Some observations of home

Fatima Avila

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One has to seek Manila’s charm in order to find it

Hot, tropical air gushed through the doors as we alighted our plane in Manila. After a brief sojourn with my friend in Singapore, I was no stranger to intense heat anymore. But the air here is different for it was also welcoming.

It’s a breath of fresh air – Manila’s hot air – because after 3 years studying and working in Europe enduring December’s frost, this time I am finally home for good to begin anew. Humidity signals a fresh start.

My friend made her way through immigration and baggage claim in auto-pilot. Shuttling between Singapore and Manila monthly, she navigates through the airport terminal with ease while I maneuver around hesitantly. I take out my mobile phone – “Is there wifi?” I wonder. She gives me a look that spells out, “We’re in Manila, of course not.”

For the record, there was wifi but it wasn’t working, which is not in the least a source of surprise because after all, we are in Manila, where one cannot expect something to work just because it is there. 

My mom was waiting for us at the exit. The drive back to our flat was long and arduous because of the traffic. My mom was getting impatient, honking and overtaking; my friend was getting impatient,  without sleep and food.

But I did not mind progressing in slow motion because we drove passed familiar places: the art gallery I used to work at, the school I attended high school at, so many roads where nothing has changed, and then so many areas where everything has changed. 

No way but up

Construction is at a peak in Manila. A megapolis of nearly 15 million, there is no other way but up: new buildings are spewed out from the ground with speed and in vast numbers wherever there is space, the overcrowded streets seem even more densely packed.

Recent metrics indicate a strong, growing economy and while it will take some time to feel it trickle down to the ordinary Joe, one cannot deny that there is so much activity is abound and so much movement. The Philippines’ land area is 300,000 square kilometres, the same as Italy. There are 60 million Italians, we are a country of 101 million people and so many want to move to Manila.

Consumerism is also on overdrive: everyone is buying something and going somewhere. I went to a mall on my second day to get some bathroom necessities and there was barely any space to walk. Because of the holidays, everyone has to give everybody else a token.

Bargain, bargain, bargain, buy in bulk. EDSA, the one main thoroughfare that cuts through Manila north to south, has a capacity for “1,800 public buses but there are over 8,000 at any given time,” states a Senator.

The 3 train lines are packed to the brim; one endures a long queue to get into the station, then another queue to buy a ticket, then another queue to get to the platform where he or she has to wait for at least 3 trains to pass before being able to squeeze into an already overflowing one during rush hour.

No personal space

There is no concept of personal space in this city. The guard shouts through his megaphone, “Let alighting passengers out first before getting in.” No one listens. Those of us who have the option to drive are aware that a car is not necessarily a luxury because it will take more than an hour to travel all but 15 kilometres on average on a normal day.

Celebrations were subdued towards the end of 2013 because a strong earthquake was shortly followed by a record breaking typhoon only a month before Christmas. The churches too seem to have record breaking attendance.

Religion and superstition go hand in hand as people pray for a kinder 2014; maybe 13 is indeed an unlucky number that’s why so many natural calamities befell us in the year just gone. In the only Catholic country in Southeast Asia, one’s faith in the Lord weighs supreme. Who has to worry about proper disposal of rubbish so the sewage systems don’t clog so it lessens the risk of flood, who has to worry about not constructing structures on a fault line and reinforcing those already in peril’s way?

Why the government of course, not the people. For the people, our duty is first to pray and all else is a leap of faith. If something goes wrong, thank heavens there’s always the government to blame.

Manila’s charm

But I love Manila to bits. My homecoming coincided with a family friend visiting from overseas and I was tasked to be instrumental in taking her around. Playing the tourist in my home city reaffirmed what all Manileños know: that one has to seek Manila’s charm in order to find it.

We have no city center, no Angkor Wat or Borobudur, no definitive list of must-sees. Instead, one must explore the various districts and dig for those hole-in-a-wall gems that must be experienced first hand because Manila is more emotive than aesthetic. Indeed what makes Manila great cannot be seen but felt. The beauty of this city is not materialized through historical structures because we have none, but rather it is felt by the city’s allure of vibrancy, freedom, and a welcoming atmosphere that makes it home to anyone who visits.

And those who come here and make this city home see through the intense heat, ill-planned construction, excessive consumerism, clogged transport links, and misplaced faith and say that truly, in spite of the many things we can put a finger on, it is more fun in the Philippines.

I cannot eloquently answer the many people who ask why I chose to come back to Manila after living for 3 years in a first world country where “the quality of life is so much better.”

My only explanation is that my heart has always been here, and that it is home. In fact, if I could be permitted to answer a question with a question, I would say, “How can I come back when I never really left?” – Rappler.com

Fatima Avila, 27 years old, has just returned to Manila after 3 years in the United Kingdom, where she completed her Master’s in Business Management at the University of Edinburgh and worked in the telecommunications industry. She says she is still figuring out what to do now that she’s back. 

 

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