What's it like in your country?
By el_jeffo
@el_jeffo (750)
Philippines
May 19, 2007 8:18pm CST
I live in the Philippines. The climate here is pretty freaking warm, especially right now because it's summer. You start sweating even just sitting down doing nothing.
We're also quite behind with technology. Elections just wrapped up a few days ago but the counting hasn't concluded yet. We still rely on the old counting-by-hand method, which is not only slow, but also vulnerable to human error and manipulation.
Society-wise, I dare say that my country has a little too many posers. Wherever you go you'll see people trying to look "hip-hop" but they sort of don't get it right. For instance, some people think the guy with the largest shirt is the most "hip-hop", and so it becomes a large-shirt contest. And the shirts are REALLY large, you could probably use them to cover a small car. It's somewhat embarrassing, but at the same time, I feel sorry for them for not knowing better. I tried talking to some of them but they thought I'M the uneducated one. I wish they'd look into the culture they're trying to imitate a little more.
One of the good things about this country though is that basic necessities come relatively cheap. Ours being an agricultural country, meat, vegetables, and crops don't cost a lot because they're in abundance.
Internet access is also quite cheap, and we don't have bandwidth caps like in other countries. I can download all the files I want :)
There are a lot more to say about my country, both good and bad, but first I'd like to know about yours. I want to know beyond what is written in books. Both the good and the bad.
1 person likes this
4 responses
@tala91285 (1074)
• Philippines
22 May 07
I'm from the Philippines too. It's terribly hot these days and there isn't even a bit of wind to make you feel a bit better. I don't really have anything to complain about except for the condition of train stations and sidewalks. They stink of urine and you can see spit everywhere. It's horrible! _
2 people like this
@satanshiori (338)
• Philippines
20 May 07
i hate being in the philippines.. i wish my dad will give me a ticket to australia where he is working.. oh so boring i can't find a job here in the philippines i'm a biology graduate and still no opportunities for me.. how stupid the government here..
2 people like this
@el_jeffo (750)
• Philippines
20 May 07
I know how you feel. I spent a good part of my life in Indonesia and even though the government situation there is worse than the Philippines, life there is still better. For instance, people actually obey traffic rules. I very rarely experienced traffic jams there. And the climate is a wee bit cooler than in the Philippines.
Also, economically, they're recovering at a faster rate than the Philippines I believe. It hasn't been long since the dictatorship ended there, and yet the overall situation is the same, if not better, than in the Philippines. Our nation has been a democracy for over a hundred years; Indonesia only a little less than sixty. Go figure.
1 person likes this
@andak2007 (3229)
• Philippines
29 May 07
hi im from the philippines also and i like to add some comments.. right here in cebu is starting to rain and not that humid at all which makes me happy because i love the cold weather compared to hot.
sure we have lot of things to complain about our country and the system that it runs with, pretty pre-historic and does not apply to the modern world anymore like for example the election system..up to now they havne't finished counting and its almost the end of the month...so its really up to us the new generation to make a stand and make a change...instead of whinning why not take action right?
1 person likes this
@el_jeffo (750)
• Philippines
29 May 07
It has been starting to rain and it's lovely, thank goodness.
I would love to take action; however, just observe how many lobbyist groups we have in the Philippines and compare that to the number of amendments that have been made in comparison to how many lobby attempts there have been. The government won't simply listen to people just because they have good ideas, for the betterment of the country. They instead put themselves first before serving the country, which is the complete opposite of the reason why officials are voted into position in the first place. I'm not saying they're all like this; I'm just saying that that's usually the case. I want to give them a piece of my mind, and everyone's as well, but I wonder how many of them will listen.
Also, so long as the majority of our people remain starstruck and impressionable (i.e. until our education system is improved), the few who aren't will remain powerless. People might say "then exercise your power to vote to make a change", but there are still too few who are willing to make a change and are not easily swayed.
The unwillingness of government to change for the better and to not think of themselves shows in the elections--the electronic voting system has been suggested countless times, but how come it's still not being used, after so many years, today? Is it because it needs further development? Or perhaps we don't have enough funds to sustain such a project? Or maybe because it's easier to manipulate results this way?
@magicalmerlin (1623)
•
24 May 07
Thank you for telling us about your country. Mylot is a great place to learn about other people. I did not know much about the Philippines before coming on here and I learn more every day. I did not realise so many of you would have access to the internet - it really makes it a small world.
Here in England we love moaning about the weather. I think the global warming must have been affecting us though as we keep having long sunny spells - nice breeze too though. We moan about our politicians but have a National Health Service that does very well and some of our taxes go to help those poorer than ourselves. We generally have nice houses, good education and places to go for entertainment.
You made me just realise how lucky I am to live here.
1 person likes this
@el_jeffo (750)
• Philippines
25 May 07
I agree. I'm glad you find this educational. The internet is pretty big in the Philippines. In almost every corner of every street there's one or two internet cafes in operation, so it's no surprise that there are many Filipinos here. I use a home computer though :)
You are quite lucky indeed. I bet the temperature doesn't reach 32 degrees Celsius there (that was our highest the other day). And there's no breeze. If there is, it's a really hot breeze. It's a good thing it's sort of starting to rain now.
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