Halo-halo

Halo-halo (noun): a concoction of many independently-delicious food items (corn flakes, jellies, beans, banana , etc.), topped with coconut ice milk and best enjoyed with a scoop of ube ice cream; Tagalog to English translation: mix-mix.

Halo-halo (adj.): comprised of many different people, cultures, histories and beliefs, all mixed together to form a wonderfully unique group.a

These two definitions are used, as you could probably guess, to describe a Filipino dessert and the Philippines as a country. I wanted to make this post about the wonderful place I'm in and a brief history that I recently learned about in hopes of changing how people look at the Philippines.

     Just like many others that travel to, or through, Manila, I commented on the state of the city. It's very crowded, dirty, with lots of air pollution, trash and toxic-looking waterways. But it not fair to give this city it's reputation by the way it appears on the surface. Thanks to Peace Corps, my batch was able to go on a walking tour through the city of Intramuros, the site used to defend the city from Chinese and Japanese invasions and also where the Philippine National Hero was publicly killed.

      Long before the Spaniards arrived in the Philippines, villages were present along the riverbanks of the Pasig River, one of these being the fort of Maynila. Peace was shattered in these communities when the Spanish settled here and it became apparent that the Philippines could be used as a westerner's port in the Eastern world. The invasions of Asian pirates prompted the construction of many walls around the city center, giving the origin of the city's name 'within the walls'.

     Unfortunately the walls didn't discourage other European nations from trying to claim Intramuros, resulting in heavy damage over time. America got involved in 1898 during the Spanish-American war, when Intramuros was surrendered and taken under the arm of Uncle Sam. But by time WWII came around, Japanese occupied the the Philippines. Their presence and mistreatment of the the nation resulted in mass destruction of Manila in 1945, when the US liberated the Philippines by demolishing the city. Then next year, America granted the Philippines it's independence but they were left to continue life out of nothing. The city that stands here today resulted from years of struggle to rebuild a nation, while being expedited by America as the first western everything in Asia (by that I mean America made the Philippines the first country in Southeast Asia to have an airport, movie theatres, spam, to be the main shipping port in the east, and acquire American (mostly Hollywood) culture).

So actually knowing and trying to understand all the hardships Manila has gone through, how their culture is comprised of pieces from America, Spain, Japan, China, and Austronesia, and especially how they've made themselves into this fabulous country, has been the key to appreciating all the difference and misconceptions that I have.

   On the note of mixing many things into one, I should also tell you that this country has over 100 different languages and dialects. I have only slightly mastered Tagalog but am now starting to learn Kinaray-a, my new dialect. Wish me luck on my way to becoming tri-lingual!!

Peace out!

(Also sorry about the lack of pictures. I'm finding its impossible to get them in here without my computer- buts its on its way so you'll be able to see me soon!)