Insightful interview with one of my favorite Asian-American actors. Go APA!

Check out Part 2 of the interview here.

pilipinas:

It’s easy to have visions of a better Philippines.  Having lived in first world cities, I find that the standards I have for my homeland are largely based on my experiences abroad.  Clean roads, sparkly buildings, straight lines, unjammed traffic.  I have long resigned to the fact that I will never see this sort of Philippines in my lifetime, that it was just too far off.  But perhaps the flaw in my thinking is that the Philippines may not reach the stage I’ve envisioned at all - simply because it has to transform itself into something that is uniquely its own.

Basic needs and rights like good education, decent healthcare, humane living conditions, and a sense of dignity, among other things, are universal.  These things we can target and develop and improve.  But as for envisioning the country and expecting Quezon City to be like San Francisco or Manila to be like New York is majorly flawed; we can even say that it’s yet another form of self-imposed neocolonialism.  We can learn from the developed countries of the world, but let us not lose our own distinct flavor, because that richness is ours and ours alone.  We do not have to pattern our entire image after a developed country; the Philippines can and, given our persistence and dedication, will evolve into a developed version of itself.  I needed to realize this, and I am thankful I have.

Very important insight with which I also have to come to terms with myself.

travelhighlights:

My favourites points from Robert Reid:

5. Try to accept all invitations — you really should have time for that cup of tea the silver-haired couple offer you from the balcony in their summer home in Zakopane, or go camping with that Hungarian film crew at a Russian gulag.

6. Car passengers see less than bikers, bikers see less than walkers, walkers see less than stoppers — ie those who stop and watch.

20. It’s OK to have an opinion of a place, but don’t think you ‘know’ a place after spending two/15/306 days there.

27. Always go to visitors centers. Sometimes they give free cookies or popcorn, and the flirty staff sometimes invite you to go out and get drunk (nothing more), as they do in Bogotá.

29. Buy a hat. Always buy a locally made hat.

32. Russians look mean, but down deep they’re softies that will shame you with their warmth, feed your with their home-grown tomatoes, then intoxicate you with their suddenly produced frosted bottle of vodka. [Editor’s note:   :D ]

44. Travelling alone is something everyone should do at least once.

Via kari-shma

Totally agree with the above tips, but here are some that I’ve come to appreciate from my own personal experience:

4. It’s wise to remember your passport. And don’t pack it in a checked-in suitcase like Louisianan Trey Williams did going to that study-abroad program to St Petersburg during that ‘first summer of Russia’ (1992).

17. It’s OK to get frustrated or mad sometimes, just try to keep it to yourself as much as you can.

18. No, you don’t have to take a group tour, or have advance reservations. But it doesn’t automatically make you a bad traveler if you do.

19. Too much hassle where you are? Look around. If you are in the majority — as foreign traveler — walk two blocks to another part of town, and get out of that tourist ghetto you’re probably in.

24. It’s OK to be uncomfortable, just be honest if something isn’t right for you.

31. Agree on a price before you close the door with any taxi — that is, if they have a door.

37. Take public transit — a tram (I LOVE trams), subway, ox cart — at least once, even if you don’t need to get where it’s going. So few Americans EVER take one, it’s sad.

38. Try to take pictures of things that might change: street signs, people’s shoes, homemade sandwich ads, key-maker tools, overly bright fashion, heavy metal haircuts, grandmothers selling a single toothbrush outside a Moscow subway station after the USSR fell. Old churches and statues rarely change much, some of that other stuff maybe gone tomorrow.

44. Travelling alone is something everyone should do at least once.

mlq3:

July 4, 1946: the Republic of the Philippines becomes independent at last. Newsreel.

mlq3:

From the Philippine Independence issue of TIME Magazine, the famous photo of President Roxas in the Reception Hall of Malacanan Palace.

mlq3:

July 4, 1946. At a temporary grandstand erected in front of the Rizal Monument, the ceremonies marking the Independence of the Philippines take place. Paul V. McNutt lowers the American flag for the last time as President Manuel Roxas raises the Philippine flag to wave alone for the first time since the Filipino-American War.

source: personal collection

Happy Independence Day, America. Happy Independence Day (?), Philippines.

excuse me hello.

[via.]