Philippine Field Survey

 

This is TunYu's first blog.

First, I want to thank Kawasaki sensei for giving me this opportunity. For me, the Philippine survey gave me a chance to visit a new country for the first time in nine years. Though in the past ten years, I may have been to Japan more than ten times.

I also want to thank Budz and Leon for taking care of me and being patient with my questions. Because I looked like a mobile ATM, I cannot imagine what would have happened to me if the trip had been without you guys. And all the food and the spots you introduced to me, especially the avocado soft cream, have really become my favorite in the Philippines. Although throughout these ten days the things I wanted to eat most are still ramen.

This field survey gave me a lot of first-time experiences. Especially in the past ten years, I have only been to Taiwan and Japan, where people are strongly constrained by morality and society. Entering the local area, even though I couldn’t understand any Tagalog (the official language of the Philippines), I felt Filipinos were so chill. Everywhere and at any time, I could see a lot of people just doing nothing. Sometimes I think about whether they have more happiness than us even though they are poor. Although the community is not as clean as Japan, and noise and traffic jams continue every day, all I feel from them is optimism, enthusiasm, and chillness. Maybe it’s because I haven’t been robbed, haha.

Talking about my first impression of Manila and Marikina, there are lots of cute cats and dogs running around the city, even more than the tourists I saw. Skyscrapers and tower apartments—you can always see the fancy city from any angle in Manila and Marikina. In contrast, river pollution, beggars, slums, and rusty subways show that wealth disparity exists everywhere. I think “tolerance” is the best word to describe it. Maybe it’s because they’re chill, they have gotten used to tolerating all kinds of neighborhoods, or even just because God is taking care of all the life here.

To be honest, this trip was such a fortunate experience. First, it didn’t rain during these ten days whenever I was outdoors, and all the surveys we did went smoothly and safely. When we went to Manila, coincidentally there was a Japanese person who was robbed at gunpoint in a place we had been. Lastly, my flight back to Japan was delayed three times for a total of 12 hours, but they offered me a luxury hotel and buffet, which I think was the tastiest food I ate during this trip. This chance also allowed me to meet two new Japanese friends at the airport.

Finally, I want to thank Kawasaki sensei once again for giving this chance to such a new student like me, not only giving me a great experience and expanding my perspective, but also giving me a chance to learn a lot from my two senpai and get to know them better. I am looking forward to the next opportunity, and I believe the two years of the master’s program in this group will definitely be valuable and joyful journey.