Now, one month later, the play of words would become even more ironic. In the Philippine education system, college is equivalent to graduate school. So, when someone here “graduates from college,” they are basically ready to enter the professional world – assuming they take their boards and find a job, of course. I received my B.A. in Human Biology, which here in the Philippines, really doesn’t mean anything. “So you’re not a doctor right now?” Nope, but I graduated from college! “Okay…but you’re not a doctor?” My B.A. is B.S. here, and I’m not talking about Bachelor of Science.
(--I’m just being cynical. Laugh with me at the ridiculousness of life.)
Polarity.
On my first day here in the Philippines I visited arguably the most expensive hospital in the country. The hospital was created for the wealthiest Filipinos and internationals. Walking through, you feel like you’re in a 5-star hotel. You can even choose to upgrade and have a presidential or executive suite...complete with flat screen TV’s, leather furniture, multiple bedrooms, a kitchen, dining room, etc. You can even order room service! 2/3 of the beds were empty, and a lot of the medical staff seemed to just be sitting around. Not many patients yet…or ever? Too much space, not enough people. The ginormous hospital caters to a small, elite crowd.
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| Presidential Suite: Dining Room |
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| Presidential Suite: Patient's Room |
On my second day, I went to Tondo. Entire families living in rooms half the size of my room at home, or in senior year of college. “Upgrade” here takes a different meaning: adding another room on top, made from the trash you can find in the dump next door. Too many people, not enough space. The reclamation area caters to a large, invisible crowd.
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| Tondo: Typical Home |
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| Tondo: "Sidewalk" - see bottom right corner |
On my fourth day, I got a tour of a huge mansion covering the entire side of a hill. The 360-degree was beautiful: the greenest, tree-ful hills. The house was 6 stories, over 50 rooms, around 25 of which were bedrooms, 20 or so bathrooms, a basketball court, a shooting range, I don’t know even know how many staircases, marble countertops and floor, etc. They’re trying to sell it, and one of the only ways we could get a tour was to say that we were potential buyers.
I left kind of sad, and not because I couldn’t put down a price. The house is falling apart: broken tiles, missing doors, peeling ceilings, mold in the pool and ponds, etc., and honestly, no one will ever buy that mansion. Too much to fix. That’s not what made me upset though. Well known (and in a way, tolerated) in the Philippines is that fact that politicians take money from the people and use it to serve their own interests. The owner of the mansion is a politician, and I don’t know and can’t say that (s)he is corrupt, but the mansion just served as an sad and ufly reminder of the institutionalized corruption that perpetuates poverty in the Philippines, and leaves people living in places like Tondo.
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| Mansion: One of the balcony views |
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| Mansion: Posterior View |
Too real.
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