Personal Pasalubong

The phrase, “Don’t forget my pasalubong!” might as well be a synonym for goodbye for Pinoys. Pasalubong is an informal Filipino cultural tradition in which an individual brings back gifts from their travel destination to distribute to people back home.  Often times a traveler brings back exotic delicacies, t-shirts or other quirky knick-knacks. But I’ll be damned if after five weeks of this program the only thing I’ll bring back is a fucking keychain. I refuse to simply come back to Seattle with a suitcase filled with shit from Green hills. My pasalubong will be the strength and the knowledge I have gained from the infantismal amount of hard lessons I have learned from this trip. To clearly articulate this idea, the following response will be a personal account of some real life implications and parallels of this past week’s lessons in relation to my own personal life experience.

            Poverty is something I had never personally identified with until I reached college. I grew up in Lakewood/Tacoma area, neighborhoods that are constantly ranked as some of the most dangerous communities in Washington. My family of five was constantly moving from one bedroom apartment to another, living off a single, low income salary and military veteran benefits. I always had a meal at school, hand me down clothes on my back and since survival was never an issue I never saw myself as poor. However my mentality changed when I got to the UW on full scholarship and had the opportunity to live in the most expensive dorms on campus. There I met individuals who had come from wealth I believed existed only in movies.  It was only then from this immediate juxtaposition with the bourgeoisie that I realized that I was considered “poor”.  Except I took pride with this identifier, I had experienced adversity and responsibility that had shaped me into the woman I am today. So when I visited Baseco accompanied by two Belgian film journalists, the only sight I was disgusted by was their patronizing behavior towards the livelihood of the Baseco citizens. Any conversation I held with them focused solely on the state of the trash and the unsightliness of the compound.

It infuriated me to see their complete ignorance towards the dignity of these human beings.  These individuals were unjustly marginalized onto the outskirts of society to be completely ignored and monopolized by the government. Yet even with the short end of the stick these people are thriving, they are working hard to support one another and they find joy in the simplest miracles. They are overcoming obstacles that I wouldn't even begin to know how to handle and yet these privileged white men had the audacity to treat them as if they were wounded animals. These people deserve nothing but respect and proper aid through social and policy reform, not just a mere 20 pesos.                            

   

As for the readings this week, they collectively explained the importance of Philippine nationalism in Philippine education , the widespread brainwashing that occurs in the nation due to implementation of American education and the detrimental effect of the Philippine's colonial history on Filipino American identity. 

References

Abao, C., Bello, W., Curato, N., Heydarian, R., & Rafael, V. (2016). Politics in the Wake of EDSARound Table Discussion Presentation, Ateneo de Manila University

Andresen, T. (2012). Knowledge construction, transformative academic knowledge, and Filipino American identity and experience, In E. Bonus & D. Maramba, (Eds.) 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. Mangahas, M., & Perez, P. (2016). Indigenous Peoples. Presentation, University of the Philippines.

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. 1–16.Quimpo, S. (2016). Marshal Law. Presentation, University of the Philippines.

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

Paulet, A. (2007). To change the world: The use of American Indian education in the Philippines.History of Educational Quarterly, 47 (2), 173-202.