I See White People

Well, I saw white people. Yesterday in fact. I've been here almost a week now, and this was the first time I saw people who weren't brown (excluding my cousin-in-law who is a Brit). I also saw a black guy and quite a few Chinese people.
Where can you find so much ethnic diversity in the Philippines, you ask? Well in the enormous ritzy shopping mall located in the ritzy business/commercial district, of course.

Metro-Manila area comprises almost a dozen cities where it is common to live on one side of the city and work on the opposite side. My uncle is a prime example of this. He lives in a gated, rather posh, community that is located near the middle- and lower-class, but works an hour away (depending on traffic) smack dab in the middle of the commercial district. His neighborhood is evidence of just who is above who (in terms of class); almost designed to show the literal structure of the stringent class system set up in the Philippines.


The commercial district is really all foreigners see of the Philippines. That, of course, and Boracay Island which was voted among the world's top ten beaches. It is clean, somewhat ordered, and most importantly, air conditioned. All the fanciest hotels and shopping centers are found in this district. All the rich condo owners, famous restaurant franchises, and movie directors are found here. My uncle is found here. As are white people. This was the first time he took me to visit his office, and set me loose in the shopping centers. Needless to say it was quite impressive.


We walked into Greenbelt 5 (the Greenbelt shopping center is comprised of 5 malls all joined together with a central open park/seating area in the middle) and the first thing I saw was a blue-eyed, blonde-haired, over-weight family of four. Ah the typical American. We went into the first store to our right -- a drug store/convenience store and saw more white men -- only with their Filipino girlfriends/wives. That's usually how it goes; you won't see a white woman with a Flip boyfriend, it just doesn't work that way. Sad to say, a lot of Filipino women would do anything to get out of the country -- including becoming the equivalent of a mail-order bride. Men have more pride than that, thank goodness.

I found it quite ironic that these 'rich' white people (who I think were mostly European) would congregate in the glamorous part of Manila where the streets were clean and the mall sported such American stores as Levi and Adidas.

Word to the traveler: if you want to actually see the country you're visiting, you've got to get out of the Hiltons and the Mall of Asias where taxis cart you everywhere, and see the open markets and province from the seat of a jeepney.