair for a bus full of passengers to stop in the middle of E. Rodriguez Ave., a major highway in Metro Manila, because the bus driver had to deal with a tricycle driver which hit the rear of his bus? I have difficulty looking at this situation as reasonable. In fact I found it absurd! Forgive the word.
yes. matagal na, but amazing indeed.
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