What's brewing? plus my social experiment

Haven't posted lately because I've been busy with a lot of things like sleeping. hahaha Kidding aside, I really am busy. It's Dad's 50th birthday this Sunday, I'm leaving in 4 days (gotta pack!), it's my brother's prom (apparently it is my task to pick a suit for him), and I'm working on a new idea. It's been making my late night internet hours productive, and it's been putting my skills to a test. Will reveal more when I'm less busy.

Another reason which occupied my week was, ever since last weekend, my brother has been experiencing on-and-off fever. Last night we were having Japanese dinner at RaiRaiKen at the mall, when I noticed rashes on my brother's arms. He wasn't feeling weak or anything. But his temperature was pretty hot. Shempre, Mom and Dad got nervous coz it might be dengue so after dinner we decided to go to the emergency room of St.Paul's Hospital just to be sure.

A junior med intern interviewed him if he had allergies, asthma, whatever illness history, and then at the end of the many questions, she asked (in dialect) "So ano ba talaga yung reason bat ka nagpadoctor ngayon?" MYGOSH I flipped talaga! ATEH ANUBEEEH?! Good thing I was there when she asked. Ako na yung sumagot (in Tagalog/Filipino) "Kasi tatlong araw na siyang nilalagnat" in a very factual bordering 'are you stupid' tone. I couldn't help but do a little glare. MYGOSH SA DAMI NG TINANONG MO, AKO PA TALAGA MAGDA-DIAGNOSE SA SAKIT NG KAPATID KO? Super major kaloka talaga yung tanong niya. I whispered to mom to talk to her in Tagalog.

Side story about speaking in Tagalog. In the first few weeks of my stay here in Iloilo, I did a social experiment. Basically all I have to do is talk to people in Tagalog- when ordering food, when inquiring about a service or product, when shopping. The result? Apparently, they get taranta when you speak to them in Tagalog. Consequently, they pay a closer attention to you with the aim to impress you with their hospitality. Yung tipong 'ayaw mapahiya' kasi taga ibang lugar ka. It is both good and bad for me. Good because I get good customer service. Bad because it seems like they don't treat fellow Ilonggos (by that I mean those who speak to them in our dialect) the same way they treat Tagalog-speaking customers.

It's a very typical Pinoy character to put our best foot forward in front of foreigners. Palagi tayo nagpapa-impress sa mga dayuhan. Bakit sa kanila lang? Don't we deserve the same hospitality that these foreigners receive? Tayo na nga ang magkaka lahi, tayo pa ang nagmamaramot. What's a genuine smile or a little more attention to Filipino customers? We're paying the same price! we want the same service.

Of course living in Manila did raise my standards. In Manila, attendants are really nice (in general) and well, attentive. haha You raise your hand for your bill and in a seconds (okay, maybe a minute) , your bill is on your table. Here in the province, you raise your hand and they only notice you after a few waves to call their attention. While Manila waiters are busy making sure your orders are complete and your glass is filled with water or bottomless iced tea, waiters here in the province are busy looking at the foreigner's table, or making usyoso at the table of the pretty lady or the gays' table, or talking to each other until you do drastic hand waves and finger flicks, and they FAHAAAYNALLEHH take notice. Manila waiters are trained to spot a raised hand in their peripheral vision. But of course, this is not to say all restaurants in Iloilo are like that. There also a lot which have good service.

I guess my point is, we have to be Filipinos not just by blood, or in language, but at heart. We are never truly Filipino when we do not treat our fellow Filipinos the way we treat foreigners. We will never be Filipinos when we keep seeing ourselves as second class citizens. We are treated as second class citizens in other countries, we can't afford to still be second class in our own country. We are first class here in the Philippines. We all deserve first class service, first class smiles and first class attention.

Oh, and that junior intern? Mom said "kung ako instructor nun, hindi ko yun ipapasa!" hahaha You can say we had a good laugh. But that's after the incident na. Joop's tourniquet test was positive but the blood tests were negative. It's just trangkaso.