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First Impressions of the Phillipeans!

As an assignment for my culture class, and in preparation of my Philippines experience coming up this summer, I'm taking a moment to jot down a few conceptions which I currently have or which I have had of the Philippines in the past. I hope that after I travel and meet some people I'll be forced to update and revise my pre-conceived notions!

I've known just one Filipino personally. She was a member of the church in one ward on my mission to Minnesota. She loved to cook, so I tried many Filipino dishes at her home. But she had also lived in the United States for many years, so I assumed that she had quite a bit of  "Americanization" in her food preferences. As she would also team up with her Iraqi friend to cook for us, I admit that I probably labelled a few Iraqi foods "Filipino" and vice versa.

Just a few weeks ago I spoke with a fellow member of the orchestra about the culture in the Philippines. He mentioned that the culture there is perhaps more mixed and diverse than I had previously conceived due to their long colonization periods by the Spanish, and due to their affinity for American culture. Like America itself, I imagine that the Philippines will reflect many global influences rather than a single, indigenous culture.

Other than that, I think I've been like many others and mainly seen the poverty of the Philippines in my mental concept. I have heard chilling statistics from returned missionaries in my BYU classes, one particularly difficult one referencing the ubiquity of teenage pregnancy and broken homes. I have mental images of rickshaw drivers and streets filled with vendors of all kinds trying to scrape a living from tourist's money. Admittedly, I don't often think of much else -- I know there are businesses and farms and all kinds of services there, but I don't spend much time thinking about those things. I am excited to visit and fill out/correct my conception with real people, scenes, and stories.

One funny anecdote -- when I heard that we would first perform at a university, I admit that my first reaction was surprise! If I were to put that reaction into words, it may have sounded something like: "They have a university?" Or at least, "I wonder what that is going to look like." I'm not trying to incriminate myself, but I think that, like many Westerners, I have a perception of the Philippines that rests primarily on the lack of resources that I'm told about.

While I'm sure that some of that is true, I'm excited to round out my story. I can't wait to meet a few of teh people that make the culture what it is. I hope more than anything to make friends, so that I can see people much like myself who are living in a different place and culture. I'm excited to go!

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