Journelism

During winter break of my first year in college, at age 18, I went to the Philippines for the first time in nine years. Many aspects of the country changed. For example, I remember when I was originally in the Visayas, (the middle islands) the signs were in Illongo, the dialect there. When 18, I saw that there were two translations, one in Illongo and the other in English. This difference shows that when I was younger, the country was more nationalized than globalized, in comparison to today. It is not bad that the Philippines has opened its arms to other countries, especially the United States, but I feel that as a result, it is gradually losing its culture.

There are many pluses for the Philippines opening its doors to other countries. From my observation, it is gradually becoming more liberal. It is for the most part a Catholic-based country both religious and conservative, but the media, for example, allows magazines such as Cosmopolitan and Seventeen, and they are slowly becoming more tolerant of homosexuality. Another plus is that one of the sources of income for the Philippines is tourism, which has both helped financially and let foreigners understand this beautiful country.

There are also downsides to globalization. Mall of Asia, the biggest within the continent, is located in Manila. Do not get me wrong; it can be fun to browse and buy from a huge selection of stores. But having a mall that huge is unnecessary; they are already many malls throughout the Philippines, and since poverty is rampant, money should be spent fixing the problem rather than on materialistic goods. Also, Filipinos are losing sense of what is important to them as a result of the materialism introduced by Western civilization. Being materialistic is not bad, but in the Philippines, I sense that everyone has to follow the style in the moment. It’s difficult to follow what style is popular; doing so usually requires money and is reserved for the most prominent families.

I love the Philippines because of its natural beauty and tropical temperatures. Since the United States puts so much emphasis on people being individuals, the extreme form I observe is alienation. In the Philippines, I sense that people are there for one another through thick and thin. People are also more laid back in the Philippines in that work does not upstage family matters. In America, I work appears to override the family, which causes unhappiness.

Despite its flaws, the Philippines is a beautiful country, which foreigners love to come visit and vacation. I am not surprised.