Man and Culture: Complex Beyond Comprehension

"Never judge a culture by one man and never judge a man by popular culture."

-Anonymous-

I am strongly in favor of the above statement. I believe that culture is superabundantly rich and it is never confined in one person. To define it according to what we observe in only one individual is absurdity. It is vain. We are falling flat. Do you think if I am not good in cooking, the rest of my fellow countrymen are also not good in cooking? If I hate rabbits, does it mean that all Filipinos also hate rabbits? If I sleep a lot during day time and always procrastinate my studies, does it mean that they also do the same thing? If I am not friendly to anybody, does it mean that they are also not? If I speak English with a lax and slow accent, do you think they also speak the same way? Do you also think that if I talk back to my teachers, they also do likewise? Come to think of these.

On the other hand, a man can never be judged according to his popular culture. He is unpredictable, complicated and mysterious in nature. To define him completely is next to impossible. Even a man himself is sometimes confused about who really he is. So, who are we to judge and define him? Human person is indeed complex beyond comprehension.If his culture is wholesome and conservative, it does not necessarily mean that he likes and appreciates it or conforms to it. If it is okay in his culture to marry more than one wife at the same time, it does not mean that he will follow that same-old tradition. If his culture dictates him to adhere to the dogma of business-mindedness, it does not always mean that he will heed it and act accordingly. If most of the people in his country love sports, it does not mean that he belongs to that majority.

Indeed, culture can never be defined through the behavior of only one person, nor can a person be defined through the popular culture.Every person has individuality and peculiarity. Nobody has the same personality. Everybody has his/her way of lifestyle and way of thinking. We all have different likes and dislikes, personal dreams and ambitions.

As an exchange student, I may be a cultural ambassador for my country, but it does not mean that whatever I do and say is always related to my culture. I also have behaviors that characterize my personality as a unique individual. And this is what I want to emphasize to the Americans and to all other people that I am interacting with. I am a human...limited...liable to commit mistakes...imperfect. It is possible that I may misrepresent or exaggerate my culture. It is also possible that I may not practice my culture. I want them to be aware of that. But I guess, as long as I maintain my communication and socialization with them, they will be able to deepen their understanding of my background, be it personal or cultural, as I also deepen my understanding of their personal and cultural background. As we learn more about each other, stereotypes and misconceptions that we have lessen. For example, before, I used to perceive all American people as arrogant, superior, liberal, obese, wealthy, so on and so forth, but now, I have realized that I was being judgmental and stereotypical. As I integrate myself to this society that I am currently in, I have found out that American life also has a wide-range of diversity. I have now come into my senses that not all Americans are arrogant, superior, liberal, obese , wealthy and all that. Americans that I met before are not the Americans that I am meeting now. Americans that I saw on television are not the Americans that I am seeing now. They don't act the same way. They may be all Americans, but they also have distinct and unique human qualities and personalities. I should never judge their culture according to my first individual encounter. It is absurdity to do so. As an exchange student, I am broad and open-minded. I am aware and I understand what's going on around me. I know when and how to be sensitive.

Verily, to integrate one's self in the host community and institution is the best way to understand , not define nor judge the culture. Culture is indescribable and unexplainable. It is dynamic and inexhaustible. It changes over time. Like man, it is complex beyond comprehension.







Assalamu alaykum! (Peace be upon you!)

FILIPINO ROYAL DANCE

I have actually been interacting with my fellow exchange students about a lot of things, from politics to economics, from academics to social life, from language to culture, so on and so forth, since I arrived here at Ole Miss. We tackled pretty much everything under the sun. But I guess I haven't told them yet about a certain cultural tradition of ours that we Filipinos consider as a pride. I said "pride" because it is purely Filipino, unlike the other cultural traditions in the Philippines that still carry the influence of our colonizers in the past. I consider it as a world-class dance because of its elegance in costumes, gracefulness in choreography and meaningfulness in background story. I may sound exaggerating but to tell you frankly, when I first watched it, I was dumbfounded. This cultural tradition that I am talking about is the only Filipino Royal Dance called SINGKIL.

Coming from the Lake Lanao region in the Philippines, the Singkil is a popular dance performed during celebrations and other festive entertainment. Performed as a female only dance, the Singkil serves as either a conscious or unconscious advertisement to would-be suitors for her future marriage. The ladies graciously step in and out of clashing bamboo poles arranged in either a parallel, rectangular, or criss-cross fashion while manipulating either apir (fans), mosala (scarves), or even just their bare hands. Singkil means to entangle the feet with disturbing objects such as vines or anything in your path. It takes its name from the epic tale that the Meranaw people (one of the Filipino Muslim tribes) trace the origin of their culture. It goes as follows:



In the land of Bembaran lived a brave and handsome hero prince named Paramata Bantogen. He would often leave Bembaran in search of beautiful princesses from far off lands, thus leaving Bembaran vulnerable with its most bravest warrior absent. This would make the diwatas, the guardian spirits of Bembaran, very angry. In an attempt to get Bantogen to stay, the diwatas kidnapped Princess Gandingan, a local princess with bewitching beauty whom Prince Bantogen had not yet seen. The diwatas then placed the princess in an isolated forest where Bantogen would pass on his way to the lands of his favorite ladies. As he passed through this forest, the diwatas caused in earthquake. In her freight, Princess Gandingan began to run for safety. Despite the fierce earthquake causing boulders to fall and all of nature to shake, Princess Gandingan gracefully stepped, hopped, jumped, and hurdled the little rocks and swiftly passed through the trembling trees. The valiant prince saw the frightened princess, chased her, and led her to safety. Soon after, the earthquake stopped, leaving Prince Bantogen to admire the charming and beautiful princess and forget the beauties of other lands. Thus, Singkil mimics the trials and gracefulness of the legendary Princess Gandingan as she avoided entangling her feet in the cursed forest.




There you have it! I chose this cultural dance because I would like my fellow exchange students and others to see the colorful side of the Philippines, that it is not just about natives , islands and islets. I know that others don't have much yet idea about what Philippines really is; some may already have some sort of stereotypes even before they actually met me. By telling them about this cultural dance that I am proud of, I think I am giving them the impression that I love my country and I am proud to be a Filipino. And that's what I want them to feel about me. I am here to be an effective ambassador of and for my country.

LANGUAGE AND BEYOND (In response to Zolo's fourth blog)

" The language that we use everyday is the tool of our communication. I can't imagine interactions of people without a language."


This is the part of Zolo's fourth blog that strikes me the most. I do believe and agree with him that language is the tool of our everyday communication. Yes, exactly it is! However, as I keep on reading his blog, I realize that it is beyond just communication with people. It also portrays culture and a communication with The Almighty as far as my reflection is concerned.



People interact in a variety of ways and communication is just about the most common and among the most important. Whatever is meaningful to a group, from their everyday life to their traditions, constitutes their very own culture and is generally accepted by every members of the group. Language is only one of such items. For ethnic minorities who may have a language of their own, a language is a cornerstone in their culture, and it also serves as a representation of their customs and lifestyles, values and beliefs.

Furthermore, language is not just a tool of conversation with men but with the Creator as well. The development of language reflects the past history of human race. For example, Aramaic, Hebrew and Greek are forms of language that require exactness in meaning of human aspects about the divinity of the Creator. Failure to meet these requirements will mean turmoil in the near future, for this is considered as a form of transgression. The same is true with our contemporary world, language is used to propagate truth, be it in spiritual aspect, intellectual or emotional. Misguided civilization in any aspect will mean great consequences in most error committed. This simply means that perpetuity of human race will be based on how the language is utilized by the people.le.

VALUE OF DIVERSITY (In Response to Ladda's First Blog)

Differences in culture. This is where Ladda's first blog zeroes in on. I do subscribe to her opinion that American life in general is totally different from everybody else's cultural life. As an exchange student, I say it without ambiguity and exaggeration. Indeed, culture varies from place to place. That is it's nature.What I find beautiful may be ugly in the eyes of people from the US or Laos. However, this kind of thing is never negative. This is normal. As a matter of fact, difference in culture is what makes the world colorful and meaningful. If everything is the same, there is no more room for exploration and discovery, realization and excitement. Thus, the world becomes monotonous and dull and we stagnate.

We need diversity particularly in the cultural aspect. It is an essential factor that shapes our present life and the future. It's value and beauty should be inculcated within each and everyone of us. I do believe without qualm that all people, belonging to different nationalities and races, speaking variety of languages, possessing different colors and nurtured under dissimilar field of discipline, are held to be one and indivisible nation. We are created not to be strangers to each other but to get to know one another, not to be enemies but to be friends, not be individualistic but to work together, not to be part of the problem, but to be part of the solution.

THE IMPORTANCE OF LANGUAGE IN MY CULTURAL IDENTITY

One great thinker made the following statement,

"Language defines a person."

I do subscribe to this quotation without qualm. Indeed, my Mother Tongue, Filipino, reflects my identity particularly in the cultural aspect. It depicts my customs and lifestyle. It portrays my values and beliefs. It reveals my history and ancestry. It represents my ideals and aspirations as a Filipino. And it identifies my place of origin.

In the Filipino language, one may observe that there is a frequent usage of "po" and "Opo". These two words right here are used when talking to parents or someone older than you. It signifies courtesy. One is considered rude if he/she disregards these two when interacting with the above-mentioned people. It's customary. It's the Filipino style of life.

Values such as hospitality and loyalty are also emphasized in the Filipino language. To show hospitality, Filipinos have this expression " Kain tayo", which means " Come. Let's eat." To show loyalty on the other hand, Filipinos say " Kung saan ka masaya, susuportahan kita." It's English equivalent would be " Whatever makes you happy. I'll be here to support you."

Furthermore, Filipino people tend to be more fate-oriented most of the time. And this is very apparent in the language. If pressures and problems come in, they face it with the expression "Bahala na!" which is tantamount to "What will be will be!"

History and ancestry are also seen in the Filipino language. It's being a mixed language is what proves it. Filipino is 30% Spanish, 10% Malayo and Bahasa, 5% Japanese, 5% English and 50% Tagalog and other dialects in the country. This comes into being because of the immigration of the Malays and Indones as the first inhabitants of the islands of the Philippines and the colonization of the Spaniards, Americans and Japanese.

The Filipino language also represents my ideals and aspirations as a young Filipino. It reveals my passion for simplicity and diversity as it reveals it's own.

And finally, this Mother Tongue of mine is what makes me a true-blooded Filipino as it confirms the fact that I am a proud aborigine of the one-and-only Pearl of the Orient Seas, the Philippines.

MY TWO GREAT ICONS

ICON. What pops into my mind when I hear this word is "a hero"; a hero that touches people's heart and makes a great difference in their lives. The world has a lot of different heroes, be it in the past or in the present. To enumerate them all with their corresponding impacts to the society at large is never push-over. It entails time and effort. Nonetheless, what I will be highlighting in this article are just the two ordinary persons who made extraordinary struggles and impacts to their respective nations and whom I consider my two great icons. They are Martin Luther King, Jr. from the United States and Jose Rizal from my country, the Philippines.

These two great persons are two different heroes who belong to two different time, culture and country but share a lot of things in common. Martin Luther King, Jr. (1929-1968) known as "The Great Orator of Love and Peace" is an African-American who worked for racial equality and Civil Rights in the United States.

In 1957, he was elected president of the Southern Christian Leadership Conference, an organization formed to provide new leadership for the now burgeoning civil rights movement. In the eleven-year between 1957 and 1968, King traveled over six million miles and spoke over twenty-five hundred times, appearing wherever there was injustice, protest, and action; and meanwhile he wrote five books as well as numerous articles.In these years, he led a massive protest in Birmingham, Alabama, that caught the attention of the entire world, providing what he called a coalition of conscience. and inspiring his "Letter from a Birmingham Jail", a manifesto of the African-American revolution; he planned the drives in Alabama for the registration of Negroes as voters; he directed the peaceful march on Washington, D.C., of 250,000 people to whom he delivered his address, "l Have a Dream", he conferred with President John F. Kennedy and campaigned for President Lyndon B. Johnson; he was arrested upwards of twenty times and assaulted at least four times; he was awarded five honorary degrees.

On the evening of April 4, 1968, while standing on the balcony of his motel room in Memphis, Tennessee, where he was to lead a protest march in sympathy with striking garbage workers of that city, he was assassinated.

Jose Rizal (1861- 1896), on the other hand, known as the "The Great Writer of Revolution", is the national Hero of the Philippines who fought for the independence of the said country mainly through his pen and not through bloodshed, just like Martin Luther King, Jr.

In the hope of securing political and social reforms for his country and at the same time educate his countrymen, Rizal, the greatest apostle of Filipino nationalism, published, while in Europe, several works with highly nationalistic and revolutionary tendencies. In 1887, his daring book, NOLI ME TANGERE, a satirical novel exposing the arrogance and despotism of the Spanish clergy, was published in Berlin; in 1890 he reprinted in Paris, Morga’s SUCCESSOS DE LAS ISLAS FILIPINAS with his annotations to prove that the Filipinos had a civilization worthy to be proud of even long before the Spaniards set foot on Philippine soil; in1991, EL FILIBUSTERISMO, his second novel and a sequel to the NOLI and more revolutionary and tragic than the latter, was printed in Ghent.

Because of his fearless exposures of the injustices committed by the civil and clerical officials, Rizal provoked the animosity of those in power. This led himself, his relatives and countrymen into trouble with the Spanish officials of the country. As a consequence, he and those who had contacts with him were shadowed; the authorities were not only finding faults but even fabricating charges to pin him down. Thus, he was imprisoned and exiled for long years now.

His sincerity and friendliness won for him the trust and confidence of even those assigned to guard him; his intelligence and humility gained for him the respect and admiration of prominent man of other nations; while his undaunted courage to uplift the welfare of his people were feared by his enemies. When the Philippine Revolution started in 1896, his enemies lost no time in pressing him down. They were able to enlist witnesses that linked him to revolt and these were never allowed to be controlled by him. Thus, November of 1896 to the date of his execution, he was imprisoned. In his cell, he wrote an untitled poem, now known document expressing not only the hero's great love for the country but that all of Filipinos. After a mock trial, he was convicted of rebellion, sedation and of forming illegal associations. In Dec. 30, 1986, Rizal, a man whose 35 years of life had been packed with varied activities which proved that the Filipino has the capacity to equal if not excel even those who treat him as slave, was shot at Bagumbayan Field.

Indeed, these two intelligent and courageous persons who fought non-violently for harmony in general are heroes worth-commemorating. As their number one admirer, I am moved by their struggles.

Typical Filipino Culture

The Philippines is known for its rich and extensive culture. It is a country which was influenced by several other countries: discovered by Aetas; "nurtured" by the Indones and Malays; subject to a three-hundred-year rule by the Spaniards; decades of influence by the Americans; and a couple of years under Japanese rule. It is evident that Filipinos were brought up under the fusion of Oriental and Western cultures. This makes the Philippines and the Filipino people unique and intriguing to people from other countries. And when they do come to see what it is like to be "Juan dela Cruz," they somewhat undergo culture shock. Still, others are able to easily to adapt to Filipino customs and traditions, and even realize that they like the Filipino way of living.

This country is an archipelago, with more than 7,000 islands. Each is composed of several regions and provinces. These provinces, in turn, have their own cultures. Ilocanos have different customs and languages. Cebuanos do, too. If you are not familiar with each province's traditions, you will get confused and might end up frustrated. Worse, you might offend the sensibilities of the common folk. There are still a number of people who are ultra conservative and find tube tops and short shorts kind of scandalizing. Some rural areas, on the other hand, are beginning to accept and adapt to the urban ways. To avoid earning the ire of very strict indigenous people, research on their culture and respect them. Not all traditions are alike even if they belong to only one country.

Moreover, if you have never tasted "balot" (duck egg), "dinuguan" (pork blood stew), fried frog, or "isaw" (grilled pork or chicken liver), then you better brace yourself. These are traditional foods that are popular in Philippine culture. They may not look that presentable, but they can taste really good. They are even fun to prepare. If you will be adventurous enough to try these then rest assured that you will get along well with most Filipinos.

If you are planning to experience our culture, get some liguistic skills. Some rural folk are not yet used to speaking and hearing foreign languages, except for English. There are phrases which can help you communicate with Filipinos. The tradition of Filipinos is saying "po" and "opo" as a form of respect to the elderly. When talking to them for the first time, greet them the Filipino way. Say Magandang umaga (Good morning), magandang tanghali (noon), magandang hapon (afternoon), or magandang gabi (evening)." Meanwhile, express your gratitude by saying samalat which means "thank you." When it is time for you to leave, do not forget to say paalam, which means "goodbye."

These three things are not really hard to do since Filipinos are considerate, especially to foreigners. They will help you out and explain their traditions in case you find them a little daunting. So be adventurous. Visit the Philippines, and find out how Filipinos live and make visitors feel at home. You wouldn't feel strange at all.

My First Impressions of American life at the University of Mississippi

It has been three days now since I arrived the University of Mississippi. With that span of time, I can say that I have already witnessed and experienced the what they call "American World"; a world that I consider different from my own. My initial impressions of it are of different aspects. It includes my observations on the personality and behavior of American people, their values, their dress, and education.

American students and teachers in Ole Miss in general are very warm and friendly in nature as I have observed. They welcome people, especially like us from other countries, with warm smiles and greetings. I can always feel their exultance and excitement whenever I am in their company. They don't let one feel isolated. They usually intermingle and interact with people around them. They are very sensitive to other people especially to foreign students. They understand our situation and condition and, thus, extend their hands to us. I have never imagined that the people whom I thought to be arrogant and superior at first came to be very caring and loving.

When it comes to values, American people particularly in Ole Miss give emphasis on the sense of privacy and individualism. They don't consider this as something tantamount to isolation or loneliness. They just adhere to the dogma that as individuals their needs must be respected. They also value equality. One of the apparent example is the informality of their behavior and communication in the workplace. This American tendency is to minimize status differences rather than to emphasize them. Future orientation is also one of their many values. They are dynamic people. Progress and goals are what they are after.They abhor mediocrity.

In terms of clothing an d fashion, students of Ole Miss, as I have observed, love simplicity. They don't care about looking great in normal days. They wear whatever they have and that's it. They don't brag about the brand of what they are wearing or how expensive it is. Most of them just wear a shirt and shorts especially during summer time. Their way of clothing also gives light to their being energetic and enthusiastic.

Furthermore, the educational aspect of my first impressions. I have noticed that most American students love reading, be it novels, newpapers or magazines. That is indeed a very good past-time.They always keep themselves updated, which I find very productive.

There you have it! I am so thankful that I am able to realize these things and somehow appreciate the brighter side of American life particularly in Ole Miss. At the end of the day, it just depends on how you view it. It's culture. It is not correct; it is not wrong. It is just different.