Second Post

The Beat

The first thing that struck me when the jet lag finally subsided was the heat. Not a problem. I grew up on the Texas Gulf Coast. Reacclimating is only a matter of time. The second thing was The Beat. Every shop or store or restaurant in any mall has something on the PA with a throbbing beat that does nothing to quell the old libido. The sole exception happened in an upscale department store one day when one of the Archbishops was leading the prayer to the Virgin. Away from malls, 80s US pop – with a beat, of course – dominates the FM radios here in Bacolod.

Religion

The Visayans are predominantly Roman Catholic. There’s a sprinkling of LDS, Muslim and Protestant, but Catholics are in the large majority. God Bless Yous flow freely and most people attend Mass frequently. The hang-dog guilt that seems to flow in the Mother’s Milk of Western Catholics is notably lacking here. As a group, I’ve never seen happier people. If they are guilt-ridden, it sure doesn’t show. Religious Holidays are observed in a somewhat strange manner. I was in Cebu toward the end of Lent. Most businesses were closed Maundy Thursday and everything except the few businesses catering to Westerners were closed Good Friday, or Black Friday in local parlance. The kicker is that everything was back to normal Easter Sunday. Go figure.

Communication

I loaded a VOIP onto my laptop before I left the states and have been able to make calls to North America as if I were still in California. Beats the dickens out of the $0.20 per minute rate of most discount carriers for calls to or from the Philippines.

The favorite method of communication here is “texting.” It only costs P1 per message. I bought a used Motorola in the US that was difficult to use for extensive SMS. I did see where suitable refurbed Black Berrys are for sale for about $110.00 online. They’re desirable for the QWERTY keyboard and the quad band capability. Buying one there will save you a bunch of money. If you buy any mobile for use here, make sure that is unlocked. SIM cards for the Phils are available online at Ebay. The next most popular form of communication is the internet. Few Pinoys have a computer at home, but internet cafes abound. For P15 you can have an hour of computer time which includes internet access. That’s a whopping 37.5¢. I have yet to encounter someone who does not have a Yahoo Messenger account.

The funnest method of communication is person to person; Chikka-Chikka. That is market gossip and it gets carried to extremes. Being a guy who stands out in a crowd, particularly of five foot something Asians makes me a target extraordinaire. I feel like Tom Cruise when he shafted Nicole Kidman. Everybody’s talking. I was pleasantly surprised to find out just who my “companions” are. Don’t I wish.

More next time.