Reflecting in the Philippines

As my time here in the Philippines is coming to an end, I sit back and reflect over everything I have learned and experienced over the past 5 weeks. Where do I even start? Before embarking on this journey, I knew that I would gain more than just a grade and 12 credits, but little did I know that I would become enlightened academically, as well as grow so much as a person and how I perceive the world. This study abroad experience has made me view the world in a different perspective outside of my comfort zone, which in turn has made me more humble, selfless and has altered my mindset to a much more holistic view and I will forever be grateful for that.

Before enrolling into this program, I knew little about the history of the Philippines. Now I can profoundly say that my comprehension has deepened to include topics such as the impacts from US imperialism, colonial mentality, identity construction, the harms of miseducation, and resistance. I have a broader understanding about knowledge construction and the impacts that result from education or rather miseducation, which plays a tremendous role in identity construction, as well as the development of other group identities. Every reading, lecture, site and activity, as well as community engagement, I have discovered that the Philippines has been through so much pain over the past 400 years, yet have remained resilient. Even after 2 conquests, Filipinos are thriving, and even with little to nothing, I have witnessed through their interactions with their friends and family that they often remain truly blissful, which has been extremely eye opening and inspiring. The readings address several economic and social issues that impact the Philippines such as poverty, displacement, discrimination, loss of culture and identity. Many of these issues result from the colonization the Philippines endured over the past 400 years. These problems continue to exist today because of the political and economic discourse in the Philippines, as well as the colonial mentality that is deeply rooted in the mind of Filipinos through the educational system.

Colonial mentality (CM) can be extremely detrimental in aspects such as culture, social behaviors, and identity. As David and Ozaki state in “The Colonial Mentality Scale (CMS) for Filipino American”,CM leaves people feeling inferior and the need to assimilate to American customs in order to experience less racist events and experiences. The American education system implemented in the Philippines has shaped identity construction and produced colonial mentality. White skin became the image of beauty and intelligence, whereas brown skin was deemed to be savage and barbaric. Third Andresen’s article, “Knowledge construction, transformative academic knowledge, and Filipino American identity and experience” (2012), discloses how the American education system can significantly impact identity construction. The mass media, such as billboards, advertising, magazines, movies, ect, also plays an immense role in the colonial mentality of Filipino’s. The media portrays white skin to be beautiful, which has resulted in internal oppression for many Filipinos.

One specific example of CM is the bleaching of skin; found in beauty products such as lotion, make-up, face wash, deodorant, ect. The Spanish and Americans introduced the skin hierarchy in the Philippines proposing the idea that labor and race are strongly associated. Dark skin is related to lower class citizens who had to work outside, whereas light skin is affiliated with upper-class citizens often because they are Mestizos or they are wealthy enough to work indoors away from the scorching sun. Other beauty products such as hair lightening, bleaching, and relaxer are also products of CM. American influence is also found in churches, restaurants, shopping malls, media (movies, music), advertising, and basketball.

Miseducation plays a tremendous role of how one may perceive their culture, which in turn affects their identity formation. The article, “The Mideducation of the Filipino” by Renato Constantino (1982), emphasizes that nationalism is found through education. Constantino stresses that education is a vital weapon for people to seek cultural renaissance (Constantino, 1982; pg 177). Americans used education as a weapon rather than providing the people with knowledge. English was a status symbol and those who only spoke their native language were looked down upon and viewed as lower class citizens. English was a colonial tool that was used to capture children’s minds and subjugate Filipinos because Americans felt that they had uncivilized minds, therefore they could not be entrusted. The English language being taught in the Philippines is extremely problematic because, in reality, America is stripping Filipino people of their language and culture and replacing it with Western methods and ideals. All while Americans believe that they are doing a good deed by giving Filipinos a gift.

After watching the film, Slow Jam King at PWU, a group discussion occurred amongst the students and the notion that miseducation can be extremely damaging was validated. When discussing what it meant to be a “pure or full” American, Filipino students automatically assumed that meant one must be white, which completely disregarded the reality that all 14 students from UW were actually in fact American citizens. This is not entirely the fault of the individual but instead the fault of the educational system. It is miseducation that is the fault for people believing that there is a certain image or standard to being American.

Although I was aware of the poverty and struggles that I would encounter in the Philippines, witnessing the challenges many Filipinos face has been quite overwhelming and essentially left me in a position of intense ambivalence. Even after 5 weeks, I still am not accustomed to people, particularly children, begging for money, persistently beginning to buy their hard-worked trinkets or digging through trash in hope to find something valuable, in order to survive, let alone have a meal. By saying this, understand that I am not judging, but rather I have realized that there are other ways of life and I need to make a deliberate endeavor to understand that my standards and comfort does not pertain to the rest of the world. Garbage to me can be viewed as a way to eat dinner for someone else. About the 3^rd week into the program, I had a very unfortunate event happen. My phone and money was stolen out of my purse while I was at a nightclub in Makati. At first I was extremely upset and furious, which made me want to go back to Seattle because I felt unsafe and violated due to the fact that someone got so close to me and reached into my purse without me noticing, however after a few days I came to realize that whoever stole my phone and money may have needed it more than I did. Although this may not be the case, thinking in the sense has helped me move on and not dwell on the incident. I am thankful that I was not physically hurt because that would have left me traumatized. Just as Dr. Andresen has mentioned several times, “people have to do what they need to do in order to survive.” I turned this wretched event into a learning experience.

One thing I’ve learned from this program is the impacts that arise from globalization, particularly tourism. I used to believe that tourism was beneficial to a country in terms of economic gain or stability; however, I have learned that is not necessarily true. Instead, I have discovered that tourism actually exploits and displaces people, as well as in some circumstances, can be detrimental to the environment. We see this in Boracay where luxury goods such as hotels and restaurants are being built, and excursions are marketed for tourists pleasure. Some might see this as economic growth, however, they are not acknowledging the fact that many indigenous people are being displaced and pushed out, while all of their resources are being taken away. Not to mention, tourists behaviors such as littering and destructing the biodiversity in the ocean, can often be damaging to the environment.

                                          (Picture taken at Red Coconut hotel in Boracay)

I really enjoyed working on the final group project because of my passion for social justice and the different perspectives and contributions from my group members. The work load was evenly distributed to each person which made the project feel less like work. Although I wish we had started early, I feel as though I have learned a lot when it comes to the gap between wealth and poverty and the connection between poverty and human trafficking. Overall, we all shared the same enthusiasm and passion for the project and as a result, I believe the presentation went smoothly.

Not to sound cliche, but I can sincerely say that enrolling into the CHID study abroad program was one of the best decisions I have made during the past 4 years as a student at the University of Washington. I can honestly say that the people enrolled in this program are some of the most amazing, kind-hearted people I’ve ever met. I am so thankful I choose this program and for the genuine friendships that I know will last a lifetime. Although at times there were conflicts among the group and things didn’t go as expected or planned, I feel that it only made us stronger and can be taken as learning experiences. A special shout out to Third Andresen for fighting for this program and making this program happen. Thank you for giving me this opportunity to travel to so many different places, to experience the beauty of Filipino culture, and to walk away with a greater awareness of myself. I couldn’t have asked for a better way to end my last quarter as an undergraduate. Some may say I am privileged for this opportunity, which I won’t deny, but I would like to say that I am blessed and I will forever cherish this experience.

Andresen, T. (2012). Knowledge construction, transformative academic knowledge, and Filipino American identity and experience, In E. Bonus & D. Maramba, The “other“students: Filipino Americans, education, and power. (pp. 65-87). Charlotte, NC: IAP.

Constantino, R. (1982). Miseducation of Filipinos. In A.V. Shaw & L.H Francia, Vestiges of war. (pp. 177-192). New York: New York Press. 

David, E.J.R., & Okazaki, S. (2006). The Colonial Mentality Scale (CMS) for Filipino Americans: Scale construction and psychological implications: A review and recommendation. Journal of Counseling Psychology 53 (1), pp. 241-251.

Mallorca, S. E. (2004). Slow Jam King [DVD]. USA: Woo Art International.