Week 4 in the Phils! This is my first blog…I’ll try to keep it short and readable (and limited to the first 2 wks). So no different than anyone else’s experiences, our first few days in Manila were definitely quite the culture shock! Nevertheless, I’ve adjusted after keeping in mind 4 things:

1. I must learn how to eat meat and rice (and only meat and rice – vegetables? Not so much.) at every meal. This is a far cry from my salad diets in Toronto (I miss you arugala + parm), and yes, my body is feeling it! I guess I should have realized this when we entered our apartment and out of all the things they forgot to supply (bowls, glasses, knives…the basics), they DID NOT forget the rice cooker. I must say though, that the meat and rice is quite tasty and I am slowly turning into a carnivore.
2. I must learn how to eat meat and rice with a fork and SPOON. Only. No knife. Ever. Strictly spoons. Should’ve known that from the apartment. And as Tim puts it, it’s like learning how to eat with utensils when you’re 5 years old all over again.
3. I must learn to never expect to receive what I order at a restaurant. No matter how wonderful it is described on the menu, the Philippines is NOT a salad culture. Caramelized onions will not be caramelized onions. And honey with your pancakes instead of syrup..well, normal? Stick to rice and meat Shivani! Oh and also…I must also expect my first choice (and usually second choice) to be ‘out of stock’.
4. I MUST (must must must) get used to being called Ma’am. At every opportunity. On the street. At school. At the shops (ESPECIALLY at the shops…hiiiiiiiii ma’am!!!...and on that note…I MUST get used to 10x more sales associates than customers in every store…talk about ‘overly helpful’…that’s actually an understatement.)

Now that I have that out of the way, I’ll get down to the real business. Filipinos are some of the nicest people that I have ever met. They are warm, kind, and very helpful (did I mention that?), and we have definitely made some really great friends and built some strong bonds in the short time that we’ve been here.

The attorneys and the interns at the Human Rights Center are amazing! These attorneys are very high profile, and some of the most revered human rights advocates and scholars in the Philippines. Well that’s obvious. They’re from Ateneo…#1 in the Philippines, #254 in the world (fyi YorkU is ranked lower).

Tim and I are working at the Child Rights desk (AKAP) at AHRC (Ateneo Human Rights Center), and are currently contributing our Oz research and writing skills to the creation of a Child Rights textbook to be used by the students of this very law school. It’s been an interesting experience so far; in a nutshell, here’s what we’re doing: researching each article of the UN Convention on the Rights of the Child (CRC) and researching Philippine legislation and jurisprudence to see how the Philippines abides by these conventions, and if not, identify where the gaps are.

Coming from a strictly common-law jurisdiction to one that is a blend of both common and civil, the differences are apparent. Everything is codified. When I say everything, I mean everything (including seniors discounts). Either by a Republic Act (RA), Executive Order (EO), Presidential Decree (PD), or any other number of instruments. However, I have to say that the starkest differences come when you see the heavy influence that the institution of family and religion (the Philippines is majority Catholic) has on the laws. Divorce is not legal. Adultery is a crime (imagine that!). And children are legislated to respect their parents. Hmmm...

My first couple of weeks I was really thrilled to be working on such a great document, especially after learning that it will eventually be delivered to and adopted by UNICEF Philippines. Going through each of the chapters and researching Philippine laws pertaining to each of the rights detailed in the CRC was a very educating experience. There are tremendous amounts of legislation affording rights to children, areas ranging from education to labour to health to freedom of expression, to name a few. These laws are full of hope and ideal, and theoretically, should afford all children, regardless of class, the same rights and opportunities to become a contributing and beneficial member of society. After a couple weeks of research (and being very impressed with the progressiveness of a lot of the legislation), I got to talking with some people who actually work in the frontlines of child rights, and my eyes were opened to the realities of the issues in the Philippines… which I will definitely cover in my next entry!  P.S. I just killed a roach…disgusting. Dan, slowly and surely, we’ll eliminate them all.

Labels: philippines

posted by shivani  # 7:39 AM