Acclimation

Funny thing about my computer - it doesn't like humidity and wants to go back to Phoenix!  I have had hardware issues two times in the 5 or so years of owning my mac.... once in Hong Kong and now in Manila.  Besides the Asia locale, the only other connection I can fathom that might make sense is humidity.  Things works fine in air con, but try and work in the open air and the screen jumps and dances like it is possessed.  I am told by the PC IT guy that the problem is likely an issue with the motherboard so it would be unadvisable to pay for technical support since the cost of diagnostics and repair would probably surpass the cost of a new/refurbished unit.  My hope is that, like me, my computer is simply acclimating to its new environment, and will adjust to it just fine in time!  For now though, typing requires patience.

During Peace Corps crash course training, we learned yesterday about the Filipino cultural values of "Pakikisama, Hiya, Utangnalook, and Insabaro.  These will be very important to understand in order to appreciate the nuance of everyday interaction with my host country nationals.  Lets see if I can describe these...

Pakikisama - Filipino society is very community oriented.  As such, there is a feeling that everyone should exhibit care and understanding for each other.  As an outsider, I am going to be quickly judged by my interest in others - in their lives and circumstances.  I will be invited to others' homes for dinner, to afterwork karaoke drinking with my male coworkers, to church, etc.  I should engage in these activities to avoid being labeled "walang pakikisama", or standoffishness.  My community loves americans and will actively seek to welcome me, I must be responsive.

Hiya:  this one is easy, as it means "face".  Filipinos are concerned that they are shown respect and are not openly ridiculed, or aggressively confronted in conversations.  "Thats a dumb idea", "Thats wrong", "Your karaoke singing sucks" are all not good!  A softer approach will be necessary to avoid loss of Hiya.  As easy as this sounds, the nuance will come in as I work to incorporate new ideas and concepts concerning disaster preparedness and response into the municipal government.  After all, this will be my job!  I will have to use patience and temper my american desire to "fix the problem fast".  A softer approach will be more effective.  As I often said to dentists during my dental consulting, "sometimes the easiest trail to the other side of the mountain is not always the one that has the shortest distance".

Utangnalook:  This one is also simple.  If someones does you a favor, you are expected at some point offer a favor back.  This, to me, is just practicing the law of Karma, so hopefully I won't easily run afoul.  If someone pays for lunch, I should pay for lunch next time, if someone helps me out, I should look for an opportunity to help them out as well.  My sensitivity needs to be elevated to become more aware when such favors are being bestowed upon me, and I need to practice active pakikisama in order to repay the friendships that are unveiling themselves to me every day.

Insabaro:  This is a more tricky value for me to understand as it looks a lot like pakikisama but is different.  Insabaro is snobbishness... or simply being not friendly.   I suppose one can be snobbish on a personal level, while still demonstrating a commitment to be incorporated into the group at another level.  For example, if I was in the grocery and failed to acknowledge someone who I had met on an earlier occasion, I might be accused of being insabaro, even though at other times my behavior demonstrated pakikisama.

Anyways... thats the stuff we talk about in training and I thought it might be interesting to discuss this today....