unlearning Pinoy blues

Steve was my first guest in Vigan. He's an American teaching English in Japan and it's his first time in the Philippines.

hospitality club is an online community i chanced upon on my quest for travel and cultural exchange. joining it entails that signing members should open up their homes to travellers from other countries and give them a glimpse of what it is like in their side of the world. in return, a travelling member may request to be hosted by other members as well.

when i had the chance to go to the US, steve reciprocated and gladly took me in. after briefly introducing me to his other friends, he recalled his asian trip. thinking aloud, he said, "hmm, which country did i enjoy the most?

"it must be the Philippines," he continued and gave out several reasons why he loved my country.

being the ever skeptic, i supppose he only said that because he was being patriotic. and probably because i hosted him.

for the longest time, i lost pride in my country. what with all the media's been publishing and broadcasting, labeling us "third world" and being known for our corrupt government and rampant prostitutes.

what pride would i have left?

i'm glad that tourists still come inspite of.

and so with that mindset, i called (er, thought of) him a liar.

UNTIL i had another guest. this time, Kat is a New Zealander circling asia for more than 3 months. her verdict?

hands down, the Philippines!!!

"the Philippines is such a beautiful country. I can't imagine why people don't know about it. I should've alloted more time here than in [and she mentions another asian country which i'm not posting]. I'm definitely coming back and tell my friends about it. There's still so much more I wanna see here!"

ok, those weren't exactly her words. i just paraphrased it, but you get the gist. and she said it with a twinkle in her eyes and a heartfelt sincerity.

so maybe my country isn't bad after all. maybe they're right--that the Philippines is charming.

and it had to take two foreigners to convince me.

i guess it's difficult for people to unlearn things and mindsets they have been brought up to. thanks steve and kat for breaking the negative pre-conceived notions i had about my country. and for making me feel a bit prouder that i'm pinoy.

KAT from New Zealand

STEVE from Connecticut, USA