Friday, July 25, 2008

Celebrating Humanity

The Beijing Olympics is barely a stone’s throw away, and you can literally feel the vibe in the air in the city. Not to mention the increased security in all establishments. I can’t even go in and out of the school without an ID anymore.

But something crossed my mind as usual while pondering on being involved in this epic event. What are we celebrating in this Olympics? Humanity? What is humanity? I look at Beijing, the frightening machinery of human efficiency, then I think of the cost of this vicious determination. You might think the entire Chinese population is really jubilant, but that’s not really the case. In any totalitarian state, there is a shroud covering what’s really going on.

A lot of Chinese Nationals live a life that I don’t envy. I can see and feel how they are not in control of their own lives. I can see how they are driven by outside forces beyond their control. I can see how they they don’t have much choice as to what they want to do with their lives. I have heard stories that outside the city, children are taught to do one thing, and do it for the rest of their lives because they don’t have access to education. Their dads might just teach them how to drive a truck, and they’ll be a truck driver forever because that’s the only thing they know what to do.

On the other hand, I can see the foreign powers at work as well. I can see why Chinese distrust anybody not from the mainland. China was forced to open up because foreign nations wanted a piece of the enormous market. This was way back when Britain, America, France Germany, Russia, and other countries were out for conquest because they were rapidly using up all their resources. They needed to penetrate the Middle Kingdom, and that’s what they did. To put it bluntly, it’s like raping a little girl. The imagery is not so far from the truth, and not so much an exaggeration. Just think Opium Wars, and what lengths Britain and other countries went to make sure China opened their borders. Until now, you can hear these same countries on the news trying to tarnish China’s moment of glory in the coming Olympics.

So back to humanity. We are now at a precipice in human history. You can see it, hear it, feel it everywhere around you. You know something is not right, and things are going down the dumps. You know in you gut that the shit is about the hit the fan. You can see it on CNN, the conflict in the Middle East, food crisis, oil prices, disease, human rights violations, and so on. What is it again that we are celebrating? Those ephemeral instances when we show an act of kindness? Is that what humanity is all about? In a constant state of suffering and despair, only to be rewarded by a brief moment of respite?

It wasn’t always like this. I went to a couple of museums yesterday and last week that showed our ancestors like the Peking Man and the Jiuniushan Man, and I remember what I read in the Story of B by Daniel Quinn. The Law of Nature always made sure we never went out to intentionally obliterate our own competition, our own species. There was a law written in stone that we compete for food and sustenance, but we never go make it our business to kill our competitor and take his food, or prevent him access from food. This only began to happen when the Agricultural Revolution happened, or when so called ‘civilization’ began.

We like to call early humans primitive and barbaric, but when you look at the world today, after the Enlightenment, the Rennaissance, the Industrial Revolution, the internet, amidst tremendous technological progress and standards of living, there is more suffering than ever. In Ancient Wars, people died in thousands. Today, people die in millions, and they aren’t even casualties of war, but casualties of our great human civilization.

So what should we be celebrating again? I can go on and pretend, just like you, that as long as we’re not the ones suffering, that life is great and we should celebrate the heights of human achievement. But let’s face it, we are also celebrating the heights of human cruelty and indifference.

Tuesday, July 15, 2008

Rest in Peace Father Mena

He passed away this morning in Spain. He was the last of the original Jesuits if I'm not mistaken. He was probably my favorite priest. He was jolly and always full of energy. My most memorable encounter with him was when he called me to his office a week before Days With The Lord. He knew I was agnostic (now atheist) and he talked to me whether I wanted to attend DWTL or not. He advised me to go with an empty cup, and that I did. Although Days did not accomplish its intended purpose on me, that brief meeting with Fr. Mena was probably what made me attend with an open mind. My Days experience would have been totally different had he not talked to me that week.

He's done so much for Xavier. I'm not sure if Xavier still has more buildings to name after him, but he deserves one (correct me if I'm wrong but I don't think he has one yet). Surely the new Xavier in Alabang will have some buildings named after him at the very least. But it would have been more appropriate if it was in our Xavier.

Life really is too short. But it's up to us how to live it to the fullest, making as much difference as we can. Father Mena is someone who made a difference in a lot of people's lives. That alone is a life worth emulating. May he live forever in our hearts and memories, a beacon of light, shining brightly 'til the journey's end.

Friday, July 11, 2008

Gan Ha Ya!

The first three weeks went by like a blur. Time indeed flies fast if you're having fun. But a few nights ago I met up with some Filipino friends, mainly high school buddies who've been here for some time already. I realized how different the topics of conversation are compared to what I talk about with the kids in my program. Most of them are still relatively young, mostly sophomores and juniors in college and some high school kids. Anyway this insight made me realize the difference in objectives I have in studying in Beijing. It's easy to forget and get carried away with the fun and games, but I need to keep in mind that I'm here to build a life of my own, and I take this really seriously.

I remember having a conversation like this with some friends back home, wherein people nowadays shy away from having the 'serious' discussion. It's like people have shrouds over their eyes and have different realities. It's like The Great Forgetting in the Story of B by Daniel Quinn (a must read by the way). We forget why we are here and what we are doing with our lives. It's so rare to have meaningful and profound talks with people, and it's a shame because all we care about now are trivial matters that don't really add value to our lives.

So the next few weeks, I'll be focusing on what I'm really here for. I'll try to update you on my progress. As it is, I feel I've made some leaps with my reading and writing, but my conversation skills still needs a lot of improvement. Oh and the meaning of my blog entry title is what Northerners in China say that really means, "What's up". :)

[FYI: I'm using Blogger to cross-post to Multiply, since accessing Multiply is a pain. If you want to leave replies that I can read immediately, just go to tipsytilter.blogspot.com. You can still reply on Multiply but I won't be able to check it as regularly since there are days I can't access it.]

Sunday, July 06, 2008

Greetings from Beijing!

Hello people! I finally found a way to access Multiply, through www.surfall.net. I'm going to start working on my two-week account of my adventures here in Beijing. For a brief summary, I have writing and speaking classes in the morning from 8am to 12nn. I have Chinese painting Tuesdays and Thursdays 130-330. I found an Ultimate Frisbee team here and I play tournaments during Sundays, and I think I'll be playing some pick-up games on Tuesday or Saturday night. I haven't been going to the gym as often as I want to because I play basketball with my friends in the program. The people in my program are mostly Americans from the West Coast so it's kinda tough trying to practice.

All the stuff I learned in Xavier are slowly coming back to me, but more on the reading and writing part, my speaking still needs a lot of work. My goal for the month is to be able to talk to taxi cab drivers and street vendors. As for the nightlife, well I'll need a totally different post for that one. ;)

The reason I didn't bring a laptop because I didn't want to be spending so much time online instead of exploring this amazing city. It's a shame I found a way to post in Multiply since I'll be posting more often, but hey I need to keep in touch with my fans right? hehehe.

(On a side note, congratulations to Xavier Ultimate for being an official club now. When I first heard the news I was totally ecstatic. Keep it up guys, I want to see you a lot better when I go back in August.)

That's all for now, if you need to reach me, just text my Globe number. I may or may not reply to your message, but if I do it will be through my local China SIM. You can also leave me a message on YM. If it's an offline message, I will get it in my phone anyway.