Still alive

It has been more than a month since I arrived to Ninoy Aquino International Airport in a rainy Monday morning. I came together with Eva, another intern of the same NGO I’m working for. She will be staying in Manila for 6 months, working at Manila Observatory, while I will be based in Tandag, Surigao del Sur province, in the island of Mindanao.

Due to difficulties in getting our visa, I was stuck in Manila for 2 weeks. Finally, thanks to the cooperation of AECID and the Spanish Embassy, we were able to apply for the working visa under their name, and now we are legal workers in the country.

I want to thank Eva for standing me during those 2 weeks I was staying at her apartment. Even we didn’t know each other much when we arrived to Manila, we got along pretty well and had a great time.

The capital

I remember well our first day in Manila. August 3^rd. Corazon Aquino (Cory Aquino) had just passed away 2 days before our arrival. Wife of the ex-president Benigno Aquino (Ninoy Aquino), who was assassinated in 1983, she became the first female president of the Philippines and is nowadays an icon of democracy. The burial ceremony was reported all over the country on tv, radio, newspapers… even the taxi drivers where talking to me about it for a few days. Millions of people were touched by her death, and more than a hundred thousand followed the transfer of her remains to Manila Cathedral, where the funeral mass was celebrated 2 days later, on August the 5^th. Those days were an important moment of the history of the country, and we were there witnessing it.

Metromanila, is the metropolitan area of Manila and is formed by several cities. It has a population of more than 11 million. The headquarters of the local NGO I am working with are in Quezon City, the biggest city of the Philippines. To say the truth, I don’t really like Metromanila… it is so polluted, noisy, and generally dirty. Of course you can just go to Makati, the business city, and feel like if you were in the heart of Manhattan. But if you walk a few hundreds of meters away, you will be surrounded by slums again. This contrast makes me think about where we are going and what and who we are leaving behind us.

The nicest part, in my opinion, is the district of Intramuros, the heart of the old Manila. “Intramuros” is a Spanish term meaning “within the walls”. It was built by the Spaniards 400 years ago, and is actually enclosed by a wall. It is nice to walk around and look at the old Spanish buildings, or have a cup of coffee at the Starbucks near the BOI. Aside of Intramuros, only shopping malls are worth a visit… There is one called Megamall in Pasig city. I’ve never been to a shopping mall as big as that one. But it is just that, a shopping mall.

The nightlife is mostly concentrated in the district of Malate. It is quite Bangkok like, but still interesting. Lots of gay bars, clubs, prostitutes… I like to call it wildlife instead of nightlife. I have been there only once, and we joined some Filipino friends of Eva at the Penguin Bar. This bar is quite cool, small but nice atmosphere. The night we went, there was an 80’s style band playing rock songs. Their outfits were really cool. I was drinking Red Horse beer that night. Everybody asked me: Do you drink Red Horse? I didn’t know why they were so surprised. The truth is that Red Horse is a EXTRA strong beer. People say that it is mixed with gin. After 4 bottles I felt I was the king of the dancing floor. After the 6^th I blacked out. That crap is lethal… belive me!

Anyway, even it is not a nice city, I enjoyed Manila in a way. I will always remember the crazy tricycle rides up and down Katipunan, the time that I was chasing an evasive plastic surgeon around Ortigas and the taxi driver that got me into a 2 hours traffic jam with whom I had the chance to review my almost forgotten Japanese. And of course, I will always remember that small, colorful cafe in UP Village.

Thanks C.