Ron Gaff / Chinatown / Small Group

I am thankful for Ron Gaff!   Craig Johnson from GRTS first put me in contact with IGSL by pointing me to Ron Gaff.  Ron has been in the Philippines for close to 30 years, and I've heard the locals say he is practically Filipino.  He is also a good leader, humble, a bit goofy, and a lot of fun.

He took me to Chinatown (where we had a street - and back-alley - walking tour) and ended up at this great restaurant.

Here his daughters are giving me the low-down on buying fruit

And here is the small group that he leads, that I've joined.   Starting from the left, the folks are from South Korea, the Philippines, Vietnam, the Philippines, and China.  J.R. from the Philippines is sharing with us a traditional dish from his island of Mindanao upon return from Christmas break.  It is traditional for Filipinos to return with gifts to their friends/family to show that they've been thinking about them while away.  Anyway, Ron does a great job leading our group.

A few of my names...

Names I am called here:

Hey Joe! (as in, G.I. Joe) Filipinos are generally fond of Americans and appreciative of their WW II and post-WWII efforts in this country. So on the street, people often smile or laugh at how tall I am, and people sometimes call out hey Joe! to get my attention and wave.

Kuya. Kuya means 'older brother' in Tagalog (the Filipino language). On campus Kuya Tom, our president, decided when he returned after getting his Ph.D. that being called by academic titles would hinder what the goal was for this place. So he asked the faculty to be on a first name basis with their students with the addition of Kuya (for men) and Attay (for women) to show respect as an older brother or sister, since we are a family. So my students call me Kuya or Kuya Andrew.

Andrew. It still works, and I like it.

Honor and Shame

Honor and Shame (dangel and hiya) operate when we conform to the communities standards (tamany pamantayan = right standard) meant to promote peace through harmonious relationships.

1. The relational standard of the value system is kapwa, meaning of the same nature or equal status (kapwa-tao = fellow human). There is an implicit ethical demand in every situation to treat another in a way that leads to harmonious relations as they seek the same harmonious relations with you, because we are all relationally interdependent.

2. For the Filipino, the guide to whether this is being upheld is damdamin, which is the intuitive feeling and impression one gets when confronted with a situation. It is the emotional standard that acts as a guiding criteria to comprehend events, situations, and relationships. (For those Myers-Briggs nerds out there, Filipinos tend heavily toward the F, not T)

3. Shame comes from violating the community standards. Honor comes from doing your duty and upholding the community standards. Honor is gained by showing respect at all times, showing compassionate benevolence without being asked, selfless service to others, and concern over others in pain.

4. Finally, honor and shame, along with identity are dyadic in Filipino culture. One's identity as an individual is bound up in the honor of the community, primarily the family where honor learned. So dishonor to the family also affects personal dishonor and vice versa. This is one reason why children are taught to respect their parents. If children dishonor their parents, it is showing to the community that their parents and therefore their family is not honorable.

                      [taken from:   Turning our Shame into Honor:  The concept of the Filipino Hiya in light of Mark's Gospel by Narry Santos]

Honor and shame cultures have great pluses when what is honorable aligns with the created order. There is positive community concern and pressure to help those violating community standards to come into alignment. However, if the community standards are awry or if there is no means for someone in a position of dishonor to be made right, then honor and shame become a heavy burden.

Shopping

I live a short distance away from one of the largest malls in Asia.  Here's an attempt to give you a feel for its scope.

1.  Imagine your local shopping mall with anchor stores like Macy's, Sears, and JCPenney along with dozens of smaller shops.  
2.  Now imagine that this mall is completely devoted to electronics. 
3.  Now imagine that this is one of four floors, each floor having a different emphasis.
4.  Now image that you've just visited the Annex to the main mall which is multiple times larger than than the annex. 
5.  Finally, imagine that every day this mall is packed like Christmas-time like shopping all the time!
                  I've gone twice and the two photos that show just how packed it is:



Shopping here is familiar:   The Philippines are where East meets West, so almost all brands available in the west are here (Gap, Toys-R-Us, KFC, etc.)

Shopping here is different:   Imagine one of the employees at the electronics store attracting customers (?) by belting out "Rolling in the Deep" by Adele during a karaoke session in the store.  Also, every store has a lot of employees standing throughout the store who all greet you and ask how you are doing.  Hello, sir.  How are you today, sir?  Can I help you with anything, sir?  For instance, if you went to the area in Macy's that sells men's dress shirts and suits, you might see two employees in America.  But here, there would be 10 all standing next to displays, asking how you are doing and if they can help you. 

Also, I tried buying a barong (Filipino dress shirt) the other day.  The largest size they had was XL.  It kind of fit (I thought).  I walked out to ask everyone what they thought.  Everybody laughed!  Too short (it's supposed to hang, untucked kind of lower).